Breeding Birds of Four Isolated Mountains in Southern California
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WESTERN BIRDS Volume 24, Number 4, 1993 BREEDING BIRDS OF FOUR ISOLATED MOUNTAINS IN SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA JOAN EASTON LENTZ, 433 PimientoLn., Santa Barbara,California 93108 The breedingavifaunas of FigueroaMountain and Big PineMountain in SantaBarbara County and Pine Mountain and Mount Pinos in Venturaand Kern countiesare of great ornithologicalinterest. These four mountains supportislands of coniferousforest separated by otherhabitats at lower elevations. Little information on the birds of the first three has been publishedpreviously. From 1981 to 1993, I, withthe helpof a numberof observers,censused the summer residentbirds of these four mountains,paying particular attentionto the speciesrestricted to highelevations. By comparingthese avifaunaswith each other, as well as with those of the San Gabriel,San Bernardino,and San Jacinto mountains, and the southernSierra Nevada, I hopeto addto currentknowledge of thestatus and distribution of montane birds in southern California. VEGETATIO51AND GEOGRAPHY The patternof vegetationin the surveyareas is typicalof thatfound on manysouthern California mountains. Generally, the south- and west-facing slopesof the mountainsare coveredwith chaparralor pinyon-juniper woodlandalmost to the summits.On the north-facingslopes, however, coolertemperatures and more mesic conditions support coniferous forest, which often reaches far down the mountainsides. Because the climate is arid, few creeksor streamsflow at high elevations,and most water is availablein the form of seepsor smallsprings. BothFigueroa (4528 feet, 1380 m) andBig Pine (6828 feet,2081 m) mountainsare locatedin the San RafaelRange, the southernmostof the CoastRanges (Figure 1, Norrisand Webb 1990). The San RafaelMoun- tainsare borderedby the SierraMadre, a low chaparral-coveredrange, to the northand the CuyamaValley to the northeast.The SisquocRiver drains west from the San Rafael Mountains and Sierra Madre to the Santa Maria River.To the southlies the foothillgrassland of the SantaYnez Valley. Western Birds 24:201-234, 1993 201 BIRDS OF FOUR ISOLATED MOUNTAINS The vegetationof the FigueroaMountain area (including Ranger Peak, 4652 feet,1396 m)is a mixedforest of oaksand conifers with patches of chaparraland foothill grassland (Barbour and Major 1988). Above 3500 feet(1067 m) the forest is dominated by Ponderosa Pine (Pinus ponderosa) andCoulter Pine (P.. coulteri), heavily interspersed with Canyon Live Oak (Quercuschrysolepis), Coast Live Oak (Q. agrifolia),and California Bay (Umbellulariacalifomica). On •e northsides of FigueroaMountain and RangerPeak stands of Big-ConeSpruce or Douglas-Fir(Pseudotsuga macrocarpa)grow on the steep slopes and in shadedcanyons. Most of the understoryshrubs are chaparral species such as manzanita (Arctostaphylos sp.), Toyon (Heteromelesarbutifolia), and Coffeeberry(Rhamnus californica)(Figures 2 and 3). BigPine Mountain is 19 miles(30 krn)east of FigueroaMountain and possessesmore extensive coniferous forest (Figure 4). Chaparralcovers the south-facingslope almost to thesummit, but the vegetation near the summit andon the north slope is a mixedmontane coniferous forest. Here, Jeffrey Pine (Pinus}effreyi), Sugar Pine (P. lambertiana),White Fir (Abies concolor),and IncenseCedar (Calocedrus decurrens) furnish a dense canopyof tallconifers at elevationsabove approximately 5800 feet(1768 m). Withinthe coniferousforest are patches of montanechaparral: Bitter Cherry(Prunus emarginata), Western Chokecherry (Prunus virginiana var. demissa),Deer Brush(Ceanothus integerrimus), and Chaparral Whitethorn(C. leucodermis).On the eastand west-facing slopes, [e.g., on øie•-. • • . , A Kern Counhj •0• • Mount •nos / • • M•Mo•ta• 8 ..... • Rafael Big• •ne Mounf•in • "%k• LosOIw• X .... [ • •ne Mo•t•n•to•r•n %•; [• Wn•aCo•W •(, Wn• Figure1. •e fo• isolatedmo•tains su•eyed in •nta •rbara, Ventura,and Kern coun•es. 202 BIRDS OF FOUR ISOLATED MOUNTAINS West Big Pine (6490 feet, 1978 m) and toward MadulcePeak], a drier JeffreyPine woodlandpredominates. Down a deep canyonon the north slope,the trail to Lower Bear Campgroundwinds through a mesicarea of mostlyIncense Cedar with CanyonLive Oak and somePonderosa Pine. A forest of Coulter Pine stretches across the southeast flank of the mountain in the vicinityof AlamarSaddle (Figure 5). Approximately19 miles(30 km) east of Big Pine Mountain,the narrow forestedridge of Pine Mountainextends east-west for approximately9 miles(14.4 km) (Figure6). It is a successionof summits,the highestbeing ReyesPeak (7510 feet, 2289 m). Borderedto the southby the SespeCreek drainageand to the north by portions of the Cuyama and Lockwood valleys,Pine Mountain is surroundedby chaparraland pinyon-juniper woodlandthat reachesalmost to the summiton south-facingslopes. Above 6000 feet (1829 m), Jeffreyand scatteredPonderosa pines grow in a dry, open forestalong the boulder-strewnridgetop. Down the steepnorth slope, severalof the narrowcanyons support a more mesicforest of SugarPine and White Fir, (e.g., alongthe RaspberrySpring trail and on the north side of Reyes Peak). Bitter Cherry, ChaparralWhitethorn, and Deer Brush mingle with Wax Currant (Ribes cereurn) and Mountain Snowberry FigueroaMtn.4528' ToLosOlivos Pino Alto Picnic Are•'•,,,•... _ ••.•. FigueroaRanger Station r Peak ß AreaCensused ...... • ....... .,,,.,.,,,,.,.,,,•.,.,,..Unimproved Road ............PavedTrail Road Creek CountyLine Figure 2. Detail of FigueroaMountain, Santa BarbaraCounty. The total area surveyed,above 3500 feet elevation,was about 1.3 squaremiles (3.4 kin2),out of a totalforested area of about2 squaremiles (5.2 km•). 203 BIRDS OF FOUR ISOLATED MOUNTAINS ($ymphoricarposparrishii) in a few forestoperiings, but the understoryis never dense(Figure 7). Mount Pinos(8831 feet, 2692 m) lies 16 miles(26 km) northeastof Pine Mountain.It is the highestpoint in a massof mountains--includingMount Abel, Sawmill Mountain, and Grouse Mountain--separated from other ranges by interveninglow dividesand elevatedvalleys covered with sage- brush(Artemisia tridentata). The Mount Pinosregion provides an ecologi- cal link with the Sierra Nevada and TehachapiMountains to the northeast and the TransverseRanges of southernCalifornia to the southeast. The Mount Pinos area (Figure 8) has the most montane habitat in the surveyarea. At approximately6250 feet (1905 m), the lower slopesof pinyon-junipermixed with sagebrushgive way to a JeffreyPine woodland on the southand east slopes.On the north slopes,White Fir and Jeffrey Pine form a moisterforest, as along the trail to GrouseMountain and along Fir RidgeRoad on Mount Pinos.California Black Oak (Quercuskelloggii) and Canyon Live Oak mix with the pine-fir forestin the canyons,particu- larlyalong the McGilltrail on Mount Pinos.Above 8000 feet (2438 m), the vegetationresembles the montanesubalpine forest found in the Transverse and Peninsularranges of southernCalifornia (Barbour and Major 1988). • -. Figure3. Coniferousforest on FigueroaMountain Note the typicalconifer and oak mixturewith Big-ConeSpruce and CanyonLive Oak makinga densecanopy down north-facingcanyons. Photo by Joan Easton Lentz 2O4 BIRDS OF FOUR ISOLATED MOUNTAINS The summitof Mount Pinossupports an open woodlandof LimberPine (Pinusflexiils) and JeffreyPine (Barbourand Major 1988). Montanechaparral here generallyoccurs in densepatches on exposed, steep,or rockyareas and is verysimilar to that foundin the southernSierra Nevada,San Gabriel, San Bernardino,and San Jacintoranges (Barbour and Major 1988). The common shrubsare currantsand gooseberries (Ribesspp.), Snow Bush (Ceanothuscordulatus), and manzanita.Very smallmeadows grow at Iris Meadow on Mount Pinos, Sheep Camp on SawmillMountain and at occasionalroadside seeps on Mount Pinos and Mount Abel. Thesesustain a numberof grassesand herbsalso found in alpinemeadows in the southernSierra Nevadaand the San Gabriel,San Bernardino,and San Jacintomountains (Figure 9). CLIMATE The climate of the areas studiedis Mediterranean,with dry, warm summersand wet, cool winters. With the exceptionof an occasional thunderstorm,very little rain falls during the summer.Average annual precipitationfor FigueroaMountain is 21 inches,for BigPine Mountain, 34 inches, for Pine Mountain, 23 inches, and for Mount Pinos 23 inches ToSanta BarbaraCanyon N ' \.Si,•UOct•iuet / •. •XX .,• ChokecherrySpring •---.\ J • ß LowerB•r CAmpground ToSan Rafael• Mtn.10/•.••_,,i,,,,,,,,•.½mi. ../ •, •amarSaddle WestBig Pine6490• Pine Mtn. 6828', MadulcePeak 6541 ] AreaCensused • ............Trail To Lille Pine Mtn. ............,,l::. ........ UnimprovedR•d Paved R•d ........ Creek Coun• Line Figure 4. Detail of Bi• Pine Mo•tain, S•ta Ba•ara Count. •e total area su•eyed,above 5300 feetelevation, was about 4.5 •uare miles(11.7 •, outof a totalforested area o[ about5 •uam miles(13 •. BIRDS OF FOUR ISOLATED MOUNTAINS (SantaBarbara and Ventura County Flood Control personnel, pers. comm.). On Big Pine Mountain,Pine Mountain,and Mount Pinos,much of the precipitationfalls in the form of wintersnow. Average summer tempera- turesrange from daytime highs of 80 to 85øF(27-29øC) to nighttimelows of 52-56øF (11-13øC) (U.S. Forest Service personnel, Santa Barbara District,pers. comm.). From 1984 through1990, precipitationin Santa Barbaraand Ventura Counties--as in much of southern California--was well below average, possiblyaffecting both the diversityand abundanceof montanespecies frequentingthe areasstudied. Figure5. Coniferousforest on Big Pine Mountain.This view is alongthe Big Pine MountainRoad, showingSugar Pine, White Fir, and IncenseCedar