Bouquet Reservoir LA County CA

November 19, 2024 Bouquet Reservoir and USFS Bouquet Falls, Los Angeles County CA (22 Species)

Weather: Partly cloudy; 42°F to 51°F; wind ENE 10-25 mph. Lake surface with an increasingly heavy wind chop. Bouquet Falls was largely shielded from the high winds this morning.

Time: 0809 – 1010 hrs.

Areas Covered:

Northwest corner of Bouquet Reservoir (BR: 0809-0841 hrs.) I parked on the shoulder of Spunky Canyon Rd. and walked eastward about 0.1 mi, surveying adjacent chaparral hillsides, riparian shoreline and open water, extending to the dam. Gusty winds and a choppy lake surface made some distant bird identifications difficult. Most of the waterbirds and landbirds were in the northern, partially wind-protected coves. The lake water level appeared to be about 70% of the maximum volume (photo).

Bouquet Falls – abandoned USFS campground, Bouquet Canyon Rd. (BF: 0855-1010 hrs). I parked at the gated entrance of the campground, where there were several cars (including one abandoned, stripped vehicle), presumably belonging to local residents. Walking northward upstream, I continued into a narrow canyon crowded with large boulders near the base of a waterfall. I saw no other people in the park during my visit.

Some years had passed since I had last surveyed this area during late autumn; I was anticipating finding birds utilizing the mature oak- riparian habitat, occurring about 1.25 mi. below the Bouquet Reservoir spillway. Indeed, Bouquet Falls had been a favored birding location for the annual, National Audubon Society, Grass Mt. Christmas Bird Count (CAGM). Unfortunately, it now appeared that the heavily disturbed habitat of Bouquet Falls would support only a small fraction of the bird diversity formerly occurring there.

Nearly every exposed rock surface had been spray painted, in what surely must be one of the most thoroughly vandalized public parks in northern Los Angeles County. Sadly, what once was a pristine and picturesque Coast Live Oak – California Sycamore canyon habitat, attracting birds such as Western Screech Owl, American Dipper, Varied Thrush, Canyon Wren and White-throated Sparrow, has been shamefully degraded with widespread graffiti, discarded clothing, liquor bottles and a pet cemetery. As a long-term local homeowner and taxpayer, I found the deplorable condition of this public resource to be entirely unacceptable.

BIRDS NOTED

• Mallard 5 (m,f) greg. swimming near shore and in open water, BR.
• Ring-necked Duck 2 (m,f) greg. a pair in shallows with inundated trees, BR.
• Pied-billed Grebe 16 greg. several small flocks diving in cove shallows and open water, BR.
• Eared Grebe 2 individuals diving in cove shallows near shore, BR.
• Western Grebe 3 in msf with CLGR, open water cove near shore, BR.
• Clark’s Grebe 9 with and apart from WEGR, open water cove near shore, BR.
• American Coot 20 greg. swimming in cove shallows and adjacent open water, BR.
• Double-crested Cormorant 5 greg. on shore and perched on inundated tree limbs in cove shallows; in flight, low over northern section of lake, BR.
• Great Blue Heron 3 greg. an individual on shore and a pair in flight around cove, BR.
• Northern (RS) Flicker 1 in mature willow thicket overhanging stream, BF.
• Steller’s Jay 1 vocal (unseen) riparian-oak woodland at entrance, BF.
• California Scrub jay 2 vocal in flight over hillside, BR.; 2 vocal in hillside canyon chaparral, BF.
• Common (Northern) Raven 5 greg. declivity soaring from top of dam into strong winds, BR.
• Oak Titmouse 2 vocal, greg. active in oak canopy and subcanopy, BF.
• Ruby-crowned Kinglet 2 very active in willow and sycamore foliage, moving into shrub understory of oaks, BF.
• California Thrasher 1 moving upward in a mature willow and oak overhanging the stream, BF.
• Lawrence’s Goldfinch 3 greg., in flight from riparian shoreline over hillside chaparral, BR.
• Dark-eyed (Oregon) Junco 1 roadside ruderal-chaparral, BR; 5 greg. two drinking from streambank; others in willows and oaks around stream, BF.
• White-crowned Sparrow 5 vocal (calls) greg. shoreline riparian-chaparral patch and adjacent hillside chaparral, BR.
• California Towhee 1 roadside chaparral, BR; 2 greg. a pair in hillside canyon chaparral, BF.
• Spotted Towhee 1 in canyon hillside chaparral at edge of oak woodland, BF.
• Townsend’s Warbler 1 (m) active in oak canopy foliage, BF (photo).

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May 2, 2022 Bouquet Reservoir, Los Angeles County CA (21 Species)

Weather: Fair; 68F to 75F; wind ESE, WSW 5- 7 mph.

Time: 0920-1030 hrs.

Areas Covered: 1) Pacific Crest Trail junction on the north side of Spunky Saddle (PCTSS). I walked up the dirt road about 0.1 mi and returned the same route. Hillsides densely covered by flowering chaparral (e.g. Adenostoma fasciculatum, Ceanothus spp. Cercocarpus betuloides, Eriodictyon crassifolius, Eriogonum fasciculatum, Yucca whipplei). The adjacent Spunky Saddle pine plantation (planted there decades ago by the USFS) was also briefly surveyed, though a USFS fire truck was parked there the entire time with its diesel engine running for no apparent reason.

2) Northwest corner of Bouquet Reservoir (BRE), including a narrow, coast live oak canyon on the north side of Spunky Canyon Rd.. I walked about 0.1 mi on an overgrown, little used, USFS road, photographing two rare species of Southern California wildflower – Calochortus concolor (endemic) and Clarkia unguiculata (near endemic); Reversing direction on the USFS road, I continued walking south east on Spunky Canyon Rd. about 0.1 mi, enjoying unobstructed views of the west half of Bouquet Reservoir (photo). Using a 10 x 42 binocular, I scanned the lakeshore and open water to the dam, listening for bird vocalizations originating from the riparian patch (Fremont cottonwood, black willow, cattail) on the shoreline. The reservoir level was relatively high; nearshore vegetation in the northwest corner of the lake was inundated. Birdlife was relatively abundant and diverse in this area, compared with the upland, PCT trailhead area. There was very little automobile traffic during my survey; a security patrol truck was moving slowly on the lakeside perimeter road inside the gated, fenced and posted reservoir property. An Edison crew was using a chainsaw in the nearby foothills. Otherwise, the area was quiet and undisturbed by human activities. There is no public access to the reservoir, which can only be surveyed from the adjacent roadways. A spotting scope would be useful here.

BIRDS NOTED

California Quail 6 vocal, PCTSS, BRE; Pied-billed Grebe 1 vocal (unseen) in dense marsh-riparian patch, BRE; Western Grebe 1 swimming, diving in open water, BRE; Mourning Dove 4 vocal, gregarious – pairs flying up canyon, PCTSS, BRE; American Coot 5 swimming in shallows, BRE; Northern (RS) Flicker 2 one individual flying low over chaparral and toward Spunky Saddle pines, another flying between mature willows, lakeside, PCTSS, BRE; Ash-throated Flycatcher 6 vocal, individuals flying low over chaparral hillsides, PCTSS, BRE; California Scrub-Jay 6 vocal, gregarious, in chaparral and live oaks PCTSS, BRE; Northern Raven 4 vocal, gregarious – pairs soaring over hillsides, PCTSS, BRE; Oak Titmouse 2 vocal in canyon area and lakeside trees, BRE; Wrentit 2 vocal (song) unseen in hillside chaparral, PCTSS, BRE; California Thrasher 3 vocal (repeated song) hillside chaparral next to canyon, BRE; House Finch 4 (m,f) vocal, greg. – pairs, PCTSS, BRE; Lesser Goldfinch 2 a pair flying into the pine woodland, PCTSS; Yellow Warbler 2 vocal in live oaks at canyon entrance and lakeside riparian, BRE; Spotted Towhee 3 vocal (unseen) in dense chaparral hillsides, PCTSS, BRE; California Towhee 4 vocal in dense chaparral and riparian edge, PCTSS; BRE; Song Sparrow 1 vocal (repeated song) riparian patch, BRE; Black-headed Grosbeak 2 vocal in oaks and riparian patches, BRE; Lazuli Bunting 2 (m,f) a pair moving along base of roadcut with patched of chaparral and ruderal road margins, BRE; Red-winged Blackbird 2 (m) vocal in marsh-riparian patch, BRE.