Nearly every weekend in Laguna Beach you can do something for free that is not normal. The bird hike, sponsored by the Orange County Parks in the Laguna Coast Wilderness Park, is one of them.
It should be noted from the outset, however, that there are bird people and then there’s everyone else.
Bird people will be wearing Audubon Society patches, REI gear and high-tech fanny packs.
They also say things like, “Did you hear that Ash-Throated Flycatcher?”
If you go, you’ll learn more than just bird stuff. On the Laurel Canyon trail, past the healthy patches of poison oak, there are the seashells. Officially called pectinidae or scallops, sure enough, they sit frozen in a slab of rock.
You will also learn about birds – lots of them: the goldfinch, warbler, House Finch, woodpecker, towhee, Phainopepla, Hooded Oriole, Hutton’s Vireo and our favorite, the Wrentit.
So bring some binoculars and try to fit in.
