Come to the Pine Mountain Town Hall

Friday, Jan. 11 at 7 p.m. PMC Clubhouse Condor Room. Everyone is welcome.

Birdlife of the Mountains

Biologist Lynn Stafford will be talking about the Birdlife of the Pine Mountain community and the surrounding forests of the Mountain Communities on Friday, Jan. 11 at 7 p.m. It is the first Town Hall of the New Year. Everyone is welcome to come hear the program in the Pine Mountain Clubhouse Condor Room. Birdlovers from the entire mountain are welcome. Here is Stafford’s description of his talk.

By Lynn Stafford

We live in a wild mountain world surrounded by natural mountain scenery composed of many wildlife habitats.

Mount Pinos, Cerro Noroeste, Tecuya Ridge, San Emigdio Mountains and our valley-from the ‘Y’ to Apache Saddle-contain an intricate mosaic of native plant communities.

Other than the section which contains our homes, these mountains are quite undisturbed, some are almost unvisited by humans.

The birdlife here is rich with native species that have been here since long before our community began. Because of the variation in elevations, the presence of north and southfacing slopes, varied geologic structure and complex groundwater patterns, there is much intermingling of habitats and plant communities. Forest, brush and riparian species are mixed together with low and high-elevation mountain species in surprising combinations. The study of birds here produces a lot of variety.

At the Town Hall talk we will explore more about these species through photographs, calls and discussion.

I’ve studied the birds of this area since 1998, and have catalogued more than 50,000 personal observations. Other local birders have contributed observation records, and I’ve resarched the professional ornithological studies of this area. Over 150 species are found at one time or another in this basin.

Our birdlife helps us to investigate the complex web of the natural world here in an area that is primarily natural, not greatly simplified by human presence, as in much of California.

Your participation with questions and observations will be welcomed. Handouts with information on local species, feeding stations, bird habitat enhancement ideas and nesting box information will also be available.

This is part of the January 04, 2013 online edition of The Mountain Enterprise.

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