Peñasquitos Canyon
Facilities: There are restrooms at Canyonside Park and porta-potties at both the western and eastern parking areas.
Directions: The best strategy is to bird the western portion first, then head to the eastern portion, as there are traffic restrictions on certain roads during the week. To get to the west end, take I-8 east to I-805 north, and take the Mira Mesa/Vista Sorrento Parkway exit. Go straight at the light, where you'll be paralleling the freeway for awhile. Turn right on Sorrento Valley Blvd., and once past the industrial park, look for the large parking area on your right. Note: the park may be closed after a storm.
This lovely little preserve contains a five-mile trail popular with hikers and bikers; if you have a friend with an additional car and don't mind the long hike, parking a car at each end and hiking the whole thing would be a delightful birding excursion (and you get to see the little waterfalls in the middle as well). Otherwise, there are three short hikes you can take and probably see most of the birds you'd see anyway.
Lopez Canyon 
+
From the western parking area, head through the lush riparian woodland and bear
right at the kiosk (the main trail, described next, goes to the left). The
trail follows the creek for about 3.5 miles; birds you can expect along here
include Red-shouldered Hawk, Anna's and Costa's Hummingbirds, Black Phoebe, Northern Flicker,
Nuttall's and Downy Woodpecker, Common Yellowthroat, Lesser Goldfinch, and
Song
Sparrow year-round; Hermit Thrush, Ruby-crowned Kinglet, and Yellow-rumped
Warbler in winter; and riparian specialties such as Pacific-slope Flycatcher,
Yellow Warbler, Yellow-breasted Chat, Bullocks' Oriole, and Blue and
Black-headed Grosbeak in summer. Good migrants are always a possibility in
this type of habitat. Watch for White-tailed Kites hunting over the
grasslands, and Rufous-crowned Sparrows calling from the brushy hillsides.
In winter you may have Say's Phoebes feeding in the open areas. Other
scrub-loving birds you might find along here include California Quail, Wrentit,
Bewick's Wren, Spotted and California Towhees, California Thrasher, and
Western
Scrub Jay. In summer look for Ash-throated Flycatchers, and In winter keep
an eye out for Lincoln's, White-crowned, and Golden-crowned Sparrows.
Lush riparian woodland just off the parking area
Lopez Canyon
Peñasquitos West
From the kiosk, veer left under the bridge (where Cliff and Northern
Rough-winged Swallows hang out in summer) and drag yourself up the hill into the
grasslands, where you may have Grasshopper Sparrow in summer, American Pipit
and
Savannah Sparrow in winter, and Western Meadowlarks, Lark Sparrows, and
Horned
Larks year-round. Northern Harriers like this area as well. From the
hill you get a great view of the creek and a small wetland and pond (which might
be dry); since this
may not be visible from ground level, check it out now for herons and
other possible water birds. At the bottom of the hill the main trail veers right, but for a
nice loop veer left into the riparian woodland, where, in addition to the birds
previously mentioned, you may find American Goldfinch and Red-winged Blackbird
year round, and Bell's Vireo in summer. (Despite the thick vegetation,
Willow Flycatcher is apparently only a migrant here.) Closer to the
wetland you may hear Marsh Wrens, rails, and grebes calling unseen or flush a Belted
Kingfisher. The trail passes an old historic adobe, then joins Sorrento
Valley Parkway, where you can turn left and follow the road back to the parking
area. Please be careful crossing the road; they
drive like maniacs here!!
Grasslands on the top of the hill
Where the trail dumps off on Sorrento Valley Blvd. (the adobe is on the right)
Peñasquitos East
This is
definitely the easiest of the three hikes, and includes some oak woodland along
with the willows, sycamores, and exotic trees. From the west end parking area, turn
right onto Sorrento Valley Blvd, which becomes Calle Cristobal after awhile.
The main road makes a hard right at Camino Ruiz; follow this to Capricorn Way,
where you'll make a left. Follow this road to Black Mountain Road, where
you'll turn left. You can either park in the preserve's parking area
across from Mercy Road (open at 8:00; fee), or you can continue to Canyonside
Park (which is the next light), which opens at 6:00 and is free. The
trailhead from Canyonside is almost to the ranch, as far down as you can drive
(unless the gate to the ranch house is open),
and this takes you through the woods and to the main trail.
There's one large trail that runs the length of the canyon, with grasslands on the south and riparian woodland to the north. There are several small trails that sneak into the woodland from the main trail, and these are worth exploring for birds. Check the wires for Mourning Doves and kingbirds (Cassin's year-round and Western in summer). In addition to the birds occurring on the west end, the oaks may have Cooper's and Sharp-shinned (winter) Hawks, Acorn Woodpecker, House Wren, Hutton's Vireo, Phainopepla, Western Bluebird, and in summer Black-chinned Hummingbird. Suburban birds such as Northern Mockingbird are more likely at this end as well, so be mindful that both mimids can occur here! If you do wind up parking at Canyonside, check the ball fields for blackbirds and gulls, plus American Pipits in winter; the palms may have Hooded Oriole in summer. Cedar Waxwings are a possibility in winter, as they tend to like suburban areas. There's also a trail into some grasslands accessible from the northwest side of the parking area. If the trails are closed due to post-storm conditions, you still should be able to rack up a pretty good list by birding from the paved portions of the park.
Grasslands and ranch at the Canyonside Park parking area
Main trail
Side trail into the woods
In the woods
Oak canopy heading towards the falls area
Oak savannah about two miles in
Waterfall area about three miles in
Peñasquitos "Falls"
Scrub habitat heading back towards Canyonside Park
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 out-of-place, irruptive, or vagrant species and should not be expected.