Birds, from finches to jays and sparrows, to brown pelicans and the great blue heron, can be found on land and by sea in Malibu. All you have to do is look up.
By Adrian Barbaric/Special to The Malibu Times
You hear singing from the tree under the stars and the moon. What can it be? A mockingbird declaring love in spring. His voice changes with the notes of many bird songs. Only, he imitates a toad as well, even a cricket.
Were you ever interested in learning about all the birds living in your garden? Often you hear them before you see them. One bird sounds like a toy-battling gun: the striking male hooded oriole. His feathers are molten gold and pure black. His harsh burst of sound gives way to a symphony of soft spiraling fireworks as if he’s a music box perched in a tree.
Look around you. Brick-red breasted robins can be found drinking great sips from bird fountains. Starlings sing in the trees. And great flocks of cedar waxwings are on the move. They descend on the tall trees wearing black raccoon bands over their eyes and sporting Mohawks. Their bodies are smoother than gray marble. Their tail tips look as if they’ve been dipped in yellow paint. Together they make a frantic “ee-ee-eeping.”
Brown house finches build their nests in hedges while sky-blue scrub jays steal eggs at the right opportunity. Mourning doves can be heard making their mournful soft songs-thus their name.
More garden birds that are a wonder to watch are hummingbirds. The Anna’s hummingbird can generally be seen all year round in Malibu. Often a male will guard his territory and claim an area by diving up and down like a pendulum. When the sunlight hits the hummingbird at a proper angle the creature grows almost luminescent with striking, green emerald feathers and a throat of electric pink. Other hummers that pass through are the slender Allen’s and rufous hummingbirds. Both have a copper hue along their tail feathers and their throats are more scarlet in color than the Anna’s.
With the Pacific Ocean so near, a great variety of seabirds can also be found. Graceful willets stride across the beach and bury their long beaks in the wet sand searching for a meal. Quick-footed sanderlings race up and down the shore with the rise and fall of every wave. They huddle close together and work the sand at a frantic pace to find food. Along the sand of the Malibu Creek Lagoon the salty sour smell of guano permeates the air like dried fish. A great flock of brown pelicans sits nearby with their long bills pointed into the breeze. They make their bodies compact as if they’re small toy boats. These birds are wonderful to watch as they preen their wings and scratch their faces with webbed feet. They use the fresh water of the lagoon to bathe themselves by flapping their wings with a furious slap. Among the seagulls and pelicans stand a few Caspian terns. You can recognize them by their bright beaks, which resemble red carrots jutting from their faces.
Deeper in the lagoon strides a majestic bird, the great blue heron. He stands upright and alone as if waiting for something or someone that will never appear. Black feathers dance in the wind from behind his eyes. There’s something beautiful about the feathers on his chest that hang loosely like a wreath of blue straw. Other birds that make their home in the lagoon are egrets and ducks. Also, the American coot can be found dunking his head to find marsh weeds in the water. The strange American coot has a flashy white bill like a huge ghostly nose contrasted against his black feathers. His eyes are red and wild.
The Malibu Lagoon and Zuma Beach are great places to see marine birds. Many land birds can be found almost anywhere in Malibu, including neighborhoods with tall trees and gardens. A low birdbath can attract many birds, including house finches, robins, scrub jays, sparrows and mourning doves. The doves enjoy huddling by baths near evening.
Birds can be extremely flighty. The hooded oriole will fly off if he notices the slightest hint of movement from 30 feet away. When looking for birds it’s helpful to find a place with a wide view of the landscape, have a good pair of binoculars and great patience. But it’s well worth the effort.
Generally, the longer days of spring and early summer are the best times to see the widest range of birds as many make their migrations up North. In fall, brown pelicans mass by the hundreds along Malibu’s coast as they set out for winter quarters in Mexico.
So many birds of wonder fly and sing all around us if we but notice them. If you’re really keen of eye, you might glimpse the orange smiling face of the bright yellow Western tanager as he warms his feathers in the early morning sun. Grab a bird guide and enjoy the beauty that is ever-present in Malibu.