I'm glad to report that Hooded Orioles are back nesting in my neighborhood! On March 15th, my brother and I went out early, without any real hopes of finding these beautiful orange and black birds - it was still very early for them to be nesting in the fan palms. However, I thought I heard the "wheet!" call of the oriole, and, to my great surprise, located a male sitting on top of the same tree I saw my lifer sitting on last year. Unfortunately, I only saw the orioles on more time in March - they may have left for a different part of the neighborhood.
On March 23rd, I went birding on the John Nicholas Trail in Sanborn County Park. I expected to get at least six or seven FOYs, but was (spoiler alert) disappointed with only three. The hike was great, though, and I always enjoy being in nature.
I originally planned this trip for January, but couldn't go because of all my schoolwork. Now, I had to go in March, so I was scared some of the winter birds had already left. Some of the birds I expected to find included Pileated Woodpecker, Varied Thrush, Hairy Woodpecker, Pacific Wren, and Brown Creeper, as well as any possible early migrants.
That morning I put on the same shirt I had dipped in on the Pileated Woodpecker in Big Basin back in December of 2013. Not a good idea! Next time I go looking for the woodpeckers, I'll remember to not put that shirt on...
We drove up in the fog to the John Nicholas Trail trailhead, and unloaded our gear. The first bird on the trail was a distant Hairy or Downy Woodpecker. My brother noticed a California Newt on the ground, as well as a Banana Slug:
To my disappointment, the first half-mile of the trail was not very birdy, other than Chestnut-backed Chickadees, Steller's Jays, and American Robins. There were no Varied Thrushes where I had seen them in November 2013. Luckily, as we were reaching a place where a stream crosses the trail, I heard a bubbling, trilling song coming from ahead. I soon spotted two tiny birds in the brush near the trail, which turned out to be Pacific Wrens! They where really singing their hearts out.
These birds helped raise my spirits, but only for a little bit - soon, the trail seemed devoid of life, except for the common birds. I took some shots of the surroundings:
I first heard, and then spotted a Townsend's Warbler in a tree, and then got my first decent photo of one:
As we were walking along the trail, I heard a loud, fast drumming coming from the right side of the trail. "Pileated Woodpecker!" I immediately thought, and, to confirm my suspicions, I heard its wuk-wuk-wuk call. However, I don't count heard onlies, and I've heard that Northern Flickers can sound identical to Pileated Woodpeckers, so my brother and I went off trail to look for the woodpecker.
After a futile search of around ten minutes, during which we heard the woodpecker multiple times, we gave up, thinking the bird might be a well-hidden flicker, and moved on. Later, at home, I checked the calls and drums of the Northern Flicker and the Pileated Woodpecker on Cornell, and found that they can be exactly the same.
I will find you eventually, Pileated Woodpecker!
In the trees near the lake, there were many passerines, which included to early migrants and FOY Warbling Vireos.
Lake Ranch Reservoir is an awesome place! I love the scenery here - it's rare to find this type of lake in our county.
Birds near or on the lake included: Ruddy Duck, Gadwall, Mallard, only one female Ring-necked Duck, Bufflehead, Great Blue Heron, Great Egret, Pied-billed Grebe, Red-winged and Brewer's Blackbirds, Killdeer, and some flyover Band-tailed Pigeons. At the reservoir's dam, where I'd seen the best birds last time, I was once more disappointed with only Spotted Towhee and Fox Sparrow.
We ate lunch and headed back, still hoping for some more birds. We met another birder, who told us that most of the Varied Thrushes were gone for the summer already, and there were a lot less Townsend's Warblers than there were several weeks ago. I'd come late for the winter birds here, like I feared!
I did pick up one yearbird on the way back, and that was a pair of Hairy Woodpeckers. Even though I only saw three yearbirds, and saw no Pileated Woodpecker, Varied Thrush, or Brown Creeper (!), I still had a good time hiking the John Nicholas Trail. I'll probably come back here during my spring break in April to get the migrants, and have another try at the Pileated Woodpecker. I'll make sure to not wear the Pileated Woodpecker-dipping shirt!
Summary:
Birds seen: 38
New birds: 3
Big Year count: 135
Good birding,
Sergey
* * *
On March 23rd, I went birding on the John Nicholas Trail in Sanborn County Park. I expected to get at least six or seven FOYs, but was (spoiler alert) disappointed with only three. The hike was great, though, and I always enjoy being in nature.
I originally planned this trip for January, but couldn't go because of all my schoolwork. Now, I had to go in March, so I was scared some of the winter birds had already left. Some of the birds I expected to find included Pileated Woodpecker, Varied Thrush, Hairy Woodpecker, Pacific Wren, and Brown Creeper, as well as any possible early migrants.
That morning I put on the same shirt I had dipped in on the Pileated Woodpecker in Big Basin back in December of 2013. Not a good idea! Next time I go looking for the woodpeckers, I'll remember to not put that shirt on...
We drove up in the fog to the John Nicholas Trail trailhead, and unloaded our gear. The first bird on the trail was a distant Hairy or Downy Woodpecker. My brother noticed a California Newt on the ground, as well as a Banana Slug:
These birds helped raise my spirits, but only for a little bit - soon, the trail seemed devoid of life, except for the common birds. I took some shots of the surroundings:
After a futile search of around ten minutes, during which we heard the woodpecker multiple times, we gave up, thinking the bird might be a well-hidden flicker, and moved on. Later, at home, I checked the calls and drums of the Northern Flicker and the Pileated Woodpecker on Cornell, and found that they can be exactly the same.
I will find you eventually, Pileated Woodpecker!
In the trees near the lake, there were many passerines, which included to early migrants and FOY Warbling Vireos.
Lake Ranch Reservoir is an awesome place! I love the scenery here - it's rare to find this type of lake in our county.
Birds near or on the lake included: Ruddy Duck, Gadwall, Mallard, only one female Ring-necked Duck, Bufflehead, Great Blue Heron, Great Egret, Pied-billed Grebe, Red-winged and Brewer's Blackbirds, Killdeer, and some flyover Band-tailed Pigeons. At the reservoir's dam, where I'd seen the best birds last time, I was once more disappointed with only Spotted Towhee and Fox Sparrow.
We ate lunch and headed back, still hoping for some more birds. We met another birder, who told us that most of the Varied Thrushes were gone for the summer already, and there were a lot less Townsend's Warblers than there were several weeks ago. I'd come late for the winter birds here, like I feared!
I did pick up one yearbird on the way back, and that was a pair of Hairy Woodpeckers. Even though I only saw three yearbirds, and saw no Pileated Woodpecker, Varied Thrush, or Brown Creeper (!), I still had a good time hiking the John Nicholas Trail. I'll probably come back here during my spring break in April to get the migrants, and have another try at the Pileated Woodpecker. I'll make sure to not wear the Pileated Woodpecker-dipping shirt!
Summary:
Birds seen: 38
New birds: 3
Big Year count: 135
Good birding,
Sergey
No comments:
Post a Comment