Birds of Arnold, Bear Valley, California - Pt. 2 of our Birding Trip

April 26, 2007
Angel’s Camp, CA.

The call of Hwy 4 proved too strong to ignore, so we again made our way northeast from Angel’s Camp to this enchanted road with its rich birding habitats. Our first stop: White Pines Lake and Community Park. This interesting little place is located just a mile or so to the north of the town of Arnold. Willows, oaks, and evergreens encircle the lake which is, for Sonoma County locals, a bit larger in size than, say, Lake Ralphine in Howarth Park. There are picnic tables and a good path here. I don’t know how populous this park gets on weekends, but our mid-week visit showed us a quiet, peaceful place with only a few fishermen out on the water.

Today was lovely and sunny, reaching about 75 degrees by mid-afternoon, and something made us feel that the willowy habitat might yield some exciting birds. Bullock’s Northern Oriole was the first super sighting. A really vibrant male was perched in a willow just beside the water. This was our first oriole of the year, and it’s funny that we’ve been so eagerly waiting to see one at home so I could post a bird alert about the orioles having arrived, but here we’ve gone and seen the bird at the other side of California! Never fear, I’m sure the orioles must have reached Sonoma County by now, and I will definitely be posting a complete post about them once we have a sighting at home.

While I was honing in on this fiery bird with my binoculars, my husband kept trying to draw my attention to a second bird he was seeing a few trees over. His description made me think it must be the female oriole, but I couldn’t manage to see it with my own eyes, and bird sightings don’t count unless we can confirm what one another are seeing. There were abundant Red-winged and Brewer’s Blackbirds here. In point of fact, I’d say all of Calaveras County is peppered with these two species in really remarkable abundance. They appear to be everywhere we go and their songs fill the air from before dawn until sunset. Mallard ducks were out on the lake and also waddling in a small stream that runs parallel to the lake path near the parking lot.

We saw an unidentified sparrow much to our chagrin, but few birds can be harder to confirm than stripey brown sparrows flitting for a brief second through dense foliage. We sat down for lunch when we were hungry. As with yesterday, we were joined by Brewer’s Blackbirds and a pair of Stellar’s Jays, but these birds are not as used to people as the birds in Big Trees State Park.

I had just gotten a few bites deep into a pasta salad when a call from the willows made me drop my fork like a hot potato. Sweet sweet sweet little more sweeeet This unusual snippet of birdsong rang a bell in my mind, and as we abandoned our picnic to locate the source of the song, I managed to get my memories in order. I knew that a warbler makes that call, but I couldn’t remember which one. The bird calls we’ve listened to over and over again on the DVD published by John Feith - Birds, Birds, Birds - was what was coming to my mind as I tried to collect my thoughts. And then we saw him. There in the brush, more yellow than your symbolic idea of a canary, and with the faint striping on his breast was the Yellow Warbler!

We’ve been waiting for this moment for so long, and I wish it could have lasted for hours, but I’m afraid we flushed the stunning little bird and we didn’t get a second chance to admire him. The Yellow Warbler, Dendroica petechia is the only overall yellow warbler in North America. Though this bird puts in appearances through most of the United States in the warm season of the year, we had never been lucky enough, to date, to see him in Sonoma County. Now we can say, with relish, that he is an unforgettable, unique bird. It is such a thrill to add him to our lifelist, and this sighting will always earmark White Pines Lake as a special place for us.

Continuing to wend our way up Hwy 4, we couldn’t help stopping in again at Big Trees State Park. Today’s visit just goes to show how much luck is involved in birding. Yesterday, the forest was a tapestry of tree clinging birds. Today, our only sighting was a pair of Hairy Woodpeckers, high up in the evergreens. We could hear Red-breasted Nuthatches in the distance, and the charming Chickarees were everywhere, but the woods were like a completely different place today. Where were all the birds? Resting? Called away on business in another part of the forest? Who can say? We only stayed for a short time, before getting in our car again and continuing northeast on Hwy 4.

Unfortunately, Calaveras County birding simply isn’t documented as well as it could be. We were only able to find two websites on the subject, each containing a couple of pages of general information, but this was enough to go on to let us know we might be in for some treats if we headed up toward Bear Valley. Just past Vista Point, with its awesome view of the snow-capped Sierras, the sight of some finches (unidentified) clustered on a rocky place at the roadside was enough to make us stop the car again to see what we could see. Good idea.

Mountain Chickadees were such a welcome sight here. We first identified this species in 2006 in Yosemite, and it was awfully nice to see them again. In Sonoma County, we have the Chestnut-backed Chickadee, and these also live in Calaveras County, but the Mountain Chickadee loves altitude and you won’t see him back home. Two unique features set him apart from the Chestnut-backed Chickadee. The back is a soft grey, not russet, and he has a white eyebrow that is completely unique in the North American Chickadee kingdom. The Mountain Chickadee, Poecile gambeli, is listed as being about half an inch larger than the 4 3/4″ Chestnut-backed in my Sibley Guide. I don’t know if I can agree. The chestnuts are constant visitors at my feeders at home, and they strike me as the larger and leaner of the two birds. I could be wrong about this, but feel its worth it to mention this observation.

White-headed Woodpeckers and Hairy Woodpeckers were diving amongst the conifers, but we had moment of birding agony in this little roadside spot. We saw a bird that I believe was Williamson’s Sapsucker. A good-sized woodpecker-like bird gave us a breathtaking glimpse of his yellow belly, and I believe his head and back were predominantly black, but we just can’t be sure. The bird could potentially have been a Yellow-bellied Sapsucker or the very similar Red-naped Sapsucker. We just didn’t see the bird’s head well enough and, because of this, couldn’t make a positive identification. Nothing drives us as crazy as moments like this, seeing a bird we’ll almost certainly never see at home, but not getting a clear enough view of it to register its wonderful name on our lifelist. I can only say about this…GRRRR! I’ll spend the rest of my life wondering who that bird was.

Audubon’s Yellow-rumped Warblers were catching insects by skimming just inches above the road. We’d never seen them do this before. A chipmunk darted out from under a bush for a moment, was completely startled to see us, and hurried back under cover. From somewhere lower in the valley, the continuo of Red-breasted Nuthatch song played on. I could gladly have spent several hours in this spot which seemed so rich in bird life, but the sun was starting to sink and we wanted to make it to Bear Valley before it got much later.

Bear Valley is a skiing resort, and even now at the end of April, the snow was lying pretty thick everywhere but on the surface of the road. Two huge wooden bears guard the entrance to the lodge on the lefthand side, and on the right, there was a very large white meadow and a mirror-like lake with Canada Geese floating on it. Brewer’s Blackbirds, Red-winged Blackbirds and American Robins seemed to be having no problems with the snow or the 7000+ ft. altitude, but other than this, Bear Valley was a little like a ghost town because the skiing season has ended.

We felt a million miles away from everything up there, a little lightheaded from the thin atmosphere, and amazed to be standing in the midst of so much snow without feeling even remotely compelled to put on coats. The warm, glistening surroundings were simply beautiful. We would have liked to have continued on the road to Lake Alpine, to get to know the birds of Alpine County, but there were warnings about a pass being closed, and though our little compact car has done just fine up to this point of our exploration, we have no illusions about the fact that we are not piloting a 4 wheeler. Coming back down the highway, into the setting sun, a beautiful, golden-red coyote gazed out at us from the shadow of the pines. Bats flitted across our horizon and our heads began to clear a little as we came back down to our customary altitude. One new bird for our lifelist, and another unforgettable day for us here in Calaveras County.

Go to Part 3 of our Calaveras County Birding Trip Report

Birding Calaveras County, California - Big Trees State Park

April 25, 2007
Angel’s Camp, California

I’m writing this blog post from the resort where we’re staying in Calaveras County, all the way across the state of California from our beloved Sonoma County. This is one of the rare, priceless opportunities we have once in a great while to go on a little exploration, birding farther afield, and our first day here has proven to be one of the greatest events in our birding career.

Today’s destination: Calaveras Big Trees State Park.

We had a funny combination of weather conditions this morning, with snow left on the ground at the sides of the road from last weekend, but a warm, sunny sky overhead. As you head east along Hwy. 4 through the towns of Murphys and Arnold, the conifers get thicker and thicker. The air smells incredibly good, and just a couple of miles past Arnold, you arrive at the main entrance to the state park. We headed first to the North Grove near the visitor center and you quickly understand why this place is the pride of the county and a major tourist destination. In addition to the ponderosa pines, sugar pines, incense cedars and white fir, the giant sequoias reach heights of up to 325 ft. and can be up to 33 ft. in diameter. There is something so special about this forest.

It has a completely different feeling than the coast redwood forests we know in Sonoma County. The whole atmosphere seems brighter, airier, more open and ventilated here in Big Trees, and appropriately, the first inhabitant of the woodland you meet is the creature John Muir credited as the cause of the forest - the Douglas Squirrel.

I have to say, with the possible exception of the Alpine Chipmunk, you will never meet a more darling furry animal than the Douglas Squirrel, also called the Chickaree. John Muir did an excellent and entertaining study of them over a century ago and explained how the pinecone-storing seed-scattering habits of the Chickaree have conjured up and maintained the vast forest of the Sierras. He is both far smaller and quicker than the familiar California Grey Squirrel we know at home and he ricochets from trunk to trunk in the forest like a pinball. The forest floor can suddenly come alive with half a dozen of them, speeding over the ground and suddenly stopping to make their bird-like trills, their little dog-like barks and a host of other unexpected sounds. They play lead in the musical arrangement of Big Trees.

We were a little disgruntled that our arrival in the woods corresponded with some park rangers cutting down one of the trees. The ugly sound of chainsaws hardly created a feeling of repose, and my husband and I nearly jumped out of our shoes when the tree hit the ground, shaking the entire forest with a boom that hurt my ears. I don’t know if the tree was sick, perhaps in danger of falling over, but I was sad about its demise. It is believed that some of the giant sequoias in the park are more than 2000 years old.

Eventually the rangers left, and the forest made that odd shift that forests do when loud people leave. It seemed to become quiet, but really, it’s more like a top level of distraction disappears so that all of the lower levels of sounds can begin to be heard.

We were incredibly hungry and began our picnic at one of the tables. In moments, I could see we were being watched, and a falling potato chip brought in a Stellar’s Jay…then 2…then a dozen or more. They were gorgeous-looking individuals with deep blue coloring and very clear blue stripes on their foreheads. I have never seen such strong markings on the Stellar’s Jays at home. They were accompanied by a brave and noisy group of Brewer’s Blackbirds. Big Trees is a beautifully clean, litter-free place. Now I know the compliments for this should go to the jays and blackbirds…not the forest rangers!

We were having a pretty jolly time with these guests perching everywhere except inside our cooler when a flash of approaching movement caught our eyes. A pair of birds had swooped into range, disappearing somewhere in the treetops.

“It’s…it’s the White-headed Woodpecker”, I gasped under my breath, hardly able to believe it.

I will now publicly call my husband to task for doubting my word and suggesting it was probably tried-and-true Acorn Woodpeckers.

“No,” I was adamant, and we leapt up in the middle of our picnic and stole as soundlessly as we could toward where I felt the birds had landed.

In just seconds, we found ourselves face to face with a bird we didn’t know whether we would ever get to see. You could have knocked us over with a White-headed Woodpecker feather!

That snow-white head, accented with red toward the back, the black body with a streak of white on the shoulder, and the smart black eyes fixed on us. 15 yards away, his wife had found her own tree, but first we just stood by the male, scarcely able to believe this dream was coming true for us.

My husband wants me to make sure to take the Audubon Society publicly to task as well here, because the western bird guide clearly states that this is an uncommon bird that is difficult to see because it is so silent. No so! It may be that the writer of that entry observed these birds at a different time of year or in a habitat where humans aren’t quite so common, but not only did these birds continue to appear everywhere we walked today in the park, in plain view, they flew within inches of our faces and made quite a lot of noise. Squeak-a-squeak-a-squeak-a-squeak mated pairs greeted each other after foraging separately, fanning out their wings as they would alight on the same trunk. They seemed so joyous! And we also heard the staccato bud-up call that sounds identical to the very beginning of Nuttall’s Woodpecker’s bud-up…budda-budda-budda-budda.

The White-headed Woodpecker, Picoides albolarvatus, measures some 9″-10″ from tip to tail and is a year-round resident of Calaveras County. The female lacks the red cap of the male, and the birds excavate a nesting hole in a pine where they lay 3-5 white eggs. Their facial markings call to my mind the White-breasted Nuthatch, with that striking division of black and white.

It was, simply put, a defining moment in our lives as birders to spend the afternoon in the presence of these unique woodpeckers, rare or not. They do not live in our own neck of the woods, and if you ever possibly can manage it, a visit to their home in Big Trees State Park will be well worth the effort. I am including here our absolutely pitiful photo of the White-headed Woodpecker as a record of our sighting. One day, we will own a real, zooming, digital camera that is meant for photographing birds. If any generous-minded benefactors are reading this and have a spare in their arsenal, we’d love receiving a donation of such a camera, to better document our birding explorations. Until then, it’s photos that look like we’re trying to pull off a woodpecker hoax, and my trusty paintbrush and palette.

You’d think adding this one, new, magnificent bird to our lifelist would be more than enough of a thrill for a single day. Yet, just down the path from where we first saw the White-headed Woodpecker, we came upon a wonderful pair of Red-breasted Nuthatches. I was so excited about this, as it is the White-breasted Nuthatch which seems much more common at home. I have to say, I don’t think the photo in my Audubon guide quite captures the charm of the Red-breasted Nuthatch, and even the talented David Allen Sibley falls a little short somehow. The living bird has such a bright spirit, such an active nature and we so enjoyed watching this pair scaling the trunk of a tree, picking at the bark, making industrious little pik remarks to one another as they worked. And, all day long, we heard the more prominent, monotonous mah mah mah mah mah of this species drifting through the woods.

It’s interesting to mention here that this is the bird whose call skeptics have suggested that searchers are mistaking for that of the Ivory-billed Woodpecker. I agree that there is a similar nasal quality in the sound I listened to all day today, but the individual notes and the overall pattern of notes are nothing like the recordings I’ve heard of Ivory-bills from the 1930’s.

The Red-breasted Nuthatch Sitta canadensis measures some 4 1/2″ in total and is a year-round resident of both Calaveras County and Sonoma County. They lay 4-6 brown-spotted eggs in an excavated tree cavity.

We were just absorbing the happiness of the active, sylvan nuthatches when we flushed
tree-clinging-bird #3 up from a fallen log on the ground. There was something about the glimpse we got as the bird took off that made us feel it wasn’t anyone we knew. After just a moment of searching, we relocated it perched above us on a tree trunk, but our brains were kind of scrambling at this point because of the overload of amazing woodpeckers. Then we saw the back, and that big, fluffy white spot and we knew we were at last looking at the Hairy Woodpecker with our own eyes.

We have often worried about how we would distinguish the Downy Woodpecker from the Hairy Woodpecker. Most bird guides depict two, nearly-identical looking birds with those distinct marshmallow-like spots on their backs and leave you to base identification between the two birds on size alone.

We’ve become very good friends with Downy Woodpeckers in our neighborhood over the past year or so, and because the are so tiny (only about 6″-7″) we became confident in identifying them as Downy and not Hairy, despite the confusing resemblance.

Well, our doubts about our identification skills really were allayed today as we spent time with a pair of Hairy Woodpeckers in Big Trees State Park. For one thing, their red crests were not at all red. I really want to research this better, because the birds we saw had peachy-coral crests of a most unusual tone. Were they young birds? We don’t know, but this was such a distinctive feature. They also simply looked ‘bigger’ in every way than our friends the Downy Woodpeckers. They were comparable in size to the 9″-10″ range of the White-headed Woodpeckers we saw…perhaps just a little bit bigger, in fact, and we watched with awe as one of them took an enormous piece of bark off a tree and let it fall.

Like the White-headed Woodpeckers, this mated pair greeted each other with a burst of loud, rapid notes. Like most woodpeckers, they nest in excavated holes and lay 3-5 white eggs. The Hairy Woodpecker, Picoides villosus lives both here and at home in Sonoma County year round, but this was our first ever sighting of one and only made our day all the more incredible.

In addition to the above birds, I saw the biggest, most robust looking Brown Creeper I’ve ever seen. I don’t know if our Pacific coast birds are by nature smaller or more, well, sleepy-looking, but the bird I saw today looked so alert, well-plumed and busy. His feathers were lovely, with a very visible rusty tinge around the base of the tail. I must devote a full post to this unique little bird one day, and I was very glad to see he has a place in what had come to seem like Woodpecker heaven to us.

Not surprisingly, Audubon’s Yellow-Rumped Warblers were on hand. They love to follow woodpeckers around to glean from their excavated leavings as we learned this winter by observing their interaction with our resident Red-breasted Sapsucker. There were also numerous American Robins in the forest.

It was hard to leave the North Grove, and I confess, we were almost in a state of listlessness after spending hours swimming in a sea of tree-clinging birds, but we eventually got back in the car and headed up the Beaver Creek trail toward the South Grove.

The forest was further brightened by the big green and white blossoms of Pacific Dogwoods - a lovely sight. This road crosses the Stanislaus River and we got out for a look at the rushing, loud water. Over the din came the sound that Sibley so accurately describes as a cascading series of clear whistles, falling and slowing, ending with nasal hissing notes. Thanks to my birding binoculars, I found myself catching sight of the Canyon Wren, down on the rocky bank below the bridge. I love wrens, but never dared to dream I’d be lucky enough to see this one. They do not live in Sonoma County, but are year-round residents here and their beautiful white throat, grey head and speckled russet body are unmistakable. I wish we’d had a longer look before the bird flew away under the bridge, but I was really thrilled by even a brief glimpse.

The Canyon Wren Catherpes mexicanus measures about 5 3/4″ and has a very long bill. They are considered an uncommon bird and their preferred habitat is sheer cliffs and rocky places, often near water. They build their small nests in the crevices of rocks and lay 4-6 white eggs.

We also spotted a Hermit Thrush making a bird bath of an indentation in a rock by the river, and two amusing ground squirrels having a tremendous battle. We continued on up the road to see the scenic overlook where snow is still cresting the distant Sierras. This looked like excellent habitat for raptors, but we didn’t see anything. It was so quiet up there on the mountain, apart from the eternal call of a Red-breasted Nuthatch counting off the alpine seconds from the branches of an evergreen.

I am falling asleep as I write this. I’ve gotten more oxygen and exercise in one day here than I normally do in a week back home, and I can hardly imagine what we’ll see tomorrow. In my heart, I have a little list of special birds I would love to see in this unique corner of California, but I won’t write them down due to some sense of superstition. If the birds want me to see them, they will let me know.

Read Part 2 of our Calaveras County Bird Trip Report.

SF Bay Area Birds - 44 Summer and Migratory Bird Species Listed

Greetings Birders!

This is a post I’ve been looking forward to writing, both for my own benefit, and hopefully for yours, too. It’s mid-April right now, and that means that the Spring/Summer migrants are arriving now in Sonoma County, Marin County, Mendocino County and the San Francisco Bay Area in general. Using our well-worn Sibley Field Guide to Birds of Western North America, my husband and I have assembled the following list of 44 birds that you can be on the lookout for between now and the end of summer. Apart from our year-round residents, the birding world is about to reach its annual apex of activity here in Northern California, and many of the birds on the list below are the most colorful tropical migrants that you will ever see! Those birds marked with an ‘m’ are listed by Sibley as migrating through this area. All of the others will be here with us for the whole warm season.

44 California North Bay Birds to Look for Now!

Yellow Warbler
Townsend’s Warbler
Black-throated Grey Warbler
Wilson’s Warbler
Nashville Warbler m.
Yellow-breasted Chat
Western Tanager
Lazuli Bunting
Black-headed Grosbeak
Chipping Sparrow
Black-chinned Sparrow
Grasshopper Sparrow
Hooded Oriole
Bullock’s Oriole
Lawrence’s Goldfinch
Red-breasted Merganser m.
Broad-winged Hawk m.
Osprey m.* see below
Baird’s Sandpiper m.
Pectoral Sandpiper m.
Red-necked Phalarope m.
Black Tern m.
Elegant Tern m.
Common Tern m.
Black Swift m.
Vaux’s Swift m.
Black-chinned Hummingbird
Rufous Hummingbird m.
Allen’s Hummingbird
Olive-sided Flycatcher
Western Wood Pewee
Willow Flycatcher m.
Hammond’s Flycatcher m.
Pacific Slope Flycatcher
Ash-throated Flycatcher
Western Kingbird m.
Cassin’s Vireo
Warbling Vireo
Northern Rough-winged Swallow
Barn Swallow
Cliff Swallow
Purple Martin
Blue-grey Gnatcatcher
Swainson’s Thrush

*I am putting a special note here about the Osprey, as we are not convinced Sibley has this quite right in his book. We could be wrong about this, but it seems to us that we may have seen Ospreys in West Marin in Winter.

We are just now learning about bird migration. If any of the above data is incorrect, we apologize and will eagerly accept corrections from readers. The whole point of our making this list is so that we can have it firmly in mind which birds to be looking for over the next few months. Would you believe that less than 10 of the birds on this list have yet to be included on our personal birding lifelist? We find that really exciting. There are so many more wonderful wild birds for us to see!

And remember, the birds on this list are only the expected, documented ones. Rarities often wing into our territory, out of their normal range, so you may very well encounter some fine surprises when you’re birding about the region in the coming weeks.

Please, let us know if you encounter any of these summer birds. Leave a comment to report what bird you’ve seen and where you’ve seen it. We really want to know!

Wilson’s Warbler, California Bay Area, right now!

Greetings to all my fellow birders,
I have a golden tidbit to share today! The charming little, 4 1/2″ Wilson’s Warbler has arrived from his winter quarters in South America and is currently hopping around the North Bay for you to admire. Mid-April is what birders all over California have been waiting for throughout the long winter months, as the beautiful neotropical migrants begin arriving at this time to build their nests and raise their babies. This is a happy time of year for them and for us.

It’s funny when a bird guide so accurately describes where to look for a bird that you get the feeling that David Allen Sibley may be lurking in the bushes nearby, writing as you walk. We experienced a classic example of this phenomenon this week when my husband and I took a walk around Five Brooks Pond in Olema, West Marin County. The pond is nice and full, and is lushly encircled by willow and alder trees. From the depths of the new leafy growth, we heard a series of rapid chchchchchchchchch calls. Squinting, ducking, standing on our toes, we were suddenly rewarded with a glimpse of a Wilson’s Warbler flitting amongst the branches.

The look of this bird made us about 98% sure we knew what it was at first sight, but we rapidly fanned open our Sibley guide and read the following, very funny description:

Common in extensive brushy woods with dense understory near water; often in willows or alders…

There was the pond. There were the willows and alders. There was Wilson’s Warbler. There you have it!

Further field notes on Wilson’s Warbler, Wilsonia pusilla
Though our first eyefull of this bird only lasted about 1 second, patience rewarded us with much better, longer views after a few minutes as the bird came out into bright sunlight at the tips of the branches. His wife was with him, too, and we offered our congratulations on their excellent choice of a nesting site.

In the bright light, I could see that the sunshine yellow of his belly took on a rich orange tint toward the beak, and his eye struck me as especially large, black and shiny. His backside is a dull, soft olive with sooty tail and wingtips, and his distintive black cap is the clincher for identification of this bird. The female is quite similar in appearance, but she never wears a black hat. Just remember that.

Wilson’s Warblers build their nests of roots on or near the ground in the cover of dense vegetation. They lay 3-6 white, spotted eggs. Though these golden little birds ought to be around Sonoma County in correct habitat, Marin County is the first place we’ve ever seen one. In Sonoma County, I’d suggest Willowside Creek, which I intend to write about soon. If this is a warbler you’d like to add to your list, let us tell you where we saw this nesting pair of birds.

Five Brooks Trail features a horseback riding stable where you can rent horses to explore the 120 miles of trails the Pt. Reyes area offers. The stable is located on Hwy. One, midway between the town of Olema and the fabulous Bolinas Lagoon.

So, if you’re coming from the Petaluma area, take D St. and it will turn into the Point Reyes-Petaluma Rd. You’ll be driving for about 20 miles through beautiful countryside until you come to the first stop sign at Platform Bridge Road. Go straight here. When you come to the end of the road at Sir Francis Drake turn right, then left at Highway One. After a couple more miles, you’ll see the sign on the right hand side of the road for Five Brooks Trail. This is the way we go.

However, if you’re coming from San Francisco, let me give quote these directions from fivebrooks.com. Cross the Golden Gate Bridge and take the San Anselmo exit from Highway 101. This will lead you onto Sir Francis Drake Boulevard, headed in a westerly direction. While headed west on Sir Francis Drake Boulevard, you will travel through several lovely small towns, then through a redwood forest. This scenic drive will take approximately 1 hour and 10 minutes. You will literally come to the end of the road. Turn left on Highway One at Olema. Five Brooks Stable is approximately 3 miles down the road on the right hand side. Look for the Five Brooks Trail Head sign.

Our accompanying map will show you the basic layout of the pond which is an easy 2 minute walk from the parking lot. There are picnic tables and lovely views of the hills, and several trails to walk, but if you simply go straight from the parking lot, you’ll see the pond. Our map shows you exaclty where we saw the pair of Wilson’s Warblers. Keep your ears alert for their chchchchchchch and I hope you’ll see them.

Click to View Large Map

This was our very first trip to Five Brooks Trail and we will certainly go back. The habitat looks superb for a variety of migratory and resident birds and we can’t wait to return.

Now is the time to get out there and get looking for migratory birds. My husband and I intend to compile a list of spring/summer visitors and hope to be posting this soon for your use. Happy birding!

Protect Sonoma County Birds - Wait to Weedwack!

Greetings fellow birders,
It’s April, and my resident Scrub Jays have built their nest in the photinia hedge again, for the second year in a row. We’re so excited because, last year, we got to watch the nestlings grow from just hatched to fully fledged. If all goes well, we’ll get to enjoy this unforgettable experience again. We’ve already had one very close call.

We live on a rental property, and the landlord has it nicely maintained by a couple of gardeners who come once a week to mow grass and such. Unforunately, this means that we are not in control of what happens on the land, and yesterday, I was horrified to wake up to the sound of the gardeners trimming the photinia hedge with a loud, electric trimmer, right where the Scrub Jays live! Rubbing my eyes, I quickly instructed my husband how to tell the men, in Spanish, that there was a nest of eggs right there, and he dashed out to relay this message, trying to remember the words. He communicated the basic idea, and was at least able to get the gardeners to go around the nest location, but I was so afraid that the horrible noise would have driven the adult off their nest.

I have always had mixed feelings about this particular bird species, as they can be rather mean to other birds, but they are incredibly brave birds and, would you believe, the poor mother bird stayed firmly rooted on her nest throughout that whole life-threatening half hour? She was that determined to protect her home and children. I felt faint with relief, and thankfully, the gardeners will not be trimming that hedge again for many months.

What can you do to make sure that this year’s Sonoma County birds get born?
If you are in the fortunate position of being master of your property, please, hold off on cutting shrubbery and the grasses that run along your walls and fences. These are the places that are essential to birds. Between April-June, weedy growth, hedges and trees are home to nests, eggs and young birds. Without growth being left unharmed and wild, birds would have no place to raise their young. I have little patience with people who place more importance on a bush being square than on ensuring the existence of the next generation of wild birds. They live where we live. Once we know what their needs are, we can be good neighbors and share the land with them. In fact, it can give a sense of meaning to life to know that you are doing your bit to fight the habitat destruction that, every year, destroys further thousands of acres that birds depend on for life.

We do everything we can to make our environment bird friendly, and look forward to the day that we have total control over the land we live on so that our property is bursting with nesting birds. I encourage you, if you love wild birds, keep those power tools locked up for another couple of months. You are protecting the future health of the planet and all its inhabitants by doing so!

Lesser Goldfinch - Sonoma County’s Smallest!

Greetings Readers!

I have a birding confession to make. I have not been observant enough of the goldfinches this year. I don’t know when it was that I stopped seeing the American Goldfinch, Carduelis tristis, and started seeing the Lesser Goldfinch, Carduelis psaltria, in its place. I know it has been some months since I last saw an American Goldfinch in Glen Ellen, California, and that for many months, my feeder has played host to a flock of Lesser Goldfinches. I know that both birds are supposed to be year-round Bay Area residents. What I don’t know is if the two groups inhabit different areas of our region at different times of year, but it almost seems that way, as I can’t recall seeing both of them at once, ever. So, my confession is that I have been guilty of a lack of keen birding observation and I hope I’ll do better in 2007, because I love these birds and want to learn more about them.

Apart from the 2 local goldfinches I’ve mentioned, you could potentially see a Lawrence’s Goldfinch one day in the summertime, but it is the American and the Lesser that I want to focus on in this post.

What’s the difference?
The Lesser Goldfinch is the smallest North American goldfinch - only 3 1/2″ - 4 1/2″ from beak to tail. The American Goldfinch averages about 5″. The females of the two species can be difficult to distinguish, but you can easily learn to tell the males apart by noting the fieldmarks of beak, back and cap. Please, take a look at my comparitive illustration of the male American and Lesser Goldfinches:

As you can see from the above illustration, one of the most distinctive differences is how these two fellows wear their black caps. The American Goldfinch tips his at an angle toward the front of the head, but the Lesser Goldfinch pulls his halfway down over his eyes. This leads to a very different appearance, with the eye of the American being all in brightness, and the upper half of the eye of the Lesser seeming to be ‘missing’.

The orange beak of the American Goldfinch is very colorful compared to his companion’s grey one. You might need your birding binoculars to zone in on this if you aren’t close to the birds.

Lastly, the back of the Lesser is olive-tan in hue, but the American Goldfinch’s incredible yellow is worn both above and below. On the whole, the American Goldfinch has a brighter, simpler appearance to me, and the tiny Lesser Goldfinch’s yellow belly appears very pronounced in contrast to his dark backside.

With these 3 fieldmarks, you can tell the males apart quite easily. To learn more about the American Goldfinch, read my complete post on this wonderful wild bird.

Further fieldnotes on the Lesser Goldfinch
No bird that I know of has a sweeter song. The high, musical squeaks and whistles of the Lesser Goldfinch have been warbling through the air around my house for months and they go straight to my heart with their tiny, liquid, sweet-as-sugar sound. I have been interested to read in my Sibley guide that this bird apparently imitates the calls of other species. I have not observed this myself, but hope to, one day.

They appear to enjoy the sunflower seeds I offer, but also feed on dandelion seeds and they bring home soft, unripe seeds to their babies. They make a twiggy nest, low in a bush or tree and lay 4-5 light blue egges. Look for these birds in oak forests and in your own backyard.

In my own neighborhood, a flock of these little birds seems to greatly enjoy a smoke tree down the street, and they look incredibly picturesque in their golden plumes, seated amidst the frothy pink blossoms. And, all the while I was creating the above illustration, their lilting, wistful calls came to me through the open window. I hope I’ve done a good job honoring them with my sketch, and I feel so thankful that they are with us right now, giving of their beauty so freely.

Spring Swallows, Sonoma County, California

Greetings Birders!
I am thrilled to put out this Bird Alert to announce that the Barn Swallows have arrived in the San Francisco Bay Area, as of my observation this week. This rainbow-colored fowl is only with us in the warm months of the year, and I thought this would be an ideal moment to feature him in a post on Birding Sonoma County.

The purpose of this article is to help you learn to identify both Barn Swallows, Hirundo rustica, and Tree Swallows, Tachycineta Bicolor, by learning the field marks that set these two splendid species apart. Let’s begin by looking at a detailed illustration:

With their diamond shape and fabulous colors, swallows are easy for even beginning birders to identify. But then, you need to be able to look closely to determine which swallow you’ve sighted. I am using the Barn and Tree Swallows because my observation has led me to conclude that these are our two commonest swallows here in Sonoma County.

As you can see from the above illustration, color and shape are going to be our two most important fieldmarks for distinguishing between these birds. The striking, bi-color blue and white of the Tree Swallow and the blue, red and orange of the Barn Swallow rival the hummingbird for sheer iridescence. They seem to flash and twinkle as they swoop through the sky like miniature kites. Note that I am also showing you the undersides of the birds, as this is how you will most commonly see them, flying overhead. So, there is a decided difference in coloration to help you here.

But what about when you’re staring up into a bright sky at a swallow-like bird and cannot see its color well because of the sun in your eyes? Studying shape is the answer! It is the tails of swallows that tell me who they are, even when they are very high. Both Barn and Tree Swallows have forked tails, but just take a gander at the scissor-like feathers on the tail of that Barn Swallow. No other North American swallow has a tail with such a pronounced fork to it, and such pointed end tips. By contrast, the tail of the Tree Swallow is more rounded and stubby. The wings of the Barn Swallow also appear more slender and pointed when compared to the broad wings of the Tree Swallow.

The average Tree Swallow measures about 5 3/4″, and the Barn Swallow is about one inch longer. Both birds twitter in flight, and the juveniles of both species are duller in color.

Unlike the spring/summer visitor, the Barn Swallow, Tree Swallows are apparently year-round residents in the Bay Area, but I want to share that I rarely see them until the spring begins to warm up. Once it does, go to just about any pond, marsh or other body of water in Sonoma County and you are almost sure to see these birds. Our first ever sighting of the amazing Barn Swallow was by the sea in Pt. Reyes. We were able to walk within a foot or two of one who was perched on a sign and his colors just astonished us.

Both species line their nests with feathers, but the Barn Swallow makes his nest of mud in the eaves of buildings, and the Tree Swallow builds his in a woodpecker hole or nesting box. Providing nesting boxes for Tree Swallows can truly assist this species in the difficulties it faces trying to find a vacant cavity for its family to live in. Competition for such sites can be fierce and if you would like to promote the local Tree Swallow population, why not offer a box for them? You’re sure to enjoy the observation opportunities this will afford you! Both species lay some 4-6 white eggs.

If you’d like to see some super swallows this week, I highly recommend a drive to the Napa-Sonoma Marsh which I’ve been blogging about with such excitement these past months. My husband and I sat beside the water yesterday and watched the swallows fill the sky with their unique opulence. They are one of those birds that gives me a sense of peace, calm and freedom from cares.

Whether you prefer the sapphire and diamond splendour of the Tree Swallow or the parrot-like plumes of the Barn Swallow, look for mixed flocks of these graceful little gems for the rest of the sunny season.

Birds at the Napa Sonoma Marsh in April

Greetings!
We spent a lovely late afternoon in the Napa Sonoma Marsh area today. Things have changed in the marsh with the change of the season. In winter, as you can read about in the preceding link, this area is bursting with ducks, long-legged waders and birds of prey. Now it’s April, and there are far fewer birds to be seen. Nevertheless, it’s still well worth a visit and be sure to look for these birds if you pay a call to the wetlands this month:

Wilson’s Snipe
Killdeer
Marsh Wren
Western Meadowlark
Red-winged Blackbird
Brewer’s Blackbird
White-tailed Kite
Northern Harrier
Red-tailed Hawk
Red-shouldered Hawk
Great Egret
Hooded Merganser
American Coot
Double-crested Cormorant
Tree Swallow
Barn Swallow

These last 2 birds have just shown up and I’m always so delighted by their return. I must do a post about each of them soon. We also saw what we believe was a Greater Yellowlegs, but my husband and I just are not confident about distinguishing this bird from the Lesser Yellowlegs…one of these days, we are going to get that straight!

You’ll have noticed an unusual element in today’s post - some photographs. My parents lent me their digital camera. It’s an inexpensive one (not for photographing birds!), but good enough to at least capture some of the beauty of this incredibly important wetlands area on the border of Sonoma County.

Of special note today:
The Marsh Wrens are putting their hearts into their song in this season. I am reminded of an electronic typewriter, a dripping faucet and a field of grasshoppers by their astonishing variety of sounds. If you sit silently beside the circular pond at the bottom of Ramall Rd, you will likely have the luck of seeing one of these tiny birds assume a post at the top of a reed and open his beak wide to serenade the marsh.

Virginia Rail - The 110th bird

Greetings,
Last week, we brought our lifelist up to 110 birds with the splendid and secretive Virginia Rail whom we spotted beside a marshy pool in the Pt. Reyes Area. Our wonderful day in Marin County treated us to the thrill of a darling muskrat family and an exciting bobcat…true wonders.

We consider the Virginia Rail to be a real birder’s sighting, as most folks would simply pass by his habitat and never see him. He hides in the reeds and his marbled, black and brown plumes really blend into this environment. What a neat thing to be investigating a reed bed and see the blue-grey face and garnet-red eyes staring up at us out of the foliage. The bright orange-red bill and legs, and the petite size of the bird enabled us to identify him confidently.

I knew I had read in my bird guide book that the Virginia Rail measures only some 8 1/2″ - 9 1/2″, but somehow, I had always imagined him as a larger bird. Only when I saw him with my own eyes could I really understand that he is comparable in size to a California Towhee, though differently proportioned. Size is one of the key fieldmarks that you can use to distinguish the Virginia Rail, Rallus limicola from the larger Clapper Rail, Rallus longirostris who measures about 14 1/2″ - a considerable difference in size! Additionally, the Clapper Rail lacks the grey-blue face and has yellowish legs. The other bird you might confuse with the Virginia rail is the Sora. Read my post about the Sora for all the field marks that set these two chicken-line marsh birds apart!

The voice of the Virginia Rail is called pig-like, with various grunts and wheezes. They are often observered solitarily, but during the nesting season, they weave a marsh grass nest that they attach to vegetation above water level. 5-12 eggs are laid, and the baby Virginia Rails are black in color.

Where to see a Virginia Rail in Sonoma County, CA.
Shollenberger Park in Petaluma is likely to be your best bet for seeking this elusive bird. We have yet to see one there, but know they are on the Point Reyes Bird Observatory’s checklist for this area. The Napa-Sonoma Wetlands area is another likely spot for the Virgina Rail, too. Or, you can pack a picnic and take an hour’s drive out to the Point Reyes region to hunt farther afield for this charming fowl. They are a year-round resident in the California Bay Area.

The chicken-like marsh birds’ group is such a small one that it feels like a real accomplishment to see one its members. We’re very glad that the Virgina rail peered shyly out at us to become our 110th bird!