I often miss my old patch at Webb Canyon Road. Such great memories! It was there that I practiced the basics of bird study - primarily their habits, sounds, and seasonal movements. And I will never forget the moment I found my life bird Northern Flicker! I was probably 14 or so. Perhaps you could say it was my spark bird. Seeing and hearing that woodpecker changed my perspective of birds from that point forward. I didn't have a pair of binoculars at that time so I had to sneak up close to the bird in order to identify it! I found it so very interesting to be able to observe the flicker's behavior at close range. Following my avian paradigm shift, I graduated from...
"Bird Watcher" to "A Student of Birds".
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| My first shot of the Northern Flicker at Webb Canyon Road. |
Enough of this nostalgic rambling, let's get on to the real show!
Every year, my Aunt in California hosts a ladies' tea party that my Mom attends. Last year, the photographer my Aunt hired didn't do such a hot job of photographing certain things... so she decided to hire me this year. My Mom, Brother, and I decided to turn this trip into a family vacation with a strong emphasis on coastal birding! I also had plans to bird Webb Canyon Road with my good friend Desmond Owers! Sadly, my Dad couldn't make the trip; his work needed him to stay in Arizona. Full of excitement, my Mom, Brother, and I left for California the morning of April 22nd...
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| My best attempt at photographing the great Colorado River which separates CA from AZ. |
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| Some of the wind turbines that dot the landscape of SE California's hills. |
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| San Jacinto Peak is the whitecap in the background. I saw Bighorn Sheep there once! |
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After completing the 5 hour drive to California, we slept at a friend's house in Glendora. In the morning, I decided to conduct a little stationary count in her front yard to reacquaint myself with some of California's regular bird species. Some highlights were a Nuttall's Woodpecker, a Barn Swallow, and a distant male Hooded Oriole.
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| The Hooded Oriole in Glendora. |
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| So this is where all the birder girls go for their pedicures! Haha! |
We drove to my Aunt's house for the tea party after picking up some Native American art supplies at Matoska (I plan to create and sell replica war shields). After the event, I decided to take a walk around her community. It was very well landscaped and there were many tall sycamores, palms, and liquidambars. Some notable species from this walk included a cooperative Song Sparrow, a pair of Cassin's Kingbird, and my second male Hooded Oriole of the trip.
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| One leg or two?! |
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We stayed at my Grandma's house in my hometown of La Verne that night. In the morning, I enjoyed some of the birds on her porch. She is quite dedicated to keeping her hummingbird feeder filled at all times, so there are always hummers at her house! Species of interest included an Allen's Hummingbird, 2 Red-crowned Parrots (common and well-established here), and a Black-throated Gray Warbler.
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| Granny knows not to dye the nectar red! This would be my ideal feeder setup. |
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| Check out how decurved this female ALHU's bill is! |
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| One of my favorite warblers, the Black-throated Gray. |
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| Would have been a killer shot if only my camera focused correctly! :( |
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We met up with our good friends, the Owers, to attend their Church (Claremont Bible Chapel). After an excellent service, we drove back to their house which is only 5 minutes walking distance from my old patch! My friend Desmond Owers and I decided to do some serious patch birding that afternoon. We first noted a female Western Bluebird and - yet another - male Hooded Oriole visiting a neighbor's hummingbird feeder. The oak woodland habitat at Webb Canyon Road was our first real stop...
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| My favorite tree |
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| My patch has a lot of poison oak, you must take care not to brush up against any! |
A couple interesting species that we encountered in the oak woodland section of my patch were Oak Titmouse and Black-throated Gray Warbler.
After a brief walk-through of the woodland, we entered a new habitat which is a mix of chaparral, seepwillow stands, oak woodland, sycamores, and eucalyptus forest. This is by far the most productive area of my patch due to its rich plant diversity and accessibility. Desmond and I spent most of our time here, walking up and down Webb Canyon Road.
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| Webb Canyon Road |
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| Desmond Owers - ready to take on the birds! |
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| One of several mountain bike trails that branch off from Webb Canyon Rd. |
Last November, while birding with Caleb Strand, I learned the technique of pishing. His blog is http://birdingwithcaleb.blogspot.com/ by the way! I have since then practiced it upon many an unsuspecting bird and have figured out which species respond to it and which ones could care less. I was pishing towards a bunch of laurel sumac shrubs and a California Thrasher flew onto an exposed branch right in front of us! Desmond and I both took stellar shots of this very nice bird.
We also found Wrentits, a Red-shouldered Hawk, a female Phainopepla, and dozens of other species along that section of road. Later, I pointed out a bird on a very distant treetop and Desmond took some photos. Desmond likes to go through his photos right after taking them and while doing so, he discovered that that bird was an Olive-sided Flycatcher! For me, it was a state bird, and for Desmond, his 200th lifer! I was honored to be a part of Desmond's milestone bird.
Up the road maybe a hundred yards, a non-native eucalyptus forest dominates the hillside. It is eerily similar to an Australian forest and it is quite likely that my keen interest in this area when I was a kid led to my current aspiration to bird in Australia. I almost bet that a family of kookaburra could live there happily! No kookaburras were seen, but I did find some sleepy Band-tailed Pigeons high in a eucalyptus's branches.
In the eucalyptus stand, there were also Acorn Woodpeckers, Nuttall's Woodpeckers, Cassin's Kingbirds, and California Towhees. In the skies above, several White-throated Swifts harnessed the power of the thermals as they searched diligently for insect prey.
As our final stop, Desmond and I decided to check out a very birdy trail that is surrounded by thick vegetation and covered by the branches of tall oaks. I was disgusted to find trash and beer cans littering the area.
I have far too much respect for my God who created this earth to do something like this to it. It's like a slap in His face. All nature is beautiful and I hate to see it degraded. Desmond and I saw no birds here. Perhaps they felt something was wrong after those people came?
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| Our route back to Desmond's house |
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| A very handsome Band-tailed Pigeon |
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| Desmond's bird feeder, an old Christmas gift from our family to his. |
I strongly suggest that you visit Webb Canyon Road the next time you are near Claremont, CA if you want to see an Oak Titmouse, California Thrasher, or Wrentit! This is the first of three posts that I will be making for my California Coastal Tour. Many exciting birds, places, and stories await!
Godspeed and good birding,
- Joshua
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