Our journey started around 1pm. Mike Sanders and I opted to head for a location we knew of but hadn’t been too. The end of Peachwood Drive in Lake Forest comes to a dead end with a layout of hills and open fields. The fields offered a variety of plant life such as of Sagebrush, Wild Cucumber, two different types of cactus and the egregious Stinging Nettles amongst other native and non native such as Tamarisk.. Initially our journey was a bit meager with respect to bird life but once we reached the crest of the hillside (see image with chair below), our exploration became far more interesting. We began a descent heading southwest and the birding activity became rather impressive including 16 California Quail, 9 California Thrashers, Lincoln’s Sparrows and a coyote in close proximity calling aloud. A complete detailed list is available below.
Of special note was an albino (leucistic) California Towhee and a male and female Lawrence’s Goldfinch. I’ve included images of both species below for your perusal.
The eBird checklist for Peachwood Drive in Lake Forest on 2-28-2015 can be found HERE
Joe DiStefano
I visited this location this morning and was surprised to see so many birds on such a small patch of land. I heard many quail and saw a couple in the distance. I’m not great with IDing birds but I also saw some type of thrasher flycatcher and wren as well as a lesser goldfinch & scrub jay.
Katrina Anne Cutter
Greetings from Santa Maria! The California towhee is my absolute favorite! Seeing a leucistic one would be like seeing a unicorn for me 🙂 very cool