There are plenty of reasons why birding in the high country is a special experience. First, during the summer months, it is incredibly hot in the desert and the temperature is 20-30 degrees cooler in the mountains. Last weekend, I led a bird walk in Long Valley in Mt San Jacinto State Park and while it was an unbearable 108 degrees in the desert, it was a near-perfect 75 degrees atop the mountain.
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Usually, I hike up into the high country but for this bird walk, we all met at the top after a dramatic 2 1/2 miles up on the Palm Springs Aerial Tramway. The views from the tram are spectacular! We were surrounded by people from various places in the world who all had different plans for the day - backpacking, hiking, bouldering, etc. Since it was a weekend and others had the same idea of escaping the heat for some outdoor fun, I was apprehensive that the trails would be filled to capacity. Fortunately, there are plenty of trails for everyone to spread out and enjoy some solitude especially when you enter the wilderness area.
Since we were a group with differing hiking abilities, we chose to go on the Nature Loop along with the scenic Desert View trail - We covered about 2 miles. I always feel lucky when I can find an active bird nest. Today, we found a nest cavity and two attentive parents delivering yummy morsels to their young chicks.
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| Violet-green Swallows |
Violet-green swallows were with us everywhere we walked. Except for a few moments when a couple of them landed on a branch, they were in constant motion flying between us and over our heads. Occasionally, the sunlight would illuminate their colorful green and violet feathers.
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| Red-tailed Hawk |
A couple of Red-tailed Hawks also kept reappearing unexpectedly in shadows on tree branches.
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| Clark's Nutcracker (2015 Photo) |
An advantage to hiking and birding in the high country is to see birds that you won't see otherwise like the Clark's Nutcracker. Unfortunately, the bird walk had ended when my co-leader and myself finally heard and saw this expert forest builder. In a season, they will store 80-90,000 pine seeds and remember where most of them were buried for winter consumption. What's forgotten has a chance of becoming a young sapling.
No matter how many birds you see, it's still great going for a hike in the mountains.
The San Jacinto Natural History Association sponsors free walks in the summer. There are a few more bird walks, geology walks, map and compass, nature hikes, etc. Go to their website to sign up.
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Enjoy! Happy exploring!
Photos and content by Robin Roberts
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