Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Central Valley were particularly hard hit, with antelope retreating in small numbers to the
northeastern corner of the state, and tule elk hunted into near-extinction (a small remnant
herd was moved to Point Reyes, where it has since rebounded).
Mountain lions (also called cougars) hunt throughout California's mountains and forests,
especially in areas teeming with deer. Solitary lions, which can grow 8ft in length and
weigh 175lb, are formidable predators. Few attacks on humans have occurred, mostly
where encroachment has pushed hungry lions to their limits - for example, at the boundar-
ies between wilderness and rapidly developing suburbs.
The Audubon Society's California chapter website (
www.ca.audubon.org
)
offers helpful
birding checklists, photos and descriptions of key species, conservation news and a Pacif-
ic Flyway blog (
www.audublog.org
)
.
Birds & Butterflies
California is an essential stop on the migratory Pacific Flyway between Alaska and Mex-
ico. Almost half the bird species in North America use the state's wildlife refuges and
nature preserves for rest and refueling. Migration peaks during the wetter winter season.
Witness, for example, the congregation of two million ducks and geese at the Klamath
Basin National Wildlife Refuges during October and November.
Year round you can see birds at California's beaches, estuaries and bays, where herons,
cormorants, shorebirds and gulls gather, including at Point Reyes National Seashore and in
the Channel Islands. Monarch butterflies are gorgeous orange creatures that follow long-
distance migration patterns in search of milkweed, their only source of food. They winter
in California by the tens of thousands, mostly on the Central Coast, for example, in Santa
Cruz, Pacific Grove, Pismo Beach and Santa Barbara County.
As you drive along the Big Sur coastline, look skyward to spot endangered California
condors, which also soar inland over Pinnacles National Park and Los Padres National
Forest. Also keep an eye out for regal bald eagles, which have regained a foothold on the
Channel Islands, and some spend their winters at Big Bear Lake in the mountains near LA.
