I’ve been pondering for several weeks as to what I would write up for a Chorus. OD suggested something about the Edmonds Marsh. Another thought I had was to write something about gulls, most everyone’s ID bugaboo. Deadline was approaching and my work hours were increasing. I’m supposedly semi-retired on a part time status at my firm. Then one of my work colleagues pinged me and asked if I could go down to southern California for a project. Sure, I said (but I thought how will I ever write up a Chorus now?). Through some creative travel arrangements and some luck, I made time available to get outside during my work travel. But would I have enough birdee material for a Chorus?
As some of you know, southern California is my native state, having been born there and lived there for the first 35 years of my life. I was the quintessential California kid, still am. The latter 32 years of my life have been pleasantly spent here in western Washington. So, it was nice to get back to soCal and its natural environs that are still and forever familiar to me.
The plan was to arrive early on Monday and do a hike in the San Gabriel Mountains before project work commenced on Tuesday. The hike of choice was the Icehouse Canyon trail that leads into the Cucamonga Wilderness. This is one of my favorite hikes and one I have done countless times. I was a volunteer wilderness patrol ranger with the Angeles National Forest in the late 1990s and the Icehouse Canyon trail was one I patrolled frequently. It’s a beautiful trail that follows the canyon bottom for the first mile past several old but well-maintained cabins. A wildfire tore through the canyon in 1978 burning down some of the cabins leaving just their stone foundations. Water flows along the canyon bottom for the first mile, over rocks and small falls, fed by springs upstream and then disappearing into the canyon bottom gravel before it joins San Antonio Canyon. In good years Icehouse Canyon and San Antonio Canyon flow continuously in spring from snow melt. But not this year.
The first mile of the trail follows the shaded canyon bottom riparian corridor within earshot of the creek. The trees here are white alder, bigleaf maple, oaks on the drier benches, and beautiful and big incense cedars whose reddish striated bark resembles that of coast redwoods. After the first mile the canyon bottom dries up and you begin to enter the high country of open forest with stately old ponderosa pine, bigcone Douglas fir, white fir, incense cedar, and sugar pine. These old trees are huge and have survived several fires over their long lives. This is where you enter the Cucamonga Wilderness.
Let’s have a look at the terrain along the trail.
These white alders grow along the canyon bottom with bigleaf maple. The trees were just beginning to leaf out at an elevation of about 5,200 feet.
The creek flows for about a mile along the canyon bottom. In retrospect, I should have hung out here for awhile to look for American Dippers.
Stately incense cedar with white alder tracing the creek
Entering the high country and the Cucamonga Wilderness
Yes, there were birds.
Black-headed Grosbeak was the first bird I photographed. Here he is perched in a white alder tree. We should soon see them here in western Washington.
White-headed Woodpecker! This was the bird I was hoping to see. Here perched in a white fir tree.
White-headed Woodpecker, yes!
Dark-eyed Junco, the “Oregon” one.
It’s an American Robin, far away from any grassy lawn full of worms. About the last bird I expected to see here.
Black-throated Gray Warbler perched in a bigleaf maple that’s flowering. This bird was a nice find.
A tale of two jays.
California Scrub-Jay
California Scrub-Jay
Steller’s Jay
Steller’s Jay
Jay juxtaposition. California Scrub-Jay and Steller’s Jay
A couple other critters just for fun.
Western fence lizard
Western gray squirrel — look at that magnificent tail!
The project work wrapped up early on Wednesday. My flight out of Ontario was in the evening. So, I had time for one more short outing. I chose Claremont Hills Wilderness Park. This is a park at the base of the San Gabriel Mountains, in the foothills, at the transition between coastal sage scrub and chaparral.
Claremont Hills Wilderness Park — needs further exploration on a return trip.
I cut off the main fire road trail and followed this little side canyon along a game trail. I inadvertently brushed my bare arm against some poison oak. Then I looked around and it was everywhere. Nothing happened, no rash.
Birds? Yes, there were birds.
California Towhee — this bird is almost exclusive to the coastal sage scrub.
California Towhee in a California sycamore tree
Phainopepla. He’s searching for mistletoe berries
Phainopepla in a California sycamore tree
And just a couple more critters.
Grasshopper
Western fence lizard. Eats grasshoppers. Missing tail is growing back.
Thanks for tagging along on this one. I took a ton more photos of wildflowers, plants, trees, lizards, and cool rocks. Food for a Bucket or two, possibly.
