Lost Secret

Lost Secret

Noel Laflin

10-19-17

We came upon the huge nest in early February.  It was a lone hawk flying into a tall, well hidden sycamore that told us we had potentially stumbled on to something special.

And special it was.  Over the next four months my friend Jay and I made numerous treks across Irvine Park’s Santiago Creek – sometimes flowing with water as La Nina blessed us with downpours – but often times dry as a bone; we entered the thick grove of sycamores, oaks, poison oak, and clinging fox tails, wound our way down an overlooked, narrow trail, and grew quiet as we neared our viewing spot.

Initially easy to locate, as there were few leaves in winter, the nest became more difficult to spot over time once new growth began to fill the woods – especially large green sycamore leaves.

We must have circled the tree a dozen times trying to find a vantage point by which to aim our cameras and spy up and into the leafy avian world above.  As it turned out, there was really only one place to shoot.  It was probably half the length of a football field away, and several stories up. But that is where we stood, aimed, and hoped for the best, week after week.

We kept the exact location of the nest very secret.  In fact, it was so well camouflaged that by the first day of spring we frequently lost sight of the secret altogether, even when standing directly beneath it.

By early May, we were rewarded with the sighting of a downy head popping up through the dense leaves in the dark mass, very well hidden, swaying in the breeze way above.  Jay had determined early on, with the numerous sightings of the parents, that this was a red-shouldered hawk family.  By mid month we had further determined that it was a family of five altogether – proud parents and their offspring.

The three youngsters all fledged and flew the nest by early June. We documented their individual flights of freedom for weeks.  We last saw one being fed in the center of the park, marveling at its rapid growth and curious nature.  As Jay noted, “It was amazing to watch nature and the interaction of the hawks.  It was especially amazing to watch the chicks grow, test their wings and finally fledge.”

The massive Canyon Two fire destroyed our secret location in October of 2017, along with much of the entire grove of lush oaks and sycamores that stretches along the creek bed.  Getting as close as the massive cordoned-off area allowed, we peered through our camera lenses, looking for anything familiar. We eventually saw the remains of a sycamore tree that was once difficult to find.  There was a dark charred spot, way up that tree, right about where a well-camouflaged nest once lay.