Snowy Plover Dockweiler Beach

Two tiny Snowy Plover hatchlings at Dockweiler Beach

Baby Birds Everywhere

Lots of odd looking fuzzy birds around these days Here’s a quick run down of some of the babies I’ve spotted in my 5MR. A successful Red-shouldered Hawk nest at Ladera Park:

Black-necked Stilts on Ballona Creek:

American Coot at the Ballona Freshwater Marsh:   

Brown-headed Cowbirds are brood parasites. That means that adult Brown-headed Cowbirds don’t bother to build nests of their own. Instead, the female lays her eggs in some other bird’s nest. They’ve been known to use the nest of over 200 different species. When the Brown-headed Cowbird egg hatches, the Brown-headed Cowbird parents do nothing. The other birds raise the young. The cowbird eggs hatch sooner than the other eggs, giving the hatchlings an advantage. This Brown-headed Cowbird was begging along the side of a path at Malibu Lagoon (not in my 5MR). Out from the bushes came a Song Sparrow, who fed the cowbird. It was a ridiculous scene. The cowbird was twice the Song Sparrow’s size.

Brown-headed Cowbird