Los Angeles is an expensive city to live in -- and that was one of the reasons I moved out of it and to a rural area -- and nowhere is that in evidence than in the exclusive, gated community of Rolling Hills. It has a population, according to the 2010 census, of 1,871, an "alarming" decline of 11 people from the 2000 count, which makes it the 4th richest place with a population of at least 1,000. It has a very rural (well, not as rural as Portal) and equestrian air to it, no street lights, and bridle paths between houses. The paths used to be open to the general public, but not any more due to the usual suburban problems having reached even this area. So I acquired a non-resident trail pass, and can walk the wide selection of equestrian paths that double as trails. It's a really lovely area, full of Toyon trees with berries -- Hermit Thrush are residents, and there is always a chance for Varied Thrush in the mix, and in season flocks of Cedar Waxwings rush down the canyon and feast on the berries -- and lush riparian foliage as there's a perennial stream (that same one that is dry further down in George F Canyon) that's fed by an underground spring. So I get an early start as I want to miss the hoards of hikers and horse riders (I came across only 2). At the trailhead you're greeted with a view of why it's called Rolling Hills --
There's lots of room between each house. The trail winds down into a canyon, and is pretty steep coming back up when you're tired at the end of the hike. The path is muddy from the spritz of rain the night before, so it's not long before the mud cakes the bottom of my boots, and I feel like I'm walking with lead weights and on stilts -- a slightly disconcerting feeling when you're also going downhill. At the bottom you cross the creek which is more like a glorified rivulet --
It's cold down there, but I waited until most of it was at least in the sun. You'd think that a place full of all this foliage would be teeming with birds, but it's pretty quiet --
Ah, they're waking up...Golden-crowned, Fox and White-crowned Sparrows are foraging on the ground, and a colorful Orange Warbler gets some of the morning sun --
I'm carrying my 500 f/4 lens for the birds, and the 17-55 for the landscapes. Red-tails are soaring in the air, and the "keyeer" calls of Northern Flickers (one of the few woodpecker species that migrates) are unmistakeable in the silence. I see lots of Ruby-crowned Kinglets; they're here for the winter. I always take the same loop trail when I'm down here; the morning light and mist make for memorable scenes of shadow and light --
The intersections are well-signed, which is a nice change from most of the trails I've hiked. I hang a right to go on the Purple Canyon Trail --
Part of the reason I'm here is to check out the area in preparation for the Christmas Bird Count next Sunday. One of the familiar sights is seeing the dark-morph Red-tail flying around, usually with her mate; females raptors are larger than the males, and she is pretty large and unmistakeable --
That's a photo taken during another time I was there. I see her this time, too, but the light isn't the best, and she's way up in the sky with her mate. I trudge up the trail as it's going up, and come to the Saffo's Rest spur trail --
There's usually a Great-horned Owl pair at Saffo's Rest, but I don't see them this time around. Trudge, trudge, trudge..I finally make it to the top of the trail, and head down the other side. A jogger comes by with his dog, and exclaims "That's the biggest lens I've ever seen!" So I respond the usual "Thank you!" What else am I supposed to say? It's still kinda quiet bird-wise -- mostly "just" Yellow-rumped Warblers of the "Audubon's" variety. Then as I'm crossing the paved road to get to the last section of the loop trail, I come across a phenomenon I've only seen once before. The day after a rain, bugs usually come out -- and that means a feast for the birds. Warblers sally forth from branches and catch tiny no-see-ums from the air, or get them from the ground. And all of this usually happens right in front of you; they're so involved in the food buffet that they don't seem to be aware of you. They're mostly "Audubon's" Yellow-rumpeds once again --
Audubon's have the yellow throat, while the Myrtles have white. And you can see the yellow rump patch, thus Yellow-rumped. Even a Ruby-crowned Kinglet gets in on the food feast, and comes within about a foot of me --
But the best one of all has to be Mr. Townsend's Warbler. After seeing, and taking photos of, one in shadow at San Pedro's Averill Park, this one is in full light --
OK, I've got my best Townsend's photo with the 500 f/4 lens, now I can move on with my life... The last part of the hike is uneventful, but still photogenic with its dropped leaves on the path (I can't call it autumnal as this is LaLaLand after all, with its one season). I trudge back up to the trailhead ; I've been doing a lot of trudging on this hike. But it's been worth it, and it's one of the best, relatively unknown hikes, if not in all of LA County, then certainly on the Palos Verdes Peninsula. Thank goodness there are now some restrictions to its public access, and that I had acquired a trail pass...
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