California - inland

We spent Monday May 11th and Tuesday June 12th away from the coast. Monday was spent in and around Westlake Village and began with a visit to Lake Sherwood, a community built around a reservoir with private land all around the lake shore. I was pleased to add Oak Titmouse at this place due to my bad luck with Juniper Titmouse back home, but over the next few days I saw dozens of this species! I also saw a Mute Swan at Lake Sherwood but I assume this bird is not countable.
 

Oak Titmouse

My next stop was to walk a trail at the Lake Eleanor Open Space where I added another state specialty - California Quail. At the end of the day my wife and I walked around Triunfo Community Park and onto a connecting trail where I added California Thrasher and Band-tailed Pigeon. But the highlight of the evening's walk was a Western Screech Owl sitting at the edge of his nest box.

Western Screech Owl

Tuesday May 12th was my day to brave the LA traffic and go to Placerita Canyon near the town of Santa Clarita off of Interstate-5. My target species was Mountain Quail, a bird that is not easy as they are more secretive and less noisy than Gambel's, Scaled or California Quail. I hiked 7 miles from the Nature Center along the Canyon Trail and the Waterfall Trail but failed to find this species. I did manage to find a couple of singing Pacific-slope Flycatchers. But the day's highlight was a Western Rattlesnake of the Southern Pacific subspecies.

Southern Pacific Rattlesnake

In fact this was a three-snake day. I had a Gopher Snake cross the trail a mile before I saw the rattler, and my wife and I saw a Ring-necked Snake at the Triunfo Community Park that evening!