07/25/2026
Rare Bird Alert
This is the July 25, 2026 Rare Bird Alert, prepared by Jon Fisher.
Birds include:
Black Swift | Laysan Albatross | Brown Pelican | Bald Eagle | Brown-crested Flycatcher | Bell’s Sparrow | Northern Parula | Summer Tanager
Up to seven BLACK SWIFTS were seen by Claremont Wilderness Park and along Cobal Canyon Motorway through July 24. Late afternoon and early evening is the time to look for these birds.
See https://ebird.org/atlascalifornia/checklist/S372712238?view=photos
A LAYSAN ALBATROSS was just off San Clemente Island (no public access) on July 22.
A BROWN PELICAN continued at Peck Water Conservation Park in Arcadia through July 22.
Breeding in the area were up to six BROWN-CRESTED FLYCATCHERS repeatedly observed below the Little Rock-Palmdale Dam through July 24. One viewing location is at Google maps 34.4886,-118.0250. There is no vehicle access and one must walk the road from the locked gate to this location. Be aware of the adjacent restricted access and construction areas. Avoid entering the riparian habitat and the area near the dam itself. Two SUMMER TANAGERS continued in the area through July 24 and a BALD EAGLE was there through July 21.
Along the San Gabriel River, a BELL’S SPARROW was found on July 22 between Peck Road and the dam.
A NORTHERN PARULA was at Woodgrove Park in West Covina on July 24.
Descanso Gardens in La Canada produced a SUMMER TANAGER on July 24.
Historical Notes
Black Swifts have known nesting locations at waterfall sites in the San Gabriel Mountains. The September 1969 Western Tanager reports observations in Santa Anita Canyon above Arcadia, San Jacinto Falls near Idyllwild, and Big Falls in Mill Creek Canyon in the San Bernardino Mountains. Black Swifts are currently recognized by the State of California as a Species of Special Concern. As of 2008, the entire California population was estimated at 200 pairs.
The Brown Pelican’s continuing stay at Peck Water Conservation Park invites a hopeful update to last week’s DDT note. In November 1970, LA Zoo curator Frank Todd gave LAAS members a grim assessment: DDT-driven eggshell thinning at Anacapa Island meant only 2 of 1,272 pelican nests fledged young that year, and he called the species “beyond endangered — doomed.” Just over four years later, the tide had visibly turned: the December 1974 Los Angeles Christmas Bird Count tallied a record 201 Brown Pelicans, the highest count since 1956, as the 1972 DDT ban began taking hold (from the March 1975 Western Tanager). A pelican comfortably settled at an inland park today is a small coda to a recovery that, as of the mid-1970s, was already underway, following the banning of DDT in 1972.
Submitted by Mark Scheel.
