Saw this today in Riverside.
Sorry, Mr. Lizard.
Belted Kingfisher, Red-Winged Blackbird and Osprey
My wife has a knack for spotting interesting birds.
In addition to the bald eagles she found a few months ago, she has spotted a tagged turkey vulture and an osprey while driving over the Lake Mathews dam.
I had a camera with me yesterday when she pointed out some birds, so we stopped to take a few pictures. We aren’t bird experts, so please let me if I found the wrong names on the Internet.
Female Belted Kingfisher:
Male Red-winged Blackbirds:
I took the pictures above with a point and shoot camera. Unfortunately, I didn’t even have that with me when we saw an Osprey last December.
Bald Eagle Sighting at Lake Mathews – Jan 20, 2016
Driving by Lake Mathews today, my wife yelled, “There they are!”
She was referring to the bald eagles we have heard about that nest at Lake Mathews during the winter. Here is the iPhone picture I snapped when we pulled over:
We immediately turned around and headed home to grab our cameras. When we returned, we were fortunate that this beautiful bald eagle was still hanging around enjoying a meal:
Just as I was walking along the roadway to try a different vantage point, the eagle flew away…
Fortunately, the eagle landed on the Cajalco side of the dam. Although we couldn’t get close enough to get great pictures, we still managed to get a few that were decent enough to post:
Seeing our national emblem out in the wild was such a great experience.
“The Congress finds as follows: (1) The bald eagle was designated as the national emblem of the United States on June 20, 1782, by our country’s Founding Fathers at the Second Continental Congress. – From the American Bald Eagle Recovery and National Emblem Commemorative Coin Act
A few facts from The U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service:
Distinguished by a white head and white tail feathers, bald eagles are powerful, brown birds that may weigh 14 pounds and have a wingspan of 8 feet. Male eagles are smaller, weighing as much as 10 pounds and have a wingspan of 6 feet. […]
Eagles mate for life, choosing the tops of large trees to build nests, which they typically use and enlarge each year. Nests may reach 10 feet across and weigh a half ton. They may also have one or more alternate nests within their breeding territory. […]
Bald Eagles may live 15 to 25 years in the wild, longer in captivity.
After watching this beautiful creature for a few moments, it flew away.
Dog Daze at Corona Crossings – 2014
Here are a few pictures from the Dog Daze costume contest at Corona Crossings last Sunday. I didn’t know this was going on, otherwise I would have brought a real camera and taken more pictures of the costumed pups walking the red carpet.
Who wants to go on a hike?
Moreno Valley’s Recreational Trails Board will be sponsoring the following free hikes in 2014 (difficulty rated by Moreno Valley):
- January 25, 2014
Hike to Terri Peak (DIFFICULT) - March 22, 2014
Hike to San Timoteo Canyon (MODERATE) - May 24, 2014
Hike to Olive Mountain (DIFFICULT) - July 26, 2014
Hike to Hidden Springs (MODERATE) - September 27, 2014
Hike to Lake Perris (MODERATE) - October 25, 2014
Hike to Box Springs M Trail (DIFFICULT)
We hope to attend as many as we can.
For more information, click here for details.
Riverside Animal Shelter – Nov 30, 2013
Even though we have more than our fair share of pets, we decided to head over to our local Riverside County animal shelter yesterday to see the dogs and cats. The only problem with going is that we want to bring them all home with us.
If you are looking for a furry companion, there are plenty of friendly faces waiting for you at your local shelter. Here are a few of them from yesterday:
Want to find a pet of your own? Visit www.rcdas.org to find your local shelter.
Our First Hike up to the UCR Big “C”
Earlier this year we hiked up to the giant “M” that overlooks Moreno Valley on Box Springs Mountain. Last weekend we hiked up to the big UCR “C” that overlooks UCR and Riverside (also on Box Springs Mountain).
The trail is defined on Google maps, so just search for “The Big “C” Trail, 92507″ on maps.google.com if you are interested in finding the trail. If you decide to hike to the “C”, please be careful since you have to walk over an active railroad line.
Update 10/14/2015… Please see this warning from the city and university posted to Facebook on 10/13/2015 that fast-moving Metrolink trains will begin running on these tracks:
Also, make sure you bring enough water.
I think our hike up to the “M” was longer, but I remember it being a gradual climb with a few steep parts. The “C” hike seemed to be steeper and more challenging, or maybe I’m just in worse shape now than I was when we hiked up to the “M”. My kids had no problem making it up to the “C”, so that should probably tell me something. Actually, I saw a few younger and fitter people hiking up the trail on our way down who were doing their own share of huffing and puffing, so I don’t feel too bad.
The “C”, along with many of the rocks on the way up, is covered with graffiti. There was some trash, but not as much as I expected considering this is probably a place that some college students visit for extracurricular activities (if I had gone to college at UCR, I would have spent time up there). Of course, no trash would be better.
Here is an old picture of the “C” without the graffiti from UCR’s website:
The view is definitely worth the climb.
My size thirteens on the “C”…
A little history about the “C” from UCR’s website (retrieved 11/30/12):
August, 1955
The big “C” on Box Springs Mountain is made with cement and equipment donated by the E.L. Yeager Construction Co. Surveying work is done by students. At 132 feet long, it is the largest concrete block letter on record.
Looking for more hiking spots in and around the Inland Empire? Check out our list of Places to Hike in Riverside and Beyond. #hikeriverside
First Hike up to the Giant “M”
Have you ever thought about climbing up to the big “M” on Box Springs Mountain? We have, and we finally did it last weekend.
If you don’t know what I’m writing about, the big “M” overlooks Moreno Valley and is visible from the 215 and 60 freeways as you pass by or through Moreno Valley.
I didn’t have any idea where to start our hike so I checked out the area around the “M” on Google maps. I noticed a parking lot off Hidden Springs Dr. (near Pigeon Pass Rd.), which turned out to be for the Box Springs Mountain Park. There is a trail map at the park (which someone decided to draw pictures on), but it didn’t help us too much so I am glad that I looked at the aerial photos first.
After our hike, I visited Riverside County’s rivcoparks.org website, which has a map of the various trails on Box Springs Mountain. We followed the “M” Trail (the red line), which the rivcoparks.org website lists as difficult.
Although we didn’t see many people on the trail, we did see a range of people including parents with kids, young adults with dogs, and a few elder statesmen who left us in the dust.
Once we reached the “M”, the view was great, although it was a bit of a hazy day.
The “M” is so large that I couldn’t fit it all into the frame when I was standing just slightly downhill from it.
You can’t see it too well in this picture, but there is quite a bit of graffiti on the “M”. I wonder if people would continue to deface the “M” if they knew how much time, effort and money volunteers have contributed to maintain the “M” since it was originally constructed in the mid-1960s. Unfortunately, I believe the answer is that some people still would.
If you take the “M” trail, bring enough water to last you to the “M” and back. Other than the drinking fountain at the bottom of the mountain, there is no water on the trail.
There are some challenging spots, especially if you choose to take some of the straight up paths rather than the zigzag paths. We hiked the trail in running shoes, but we might buy hiking boots for our next hike to handle the slippery and steep parts of the trail better. Unlike Mt. Rubidoux, the trail leading up to the “M” is all dirt and rock.
Next time we visit Box Springs Mountain, we will try to find out how to reach the big “C” that overlooks UCR.
Looking for more hiking spots in and around the Inland Empire? Check out our list of Places to Hike in Riverside and Beyond. #hikeriverside
Riverwalk Bark Park, Riverside
We love dogs. Instead of taking our two dogs for their daily walk yesterday, we took them to the Riverwalk Bark Park at the corner of Pierce Street and Riverwalk in Riverside.
We have brought our dogs here to play about 5 times so far, and they love it every time. There are separate fenced areas for big dogs and little dogs, and there is also an agility course.
There is seating for the humans and lights for when it gets dark since the park is open until 9 pm. In addition to plenty of grass, the dogs get some shaded areas for hot days and even their own drinking fountain/bowl.
This is the only dog park I’ve ever been to so I can’t compare it to others, but it is a nice place to bring your dog(s).
Riverside Bark Park Pierce Street / Riverwalk Parkway Riverside, CANew Parking Restrictions Near Mt. Rubidoux
We enjoy visiting Mt. Rubidoux and hiking its many trails. We haven’t had any problems finding parking, but that might change due to a recent decision by the Riverside City Council to add new parking restrictions.
From the City Council and Redevelopment Agency Regular and Special Meeting Minutes for 5/10/11:
PREFERENTIAL PARKING ZONES – MT. RUBIDOUX – RESOLUTION
Following discussion, the City Council (1) adopted a resolution to establish a “No Parking Any Time, except for residents with permits” Zone […]
Where are the preferential parking zones?
From Resolution No. 22213 (click for larger image):
From a Public Works Department memo dated 5/10/2011 (click for a larger image):
Why did the City take this action?
From Resolution No. 22213:
WHEREAS, the staff received a petition from seventy-eight (78%) of residents on designated portions of University Avenue, Ninth Street, Tenth Street, Eleventh Street, Redwood Drive, Glenwood Drive, Mt. Rubidoux Drive and Loring Drive, requesting establishment of preferential parking zones; […]
Happy Hiking!… if you can find a place to park.