Topanga bird photographer Chris Tosdevin caught sight of an extremely rare bird at the Malibu Lagoon on Aug. 22, about 8:15 a.m., at a local Audubon outing. He said the bird has been staying around, and has been seen every day for the past six days (so far, as of Tuesday, Aug. 31)—the Red Necked Stint.
Tosdevin reported that at first, a “heated debate ensued” among Audubon members over the identification of this bird that was described as “something different with a reddish throat” when it was first spotted.
“It’s always very difficult to ID some birds in the late summer/fall, as many birds are either juveniles or adult birds transitioning out of their more colorful summer breeding plumages,” Tosdevin wrote. “This bird is similar in size to the common migrants we typically see, such as the Western sandpiper and Least sandpiper, but had more color in the throat and a slightly shorter bill than the others.”
As is the usual custom whenever an extremely rare bird is spotted, the birder usually sends photos to a bird expert to have its identity confirmed. Tosdevin sent his photos to a top birder in Southern California, who confirmed the species as a Red Necked Stint.
Why is the bird so rarely seen here? Because it mainly breeds in Siberia, with a small breeding population in Alaska. Its typical migration route is Eurasian—through Russia, Southeast Asia, Australia and as far south as New Zealand.
“However, a few birds stray into North America and are considered a rare vagrant,” Tosdevin wrote. “I posted the bird sighting on the ‘rare bird alert’ to inform other birders in the area who might be interested. Since Sunday, there have been over 122 postings on ebird/rarebird alert alone. One birder doing a ‘big year’ traveled to the Malibu Lagoon all the way from Pennsylvania to add it to his 700+ species already seen this year.”
Editor’s note: An earlier version of this story stated Tosdevin sent photos to a birder in South Carolina. Tosdevin sent the photos to a birder in Southern California. The story has been updated to reflect this correction.
