Warblers crawl along trees limbs and branches to dine on their favorite insects

May Gray or June Gloom, the generally dreary, overcast, late spring weather along San Diego’s coastline, has already begun and could intensify next month. Occasionally, the low clouds will stick around for several days. This is usually triggered by a “Catalina eddy,” in which moist marine air drawn inland from the area around Santa Catalina Island forms low clouds over a wide area. In the absence of Catalina eddy conditions, San Diego’s inland region, at least, experiences plenty of midday and afternoon sunshine.

Land Bird Migration is in full swing this month in San Diego County, with warblers and flycatchers among those most commonly seen. Warblers crawl along trees limbs and branches to dine on their favorite insects, while flycatchers, as the name suggests, catch their meals on the wing. Riparian areas such as the San Diego River through Mission Gorge and Marian Bear Park in San Clemente Canyon are favored by both birds and birdwatchers.

By June and July, the rose bloom will reach the Laguna Mountains.

Wild Rose, a California native, is in bloom throughout San Diego County’s foothills and mountains. In moist, lowland areas and along small watercourses, wild rose shows off small, fluorescent-pink flowers. By June and July, the rose bloom will reach the Laguna Mountains, where the plant grows in abundance in shady locales.

Star jasmine – planted as an ornamental ground cover and as a trellised vine.

Star Jasmine’s sweet perfume, exuded from clusters of small, white flowers, will continue to scent San Diego’s spring breezes until sometime in June. Not a true jasmine, or Jasminum, star jasmine belongs to the genus Trachelospermum. In both public and private spaces, it has been widely planted as an ornamental ground cover and as a trellised vine.

With summer still a month away (astronomically speaking), the last star of the Summer Triangle still doesn’t rise above the eastern horizon until about 10 or 11 p.m. That’s Altair, the Triangle’s lower right corner. Watch for Altair to clear the horizon three or four fists at arm’s length to Vega’s lower right.

The above comes from the Outdoors listings in the Reader compiled by Jerry Schad, author of Afoot & Afield in San Diego County. Schad died in 2011. Planet information from SkyandTelescope.org.