Trip report for for Angeles National Forest
Sunday, June 29, 2014

Number of participants: 18 + 3 leaders
Start time 7:15am
Finish time 1:00pm
Weather: Sunny and calm 72� - 87�

After meeting at the base of the mountain, we car-caravanned 16 miles up Angeles Crest Highway to out first stop Barley Flats Road. From this vantage point, views of the forest to the north and south highlight the enormity of destruction caused by the Station Fire in 2009. But where habitat is destroyed for some animals, others take advantage. The steep hillsides in this area were once covered by thick chaparral, but the fire the fire thinned-out the vegetation, creating good habitat for Black-chinned Sparrow. It only took a few minutes for us to get a male singing and everyone in the group had good views. Next stop was Chilao Visitor Center. The water drip and bird feeders at the Center make this a must stop when visiting this part of the forest. Highlights here were both male and female White-headed Woodpeckers (target bird for this spot) and 5 different species of finches. Next, we traveled a short distance back down ACH to Charlton Flats Picnic Area. The lower picnic area is still loaded with Poodle Dog Bush (a plant that thrives in areas scorched by wildfire) and numerous hummingbirds were taking advantage of their lavender flowers. By the time we had our picnic lunch the day had warmed-up and bird life had quieted-down. Heading to our cars, we heard the last bird of the day - a singing Western Tanager.

Barley Flats Road/ACH
Start time 7:50am
Finish time 8:05pm
13 species

Cassin's Finch, Steller's Jay and Band-tailed Pigeon. Photos: Jeffrey Mann

Anna's Hummingbird
Costa's Hummingbird
Acorn Woodpecker
Western Wood-Pewee
Common Raven
House Wren - heard only
Bewick's Wren - heard only
Spotted Towhee
Black-chinned Sparrow
Dark-eyed Junco (Oregon)
House Finch
Lesser Goldfinch
Lawrence's Goldfinch - heard only

Chilao Visitor Center
Start time 8:20am
Finish time 10:40am
30 species

Band-tailed Pigeon
Black-chinned Hummingbird
Anna's Hummingbird
Costa's Hummingbird
Allen's Hummingbird
Acorn Woodpecker
Nuttall's Woodpecker
White-headed Woodpecker
Northern Flicker (Red-shafted)
Olive-sided Flycatcher
Western Wood-Pewee
Dusky Flycatcher
Steller's Jay
Western Scrub-Jay
Common Raven
Mountain Chickadee
Oak Titmouse
White-breasted Nuthatch
Pygmy Nuthatch
Western Bluebird
American Robin
Spotted Towhee
Chipping Sparrow
Dark-eyed Junco (Oregon)
Brown-headed Cowbird
House Finch
Purple Finch
Cassin's Finch
Lesser Goldfinch
Lawrence's Goldfinch

Charlton Flats Picnic Area
Start time 10:45am
Finish time 12:20pm
25 species

Red-tailed Hawk
Anna's Hummingbird
Costa's Hummingbird
Allen's Hummingbird
Acorn Woodpecker
Hairy Woodpecker - heard only
White-headed Woodpecker
Northern Flicker (Red-shafted)
Olive-sided Flycatcher - heard only
Western Wood-Pewee
Steller's Jay
Common Raven
Mountain Chickadee
White-breasted Nuthatch
House Wren - heard only
Bewick's Wren - heard only
Western Bluebird
Spotted Towhee
Chipping Sparrow - heard only
Dark-eyed Junco (Oregon)
Western Tanager - heard only
Black-headed Grosbeak
Brown-headed Cowbird
Purple Finch
Lawrence's Goldfinch

Mammals:
Beechey Ground Squirrel
Western Gray Squirrel
Merriam Chipmunk

Reptials:
Western Fence Lizard

This Red-tailed Hawk seen at Charlton Flats is currently growing back some lost tail and wing feathers and has a broken primary feather on its right wing. There's a very good chance this bird is recovering from some kind of skirmish. Photo: Jeffrey Mann

4337 Woodman Ave. Sherman Oaks CA 91423 818-995-0022

www.wildwingsla.com