On 2013-06-15, I parked at the staging area ten miles south of Julian California where Milk Ranch Road meets Route-79. The path I traveled on my bike is displayed on the adjacent map.
Before I parked and took my bike out on the Los Vaqueros Trail, I spotted my first surprise bird of the morning. A Red-Breasted Sapsucker was drumming out its rhythm, much like the old vaudevillian “Shave and a Haircut — Five Cents” routine on the face of a road sign, sending out his message over the entire valley. This was my first introduction to this bird. I’ve since learned all western USA sapsuckers share the drum rhythm; dut-de-de-dut-dut —– dut-dut.
Milk Ranch Road leads west from the Cuyamaca Valley between the higher peaks of the Laguna Mountains, then down the west-facing slopes, but my interest in the trail led me only as far as the upper elevations.
The birds I met this day were Red-Breasted Sapsucker, Steller’s Jay, Lazuli Bunting, Spotted Towhee, House Wren, Dark-Eyed Junco, Blue Grosbeak, Lark Sparrow, Ash-Throated Flycatcher, Mountain Chickadee, and Western Tanager.
Red-Breasted Sapsucker(Sphyrapicus ruber) |
|
Description: Trout Pond Trail, near Cuyamaca Mountain. South of Julian, California. San Diego County, California. |
Date Taken: 2013:06:15 7:00 |
|
Location:
Cuyamaca |
|
Camera Information: NIKON D3X, 800 mm, f/8.0, 1/640 |
File Name: D3X9553-RedBreastedSapSucker |
| © 2013 Jack Daynes, shadeTreeImaging.com |
Red-Breasted Sapsucker(Sphyrapicus ruber) |
|
Description: Trout Pond Trail, near Cuyamaca Mountain. South of Julian, California. San Diego County, California. |
Date Taken: 2013:06:15 7:00 |
|
Location:
Cuyamaca |
|
Camera Information: NIKON D3X, 800 mm, f/8.0, 1/500 |
File Name: D3X9556-RedBreastedSapSucker |
| © 2013 Jack Daynes, shadeTreeImaging.com |
Steller's Jay(Cyanocitta stelleri stelleri) |
|
Description: Trout Pond Trail, near Cuyamaca Mountain. South of Julian, California. San Diego County, California. |
Date Taken: 2013:06:15 7:10 |
|
Location:
Cuyamaca |
|
Camera Information: NIKON D3X, 800 mm, f/8.0, 1/1250 |
File Name: D3X9573-StellersJay |
| © 2013 Jack Daynes, shadeTreeImaging.com |
Lazuli Bunting(Passerina amoena) |
|
Description: Milk Ranch Road, near Cuyamaca Mountain. South of Julian, California. San Diego County, California. |
Date Taken: 2013:06:15 8:24 |
|
Location:
Cuyamaca |
|
Camera Information: NIKON D3X, 800 mm, f/8.0, 1/4000 |
File Name: D3X9577-LazuliBunting |
| © 2013 Jack Daynes, shadeTreeImaging.com |
Lazuli Bunting(Passerina amoena) |
|
Description: Female along Milk Ranch Road, near Cuyamaca Mountain. South of Julian, California. San Diego County, California. |
Date Taken: 2013:06:15 9:03 |
|
Location:
Cuyamaca |
|
Camera Information: NIKON D3X, 800 mm, f/8.0, 1/1250 |
File Name: D3X9600-LazuliBunting-Female |
| © 2013 Jack Daynes, shadeTreeImaging.com |
Lazuli Bunting(Passerina amoena) |
|
Description: Female along Milk Ranch Road, near Cuyamaca Mountain. South of Julian, California. San Diego County, California. |
Date Taken: 2013:06:15 9:06 |
|
Location:
Cuyamaca |
|
Camera Information: NIKON D3X, 800 mm, f/8.0, 1/400 |
File Name: D3X9605-LazuliBunting-Female |
| © 2013 Jack Daynes, shadeTreeImaging.com |
Lazuli Bunting(Passerina amoena) |
|
Description: Milk Ranch Road, near Cuyamaca Mountain. South of Julian, California. San Diego County, California. |
Date Taken: 2013:06:15 9:16 |
|
Location:
Cuyamaca |
|
Camera Information: NIKON D3X, 800 mm, f/8.0, 1/400 |
File Name: D3X9623-LazuliBunting-Female |
| © 2013 Jack Daynes, shadeTreeImaging.com |
Spotted Towhee(Pipilo maculatus) |
|
Description: Milk Ranch Road, near Cuyamaca Mountain. South of Julian, California. San Diego County, California. |
Date Taken: 2013:06:15 9:16 |
|
Location:
Cuyamaca |
|
Camera Information: NIKON D3X, 800 mm, f/8.0, 1/1250 |
File Name: D3X9625-SpottedTowhee |
| © 2013 Jack Daynes, shadeTreeImaging.com |
House Wren(Troglodytes aedon) |
|
Description: Juvenile along Milk Ranch Road, near Cuyamaca Mountain. South of Julian, California. San Diego County, California. |
Date Taken: 2013:06:15 9:21 |
|
Location:
Cuyamaca |
|
Camera Information: NIKON D3X, 800 mm, f/8.0, 1/1000 |
File Name: D3X9637-HouseWren-Juvenile |
| © 2013 Jack Daynes, shadeTreeImaging.com |
Dark-Eyed Junco(Junco hyemalis) |
|
Description: Milk Ranch Road, near Cuyamaca Mountain. South of Julian, California. San Diego County, California. |
Date Taken: 2013:06:15 9:29 |
|
Location:
Cuyamaca |
|
Camera Information: NIKON D3X, 800 mm, f/5.6, 1/2000 |
File Name: D3X9661-DarkEyedJunco |
| © 2013 Jack Daynes, shadeTreeImaging.com |
Dark-Eyed Junco(Junco hyemalis) |
|
Description: Milk Ranch Road, near Cuyamaca Mountain. South of Julian, California. San Diego County, California. |
Date Taken: 2013:06:15 9:35 |
|
Location:
Cuyamaca |
|
Camera Information: NIKON D3X, 800 mm, f/5.6, 1/2500 |
File Name: D3X9685-DarkEyedJunco |
| © 2013 Jack Daynes, shadeTreeImaging.com |
Blue Grosbeak(Passerina caerulea) |
|
Description: Milk Ranch Road, near Cuyamaca Mountain. South of Julian, California. San Diego County, California. |
Date Taken: 2013:06:15 10:05 |
|
Location:
Cuyamaca |
|
Camera Information: NIKON D3X, 800 mm, f/5.6, 1/1250 |
File Name: D3X9707-BlueGrosbeak |
| © 2013 Jack Daynes, shadeTreeImaging.com |
Lark Sparrow(Chondestes grammacus) |
|
Description: Milk Ranch Road, near Cuyamaca Mountain. South of Julian, California. San Diego County, California. |
Date Taken: 2013:06:15 10:19 |
|
Location:
Cuyamaca |
|
Camera Information: NIKON D3X, 800 mm, f/5.6, 1/2000 |
File Name: D3X9751-LarkSparrow |
| © 2013 Jack Daynes, shadeTreeImaging.com |
Lark Sparrow(Chondestes grammacus) |
|
Description: Milk Ranch Road, near Cuyamaca Mountain. South of Julian, California. San Diego County, California. |
Date Taken: 2013:06:15 10:21 |
|
Location:
Cuyamaca |
|
Camera Information: NIKON D3X, 800 mm, f/5.6, 1/2000 |
File Name: D3X9756-LarkSparrow |
| © 2013 Jack Daynes, shadeTreeImaging.com |
Blue Grosbeak(Passerina caerulea) |
|
Description: Milk Ranch Road, near Cuyamaca Mountain. South of Julian, California. San Diego County, California. |
Date Taken: 2013:06:15 10:22 |
|
Location:
Cuyamaca |
|
Camera Information: NIKON D3X, 800 mm, f/5.6, 1/1250 |
File Name: D3X9760-BlueGrosbeak |
| © 2013 Jack Daynes, shadeTreeImaging.com |
Ash-Throated Flycatcher(Myiarchus cinerascens) |
|
Description: Milk Ranch Road, near Cuyamaca Mountain. South of Julian, California. San Diego County, California. |
Date Taken: 2013:06:15 11:23 |
|
Location:
Cuyamaca |
|
Camera Information: NIKON D3X, 800 mm, f/5.6, 1/640 |
File Name: D3X9786-AshThroatedFlyCatcher |
| © 2013 Jack Daynes, shadeTreeImaging.com |
Mountain Chickadee(Poecile gambeli) |
|
Description: Milk Ranch Road, near Cuyamaca Mountain. South of Julian, California. San Diego County, California. |
Date Taken: 2013:06:15 11:47 |
|
Location:
Cuyamaca |
|
Camera Information: NIKON D3X, 800 mm, f/5.6, 1/400 |
File Name: D3X9816-MountainChickadee |
| © 2013 Jack Daynes, shadeTreeImaging.com |
Western Tanager(Piranga ludoviciana) |
|
Description: Milk Ranch Road, near Cuyamaca Mountain. South of Julian, California. San Diego County, California. |
Date Taken: 2013:06:15 11:54 |
|
Location:
Cuyamaca |
|
Camera Information: NIKON D3X, 800 mm, f/5.6, 1/500 |
File Name: D3X9825-WesternTanager |
| © 2013 Jack Daynes, shadeTreeImaging.com |
Click map markers to reveal further information
