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Despite our weather concerns, it turned out to be a perfect day for a hike. We almost canceled twice – once because there had been no rain – then because there had suddenly been a lot of rain.

As usual, some flowers were blooming, some weren’t.  The Yearling Trail through “Ronald Reagan Meadow” had a few muddy spots, but nothing not easily avoidable.

We tried a new route this year.   Rather than hiking to Malibu Creek State Park parking lot and car-shuttling back to Paramount Ranch, we hiked a loop which was more of a “lasso”:  Yearling Trail to Lookout Trail down to Century Lake on Crags Rd., then back up the hill via Cage Creek Trail to Yearling Trail and back to Paramount Ranch.   I thought this would be a shorter route, but now I’m not so sure.   It was definitely tougher, with an all-uphill trek on the way back rather than a gentle amble alongside Malibu Creek.

As always, the hike was led by Peggy Burhenn, Calif. State Parks docent specializing in native plants and wildflowers.   This year, Jim Kenney was with us, taking many of the photographs that grace this posting.   Jim took most or all (not sure which) of the photographs in the very thick wildflower book** that Peggy always has in hand.

We saw a lot of great flowers and birds, the air was filled with birdsong, and no one got hit by a bicycle.  No rain and cool temperatures topping out around 70°.

Dew-damp funnel spider webs were in the meadow, and best of  all, we started off with a family of three coyotes crossing the trail about 100 ft. ahead.   Birding and “wildflowering” are tough, tough tasks, but someone has to do this filthy, grinding work.

All the participants, although tired at the end, thoroughly enjoyed themselves.   If you didn’t make it, think about it for next year.

The lists below give a four-year comparison of flowers and birds seen on this hike.   Because we changed the route this year, some plants and birds, found in particular locations, didn’t make the list this year.   We always find Chia, for example, on a hillside near the Malibu Creek S.P. parking lot.   The waterfowl and shorebirds are found mostly in the open sections of Malibu Creek.   [Chuck Almdale]

** Wildflowers of the Santa Monica Mountains by Milt McAuley (1985 & 1996)

PLANTS	4/15	4/9	4/10	3/29
WHITE	2012	2011	2010	2009
Ashy-leafed Buckwheat		X		X
Big Pod Ceanothus			X	X
California Buckwheat	X	X
California Everlasting	X	X
Cliff Aster			X
Coyote Brush	X
Dodder		X	X
Elderberry	X		X	X
Horehound*	X	X	X	X
Miner’s Lettuce		X	X	X
Morning Glory	X		X
Mulefat	X		X	X
Narrow-leafed Bedstraw	X
Poison Hemlock			X
Poison Oak	X
Popcorn Flower		X	X	X
White Nightshade		X	X
White Sage	X	X	X	X
Wild Cucumber	X	X	X	X
Yucca	X		X	X
YELLOW
Burr Clover*		X
Canyon Sunflower	X
Collarless California Poppy	X
Common Fiddleneck	X	X	X	X
Common Goldfields			X
Deerweed	X		X
Golden Currant	X	X	X	X
Golden Yarrow	X	X
Johnny Jump-up	X	X	X	X
Lomatium	X
Microseris	X
Mountain Dandelion	X		X
Mustard*	X	X	X	X
Pineapple Weed*	X	X	X	X
Stringose Lotus	X		X
Western Wallflower	X		X
ORANGE
Bush/sticky Monkeyflower	X		X
California Poppy	X		X	X
Scarlet Pimpernel*	X	X
RED
Crimson Pitcher Sage	X	X	X
Indian Paintbrush	X			X
PINK
Bush Mallow	X
Milk Thistle*	X	X
Prickly Phlox			X	X
Purple Clarkia	X
Purple Owl’s Clover	X		X
Purple Sage	X	X	X	X
Red-stem Filaree*	X	X	X	X
Spring Vetch*	X	X		X
Tom Cat Clover	X
Wild Radish*	X	X	X	X
Wild Sweet Pea			X	X
Wooly Aster	X
PURPLE / BLUE
Baby Blue Eyes	X	X
Bajada Lupine		X
Black Sage	X	X	X
Blue Dicks	X	X	X	X
Blue Larkspur				X
Bush Lupine	X	X	X	X
California Peony	X
Caterpillar Phacelia	X	X	X	X
Chia		X	X	X
Chinese Houses	X	X	X	X
Common Vervain	X		X
Danny’s Skullcap		X	X
Dove Lupine	X		X	X
Fern-leaf Phacelia	X	X
Fiesta Flower	X	X	X	X
Green Bark Ceanothus	X		X	X
Henbit*		X
Italian Thistle*	X
Parry’s Phacelia		X	X	X
Purple Nightshade	X	X	X	X
Winter Vetch*		X	X
BROWN
Curly Dock			X	X
English Plantain*			X
Lace Pod (green)	X			X
TREES, SHRUBS, OR
NOT IN BLOOM
Arroyo Willow	X	X	X	X
Ashy-leafed Buckwheat			X
Big Pod Ceanothus		X
Bush/Sticky Monkeyflower				X
California Bay Laural			X	X
California Bickelbush			X
California Buckwheat			X
California Sagebrush	X	X	X
Chamise	X		X	X
Coast Live Oak	X	X	X	X
Coffee Berry	X
Coyote Brush		X	X	X
Crimson Pitcher Sage				X
Dudleaya		X
Elderberry		X
English Plantain*		X
Green Bark Ceanothus		X
Hog Fennel			X	X
Indian Paintbrush			X
Laural Sumac	X	X	X	X
Milk Thistle*			X	X
Mistletoe	X	X	X	X
Mugwort	X	X	X	X
Poison Hemlock*	X	X
Poison Oak		X	X	X
Scrub Oak			X	X
Soap Plant	X			X
Squaw Bush		X
Stinging Nettle	X
Sugarbush	X	X		X
Toyon	X	X	X	X
Valley Oak	X	X	X	X
Western Sycamore	X	X	X	X
Whitethorn	X
Wild Rose	X	X	X	X
Yucca		X
Total Species – 97	74	61	71	56
* – Introduced species

*****

BIRD LIST	4/15	4/9	4/10	3/29
Name	2012	2011	2010	2009
Canada Goose	4	2
Gadwall				X
American Wigeon				X
Mallard	8	7	10	X
Bufflehead				X
Ruddy Duck				X
California Quail	20	6	4H
Pied-billed Grebe				X
Great Blue Heron		1	2
Turkey Vulture	3	4	2	X
Sharp-shinned Hawk	1		1
Cooper’s Hawk	1	1		X
Red-shouldered Hawk	1	6	2	X
Red-tailed Hawk	3	3	5	X
American Kestrel				X
American Coot		4	4	X
Spotted Sandpiper		1
Band-tailed Pigeon	3	9
Mourning Dove	4	8	12
Black-hooded Parakeet	3		1
Vaux’s Swift			20
White-throated Swift	2	4	12	X
Black-chinned Hummingbird	1		1
Anna’s Hummingbird	1	2	4	X
Allen’s Hummingbird	1		1	X
Belted Kingfisher			1	X
Acorn Woodpecker	9	8	11	X
Nuttall’s Woodpecker	5	2	2H	X
Downy Woodpecker				X
Northern Flicker	3	2		X
Hammond’s Flycatcher	1
Pacific-slope Flycatcher	1		2	X
Black Phoebe	4	8	8	X
Say’s Phoebe	1	3	1
Cassin’s Kingbird	3	4	2	X
Western Kingbird	1	4	3	X
Hutton’s Vireo	1
Warbling Vireo	2			X
Western Scrub-Jay	10+20H	12	14	X
American Crow	15	20	6	X
Common Raven	2	4	5	X
Tree Swallow	6		4
Violet-green Swallow	20	20	12
Northern Rough-winged Swallow	25	35	24	X
Cliff Swallow	3	1	20	X
Barn Swallow			2	X
Oak Titmouse	2+20H	9	4	X
Bushtit	8	8	4	X
White-breasted Nuthatch	2	2	2	X
Canyon Wren	1	1H	1H
Bewick’s Wren	4	12	2	X
House Wren	4+40H	25	32	X
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher	3H		1
Ruby-crowned Kinglet	1	2	2	X
Wrentit	20H	7H	H	X
Western Bluebird	10	13	10	X
Hermit Thrush	1			X
American Robin			1
Northern Mockingbird	2			X
California Thrasher	1+3H	4H	H
European Starling	1	6	12	X
Orange-crowned Warbler	1H	5	6	X
Common Yellowthroat	1H	6	2	X
Yellow Warbler	1+6H		H
Yellow-rumped Warbler	6	6	10	X
Black-throated Gray Warbler				X
Townsend’s Warbler				X
Spotted Towhee	5+15H	8	5	x
California Towhee	10	20	6	x
Savannah Sparrow	1
Song Sparrow	7+6H	13	7	X
Lincoln’s Sparrow				x
White-crowned Sparrow	10	1		X
Golden-crowned Sparrow		2
Dark-eyed Junco	10			X
Black-headed Grosbeak	8	3	4
Red-winged Blackbird		12	20	X
Western Meadowlark				X
Brown-headed Cowbird	2		1
Hooded Oriole		4	6
Bullock’s Oriole	6	3	6
Purple Finch			H
House Finch	90	60	20	X
Lesser Goldfinch	8	12	16	X
American Goldfinch			30
House Sparrow				X
Total Species – 86	62	52	60	58
H = Heard    X = Present