The Audubon Center at Debs Park’s Arroyo Green Team recently visited the Tejon Ranch at the invitation of the Tejon Ranch Conservancy. The group visited the General Beale Adobe and surrounding ranchlands. The Green Team had the opportunity to interact with the scientists with the Tejon Ranch Conservancy and learned about their conservation work.  The group explored two different habitats on the ranch (desert grasslands and shrublands).  They experienced bird-banding first hand and had a close look at a Red-winged Blackbird and a Yellow-rumped Warbler.  They also conducted a plant study, called a transect, to learn about the diversity and abundance of wildflowers on that part of the Ranch. More great photos by Gabriela Castañeda are below the fold:

Brianna Garcia, 15, described her trip:

“I really enjoyed the trip to Tejon Ranch.  Being in Los Angeles, there aren’t many natural areas around us anymore, so being able to be out in nature and learn new things is amazing.  I liked learning about the bird banding because we got to see such beautiful birds.  Normally, it’s hard for people to get a close look at these creatures since they always get startled and fly away.  We also got to do a transect for wild flowers, which is basically counting them.  I’ve never seen so many flowers at once before, so being able to sit around them and take pictures was a lot of fun.”

More photos: