i32 



THE OOLOGIST 



ALFRED COOKMAN 



Alfred Cookman, one of California's 

 well known Ornitholog'ists is now 

 President of the Los Angeles Cali- 

 fornia Nature Club, having something 

 over three hundred members, and we 

 are sure that THE OOLOGIST fam- 

 ily will 'be glad to hear something 

 concerning the field trips which this 

 organization enjoys. The following 

 is the first of a number of promised 

 communications on this subject. — ^R. 

 M. B. 



A Day Among the Oaks Near Mt. 

 El Capitan, San Diego, County, Cal. 



There is one tree that stands out 

 magestic, magnificent and alone — the 

 live oak (Quercus agrifolia) of the 

 foot-hills of California. I have 

 camped beneath its branches in a 

 canyon retreat and climbed out on the 

 •huge limbs to the nest of a jay, wren 

 or woodpecker. I have classified sev- 

 eral insect pests infecting the 

 branches and hark such as the Cali- 

 fornia Oak Moth, Cockerell's Kermes, 

 G-all-like Kermes, Nautical borer and 

 the oak ericoccus. 



Leaving San Diego in an automo- 

 bile for the River Bottom at the base 

 of Mt. El Capitan for the purpose of 

 studying the bird-life in this terri- 

 tory, Professor Valentine and I spent 

 several hours among thousands of 

 oaks, sycamores, poplar trees and 

 willows in the very heart of birdland 

 10 miles north of the city of San 

 Diego, 1922. 



We first directed our course to the 

 willows and parked the car. For two 

 hours, we rambled in and out among 

 these small trees close to the water's 

 edge and observed willow gold- 

 finches, California jays, crows, red- 

 wing black birds, Traill's flycatchers, 

 western black phoebes, brewer black 

 birds, Killdeer, and the San Diego 

 towhee. 

 "We came out into an opening at the 



base of Mt. El Capitan and discov- 

 ered that a hundred yards to the left 

 were oaks and sycamores in count- 

 less numbers. The cry of the Cali- 

 fornia jay and a shrill call of the 

 Sparrow hawk and the heating and 

 tapping of the woodpecker lured us 

 on in that direction. 



Hundreds of Cedar waxwings were 

 recorded and several turkey vultures 

 were there. A dead horse had at- 

 tracted the vultures and they had 

 gathered for the feast. I always en- 

 joy watching vultures feed. They 

 are truly "self-appointed Boards of 

 Health" — industrious scavangers and 

 monarchs of the air. They are sure 

 of themselves in any kind of weather. 

 They nest among the crags and cliffs 

 in the San Diego mountains. 



The writer shot a Ferruginous 

 rough-legged hawk. It was a mon- 

 ster male bird. Length 23.56, wing 

 16.70, tail 10 in. The "squirrel hawk" 

 is pre-eminently a hird of the prairie. 

 The bird is wholly beneficial and is 

 one of California's most' valuable 

 species. The squirrel pro(blem is one 

 of the state's most serious problems. 

 California loses approximately $10,- 

 000,000 worth of grain and vegetable 

 crops annually due to ground squir- 

 rels. 



Wild pigeons were darting here 

 and there as we approached the oak 

 tree area. These birds are very wild. 

 They come up from Mexico during 

 their annual migration and linger 

 awhile in San Diego County. They 

 prefer the oak tree sections of the 

 county. 



The mourning dove, the San Diego 

 towhee, the Gamh^ls Sparrow, the 

 California woodpecker and house 

 finch were present in the oaks. 



Wild flowers were everywhere. 

 Wild barley and sage and cactus 

 plants are characteristic growths. 

 The rpa,d-runner, the meadowlark 



