Sacramento and Beyond

Clark Mountain - Posted at 8:32 AM on Sunday, June 18, 2006 by Chris Conard

Over Memorial Day weekend, I visited Clark Mountain in northeastern San Bernardino County for the third year in a row. For those unfamiliar with the area, it is California's answer to the sky islands of Arizona.

I packed about 2/3s of the way up the mountain this year. As always, on the following morning, there was a great sunrise.

Near my camp, I found this dropped antler (my keys are in the lower right for scale).

I set my alarm for 3:30, so I could get to the white fir forest around first light. As I started hiking shortly after four, the first birds I heard were Violet-green Swallows. It was pitch dark and I was using a flashlight. I've noticed Tree Swallows in my neighborhood at home calling before first light as well.

Last year I found a couple of counter-singing Red-faced Warblers, so I had high hopes for a another good discovery. (Photos from last year's trip are here)

When I saw this flash of color, I thought I might have a Grace's Warbler; it turned out to be one of four Townsend's Warblers found that morning.

One of the Clark Mountain specialties that I had missed in the past was Gray-headed Junco. I found this one as well as about 10 Oregon Juncos at a couple of different locations.

This year, I didn't find any birds of note as far as state records, though a few were interesting SBE County birds. Best, perhaps, were two singing Hutton's Vireos; I also had several Warbling Vireos and three Plumbeous Vireos. I found other birds I had missed in the past, but that had been recorded by others, including Cassin's Finch, and a silent Western Flycatcher.

Panamint Chipmunks were noisy and widespread.

I heard what sounded just like California ground squirrels chirping. After a little thought and consulting my mammal book, I decided they must have been rock squirrels (which I later saw at the New York Mtns).

I saw several cottontails and a few jackrabbits high on the mountain.

The wind was such that I thought it might pick me up and blow me off of the mountain. This trip I focused (and expended!) my energy trying to stay as high on the peak as I could. There was less wind near the cliffs than elsewhere on the slope. After returning to the car in the late afternoon, I walked up to a dry falls where I've had Hepatic Tanager, Plumbeous and Gray Vireo, and Crissal Thrasher in the past. I saw two or three Crissal Thrashers, another Townsend's Warbler, and a quick view of a Gray Vireo. Of the typical southwestern specialties that one hopes to find on Clark Mountain, this year the only one I found was Plumbeous Vireo. Still, there was a lot of activity, with Western Tanagers, Dusky Flycatchers, and Black-headed Grosbeaks all very conspicuous.

This Juniper Titmouse was moving with a family group through the, what else, junipers. The insect was later fed to a begging young bird.

The next morning had incredible weather: calm, cool, and clear. I tried to get to Pachalka Springs on the west side of Clark. The road was too much for my vehicle, even though the description I read said 2wd high clearance would do (I have a Subaru Forester). I then went through the Cima Dome Joshua trees and found a pair of Gilded Flickers (also present was a pair of Northern Flickers) and a Bendire's Thrasher.

There were a few birds at an overwatered section of the Kelso Depot landscape: Common Moorhen (!--poor thing, walked around on the lawn, was flushed by a visitor and landed on the RR tracks), Lazuli Bunting, Swainson's Thrush, Western Tanager, Black-chinned Hummer. One of the trip highlights for me was finding a Mojave fringe-toed lizard at the Kelso Dunes.

Fringed toes:

What could be cuter than an antelope ground squirrel?

I then went to Caruthers Canyon in the New York Mountains. It's a great area, with canyon live oak, scrub oak, and some relict coastal chaparral plants. I look this photo of the neat rock formations, then it became overcast and the photography went down hill.

It was late afternoon when I was at Caruthers Canyon, but would love to bird it in the morning. There were Mountain Chickadees, and several migrants including Warbling Vireo, Townsend's and Wilson's Warbler, Swainson's Thrush, and Pacific-slope Flycatcher.

There were several rowdy campers, playing their radios, etc. I drove around to the east side of the mountains looking for Keystone Spring and some solitude. I didn't find the former, but did find the latter. There is so much neat country to explore. My legs were pretty sore from the previous day's climb, so I was moving gingerly as I hiked beyond a washed out section of road. The sun went down and I hadn't found the spring. After sunset, I began the long drive home, dodging Lesser Nighthawks as they swooped in front of the car, and planning to come back next year.

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