There is a burn-damaged portion of the road between miles 9 and 10 from an isolated fire; the McCoy Fire (which burned portions of the Inaja Indian Reservation) did not adversely affect the route. Click here for pictures of the burned area. Keep in mind that most of the burn damage you'll encounter along this route was from the 2003 Cedar Fire.
Boulder Creek Road begins in Descanso as a paved road for the first five miles,
then turns to a good graded dirt road, which turns to pavement again past the
fire station near Pine Hills.
Approximate Length: 21 miles
Approximate Birding Time: 4.5 to 5 hours
Traffic: Light to moderate along the paved lower end; extremely light along the dirt portion; picks up slightly in Pine Hills, but still pretty light
Directions: Take I-8 east to the highway 79 exit, towards Descanso and Cuyamaca State Park. Turn left under the freeway, and watch for the Descanso turnoff (Riverside Dr.) about 1.3 miles down the road on your left. Follow this road for 0.8 mile to a gas station/general store, where you'll turn left on Viejas Grade, then make an immediate right onto Oak Grove. After about 1.5 miles Boulder Creek Road bears right; its terminus is at Pine Hills Road.
Although severely damaged by the 2003 firestorms, much of the habitat along this road came through unscathed, primarily the riparian areas and the lovely oak savannah meadows of McCoy Ranch. Despite the devastation, many chaparral-loving birds are still using the area. Along deciduous-riparian creeks look for Mallard, Black Phoebe, Red-winged Blackbird, and Song Sparrow year-round; Blue Grosbeak, Black-chinned Hummingbird, Bullock's Oriole, and Yellow Warbler in summer, and migrants during spring. In the oak woodlands you can still expect Oak Titmouse, Band-tailed Pigeon, Acorn and Nuttall's Woodpeckers, Northern Flicker, Phainopepla, American Robin, House Wren, White-breasted Nuthatch, Orange-crowned Warbler, Hutton's Vireo, Dark-eyed Junco, and Lesser and Lawrence's Goldfinch year-round; Western Wood Pewee, Pacific-slope Flycatcher, and Black-headed Grosbeak in summer, and Ruby-crowned Kinglet in winter. Lazuli Buntings have been particularly abundant after the burns in the chaparral, and the fires have not deterred Rufous-crowned, Black-chinned and Sage Sparrows, Bewick's Wrens, Wrentits, and California Thrashers; White-crowned Sparrows and the occasional Golden-crowned don't seem to mind the recovering brush, and both Fox Sparrows and Hermit Thrushes have returned. Rock and Canyon Wrens have moved into areas that have more exposed rock faces, and Loggerhead Shrikes are taking advantage of the more open grassy areas. In spring and early summer when the flowers are blooming, Costa's Hummingbirds can be abundant; in mid-summer Selasphorus hummingbirds start coming through, so watch the flowering plants for Allen's and Rufous Hummers. Watch for a little ranch about halfway up (complete with white picket fence) where "Wild" Turkeys sometimes come in and schmooze with the barnyard fowl!
Sunrise near the beginning of the road
Already life is re-emerging after the 2003 firestorms!
One of the somewhat undamaged oak draws along the road
Recovering oak savannah
One of several creek crossings
Optional hike:
At about 13.2 miles there's a gate on the left (two, actually) with just enough
room for one car to park; you'll see a trail that follows a ridge and heads up
into a tiny grove of oak trees. Lark Sparrows
seem to have taken up
residence here, and this is a good place to try for closer views of
Sage
Sparrows. The view up at the oak grove
is beautiful. For those with more energy, the trail continues down the
hill, and you eventually get a view of a distant waterfall on your left (if the
rains have cooperated), but it's a climb back up! One year nesting
Dippers were found in this area, but I hear the spot was quite difficult to
get to.
Trail to the overlook
"Memorial Tree"
Continuing on, up in the meadows look for raptors, as well as Western Kingbirds in summer and Wild Turkeys, Meadowlarks, and Western Bluebirds year round. This is another good place for Lawrence's Goldfinch and Lark Sparrow. As you ascend and start getting into mixed pine/oak woodland, start looking for Band-tailed Pigeon, Steller's Jay, Violet-green Swallow (summer), Mountain Chickadee, and Purple Finch (in winter, these can be sometimes found at the south end of the road as well, along with the bluebirds). About a mile's worth of the route passes through the well-marked Inaja Indian Reservation; please respect tribal law and refrain from stopping along this stretch! Before the fires, Purple Martins nested in dead trees along the paved part of the road in Pine Hills, but although rare they can still be possible anywhere along the road. Once in Pine Hills, if you stop, be sure to find a nice wide area where you can be easily seen; the locals tend to take these curvy roads rather fast!
Oaks at McCoy Ranch
With the snowy-topped Cuyamacas in the background
Higher elevation oak woodland
Mixed woodland habitat within the Inaja Indian Reservation
Near the fire station at Engineers Road
Pine Hills
Personal Checklist ●=small numbers █ = large numbers (10+)
Please keep in mind that these lists are NOT comprehensive, and that some months may have had poor overall coverage. Species in red are vagrant or irruptive species and should not be expected.