Not all trips have write-ups.
May 2, 2008
San Lorenzo River
Today's Santa Cruz Bird Club field trip along the San Lorenzo River got off to a good start this morning. Just a few minutes after starting out, we were scanning from the footbridge across the river by San Lorenzo Park, and a shorebird flew in showing solid dark wings and upperparts (except some white on the sides of the tail), giving a "pit-Weet!" call once in flight- a SOLITARY SANDPIPER. It worked its way around the stretch of river between the footbridge and the Water Street bridge, foraging on various sandbars and muddy banks, and sometimes remaining long enough to give us some good studies. For a while it was feeding only a few feet away from a SPOTTED SANDPIPER, for a nice comparison. The only other shorebirds on the river today were several KILLDEER (a couple of agitated pairs were almost certainly nesting in the area), and a few LEAST SANDPIPERS.
A pair of AMERICAN KESTRELS appeared to be nesting in a hole in a building
between Water Street and Highway 1. The Water Street bridge provided a means
for close views from above of NORTHERN ROUGH-WINGED and CLIFF SWALLOWS nesting on (or in, in the case of the Rough-wings) the bridges.
The lower stretch of the river (from just above Riverside down) had 60 or more BONAPARTE'S GULLS, about a quarter to a third of them black-headed adults.
The larger gulls in this area included at least two lingering HERRING GULLS,
plus a couple of almost white GLAUCOUS-WINGED GULLS. Seven CASPIAN TERNS were in this area. A surprise was a MERLIN (female columbarius type) that swooped through the swallows foraging in this area, getting quite late.
On the way back a couple of VAUX'S SWIFTS joined a the swallow flock. A bird
giving "buzz" calls between Riverside and Broadway was some sort of Passerina--probably a Lazuli Bunting, but we never had a look at it. Another single buzz north of Water Street was possibly another one of these, but both remained unidentified. Among the river "usuals" were about 10 COMMON MERGANSERS.
A GREEN HERON flew down the river below Soquel Avenue. There were 2-3 adult BLACK-CROWNED NIGHT-HERONS near San Lorenzo Park, plus a couple each SNOWY EGRETS and GREAT BLUE HERONS, and a variety of other expected species.
Steve Gerow
May 3, 2008
Moore Ranch Road
Ten birders spent all or some of the morning exploring the grasslands and forest of Moore Ranch Road on the near north coast. The highlight had to have been three WESTERN KINGBIRDS, new for the Big Year count. Everyone had splendid views. Also on the grassland portion of the walk were SAVANNAH and (mostly heard) GRASSHOPPER SPARROWS, BLACK-SHOULDERED KITE (performing a dazzling stoop), a single RED-THROATED LOON flyover, VAUX'S SWIFT, COMMON RAVEN, BAND-TAILED PIGEONS (seen again in the forest), CALIFORNIA & WESTERN GULLS (heading to & from the dump), scads of RED-WINGED BLACKBIRDS (the bi-colored race), RED-TAILED HAWKS (including a super display dive), TURKEY VULTURES, and CLIFF, BARN, and VIOLET-GREEN SWALLOWS.
In the scrub below and above the benchlands, we noted ANNA'S and ALLEN'S HUMMINGBIRDS, PURPLE FINCH, CALIF TOWHEE, WRENTIT, W SCRUB JAY, and many many SONG SPARROWS.
At the forest edge we observed ORANGE-CROWNED, WILSON'S and BLACK-THROATED GRAY WARBLER, BLACK-HEADED GROSBEAK, WARBLING VIREO, PAC SLOPE FLYCATCHER, LESSER GOLDFINCH, and SWAINSON'S THRUSH--some of this observation auditory only.
And inside the forest the ears had it all over the eyes, though we did see CHESTNUT-BACKED CHICKADEE, HUTTON'S VIREO, AMERICAN ROBIN, STELLER'S JAY, BUSHTIT, MOURNING DOVE, WINTER WREN, and DARK-EYED JUNCO. Also heard were CALIFORNIA QUAIL and ACORN & HAIRY WOODPECKERS.
Most participants had not previously experienced this lovely walk, about a four-mile round trip, and all expressed delight in learning about it. Special thanks to Phil Brown for waiting for late arrivals—there had been some confusion about the start time--and for first spotting the kingbirds, and to Todd Newberry for agreeing to co-lead this trip when Lois's grandparental calling necessitated an unexpectedly long East Coast sojourn.
Wally Goldfrank
May 11, 2008
Spanish Ranch Road and Loma Prieta Avenue
The SCBC trip to the Loma Prieta area on Sunday brought out a great group of enthusiastic participants. Seeing the numerous breeding birds in the thick foliage of Spanish Ranch Rd. is always tricky, but there were plenty singing, including YELLOW-RUMPED WARBLERS, WESTERN TANAGERS, WARBLING VIREOS, CASSIN'S VIREOS, etc. A nicely placed RED-BREASTED NUTHATCH nest hole (with attendant birds) in a snag right by the road was a highlight. Up further on Loma Prieta Ave. we found the expected ASH-THROATED FLYCATCHERS, numerous BLUE-GRAY GNATCATCHERS, WESTERN WOOD-PEEWEE, CALIFORNIA THRASHER, ORANGE-CROWNED WARBLERS, etc.
Further up Loma Prieta we didn't find any of the rarer sparrows, although it is still a bit early and thus too soon to count them out for the year. We'll have to keep checking. Two WILSON'S WARBLERS at the base of Loma Prieta Peak were interesting and a BLACK-THROATED GRAY WARBLER singing here was unfortunately too far out to see. We had a singing TOWNSEND'S WARBLER as well.
Kumaran Arul
May 14, 2008
Skyline Boulevard
There were just three of us for this adventure along a quiet section of Skyline Boulevard, between Bear Creek Road and Castle Rock. There were pairs of WESTERN BLUEBIRDS at two places. Behavior indicated they were paired, but it did not appear that either pair had an active nest. A CHIPPING SPARROW was singing at the edge of the Christmas tree farm near Thompson Road, but as far as I know they do not nest there...and it was the first I've heard there after spring visits for 6 years running.
Also of interest were PINE SISKINS at three spots. They have not been found nesting up in that area for quite some time, and these sightings were not in prime nesting habitat. I suspect they (along with some other recent detections I've had outside the recent breeding range) may pertain to migrants. A BLACK PHOEBE carrying food to the eaves of a house, an interesting nesting confirmation for that summit area. A pair of AM. CROWS was foraging on Summit Road near Redwood Estates. Perhaps they are colonizing there, too.
Among the various breeders/migrants noted along Skyline Blvd, there were 10 singing AUDUBON'S WARBLERS (great views of breeding plumaged males), 4 TOWNSEND'S WARBLERS, 3-4 WESTERN WOOD-PEWEES, 2 OLIVE-SIDED FLYCATCHERS, about 6 CASSIN'S VIREOS and 6 LAZULI BUNTINGS. Ash-throated Flycatcher was a no show. Also noted were 2 RED-BR. NUTHATCHES and 6 NUTTALL'S WOODPECKERS.
David Suddjian
May 16, 2008
Western Santa Cruz
Despite unusually warm weather, this morning's Santa Cruz Bird Club field trip turned up some interesting birds. Just as we were starting out, a male GREAT-TAILED GRACKLE flew over Antonelli Pond, still a quite rare bird in the Santa Cruz area. At Natural Bridges, a calling WESTERN KINGBIRD flew over the Moore Creek marsh area. A WESTERN TANAGER was singing steadily from the eucalyptus along Moore Creek near Delaware Avenue, and a second check of this area later in the morning produced a singing BULLOCK'S ORIOLE. CEDAR WAXWINGS were still numerous, with a flock of over 80 flying out of this eucalyptus grove. Overall, though, passerine migrants were on the sparse side, with many of the migrants noted around the area the day before having apparently moved on.Two SPOTTED SANDPIPERS were bobbing along the edge of the Moore Creek Lagoon, and there were several RED-NECKED PHALAROPES, but far fewer than earlier in the week. There were also three CANADA GEESE there. At Younger Lagoon, there was another 8-10 RED-NECKED PHALAROPES, and these were accompanied by about 5 RED PHALAROPES, providing a nice comparison. Younger also had a GREATER YELLOWLEGS and a LONG-BILLED DOWITCHER.
From there we moved on to Bethany Curve Park, where we had some good views of a couple of bright YELLOW WARBLERS and some others, but much less migrant variety than the day before, almost annoyingly numerous EURASIAN COLLARED-DOVES, and no chat. West Cliff at Woodrow provided a good view of a breeding-plumaged WANDERING TATTLER, plus a few loons and other expected species.
Steve Gerow
May 23, 2008
Moore Creek Preserve
Today's Santa Cruz Bird Club field trip encoutered some foggy and windy weather, which dampened bird activity to some extent. Still, there was enough to keep it interesting. Presumably migrant WESTERN KINGBIRDS were still around, with five working around the upper part of the grasslands. Interestingly, none of these were along the west fenceline where they typically are; instead they were flycatching from sign posts, water valves, and other objects closer to the center of the slope. ASH-THROATED FLYCATCHERS were also prominent. We had good looks at two, and heard one or two others. A pair of AMERICAN KESTRELS were foraging busily, hovering over the area and catching quite a few large insects, eating some themselves and carrying others off to the east side of the canyon. Two or three GRASSHOPPER SPARROWS and quite a few SAVANNAH SPARROWS were singing in the grasslands. Three species of swallows and one VAUX'S SWIFT were flying around just a few feet off the ground. Other birds included 1-2 OLIVE-SIDED FLYCATCHERS, 1 WESTERN WOOD PEWEE, a PINE SISKIN in the Vernal Ridge area, and many others. Earlier we checked the riparian growth along Moore Creek at the Mission Street crossing, hearing a singing SWAINSON'S THRUSH and getting some good views of BLACK-HEADED GROSBEAKS.
Steve Gerow
May 28-29, 2008
Long Ridge Open Space Preserve and Overnight at Portola State Park
Three of us began in Santa Cruz County, with a birding hike at Long Ridge OSP. The day was cool with cloudy skies, but (thankfully) little wind. We hiked Achistaca Trail from near the top of Highway 9 northwest to Hickory Oaks Trail, and did the loop on that trail up to the viewing bench, and back along Achistaca to the start. About 4 mostly level miles round trip. This is a supremely lovely walk, even on a gray morning.
A highlight was three CHIPPING SPARROWS singing on territory from the northern end of Achistaca to the loop on Hickory Oaks. They were arrayed in a sort of line in grassland - live oak edge habitat, separated from each other by 250-300 meters. BLACK-THROATED GRAY WARBLERS were abundant, with the area providing optimal habitat. 40-50 noted on the hike. Breeding AUDUBON'S WARBLERS were more patchy, but I noted 10 singers, mostly in the northern and southern quarters of the route. Three singing HERMIT WARBLERS were noted, along with two straggling singing TOWNSEND's.
Also noted were three RED-BREASTED NUTHATCHES, 3 PILEATED WOODPECKERS (two around the southern end of the route, and one off in the distance down the Oil Creek watershed, at least 2 GOLDEN-CR. KINGLETS, and a few singing WESTERN TANAGERS. There were 3-4 singing LAZULI BUNTINGS and 4 singing CASSIN'S VIREOS in the Hickory Oaks area. DARK-EYED JUNCO was perhaps the most common bird along the whole route.
I was hoping for a glimpse of Black Swifts migrating below the cloud cover, but none were evident...nor anything else plying the skies but a vulture and some ravens.
Later we went to Portola State Park. This beautiful park has the added charm of being very lightly visited by people on weekdays, and we essentially had the whole place to ourselves. The park’s campground had only two sites occupied. In the afternoon, we found a DIPPER nest with young, and VAUX’S SWIFTS were flying over. In the evening we made a short walk for owls. WESTERN SCREECH OWLS were very responsive, with outstanding, close up views of one male at our first stop! They were the best looks I’ve ever had on a field trip! The next morning we were up early for MARBLED MURRELETS. Activity was slow, though, but we spied a few. Later we saw COMMON MERGANSER and just enjoyed the regular forest breeders, including numerous WILSON’S WARBLERS, singing SWAINSON’S and HERMIT THRUSHES, BROWN CREEPERS visiting nests, and more. And we had fun botanizing...When's the last time you saw the rare Dudley's lousewort *Pedicularis dudleyi*?
David Suddjian
May 30, 2008
Neary Lagoon
This field trip explored Neary Lagoon and adjacent areas. WOOD DUCKS have become very prominent around the lagoon, with the couple of pairs that have been present through the breeding season now being joined by numerous adults (a majority males) coming in from elsewhere. This follows a pattern in recent years where many Wood Ducks accumulate here in summer to molt and go through their "eclipse plumage" period. Yesterday we saw up to ten at once, but I would guess at least 12-15 were present around the lagoon. Two offspring from one of this season's nestings (still small, but pretty much independent now) were also around.
Up Laurel Creek to the north of the main part of the lagoon a highlight was a group of four very recently hatched AMERICAN COOTS being tended by their parents, showing off their surprisingly bright head and bill colors. A family group of PIED-BILLED GREBES was also in this area. About 10-12 pairs of RED-WINGED BLACKBIRDS are nesting at the lagoon this year, pretty much all in the neck toward Laurel Creek. This is a species that for some reason does not nest here every year. TREE SWALLOWS were tending their nests in the nest boxes, and providing good comparisons with the VIOLET-GREEN SWALLOWS that breed in cavities in buildings in nearby housing complexes. I think there are three pairs of Trees at the lagoon this year, matching the number of available boxes.
A few spring migrants were still passing through, including a flock of close to 30 CEDAR WAXWINGS (a good sized flock for this late), and a singing WESTERN
TANAGER in the eucalyptus near the West Cliff Drive bridge south of Neary. A couple of WARBLING VIREOS in different spots and a WESTERN WOOD-PEWEE on the hillside by Laurel Creek were also probably lateish migrants. An ORANGE-CROWNED WARBLER near Laurel Creek might have been an early dispersant from nearby breeding areas.
Steve Gerow
