The Grass Mountain CBC (CAGM) was completed on Dec 27, 2025. CAGM includes
Leona Valley, Petersen Ranch, Green Valley, Bouquet Canyon, Bouquet
Reservoir, San Francisquito Canyon, Sawmill Mountain, Lake Hughes, Lake
Elizabeth and a slice of the desert north of the aqueduct. After four
straight days of rain and wind in the area, we finally had one perfect day
of sunshine for the count. Fourteen participants came out to cover five of
the six sectors of the circle. Sawmill Ridge and campgrounds were
inaccessible due to road closures.
The team counted 4,273 individual birds, compared to last year’s 4,143
count in 2024. The number of species identified also increased from 95 in
2024 to 101 species in 2025. Birds of note, rare in the circle in recent
years, were Lewis’s Woodpecker, Common Loon on Bouquet Reservoir and
Tricolored Blackbird in the desert sector. There was a noticeable increase
in the number of waterfowl on Lake Elizabeth and on Bouquet Reservoir!
Missing from the count were the expected large flocks of Yellow-rumped
Warblers and Lawrence’s Goldfinch, with just one of each sighted. It was
nice to see a Bald Eagle present again at Bouquet Reservoir. [See link
below]
New this year!! Audubon sent a photographer to shoot video and photos of
our birders in action. Thank you Liz Munoz Huber for documenting the Grass
Mountain CBC on film.
Here is a link to the eBird report for Bouquet Reservoir (with lots of
pictures) posted Dec 27 by Naresh Satyan and Jonathan Nakai.
https://ebird.org/checklist/S290676607
