EISPIRATEN

Great shot. I didn't know there were western diamondbacks in the San Gabriels. Well... that little guy or gal is not a Western Diamond-backed but a Southern Pacific rattlesnake, a subspecies of the Western Rattlesnake. (Depending upon your taxonomic view, the Southern Pacific may be its own species.)

Oops, sorry, nelange! I didn't catch the reference to Red Tahquitz.

Anyone been up there lately? What's the water status?

Thanks!

I'm surprised that you couldn't find the trail to Tahquitz Peak . It's really a fairly big trail... more than a use trail. The peak and fire lookout is worth seeing on your next visit up there.

A trail runner died yesterday on Mt. Wilson. He slipped off Kenyon-Devore, which no doubt is covered in ice. I wonder if he ran to Kenyon-Devore from Red Box or Shortcut Saddle? Given the road closures, that seems like the only reasonable explanation? In the days when I used to run ultras, we frequ...

Whew! Yes, I agree with @HIkeUp. I'd go with a female Western tanager. Thicker bill than other green/yellow birds and the 2 wing bars... Against the branches the bird appears to be "tanager"-sized, too.
Good one, @Slowest_Hiker !

According to the title of this discussion, I thought I was going to get to see bighorn chow down on cactus AND one jackrabbit!

Now that would have been amazing!

K-rats are the BEST!

What deer do best... trimming the roses.

@Sean @tekewin

Two-striped gartersnake. That one is a beauty!

Evidently, climbers freak out quite easily.

Absolutely beautiful! Saw on on the trail between Cucamonga Peak and Etiwanda Peak. A very dark rattler, as well...

Definitely a Wilson's Warbler... They are fairly common in the San Gabriel range. Thanks for the pics!
@Slowest_Hiker @HikeUp

@HikeUp

Yup. That's what I counted, as well. Although I think we saw 3-4 hens total.

From my last Whitney trip in 2015 (hens)... From just before the multiple log crossing on, if I remember correctly, Lone Pine Creek. just after the wilderness sign... IMG_4708.JPG IMG_4707.JPG How many sooty grouse here? IMG_4706.JPG Talk about camouflage... IMG_4705.JPG In 2016 we were heading down...

Yessiree, gents, sooty grouse! @Sean @HikeUp

If you see a red fox in SoCal it's probably an escapee from organized fox hunts. Fox hunting is still an actual thing? Who knew. Yup, foxes were actually brought in for the "hunts". Most fox hunts in our area have disappeared for lack of space. Foxes also escaped from folks that raised th...

You guys got 'em: 3 California scrub-jays (formerly Western Scrub-jays), 3 black-headed grosbeaks, 2 mourning doves, mountain quail, Western bluebird, 2 California thrashers. Thanks, tekewin! Hey Mike! Can you confirm that is a grey fox and not a red fox? I really puzzled over that one and eventual...

You guys got 'em: 3 California scrub-jays (formerly Western Scrub-jays), 3 black-headed grosbeaks, 2 mourning doves, mountain quail, Western bluebird, 2 California thrashers. Thanks, tekewin!

Nice!

Terrific pictures, Sean!

Hi @HikeUp I'm going for a juvenile red-tailed hawk (1st year). It's hard to tell with the shadows but I think it's a dark morph.

You got it, Sean! Trip report to follow.

Moved the camera over


Sunday was a hazy, glaring day... bad for good color on my camera.

From a slightly higher point on the trail looking south

HikeUp,

I was looking for newts at the beginning of my "Where Am I" trip but didn't see any. (hint) Maybe not wet enough yet for them...?

California Newts are generally not smooth-skinned, have a different shaped tail, beefier legs, and the eyes are set differently from ensatinas.

HikeUp wrote: IceHouse Canyon near Cedar Glen ?

No...you can see the city. Front Range...

Not Icehouse.
Yes, you can see the a city. Front range..

Holy cow! That's an ensatina salamander; a Monterey Ensatina, to be exact. Nice! Don't see those too often in the Gabes.

Thanks for not stepping on him or her.

dima wrote: What's fake-sounding about it? Without thinking too hard, it all seems plausible.

Hi dima! It's my intuition, I suppose. It's certainly plausible but something doesn't look right about the scene. But, hey, if the proof is good, I'll be a believer!

stonehillnews wrote: Colby Canyon on the way up to Josephine Saddle?

Nope.

Haven't played this game in a while... This photo is from 1-21-2018.

I'll give more of a hint later but I think someone ought to get this quickly.

I've looked around regarding this story. I can't find any confirmation one way or another. Since I am somewhat skeptical, I consider this fake news until proven otherwise.

Maybe I need to look harder.