Big Sycamore Canyon Reminder: Saturday, April 8, 8am

Remarkably, Sycamore Canyon was not burned in the Woolsey Wildfire in November 2018. Right now it’s all green and the Giant Coreopsis are blooming. By April we should be seeing many wildflowers, and migrants will probably be coming through. This is definitely a good year to visit Sycamore Canyon. They will probably be water in the creek which we cross thrice, and thrice again.

Nanday (previously Black-hooded) Parakeets trio. (Mark Farber 3/10/12)

We bird from the bridge through the campground and up the creek. We try to get to Serrano Canyon, about a mile upstream, where we look for Rock and Canyon Wrens (C. m. youbetcha, the Guaranteed Canyon Wren). This is a streamside sycamore-oak riparian area, with plenty of chaparral. The stream will likely have water and will need to be forded. Consider your footwear and/or removal or soaking of same.. Woodpeckers, raptors, flycatchers, thrashers, wrentits, orioles, sparrows, finches, probably Nanday Parakeets, maybe an owl and Lazuli Buntings. Plus butterflies like Western Tiger Swallowtail and California Sister. Bring lunch if you want to picnic in Serrano Canyon.

Red-shouldered Hawk in Sycamore Canyon (J. Waterman 3/9/13)

Parking is an issue. There is virtually no free roadside parking close to the park. As of five years ago, day-use fee was $12, so carpool if you can. You can use your Limited Use Golden Bear Pass here.

Family Guide: suitable for everyone but toddlers. A very gradually sloping uphill stroll. Bring water, hat, good walking shoes and lunch or snacks. Walking is mostly on graded dirt road or trails.

Directions: From the intersection of Pacific Coast Hwy. and Sunset Blvd, drive north 28 miles, passing through Malibu and Point Dume, to Sycamore Canyon State Park on the right. Just past the entrance booth (fee required) turn left and left again into the large parking area. We meet on the footbridge next to the bathroom building.

Meet at 8 a.m. in the day-use parking lot on the footbridge next to the bathrooms.
Leader: Chuck Bragg  <cgbjr67@gmail.com>

Dark-eyed Junco by the picnic tables. (Mark Farber 3/10/12)