THE CONDOR 
VOL. VI 
1 66 
it runs the county road and also, in winter, the flood waters of what we are 
pleased to call the Escondido River. 
The can5^on is of varying width, in places narrowing down to leave barely 
room for river and road, and then opens out into pretty bits of pasture with groves 
of live oak, a few small 
sycamore saplings, and 
scattered willows along 
the rocky river bed. In 
places the river bed it- 
self is almost obscured 
by tall brush. The hills 
on either side are high 
and steep, and are cov- 
ered with sage, wild 
lilac, and grease-wood, 
with occasional clumps 
of manzanita, very dense 
and high on the unex- 
posed slopes. Huge 
rock piles are found here 
and there, and enormous 
boulders rise above the 
brush, becoming near 
the summit abrupt 
ledges of varying height. 
On one of these ledges, 
which appears from the 
road, 200 feet below, to 
be two or three boulders 
piled on top of each 
other, in a corner formed 
by natural cleavage of 
the rock, is an old eagle’s 
ne.st that was last occu- 
pied in 1897, when two 
young birds were taken 
from it. A few hundred 
yards below, an immense 
ledge, forming the whole 
face of the hill, rises 
above the brush and 
trees at about 150 feet 
above the river, extend- 
ing upwards for perhaps 
an equal distance as 
smooth rock-faces, jut- 
ting boulders, and moss- 
covered terraces, with 
an extreme length of 
about 200 yards. On the lower part of this, and about fifty feet from the bottom, 
are two nests. One of these nests is above and a little to the left of the other. 
UPPER.EGG, WESTERN RED-TAILED HAWK; MIDDLE. 
GOLDEN EAGLE 
AND LOWER. 
