On June 6th, 22 early-rising birders made their way up Palomar Mountain to enjoy the mountain air, beautiful trees of the forest, and observe the birds. We missed our leader, Sally Sanderson, who couldn’t join us, but her daughter came and shared her knowledge of the plants, early native occupants, and the birds; we were lucky to have our own personal trail guide.  We started the walk with an introduction to the California Breeding Bird Atlas project and made sure to note all observed breeding bird behaviors we could during our walk, and we were happy to contribute to such a great project, of which Palomar Audubon Society is a sponsor.  A highlight was the opportunity to watch a pair of Hairy Woodpeckers coming to and from their nest cavity to feed their young, which definitely got noted on our bird list.  Of course, Steve Ellis dutifully kept track of all of the birds observed; our photographers documented those birds beautifully; and Beth noted and added the breeding codes to the list.

If you are interested in helping add data to the project, check it out here: California Bird Atlas

And please enjoy our list of fabulous birds and gorgeous photos. https://ebird.org/atlascalifornia/checklist/S354232583 and https://ebird.org/atlascalifornia/checklist/S354227939

Happy Trails,

Beth