Flock party for rare bird

January 14, 2019 by Louis Sahagun

Hundreds of hard-core birders from across the nation have been flocking to South Los Angeles this week, hoping to catch a glimpse of a rare avian that wandered in from Siberia and inexplicably chose to hunker down within a hedge just south of the 10 Freeway.

The foreign visitor—or "vagrant," as bird-watchers say—became an instant celebrity five days ago, when a sharp-eyed librarian in Jefferson Park identified it as a red-flanked bluetail.

Ever since then, fans toting binoculars have crowded onto the grounds of UCLA's William Andrews Clark Memorial Library to marvel at the so-called megatick—a species so rare that most birders may never get the opportunity to "tick" it off their life's list of hoped-for sightings in the U.S.

Friday morning, scores of bird-lovers streamed through the library's gates and began a frenzied search for the avian superstar.

It didn't take long for Jeff Bray, 40, of Irvine to spot the treasure he was hunting for: a brownish ball of feathers roughly the size of a computer mouse who sported a white eye ring, orange sides and a bright blue tail.

"I saw it for a few seconds," Bray said with a smile. "It looked like a bird hopping around in the bushes. Very cool."

This is the first recorded instance of a red-flanked bluetail on California's mainland, said Kimball Garrett, manager of the ornithology collection at the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County. It is believed to be the bird's eighth documented visit to the North American continent.

The bluetail's native habitat ranges from coniferous forests in northern Asia, west through Russia to Finland. It typically winters in southeast Asia.

No other extremely rare bird, some say, has made this much commotion since an odd duck known as a Baikal teal blew into the Rocky Mountain village of Kittredge, Colo., in 1993 and planted itself outside the picture window of Bear Creek Tavern.

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Val Verde illegal cockfighting ring bust largest in US history, deputies say

By ABC7.com staff
Tuesday, May 16, 2017
VAL VERDE, Calif. (KABC) --

The largest illegal cockfighting ring bust was conducted in northern Los Angeles County on Monday, according to authorities.

The Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department said approximately 7,000 birds were recovered from the property in the unincorporated area of Val Verde near Castaic Junction and Santa Clarita.

Most of the birds recovered from the property, which officials said was in a large remote area in a canyon, were commonly used for cockfighting.

Approximately 100 deputies raided the property and found mobile cockfighting rings, syringes, steroids and "slasher" weapons, which were strapped to a rooster's claws during a fight.

"The knife-style of fighting are particularly bloody," Eric Sakach with the Humane Society of the United States said. "The bird is being repeatedly stabbed to the chest area. It's not unusual to hear a bird to start to vomit up or regurgitate blood."

"You'll often see these guys put the bird's head in their mouth and suck the blood out of the bird's throat because that may buy the bird a few extra seconds of breathing to be able to attack its opponent and win the fight," Sakach continued.

Several dead roosters were found with wounds consistent with cockfighting, according to the sheriff's department.

Authorities detained 10 people at the property, and said they were believed to be lower-level employees who tended to the roosters.

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Western Snowy Plover, The Threatened Bird, Nesting At The Beaches In Los Angeles Area

partha das

May 10, 2017 03:23 AM EDT

The beaches along Los Angeles area discover the presence of the threatened bird western snowy plover. A rare incident that takes place first time in nearly seven decades. 

Phys.org reported that nests of the rare shorebird, western snowy plover, were discovered last month at some popular beaches in the U.S. According to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, nests of these small birds were noticed at Santa Monica Beach, Malibu Lagoon State Beach. The presence of this shorebird was also observed at the Dockweiler State Beach.

Biologists have already taken initiatives to protect this rare western snowy plover bird. Chris Dellith, a famous biologist, utters significantly about the comeback these rare birds. It is a real fact that this shorebird is trying to build their nests against all odds. Dellith opines that cooperation from the beachgoers is essential to provide sufficient space to this snowy plovers.

Proper cooperation and space can help the western snowy plovers to build their nest safely and to raise their young. This rare subspecies of the snowy plover mainly use the county beaches of Los Angeles for roosting in winter. Reports say the active nest of this threatened bird was last seen in 1949 at the Manhattan Beach.

The western snowy plovers choose coastal beaches, gravel bars, dry salt ponds as their best destination to nest. These shorebirds always prefer a wide area of beach that must be flat and open for resting, Aquarium Of The Pacific stated. The flat and open areas help them to locate the approaching of the potential predators. These threatened birds reach maturity just one year after the hatching and their nesting season are from the early March to the late September.

 The western snowy plover is a 6-inch shorebird that has dark patches on the back. Rapid loss of habitat, the growth of human population and the increasing trend of predation have reduced the number of this threatened bird. They were already listed under the important Endangered Species Act in 1993.

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First Bird LA Day celebrates Los Angeles’ thriving environment for varied species

By Nick Green, Daily Breeze

It may seem counterintuitive in a seemingly concrete-encased county of 10 million people and more than 500 miles of freeways, but it turns out greater Los Angeles is literally for the birds.

“The greater Los Angeles area is one of the best places for birds in the nation,” said Garrison Frost, spokesman for Audubon California and a South Bay native.

“You have almost every type of habitat there is all in one county — you’ve got beaches, wetlands, oak forests, deserts, rivers, streams,” he added. “Birds that migrate up and down the coast all stop in Los Angeles County. It’s spring migration right now, so we’re seeing some amazing things.”

On Saturday, the first Bird LA Day will celebrate those that take flight with a collection of 30 bird-watching events countywide.

A full listing is at www.birdladay.org. Most events are free, although some require preregistration. Participants are urged to submit photos to the Bird LA Facebook page and via tweets on Twitter using the hashtag #birdLADay.

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Sheriff’s: Antelope Valley cockfighting ring disbanded

Los Angeles County Sheriff’s officials said Monday they’ve disbanded an Antelope Valley cockfighting ring involving hundreds of birds but have yet to issue any citations.

A search warrant was served at a ranch-style Juniper Hills home Thursday on the 34200 block of 90th Street East, after an allegation of a cockfighting operation surfaced.

Animal control officers found 279 birds at the location, including nearly 240 who’d had their combs, waddles and rear feathers removed to prepare them for fighting. The remaining 40 birds were hens, which were used for breeding, authorities said.

“One bird obviously wins ... It can be deadly,” said Lt. Keith Lieberman of the Sheriff’s Department Community-Oriented Services (COPS) Bureau. “They have razor blades hooked onto where their spurs are.”

The birds were full-grown and appeared to be in decent health, Lieberman said.

The man who deputies say was raising the birds, Amado Herrera, has not been arrested but is expected to be cited for possession of fighting birds, which is a misdemeanor. Lieberman said he expects a case, which could include other people, to be filed with the District Attorney’s Office this week.

A 20-gauge shotgun, ammunition, razor blades, spurs and medicines were also seized as a result of the search warrant.

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Another Dead Bird in Culver City Tests Positive for West Nile Virus

Another dead bird testing positive for West Nile Virus has been discovered in Culver City.

The Los Angeles County West Vector & Vector-Borne Disease Control District based in Culver City announced the discovery on Sept. 18. It is the eighth bird that has now tested positive for the virus in Culver City (see attached PDF to the right of this article with a breakdown of neighborhoods and zip codes).

Culver City residents who discover a dead bird should call 1-877-WNV BIRD (1-877-968-2473). Dead birds must be less than 24 hours old to be able to test them for West Nile virus. If the bird is rigid or decomposed, it cannot be used for testing.

According to the Disease Control District, birds that are not in a condition to be tested can be disposed of in your normal weekly trash by taking the following steps:

• Take plastic garbage bag and insert your hand in the open end.
• Grab the dead bird and pull it into the garbage bag using an “outside-to-inside” pulling motion.
• Tie off the bag with the bird inside and place it in your regular trash for disposal.

The District does not pick up and disposed of dead birds that are not in a condition to be tested. Animal Control should be called for disposal of dead birds that are too old to be tested, if the personal disposal method listed above is not used.

Continued: http://culvercity.patch.com/articles/another-dead-bird-in-culver-city-tests-positive-for-west-nile-virus