News.

Friends Penasquitos. Friends Penasquitos.

Lewis’s Woodpecker in the Preserve

Our Preserve is currently graced by a beautiful feathered visitor from the Pacific Northwest…the Lewis’s Woodpecker. The Lewis’s Woodpecker was reported on Nov. 24th on eBird and spotted on the Nov. 27th Birding Hike.

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Friends Penasquitos. Friends Penasquitos.

The Birds of Summer

Greetings everyone! Jeanie here. I lead some of our bird hikes in the Preserve and want to introduce you to several of our summer visiting avian favorites, all in the passerine or perching bird family. These birds visit to breed and enjoy the fine dining during summertime in San Diego.

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Friends Penasquitos. Friends Penasquitos.

Long-time Volunteer Retires: Jim Snyder

Jim worked alongside Bill Witzell and the Rangers three days a week — save for rainy days, a personal rule owing to his career as a mail carrier. His boisterous laugh and boyish curiosity in all things made him an ideal working companion

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Friends Penasquitos. Friends Penasquitos.

Remembering Bill Witzell

Bill was a longtime resident of Rancho Peñasquitos and began his volunteer career in 1997 as a founding member of the Los Peñasquitos Canyon Preserve Volunteer Patrol.

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Mike Kelly Mike Kelly

Wonderful Willowy Monardella

A 30 year journey of working to save a Federally and State listed endangered plant, in the Preserve and elsewhere in the County

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Friends Penasquitos. Friends Penasquitos.

Join us for the national Monarch Bioblitz July 23rd - August 1st

Join the Friends of los Peñasquitos Canyon Preserve in surveying for and documenting the location of Monarch Butterflies, their caterpillars, and the milkweed plants they need.

Monarch populations have crashed all over the country. The decline of our Western populations has been dramatic according to recent surveys. This is a national effort from July 23 – August 1, 2021.

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Friends Penasquitos. Friends Penasquitos.

New start time for restoration events: 3PM

Hello all, as we did last year due to the heat, we’re pushing our start time to 3 PM. Dates for the coming 3 months are posted on our Event Calendar, our IG and Facebook pages.

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Friends Penasquitos. Friends Penasquitos.

Trail Closures May 4th to May 7th 2021

Please notice that from Tuesday 4th to Friday 7th some sections of the trails in the Preserve will be closed. Volunteers and park rangers will be on location from 67 AM to 1 PM while pesticide application takes place

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Friends Penasquitos. Friends Penasquitos.

Hike Lusardi Creek and Awhee Trail

This year the Coast to Crest Trail Challenge will include Lusardi Creek and Awhee Trail, on the west side of Black Mountain Open Space Park.

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Friends Penasquitos. Friends Penasquitos.

A great show of Centaurium venustum on Sundevil

This has been an exceptional season for natives, thanks to the late rains. I have been walking up Black Mountain via Sundevil and the Manzanita loop quite a bit and I was really struck by the display of Canchalagua (Centaurium venustum).

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Friends Penasquitos. Friends Penasquitos.

Trail Closures June 9th &10th

Please notice that Tuesday 9th and Wednesday 10th some sections of the trails in the Preserve will be closed. Volunteers and park rangers will be on location from 7 AM to 3 PM while pesticide application takes place

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Friends Penasquitos. Friends Penasquitos.

Acorn Woodpeckers

In the canyons of Los Penasquitos Preserve, a uniquely social species of woodpecker thrives. They are the Acorn Woodpeckers, named after their diet of acorns. They utilize a communal granary or acorn tree to store or cache their live oak acorns from season to season. Being skillful at drilling holes is one of their gifts.

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Friends Penasquitos. Friends Penasquitos.

Hike Updates

Hello friends, due to the Coronavirus the Friends are reluctantly canceling all hikes and restoration events through June 15. We won’t publish our new events calendar until the virus emergency has passed. Meanwhile, enjoy the trails with your family, but keep the appropriate distance, about 6’, from other people.

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