June 13, 2024 Lake Hughes Road, Los Angeles County, CA Bird Survey (42 Species)
Callyn Yorke
Weather: Fair; 57F to 74F; winds variable, increasing by 0900 hrs. WSW, WNW 1 – 7 mph.
Time: 0550- 1113 hrs.
Areas Covered and Birds Noted:
I began the survey driving from the northern terminus of Lake Hughes Road (LHR) at the junction with Elizabeth Lake Rd.. Continuing southward at 20-30 mph, I made a few, brief stops, watching and listening for birds, to mile marker (MM) 16.8, where I made my first survey on foot of the surrounding habitat (LHR S-1). Five subsequent survey-stops were made while northbound, plus a brief drive-through of the Lake Hughes suburban-riparian area immediately adjacent to the junction with Elizabeth Lake Rd., indicated above. Lake Hughes was not surveyed, except for partial views of it when in transit through the western suburban section.
Roadside stopping places along LHR were selected based on audible and visible bird activity, habitat differences, habitat quality and accessibility. Traffic was light throughout the survey, though speeding cars in the canyons occasionally required caution when birding from the roadside. Side trails were quiet and undisturbed by human activities, except for the presence of numerous beehive boxes on one of the canyon trails (S-3). Birdlife was most diverse and conspicuous along streamside trails and in ecotones, e.g. riparian (mature stands of Cottonwood and Sycamore), upland chaparral (Chamise, California Buckwheat, Whipple Yucca) and oak-pine woodland (Coast Live Oak, Pinus spp.). Compared with the most recent summer seasons in this area, surface water flow was relatively abundant in the main canyon stream paralleling LHR (largely originating in Deer Canyon), as well as in smaller feeder streams, e.g. Warm Springs. Due to significant winter and early spring rainfall, residual soil moisture, new vegetative growth and overall habitat quality was good to excellent, particularly in canyons. Aerial insect activity steadily increased with rising air temperatures throughout the morning. Further details on habitat characteristics are given below, together with an annotated bird list for each survey site.
For all surveys, I used a 10×42 binocular, a Nikon D850 camera, coupled with a Nikon pf 500mm lens; a Google 3XP cell phone was used for general site photography, which included GPS metadata. Field notes were made at each survey site.
S-1: LHR MM 16.58; Elev. 1,985 ft. asl (0640-0701 hrs.). Predominantly upland chaparral, intermixed with ruderal grassland and early successional second-growth; a USFS irrigated revegetation area, consisting of about two-acres, was included in the survey. A row of mature, introduced pine trees was at the south end of the clearing (photo).
BIRDS NOTED
- Mourning Dove 3 in flight, low and alighting in revegetation area.
- White-throated Swift 2 circling 50-80 ft. agl over adjacent hills with a large sandstone dome.
- Nuttall’s Woodpecker 1 vocal in pines.
- Cassin’s Kingbird 2 vocal, a pair in the pines; one apparently engaged in an aerial display flight 30 50 m agl..
- House Finch 2 vocal, greg. a pair alighting in revegetation area.
- Lesser Goldfinch 4 vocal, greg. in flight, low over open field and roadway.
- California Towhee 4 vocal, greg. on pair flying low and alighting in the revegetation area.
- Bullock’s Oriole 1 (m) vocal, flying from pines.
S-2: LHR MM 14.84; Elev. 2,280 ft. asl; (0700-0711 hrs.) A continuation of upland chaparral; here a predominantly continuous formation at a rocky, roadside summit, overlooking a northern section of Castaic Lake (photo).
BIRDS NOTED
- Wrentit 2 vocal (repeated song – unseen) on adjacent hillsides.
- California Towhee 1 vocal (occasional calls), roadside ruderal edge-chaparral.
S-3 LHR; MM 13.25; Elev. 1,706 ft. asl. (0718-0900 hrs.). This ecologically diverse area included multiple distinct habitats, i.e. steep canyon walls, a swift, clear flowing stream (about 0.5 – 2 ft. in depth), mature riparian woodland (Sycamore and Cottonwood), upland chaparral (e.g. Chamise, Ceanothus spp., Yerba Santa, California Buckwheat, Whipple Yucca). oak-pine woodland (Coast Live Oak and Pinus spp.), grassland and ruderal second-growth bordering a paved roadway, apparently leading to an abandoned USFS campground.
At a LHR southbound roadside pull-out, I walked down a path around a locked USFS gate and onto a hillside paved road, intersecting with a streamside road, which I followed southward for about 0.10 mi.. There, a large, active assemblage of honeybee boxes was directly in view of the paved pathway heading southwest. Without having adequate protection from bees (some of these European honeybee colonies may have be invaded by highly aggressive Africanized honeybees), I reversed my heading and retraced my previous route northward to the end of the paved road, adjacent to the ruins of what appeared to be a concrete dam and wooden bridge, perhaps part of an historical gold-mining operation. Since birdlife was comparatively diverse at this location, more time was spent surveying S-3 than any of the other stopping places on LHR (photo).
BIRDS NOTED
- California Quail 2 flushed from the streamside roadway.
- Mourning Dove 2 greg. a pair in flight over the riparian area.
- White-throated Swift 1 circling low in front of a cliff face.
- Costa’s Hummingbird 1 (f) hovering over a variety of flowering chaparral herbs and shrubs on a shaded (north) slope.
- Nuttall’s Woodpecker 2 (m,f) vocal, individuals vocalizing and flying between trees, alighting in oaks and sycamores.
- Ash-throated Flycatcher 3 repeatedly vocal, individuals perched and sallying from sycamore canopies to shrubs at the base of a sunlit cliff face.
- Black Phoebe 1 vocal, low in streamside vegetation.
- Hutton’s Vireo 1 initially seen in mulefat at streamside, then moving into adjacent oaks.
- California Jay 1 vocal, flying low over stream.
- Common (Northern) Raven 2 one standing (foraging?) in shallow section of stream.
- Oak Titmouse 1 vocal in a large, mature oak.
- Rock Wren 3 vocal repeatedly; individuals on cliff face at about 60 ft. agl.
- Canyon Wren 1 vocal repeatedly on cliff face at about 40 ft. agl.
- Bewick’s Wren 1 vocal repeatedly at base of hillside chaparral and oak woodland.
- House Wren 2 greg. a pair, vocal occasionally; active low in brushy understory of oak-pine woodland.
- Wrentit 1 vocal repeatedly in adjacent hillside chaparral.
- Phainopepla 2 (m) vocal in canopy of sycamore; individuals flying between and alighting on outer bare limbs, streamside.
- House Finch 8 (m,f) greg. pairs and trios on ground and in a variety of trees and shrubs.
- Lesser Goldfinch 4 (m,f) greg. in flight between sycamores.
- American Goldfinch 1 (m) bright yellow, flying to sycamore with LEGO.
- Lark Sparrow 1 vocal (repeated song) after flushed from ground to a large Ceanothus shrub, LHR roadside pull-out.
- Song Sparrow 2 repeatedly vocal in dense streamside growth.
- Rufous-crowned Sparrow 4 vocal, greg. two birds moving in shrubs in chaparral slope; one immature on pavement, moving to dead branches of fallen oak (photo).
- California Towhee 2 vocal in hillside chaparral next to the LHR roadside.
- Black-headed Grosbeak 1 vocal – repeated calls (unseen) in a mature sycamore.
- Blue Grosbeak 1 (m) vocal in sycamore canopy.
- Lazuli Bunting 1 (m) vocal (repeated song) on exposed, leafless cottonwood canopy (photo).
S-4 LHR; MM 11.70, 1,886 ft. asl (0910-0935 hrs.). I revisited and photographed the Cliff Swallow colony on the steep, east-facing cliff on the west side of LHR. Fewer swallows were seen flying at this time, compared with my visit two days earlier with about the same weather conditions, though three hours earlier (0600-0630 hrs.). I also walked along the roadside for about 0.10 mi, northbound and southbound, surveying the adjacent canyon and riparian corridor.
BIRDS NOTED
- White-throated Swift 12 – cont. greg. circling a wide area between visits to the cliff face (nest sites probably concealed in crevices).
- Ash-throated Flycatcher 2 – cont. vocal, flying between shrubs on the cliff face.
- Cliff Swallow 20 (conserv. est.) at least 12 nests, in clusters of two to five, attached beneath short ledges (photo); adults appeared to be inside nests, possibly continuing construction and/or maintenance; four to six adults flying 30 -80 ft. agl, ranging widely; many could have been beyond binocular range to the south.
- Yellow Warbler 2 – cont. repeated song from cottonwoods along canyon stream below.
- Wilson’s Warbler 1 vocal (singing briefly – unseen) from cottonwoods and/or understory.
S-5 LHR and Warm Springs Rd. Elev. 1,968 ft. asl. (0940-1019 hrs.). From the junction of LHR and Warm Springs Rd.-a private driveway, I walked across LHR and around a USFS road gate, heading west from LHR along the old Warm Springs jeep trail. This route traverses an ecotone of canyon and hillside chaparral, riparian and oak woodland – the latter being closed canopy in a few places. This dirt track parallels a small stream, shaded by willow, cottonwood, sycamore and oak, featuring a fairly dense and tangled understory, consisting of a variety of native herbs and shrubs. I proceeded on the slightly inclined, poorly maintained road until it became a narrow pathway, overgrown with shrubs; my return was along the same route to the parking area on the east side of LHR, adjacent to fenced, gated and posted private property.
BIRDS NOTED
- Mourning Dove 1 in a streamside willow.
- Turkey Vulture 1 soaring just above the tree canopy near LHR.
- Acorn Woodpecker 5 (m,f) vocal, loosely greg. in oaks and roadside pines.
- Hairy Woodpecker 1 (f) probing into a dead, trailside sycamore at about 8 ft. agl.
- Western Flycatcher 1 repeated calls; sallying from mid-level beneath the shaded of an oak.
- Common (Northern) Raven 2 vocal, flying over the riparian canopy.
- Oak Titmouse 1 vocal, active in a section of close-canopy oaks.
- House Wren 4 repeatedly vocal, greg. a pair moving quickly through densely tangled riparian understory.
- House Finch 4 (m,f) vocal, active in the riparian trees and adjacent chaparral.
- Lawrence’s Goldfinch 1 (m) in a dense tangle of riparian, streamside understory.
- Song Sparrow 2 greg. vocal (calls) a pair staying fairly close together in the same area with LAGO.
- Spotted Towhee 1 vocal (repeated song – unseen) hillside chaparral adjacent to the trail.
S-6 LHR; MM 5.77, Elev. 2,493 ft. asl. (1035-1053 hrs.). I parked on the west side of LHR in a broad, level space extending about 20 ft. from the roadway. From that point, I walked across the road to survey a fire-regenerated riparian strip (photo). Numerous dead cottonwoods protruded from patches of regenerating willows – the latter forming dense cover for birds and other wildlife. The rocky streambed leading to the patch of regenerating willows appeared to have no moving surface water. I walked about 0.1 mi southward on the west roadside, listening and watching for birdlife in the area. Few birds were seen or heard vocalizing, aside from a Song Sparrow and a Bewick’s Wren. One male Mallard flew low, northward over the willows. A road crew with heavy machinery was taking a break about 0.2 mi south of where I had parked.
S-7 LHR and Elizabeth Lake Rd. MM “0”; Elev. 3,133 ft. asl. (1105-1113 hrs.) I drove slowly around on residential streets bordering the west end of Lake Hughes, stopping several times to watch and listen for birds while remaining in my vehicle. This is a riparian flood zone, grown to mature cottonwood and willow, with single-family homes spaced fairly tightly together, especially around the west and north margins of Lake Hughes. I did not attempt to survey the lake, except briefly in transit, traveling eastward on Elizabeth Lake Rd. (see my bird survey report covering Elizabeth Lake and Lake Hughes on June 4, 2024).
BIRDS NOTED
- Eurasian Collared Dove 2 vocal in cottonwoods.
- Acorn Woodpecker 2 vocal (unseen).
- House Wren 1 vocal (song) in understory of a vacant lot.
- European Starling 2-3 greg. vocal in flight, low between trees.
- House Sparrow 2- 4 vocal (unseen) residential garden.
- House Finch 4 (m,f) vocal in and around gardens.
- Yellow Warbler 1 vocal (song- unseen) in the mature cottonwoods.
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