Birder loves a good feather report
Jon Fisher became enamored of avians as a teenager. Now he lists unusual sightings in the L.A. area.
Among naturalists, bird-watchers are odd ducks in that their amateur enthusiasm and participation are warmly welcomed by the scientific professionals in their field.
"The study of birds, probably as much as any branch of science, is not only informed by, but almost dependent on, interested amateurs," said Kimball Garrett, ornithology collection manager at the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County.
A case in point is 47-year-old Jon Fisher. By day, he is a sound-production administrator at Walt Disney Imagineering in Glendale. And also by day -- often very, very early by day -- he is the go-to guy for every fellow birder in Los Angeles County agog with excitement at having spotted a Eurasian wigeon or burrowing owl or painted redstart or other uncommon winged biped.
Fisher is the compiler for Los Angeles Rare Bird Alert, an Audubon Society-sanctioned program that tips bird-watchers to verified, unusual sightings by their peers. Observers post what they consider to be extraordinary sightings on an online listserv ( www.groups.yahoo.com/ group/LACoBirds) or call Fisher's cellphone. As compiler, Fisher monitors the postings and prepares a weekly report of sightings he deems credible (his report also appears at a website, www.birdswest.com, operated by the University of Arizona).
"Some of the postings are just too far-fetched, or the observer is not credible or experienced enough, so there is a certain amount of editing and filtering that's involved," Fisher said. "Everybody has access to that listserv, but it takes a certain amount of experience to know what's most likely to be seen, what is unusual, what is really unusual."
The last couple of years have been productive for those on the lookout for rare birds in the county. In September 2006, the upland sandpiper, which nests in the northern prairies of North America, was found for the first time along the lower Los Angeles River.
In September 2007, an Arctic warbler was spotted at DeForest Park in Long Beach, another first for the county. That same month, an Eastern yellow wagtail was found in the county for only the second time, at Malibu Lagoon. Both birds nest in Siberia and western Alaska.
"A very few of these Alaskan birds get turned the wrong way in fall and wind up traveling down our west coast instead of going through Asia," Fisher said.
