Bottom left is the light-eyed female, and bottom right is the dark-eyed male. At top right, notice the unusual hanging nest that these inconspicuous yet common birds weave. Bushtits are tiny, long-tailed gray birds that travel in large busy flocks, relentlessly rocketing from one leafy bush or tree to the next, all while keeping up [...]

The Western Bluebird was selected because it’s a perfect representative for the Urban Forest. Both entities manifest hope, resilience and renewal in the face of myriad challenges to our natural environment. The Western Bluebird came close to entirely disappearing in Orange County in the last century due to destruction of its needed forested environment that [...]

Look-up and be astounded by the beauty of these dynamic songsters as they rapidly flit among the trees, often in the upper canopy and quite often in mixed groups. Active and gregarious they flourish in the company of red-tinged, brown striped House Finches with which they share the characteristic, cone-shaped FINCH bill, so perfectly adapted [...]

Orange-crowned Warblers are small, active song birds characterized by their rapid flitting movement through foliage and their memorable songs in springtime. The sprightly, diminutive Orange-crowned Warbler is a subdued yellow with the added surprise of orange feathers occasionally flashed on its crown when surprised or agitated. While many more strikingly colored warblers briefly migrate through [...]

The American Kestrel is our smallest, most abundant, and most vibrantly colorful Falcon. You‘ll notice our pair of year-round resident Kestrels perched on posts in the hilltop preserved Raptor Foraging Area, surveying the field for grasshoppers, lizards, and small rodents comprising their customary prey.  The more colorful male has a solid rusty back & tail [...]