Date: 3/21/25 10:14 pm From: Lance Benner via groups.io <lbenner...> Subject: [inlandcountybirds] Swainson's Hawk picket line: Sunday, March 23
Greetings Everyone,
The purpose of this email is to provide a quick update on Swainson's Hawk migration through this area and to invite you to join us on picket lines on Sunday, March 23, to try to understand their migration routes better.
I've been keeping track of all the Swainson's hawks reported in eBird west and north of Borrego Springs and Palm Springs this month, and to date, more than 1150 Swainson's hawks have moved through the area.
However, there have been fewer large groups of hawks seen moving along the foothills west of Glendora relative to previous years, perhaps due to more clear days when they could be flying higher where they are harder to see and/or flying over the San Gabriel Mountains where there are very few observers. Reports dating back several years have documented the birds flying into the mountains over Glendora Ridge during sunny weather; more birds are seen west through Pasadena when low clouds are present.
On March 23 we'd like to invite you to help us check sites along the foothills _and_ in the San Gabriel Mountains.
In 2023 and 2024 when we tried this the roads in the mountains were closed, so observers spread out east-west along the foothills, but this year we want to augment this by setting up a line in the mountains
in addition to checking sites east-west along the foothills. Currently the Angeles Crest Highway is open on the west from La Canada-Flintridge to Islip Saddle on the east.
Route 39 is also open north of Azusa up to the Crystal Lake area but not all the way up to Angeles Crest (the northernmost 4 miles of highway 39 are closed to the public).
Unfortunately, the Glendora Mountain and Glendora Ridge Roads are closed.
We don't know in detail where the hawks go once they get into the mountains, so we'd like to position observers along highway 39 north of Azusa and along the Angeles Crest Highway east of Clear Creek Junction (where the Crest and the Angeles Forest Highways intersect) to watch for hawks from 9:00-11:00 on March 23.
We suspect that sites east of Red Box Gap might be more likely to have hawks, but we don't really know.
We can't guarantee that hawks will migrate over any specific location, but it we won't know if we don't try.
If this might interest you, please feel free to contact me if you have a site you'd like to check; if not, I can suggest locations, although pretty much any spot along the road with clear views to the south and east could work well. Locations along the Angeles Forest Highway might also be worth checking (say, Mill Creek Summit). It's also fine if you just head up there and report back later.
Bear Divide could also be worth checking even though it's farther west.
I'm planning to watch from Shortcut Saddle near mile 43 on the Angeles Crest Highway.
We also welcome reports from observers along the foothills from the Palm Springs area on the east all the way to the Grapevine on the west.
It would be particularly helpful if someone could cover Glen Helen Park to see if the birds are moving through the Cajon Pass.
Of course, observations from the Antelope Valley and anywhere else in the greater Los Angeles area are also welcome.
I'll provide an update early in the week to indicate what happened and what we learned.
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