Catalina State Park

Birding Catalina this morning was a lot like wandering through a Chinese scroll.

Fog in the lowlands, snow on the mountains, and an uncharacteristic chill in the air!

But as always, there were birds to be seen. A Western Scrub-Jay greeted me as I pulled in to the park. An excellent thrush show included a flock of 7 Western Bluebirds and a surprise American Robin, a female perhaps driven down from her more usual mountain habitats by the weather.

Surprisingly, given the low overcast, raptors were good. A Peregrine Falcon flashed through a flock of Mourning Doves early on, to be followed a bit later by a Merlin, that latter a very rare sighting in the park. American Kestrels were finding prey, while a pair of Red-tailed Hawks was perched on the way out at the end of a very pleasant walk.