Birding Willowside Creek, Santa Rosa. See Black-headed Grosbeak!

May 8, 2007 on 3:14 pm | In Bird Alert |

Greetings!
A few days ago, we posted our bird alert that the Bullock’s Orioles have arrived in the Bay Area and that we’d spotted our first at the creek on Willowside Rd. Willowside Rd. deserves a post of its own for anyone who doesn’t know about one of Sonoma County’s best birding spots. Read on to learn about this special riparian habitat, and meet the newest bird on our lifelist:

The Black-headed Grosbeak

Up until last week, we could only dream of seeing this unusual summer migrant with his distinctive fat beak. He might remind you a little of an oriole, a little of a Spotted Towhee, or even a parrot, but his shape, song and color are truly one-of-a-kind in our local birding world. Notice that large head, and the pattern of white-speckled black wings, black hood, ruddy neck and underparts and the glowing yellow spot on the belly. His eye is large and intelligent.

His song is reminscent of the complex whistle of the American Robin, but a little faster and higher pitched. He is usually solitary, keeping to the upper levels of trees, where he feeds on insects, fruit and seeds. This is exactly where we spotted our very first Black-headed Grosbeak, Pheucticus melanocephalus at Willowside Creek, perched at the top of an oak tree, filling the creek bed with his song.

Now is the time to visit Willowside Creek to look for this delightful, bright wild bird who winters in Central and South America and is only with us in the Western United States during the warm months. He measures 6 1/2″ - 8 1/2″ from his fat beak to his pretty tail. Black-headed Grosbeaks build scrubby, shallow nests in trees and high shrubs and lay 3-5 pale blue, spotted eggs. Look for these birds in any riparian habitat during the next few months.

Birding Willowside Creek
My husband has made a helpful map to give you directions to Willowside Creek, which is located in the westside of Santa Rosa, CA. In recent times, considerable efforts have been made to begin restoring the habitat in this precious area. There are 4 paths flanking the creek. Our particular favorite is the path on the left, heading west, if you are driving north on Willowside Rd.
On this path, during the past year or so, we have seen:

Bullock’s Oriole
Black-headed Grosbeak
Swainson’s Thrush
Song Sparrow
Bushtit
Oak Titmouse
American Goldfinch
Lesser Goldfinch
Great Blue Heron
Great Egret
Snowy Egret
Red-winged Blackbird
Red-tailed Hawk
Dark-eyed Junco
Wilson’s Warbler
Yellow-rumped Warbler
Downy Woodpecker
Nuttall’s Woodpecker
Spotted Towhee
California Towhee
Black Phoebe
And more….

The first time we visited this creek, herons and egrets were passing over the corridor in astonishing numbers. About 1 bird every 3 minutes. We also went crazy trying to locate Swainson’s Thrush whose electronic, metallic song is, perhaps, the most astonishing in Sonoma County. It is likely that other migratory warblers can be seen here, and there are reports of both Yellow-breasted Chats, Western Tanagers and various flycatchers here.

Willowside Rd. is truly a remarkable spot, rich with birdlife, and well worth a visit.

*Do be advised that there is a pretty big mosquito issue here, and sadly, vector reports indicate that several birds have been collected from this spot that were infected with West Nile Virus. Chances are, you will be safest birding very early in the morning, wearing full-coverage clothing and insect repellant. We also suggest that you bird this area with a friend, rather than alone, as there is some evidence of people residing in the creek.