Coastal SageScrub Stays Alive and Migrant Birds Return

San Diego’s Coastal SageScrub Vegetation is now at the very nadir of its growth cycle. But the late-summer rain we had a few weeks ago shattered the usual summer drought, and our “summer-deciduous” vegetation bounced back in days. Bright green still carpets many of the coastal hillsides that were shades of gray and yellow.

The Smoggiest Days of the Year are most likely to occur during the next several weeks. Persistent temperature inversions (warmer air overlying cool marine air) are frequent this time of year. These inversions conspire with the mountainous topography of East County to trap locally generated air pollution under a low-lying lid. During the worst episodes, San Diego County’s coastal area is the hapless recipient of additional smog sneaking down from the Los Angeles Basin. This often occurs when a Santa Ana wind condition begins to weaken: L.A. smog blown offshore by a Santa Ana may get pushed back our way when the normal sea breeze returns.

Fall Migrant Birds such as wood warblers can be seen at Cabrillo National Monument and its vicinity on Point Loma, Torrey Pines State Reserve, and other parks and open spaces near the San Diego coast. Cooper’s or marsh hawks and even peregrine falcons may be seen following or pursuing these smaller birds.

September 25 marked the New Moon. The Waxing Crescent Moon phase begins and runs until the First Quarter Moon on October 2. At around 20 minutes after the time of sunset, look low in the southwestern sky, to the left of where the sun went down, and you will spot the moon’s thin crescent shape. Unlike in the spring season when the evening crescent moon “smiles” with upturned cusps, the autumn crescent-moon cusps point well to the left — toward the southern part of the sky.