Monday, July 18, 2011

Harding Canyon/Modjeska Canyon

Went for a short hike this morning with a non-birder friend. We decided to follow the creek at Harding Canyon, which is accessible from behind Tucker Wildlife Sanctuary in Modjeska. It was a sunny cloudless day, so birding was pretty subdued. A chipping sparrow flock greeted us on our ascent to the trailhead, but the highlight bird sighting was definitely three rock wrens feeding in the dry riverbed.
It was great to get back out in my beloved riparian and chaparral habitat again. We saw a great mix of natives, and the insects were out in abundance. We had Lorquin's Admirals, some whites, and even a Marine Blue hanging out in some deerweed. The dudleya were in bloom on the hillsides amongst the white sage. We hiked up the creek bed until we found running water. 

Hiking along a stream is always a treat, since wildlife is so much more abundant. We had dragonflies paroling the waterway, tiny frogs hanging out on the rocks, and tadpoles zipping around in the water.
We were only out for a short while since we both had other obligations for the day, not to mention the heat that would have driven us inside before long even if we had the entire day.
Here's a few more of the random shots from the hike:

1 comment:

Nick Bonomo said...

Great pics Leigh. Saw in a prior post that you saw the Lesser Sandplover a few weeks ago in CA...very cool. That one's high on my wish list on this continent (saw several in Australia a few years ago).