ERNIE COWAN Outdoors

SIT BACK AND ENJOY NATURE’S ANNUAL SPRING PARADE

It may not be marching bands and floats, but nature’s annual spring parade is about to begin as longer days and warmer weather awaken San Diego’s backcountry from its winter chill.

A drive into the oak woodlands or pine-covered mountains will give you a hint of things to come. Fields are painted in brilliant green; blankets of tiny yellow goldfields are starting to carpet grassy meadows like paint slowly spreading from a spilled bucket, and daffodils are lining the highways to Julian like a cheerful welcoming committee.

Migrating orioles have returned to local backyard feeders, and just about every critter from spiders to coyotes is pairing up. Doves are gathering nesting material and fuzzy grebe chicks are already riding on the backs of parent birds at Lake Hodges.

Shiny black cormorants are already raising their featherless, black chicks, and soon gulls will be tending eggs then fuzzy, spotted hatchlings on the cliffs at La Jolla.

One of the greatest sky shows to be seen is put on by nesting peregrine falcons on the cliff at Torrey Pines. Once the fledglings learn to fly in late May, parent birds will be soaring over awestruck observers on the beach as they teach the youngsters to hunt.
This is a spring of abundance. Record rainfall has produced more vegetation and that means more insects, more food for plant eaters and thus more food for the predators that feed on the plant eaters.

Whatever message nature sends has notified the wild kingdom that there is abundance that will benefit all.

For the nature lover, this is a glorious time. Wildflowers not seen in years will soon be blooming from Santa Ysabel to Palomar Mountain, Point Loma to Mount Laguna.

The mild days of spring will beckon hikers to the scenic trails of Palomar Mountain, Torrey Pines or Cuyamaca Rancho state parks where birds will be nesting, baby deer still covered in spots might be feeding with their mothers and wildflowers will fill the air with a gentle scent.

One of the most enjoyable products of spring is the arrival of youngsters. I’ve already seen tiny lizards, less than 2 inches in length, darting about my garden.

Local lagoons will be a nursery for baby ducks, swallows, and other bird species that find abundant food and shelter here. Baby seals and sea lions are still nursing as mother and baby bask on the warm sands around La Jolla Cove.

Anyone living near local canyon open spaces has probably already seen the arrival of the spring crop of cottontail rabbits. Your grass and the tender shoots of garden plants provide a spring-mix salad for these furry visitors.

The night air may be filled with the hoots or screeches of nesting owls, and if you are lucky, red-tailed hawks may have already nested and will soon be tending to their hatchlings that you will hear squawking for food long before you see them in the air. But there will be an air show.

Once the hawk chicks are ready to leave the nest, both parent birds will patiently teach them to hunt while the youngsters continue to whine and demand to be fed.

In the oak woodlands, the acorn woodpeckers are busily preparing nests in natural holes or ones they have created. Soon these social birds will be working together to feed their youngsters and if you have spotted a nesting hole, look for the chicks to occasionally poke their heads out to marvel at the outside world.

Osprey and egrets will be nesting around local lakes and lagoons, and it can be breathtaking to watch the huge osprey swoop down, grasp a fish in its talons and then soar upward as it returns to feed its young.

If you are not sure where to go to discover the many trails in San Diego, consider getting a copy of “Coast to Cactus: The Canyoneer Trail Guide to San Diego Outdoors.”

Organized hikes are also available at such places as Mission Trails Regional Park (mtrp.org) and San Dieguito River Park (sdrp.org).

Mild weather, green fields, wildflowers, baby animals and the excitement of spring in the great outdoors makes this a great time to join nature’s parade in San Diego.