On the second of March, I decided to do a 4 mile hike in Santa Teresa County Park, one of my favorite places to bird in the county. It's not the most birdy, but I love its variety, and its scenery. The only problem was that the morning of the hike, it was drizzling. I decided to ignore the rain, so my mom and I packed up my trusted Western Sibley, my binoculars, and a camera and headed up into the hills.
Here are some previously taken photos of the park, on the afternoon of February 23rd. I saw a Red-shouldered Hawk, and Western Bluebirds. I also took my favorite shot of a bluebird:
Below is Coyote Peak, with hills, overlooking the Pueblo Picnic Area, also taken February 23rd. Coyote Peak, at 1,155 ft, is the highest point in the park. My mom and I would climb to the top, and then come back to the Pueblo Picnic Area via the Rocky Ridge Trail.
Upon entering the park, I decided to check out a pond that I had never been to. However, I didn't get there - the rain began to fall harder, and it was farther than I expected to the pond. I did see a Mallard in one of the canals, which was a new park bird for me. At the Pueblo Day Use Area, my mom and I set off up the Hidden Springs Trail, despite the continuing drizzle. I saw several Western Scrub-Jays and Western Bluebirds, and heard a White-breasted Nuthatch near the trailhead. The best bird, though, was a group of Band-tailed Pigeons flying over the picnic area - a yearbird! I would see several more of these flocks.
The Hidden Springs Trail turned into the Coyote Peak Trail, and we couldn't see further than about 30 feet up the trail, while the wind and rain worsened as we neared the top of the peak. I caught sight of several Golden-crowned Sparrows in the bushes, and at least 20 California Quail. I also thought I heard some California Thrasher song coming from somewhere in the fog.
The rain and wind reached a pinnacle at the top of Coyote Peak, so I couldn't take out my camera, and kept my binoculars under my jacket. There is usually a splendid view of both the Diablo Range and the Santa Cruz Mountains, as well as Silicon Valley, from the top, but now all we saw was white, blanketing everything around us. So much for the awesome views I had wanted!
As we reached the Rocky Ridge Trail, and the rain and clouds slowly began to dissipate, we heard snatches of meadowlark song, and found several Western Meadowlarks singing from tops of rocks on either side of the trail. Again, photos were impossible. Because we were descending, the rain had lessened to a barely noticeable drizzle once more, but the trail had become very muddy. Eventually, a small bird flew across the trail in front of me, and landed in the grass some 30 feet from the trail. Rufous-crowned Sparrow! I thought, because that was the most likely small bird up here. Stalking the bird, I got to within about ten feet of the landing spot before I finally saw some small movements in the grass. I focused my binoculars on it, and the bird revealed itself to be a Grasshopper Sparrow - a great bird for this time of year! Summer residents in our county, these sparrows prefer grassland parks like Montebello, Ed Levin, and this one. Out of the six codes in out county, the Grasshopper Sparrow is a Code 4. I was uncertain at the beginning of my year if I would get this one, but, there you go! I even snapped several shots of the Grasshopper Sparrow, but my camera's card just decided to randomly delete every single photo from that trip, so I was, to put it lightly, pretty mad at that card... At least I got good looks through my binoculars! Grasshopper Sparrow wasn't a lifer (seen in Montebello in May of 2013 with SCVAS), but it was a yearbird, and a confirmatory look after a tentative ID at Montebello.
At the lower part of the Rocky Ridge Trail, I did see a Rufous-crowned Sparrow (yearbird!), and got some photos, but, again, my camera deleted them. As the Rocky Ridge Trail began to abut a creek, it got even muddier, but also birdier. I spotted the trio of Bushit, Chestnut-backed Chickadee, and Oak Titmouse all in one place, along with two Ruby-crowned Kinglets. Also seen were two Lincoln's Sparrows, Dark-eyed Juncos, flyover American Robins, and Spotted and California Towhees. At the Pueblo Day Use Area, I found a male American Kestrel sitting on a snag, looking wet and miserable. Also seen was a Northern Flicker on the ground.
This concludes my wordy trip report to Santa Teresa County Park. I'm probably going to change my camera's card, so that doesn't happen again, because I got some nice shots, especially of the flicker. I got very muddy, and dirtied my shoes, but it was worth it for three good yearbirds! My plan is to go birding at Alviso Marina/Don Edwards on Saturday, and then meet up with another young birder on a trip to Shoreline on Sunday.
Summary:
Birds seen: 29
New birds: 3
Big Year count: 116
Good birding,
Sergey
Here are some previously taken photos of the park, on the afternoon of February 23rd. I saw a Red-shouldered Hawk, and Western Bluebirds. I also took my favorite shot of a bluebird:
Below is Coyote Peak, with hills, overlooking the Pueblo Picnic Area, also taken February 23rd. Coyote Peak, at 1,155 ft, is the highest point in the park. My mom and I would climb to the top, and then come back to the Pueblo Picnic Area via the Rocky Ridge Trail.
The Hidden Springs Trail turned into the Coyote Peak Trail, and we couldn't see further than about 30 feet up the trail, while the wind and rain worsened as we neared the top of the peak. I caught sight of several Golden-crowned Sparrows in the bushes, and at least 20 California Quail. I also thought I heard some California Thrasher song coming from somewhere in the fog.
The rain and wind reached a pinnacle at the top of Coyote Peak, so I couldn't take out my camera, and kept my binoculars under my jacket. There is usually a splendid view of both the Diablo Range and the Santa Cruz Mountains, as well as Silicon Valley, from the top, but now all we saw was white, blanketing everything around us. So much for the awesome views I had wanted!
As we reached the Rocky Ridge Trail, and the rain and clouds slowly began to dissipate, we heard snatches of meadowlark song, and found several Western Meadowlarks singing from tops of rocks on either side of the trail. Again, photos were impossible. Because we were descending, the rain had lessened to a barely noticeable drizzle once more, but the trail had become very muddy. Eventually, a small bird flew across the trail in front of me, and landed in the grass some 30 feet from the trail. Rufous-crowned Sparrow! I thought, because that was the most likely small bird up here. Stalking the bird, I got to within about ten feet of the landing spot before I finally saw some small movements in the grass. I focused my binoculars on it, and the bird revealed itself to be a Grasshopper Sparrow - a great bird for this time of year! Summer residents in our county, these sparrows prefer grassland parks like Montebello, Ed Levin, and this one. Out of the six codes in out county, the Grasshopper Sparrow is a Code 4. I was uncertain at the beginning of my year if I would get this one, but, there you go! I even snapped several shots of the Grasshopper Sparrow, but my camera's card just decided to randomly delete every single photo from that trip, so I was, to put it lightly, pretty mad at that card... At least I got good looks through my binoculars! Grasshopper Sparrow wasn't a lifer (seen in Montebello in May of 2013 with SCVAS), but it was a yearbird, and a confirmatory look after a tentative ID at Montebello.
At the lower part of the Rocky Ridge Trail, I did see a Rufous-crowned Sparrow (yearbird!), and got some photos, but, again, my camera deleted them. As the Rocky Ridge Trail began to abut a creek, it got even muddier, but also birdier. I spotted the trio of Bushit, Chestnut-backed Chickadee, and Oak Titmouse all in one place, along with two Ruby-crowned Kinglets. Also seen were two Lincoln's Sparrows, Dark-eyed Juncos, flyover American Robins, and Spotted and California Towhees. At the Pueblo Day Use Area, I found a male American Kestrel sitting on a snag, looking wet and miserable. Also seen was a Northern Flicker on the ground.
This concludes my wordy trip report to Santa Teresa County Park. I'm probably going to change my camera's card, so that doesn't happen again, because I got some nice shots, especially of the flicker. I got very muddy, and dirtied my shoes, but it was worth it for three good yearbirds! My plan is to go birding at Alviso Marina/Don Edwards on Saturday, and then meet up with another young birder on a trip to Shoreline on Sunday.
Summary:
Birds seen: 29
New birds: 3
Big Year count: 116
Good birding,
Sergey
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