Beating the Heat at UCLA’s Sage Hill
Wildlife visit a bird bath at Sage Hill on the UCLA Campus during a fall heat wave in October 2026.
On the first of October, afternoon temperatures at Sage Hill climbed into the 90s. A trail camera pointed at a simple, shallow bird bath recorded who came by to cool off and drink. The camera’s own readout showed 93°F in the late afternoon and a comfortable 57°F the next morning, and the water drew visitors through the whole stretch.
The bath was set up by Andrew Kleinhesselink at UCLA Sage Hill. It’s just a wide, shallow basin with a flat stone in the middle for perching. In the footage, a Northern Mockingbird makes an early, cautious appearance, and a Bullock’s Oriole splashes in with its bright orange plumage. A Dark-eyed Junco wades in and sends ripples across the surface. A Spotted Towhee settles into the water for a long soak, and a California Towhee perches at the edge.
Birds weren’t the only visitors. A Brush Rabbit shows up in the soft morning light, and at midday a California Ground Squirrel stops for a drink.
In all, over less than 24 hours the camera caught 10 bird species and 3 mammal species visiting the water.
Birds
- Wilson’s Warbler
- Northern Mockingbird
- Bullock’s Oriole
- Oak Titmouse
- Yellow-rumped Warbler
- Orange-crowned Warbler
- Song Sparrow
- Dark-eyed Junco
- California Towhee
- Spotted Towhee
Mammals
- Big-eared Woodrat
- Brush Rabbit
- California Ground Squirrel
A small water source does a lot for wildlife in a dry, hot stretch. Watching this many species share one basin shows how much a bit of water matters at Sage Hill.
Other species that call Sage Hill home can be found on our iNaturalist page.