On Saturday, April 4th, a group of 17 people met at the Santa Rosa Plateau Ecological Reserve in southwestern Riverside County. This Nature Conservancy preserve contains one of the most intact remnants of Southern California’s native landscapes, protecting a collection of rare habitats that once dominated the area but have largely disappeared under urban development. We did our best to see as much of the preserve as possible by hiking over 6 miles. It was sunny but comfortable weather, especially in the shade when the light breeze gave us relief from the sun. The group worked together to find 52 species, including Nashville, Wilson’s, Townsend’s, Northern Yellow, and Yellow-rumped Warblers. The wildflowers were beautiful; butterflies were everywhere; and the vernal pools still had water in them, where we found several Two-striped Gartner Snakes sunning themselves. Overall, a beautiful day with beautiful people, experiencing a beautiful place.
Thanks always to Steve for the eBird lists and our amazing photographers for capturing the birds, which at several points helped us identify them accurately. https://ebird.org/checklist/
