L.A. County Parks to Better Protect Birds Nests

Los Angeles County Parks and Recreation will try an experimental landscape maintenance program in an effort to help nesting birds at Whittier Narrows Recreation Area. Officials came up with the plan in cooperation with the California Dept. of Fish and Game and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

Birders complained to the county in February after a marsh wren nest was disturbed at Legg Lake when workers removed cattails. The lake, one of Whittier Narrows’ three man-made lakes, has been declared a wildlife preserve, and its two islands have been designated as bird sanctuaries. The new maintenance schedule will restrict tree trimming and other landscaping to winter months, although efforts will be made year-round to avoid disturbing any nest.

In addition, bird-viewing stations will be installed where blue herons and cormorants build nests in the eucalyptus trees near the edge of the lake.

If the plan works, it will be extended to the Frank G. Bonelli Regional Park (Puddingstone) in San Dimas, and to the Castaic Lake Recreation Area.

A Cool Color Returns

Pantone has announced that turquoise—specifically Pantone 15-5519 Turquoise—is the Color of the Year for 2010. Pantone’s color selections are highly influential in what colors appear in your local store as clothing, accessories, housewares, even paint.

We suspect that 1963-era show “Mad Men” has brought back turquoise just as it has the pencil skirt and more fitted suits. Aquamarine and turquoise were prevalent colors in the early 60s, seen in everything from Cadillacs to washing machines. And we will be delighted to see the turquoise replace that tiresome apple/pea/poison green trend in stores.

Twilight Tour of the Big Cats

We attended the Twilight Tour fundraiser at the Exotic Feline Breeding Compound (self-referred to as "the Cat House") in Rosamond, out near Edwards AFB.

The fundraiser was held in the early evening so visitors could see the big cats when they are the most active. Treats were presented to the cats by staffers, ranging from goldfish (for the fisher cats) to telephone books and cardboard boxes for the large cats. The large cats love to pounce on both as if they were prey, and the telephone books were also good for ripping to shreds with teeth. One leopard, momentarily flummoxed by movement from his cardboard box, retaliated by simply sitting on it.

All of the cats were on display, including snow leopards, a cougar, jaguars, and bobcats. Caesar the tiger was a big draw, and he put on a brief show before retiring into a shady corner. A bigger tiger enclosure is being constructed, which will include a holding den and pools. The budget total is set at $125,000, with about $78,000 having already been raised and utilized. Donations for the remainder of the project are welcome.

Hiking the Santa Rosa Plateau

Normally, Memorial Day weekend is a challenge when you think you might want to go somewhere or do something, because no matter what you decide on, the crowds have already beaten you to it.

With weather not yet too hot for hiking, we took a chance on going to the Santa Rosa Plateau Ecological Preserve, a Riverside County park near Murrieta that covers some 8,500 acres of pristine ranch land (well, technically, it's oak woodlands, or bunchgrass prarie). It's rolling hills studded with Englemann oaks, a lot of grass, chapparal and wildflowers, and a couple of rare vernal pools. There are plenty of trails of varying length to use. One of the trails will lead to the historic adobes that are the oldest remaining structures in Riverside County.

The park was once part of the original Spanish land grant given by Pio Pico in 1846 to Juan Moreno. Moreno called his 47,000-acre ranch the Santa Rosa, where he raised sheep and cattle. Eventually, the ranch passed from owner to owner until it wound up in the hands of the Vail family, who sold much of the land for development in the 1960s.

The wildflowers had peaked by Memorial Day, but there was still a lot blooming: lavender Mariposa lilies, blue and purple lupines, California golden poppies that were more of a daffoldil yellow than the neon orange we photographed in Antelope Valley. We also saw a couple of snakes, who were more startled to see us than vice-versa.

The vernal pools, so-called because they are seasonal pools formed on volcanic soil by rainwater, are unusual and worth the short hike it takes to reach them. There are wooden pathways that will allow you to walk over a pool (actually, more of a grassy marsh), where you can see fairy shrimp and many birds. A wildflower called the teethed downingia bloomed in abundance in the water.

The park is located off Clinton Keith Road near Murrieta; day use for ages 13 and over is a super-cheap $2.00.

See the Big Cats Get Active

The Exotic Feline Breeding Compound in Rosamond will host a Twlight Tour fundraiser on Saturday, June 19th. Here's your chance to view the center in the evening, when the big cats are more active and you have more access to view them.

The EFBC, also known as "the Cat House," is a private, non-profit conservation and breeding compound that houses some 70 species of big cats, including tigers, leopards, jaguars and ocelots. It offers visitors an unusually close view of these stunning animals.

Tickets for the Twilight Tour are $15 per person, adults only. They can be purchased at the door at 5:30; the event lasts until dark. You can order pre-paid tickets for the September 18th Twilight Tour by phone (661-256-3793 between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m.).