Our two days of birding in parklands near Julian provided cloudless skies, with the first day’s temperature high in the upper 80s and the second day’s to 90.  In spite of the heat, we were fortunately able to enjoy delightful westerly breezes virtually all of the time on our walks.  After our first stop for a piece of apple or other fruit pie at the Julian Pie Company store in the village of Santa Ysabel, we continued up the road to the historic Santa Ysabel Mission where we saw a multitude of nesting Cliff Swallows and such other birds as Hooded Orioles, Western Bluebirds, and a Western Kingbird sitting in its nest.

            Our main stop of the day was at the William Heise County Park, where our group walked part of a nature trail among the shady woodlands of pines, cedars, and oaks.  Highlights included a Robin and Black-headed Grosbeak musically singing, a pair of nesting Ash-throated Flycatchers, and Acorn Woodpeckers.

After our picnic, we continued on to the historic little town of Julian, where we checked in at the Julian Lodge and enjoyed relaxing and/or browsing through some of the shops, including the Birdwatcher store.  Our first day ended with group members choosing between two restaurants for dinner -- Jeremy’s on the Hill in Wynola and the Rong Branch in Julian.

            After the motel’s continental breakfast at the start of day two, we drove south from Julian to the Cuyamaca Rancho State Park and Lake Cuyamaca.  We stopped first at Paso Picacho campground where we followed a trail beneath tall pines, cedars, and oaks.   Acorn woodpeckers seemed to be everywhere, flying back and forth and calling to each other.  Other birds included Steller’s Jays, nuthatches, chickadees, wrens, and a Red-shouldered Hawk in an oak tree.  When the trail entered an area that was burned by the wind-driven 2003 Cedar Wildfire, we heard the trills of Spotted Towhees and the musical phrases of a Black-headed Grosbeak from secretive places within the vigorous new growth of shrubby vegetation.

            Our second stop in Cuyamaca Rancho park was at the Stonewall Mine site amid a scenic panorama of broad meadows bordered by scattered areas of pines and oaks.  As the breezes flowed across the meadow grasses, we spotted nine Wild Turkeys walking single-file.  Soon after starting a walk on one of the trails, we watched six more turkeys on the slope below us and four mule deer just upslope from us.  Other birds included an adult Bald Eagle circling above nearby Lake Cuyamaca.  Our final stop was for lunch at Cuyamaca Lake Restaurant, from which we saw Great Blue Herons, Great and Snowy Egrets, Mallards, and a pair of Canada Geese with their three goslings.