Notes from Richard Snyder’s 2020 Winter Solstice Celebration presentation.
Did you ever wonder what “birds fly south for the winter” actually means?
If you’ve been to a California beach you can identify a seagull – right?
In the past year I’ve learned a lot about the class of animals known as Aves, or birds, and as with all knowledge, the more I got to know, the more I knew I didn’t know.
Like many of you, this past year the virus has limited my ability to go out in the world, so I was grateful to find an outlet in the opportunity to attend a weekly Zoomed Emeritus Class. The instructor’s passion for her subject flowed into her students, and I discovered a new passion in birds. I began studying field guides, watching videos, going on bird-walks at local parks and sanctuaries where I could safely socially distance, and I started spending my time drawing and painting detailed pictures of birds I’d seen or hope to see someday.
How many kinds of birds are there?
There are over 9,000 species of birds identified worldwide, as well as numerous subspecies, many as of yet unidentified. Here in Southern California, at the San Joaquin Wildlife Sanctuary (SLWF) in Irvine, over 282 species have been identified, including 170 regularly occurring and another 112 less frequent visitors. If you are looking for other places to watch birds in this region check out TeWinkle Park and/or Mile Square Park. Additionally, the Bolsa Chica Wetlands is another bird watchers’ paradise.
Now, what about birds flying south for the winter?
While there are many resident bird populations, especially in temperate climates, birds typically migrate. Some fly east, some north, others south, often setting up temporary homes in suitable environs; here today, gone tomorrow. Some species spend their lives at sea. Bufflehead ducks, Eared grebes and American white pelicans are frequently seen at San Joaquin Wildlife Sanctuary in winter months, along with less common American wigeons, Belted Kingfishers, and several species of gulls.
Birds starting upper left moving counter clockwise; Eared Grebe, Belted Kingfisher, American White Pelican, Bufflehead Duck, Cedar Waxwing
By the way, seagull is a colloquial term. There are a number of gull species, about 28 in North America alone. A few that you might see on a Southern California beach include; the Ring-billed Gull, Bonaparte’s Gull, California Gull.
See Richard’s Short List of Migratory Birds Observable at San Joaquin Wildlife Sanctuary for more birds and links to additional information about them.
Want to Learn More?
There is a lot of information readily available for interested birders. Following are a some of the resources I’ve found helpful.
- eBird app from Cornell Lab of Ornithology (iOS or Android)
- Merlin Bird ID app from Cornell Lab (iOS or Android)
- National Audubon Society web site
- Sea & Sage Audubon Society the Orange County Chapter of the National Audubon Society
- All About Birds web site by The Cornell Lab
- David Sibley Guidebooks
- National Geographic Field Guide to the Birds of North America, 7th Edition
- Easy-to-focus binoculars
Order of the Sacred Earth OC 
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