I hiked this road this morning, glad that the road closure at the base of ranger peak is no longer in effect. That section of Fig Mtn. Road is in great shape right now.
Overall, it was very quiet on East Pinery. It was fairly windy, which probably kept the few birds there down. The only "Mountain" birds I had this morning were 3 Steller's Jays and several calling Mountain Quail down in the canyons. However, in the conifer forest on the first part of the trail, I had a mixed warbler flock of at least 4 each Townsend's and Hermit Warblers, along with a Warbling Vireo. Below the trail in the canyon, I could hear a very vociferous Olive Sided Flycatcher and a singing Black-headed Grosbeak, but neither came up far enough for views. Further down the trail, I picked up an Ash-throated Flycatcher and an unexpected male Bullock's Oriole in a dead pine on the south side of the trail.
After that, it was pretty dull. I found a pair of Purple Finches nesting in a Coulter Pine and another Ash-throated Flycatcher. On my way back, just before reaching the conifer forest near the top I had a singing Cassin's Vireo; then in the top of a Big Cone Spruce, I turned up the Olive-sided Flycatcher again, going through his entire repertoire of calls over and over again. The territorial behavior of this bird makes me think it might try to nest.
I turned my attention to flowers on the way down. The peak bloom has definitely passed except for the section from Pino Alto Road* to the open meadows nearing the base of Ranger Peak. That section, especially in the road cuts, is very beautiful, with bush lupines in full bloom and fragrance right now. Though there are fewer flowers on the lower slopes than there were 10 days ago, I picked up some new things: White Mariposa Lillies, the sky-blue Figueroa Mountain version of Blue-eyed Grass, and red-flowered onion.
Traffic is bad after 11 a.m.
Florence Sanchez *Pino Alto and Catway Roads are now open.