Dear Birders,

You are invited to the next LA Birders webinar:

The Status, Distribution, and Identification of Alcids in Southern California

With David Pereksta

Tuesday, March 21 at 7:00 PM – on YouTube

The Alcidae is a diverse family of seabirds that can be found throughout cooler pelagic waters of the northern hemisphere and includes the murres, guillemots, auklets, murrelets, and puffins.

Southern California hosts a variety of species including several local breeders and others that disperse here seasonally from regions to the north and south. In total, more than half of the world’s 25 alcid species have been documented off Southern California. While a few species can be seen regularly from land, intrepid birders wanting to experience these birds must join pelagic trips to have a chance to find most of the species that occupy these waters.

Identification can be challenging because some species are similar in appearance, and many avoid boats by diving or flying away quickly. Getting good looks at these small birds in a big ocean is often not easy and requires an extreme amount of patience. Due to their seasonality and the rareness of some, it will take more than a few trips offshore to find the majority of our local species.

Join Dave as he navigates us the identification challenges of the Alcid family.

This webinar will be livestreamed on our YouTube channel and will also be recorded for later viewing.

Become a LAB Member! Though our webinars will always remain free and available to all, members of Los Angeles Birders have access to live webinars via Zoom, invitations to special LAB-only field trips, priority sign-up on LAB field trips & events, and discounts on paid LAB programs. To learn more about membership, please see our website! 

Upcoming Programs

4/1/23 Valyermo and Juniper Hills Transect with Kimball Garrett (field trip, FULL)

4/2/23 First Sundays at the Huntington with Katy Mann (members-only field trip, signup in late March)

4/9/23 Tejon Ranch (Los Angeles County) with Frank & Susan Gilliland (field trip, member priority sign up open soon)

4/16/23 Tejon Ranch (Kern County) with Frank & Susan Gilliland (field trip, member priority sign up soon)