N California day trip

So we headed out of Arcata towards the southeastern portion of Humboldt County. The goal was to find a few birds that could only be located in one spot within the county. County birding is big here, that is locating as many birds as possible within certain counties. Some of the top California birders have achieved incredible feats and I was told that a few have found 200 birds in all counties, and 300 in the southern counties. Our goals for the day however, were much more modest Ash-Throated Flycatcher, California Towhee, and Rufous-crowned Sparrow were the birds we had hoped to find. After crossing Humboldt Redwoods State Park,we arrived at Alder Point Rd. and headed up through the mountains. The temperature was scorching hot as we made our way along the road and ticked off birds. Grasshopper sparrows were heard as were Lark sparrows, and Chipping sparrows. A california towhee was calling and later located representing the first target bird of the day. We parked in Alder Point and headed down the railroad tracks along the Eel River. Yellow-breasted chats and blue gray gnatcatchers were abundant along the river as were common mergansers with chicks. The we walked about a mile down the tracks and there was talk of a bridge crossing the river that would lead us to our destination however, I was in no way prepared for what would have to be done to find these birds. We rounded the final corner and then...


Hmm... Anyone know when the next train is due? Having seen the movie Stand By Me several times all I could think about was Vern crawling across the tracks scared half to death and then black smoke rising from the approaching train just around the corner. But that was not a real concern. The tracks were not in service and judging by the condition of the bridge I don't think it could carry the weight of the train much more than I questioned whether it could carry the weight of the 7 of us that were about to cross. I wanted to see those birds though and they were on the other side and there was only one way across.

The view from the beginning of the bridge across to the other side.



Don't look down, except to take a picture of your feet many feet above the river below. On second thought, you better look down because not all the railroad ties are there.

The view from the bridge looking down on the Eel River. I sure hope there isn't an earthquake right now. One nice thing was that Northern Rough-winged Swallows were nesting under the bridge and I got close up looks as they flew by inspecting me.

We all made it safely to the other side and were treated almost immediately by singing Ash-throated flycatchers including fledgling birds that were food begging. We located the young one and then watched as the parents flew in with food. Nearby were many cliff swallows that had built their nests on a cliff (imagine that) and were soaring over the river collecting insects before returning to the nests to feed the young. Below on the river's banks spotted sandpipers were also tending their nests. It is an exciting time of year to be a birder. Everything is raising young and I feel lucky to be able to spend my summer in the outdoors working with birds.


Cliff swallows feeding young in nests constructed on a cliff face.

We did not find the rufous-crowned sparrow but all in all it was a good day of birding with lots of adventure and a little bit of danger. We headed home and stopped off to see the Redwoods. They are truly amazing. Some are reported to be 2000 years old and it is strange to imagine that many of these giants I was photographing were flourishing as the same time that the Maya were flourishing in Central America. It is nice to know that many of these trees still exist and are protected.


Lucy Rowe and I admiring a fallen redwood. A fallen redwood is an important part of the ecosystem often lasting as long as 400 years before returning to the soil.




The Redwoods have endured while this Mayan city in Guatemala (Tikal) was born, flourished, collapsed, lost in the jungle and refound for us to enjoy.

This week's highlights include an adult male Calliope hummingbird, an adult male Western Tanager, a fledgling Western-scrub Jay, and a Male Downy Woodpecker all captured in the nets. Other interesting birds were a flyover flock of yellow-headed blackbirds, townsend solitaires and 2 groups of mountain quail with babies.

This week we set out of Arcata to band at some of the sites on the Trinity and the Klamath rivers. We had an interesting week and we are seeing more and more fledgling birds captured in the nets. The rivers flow through the mountains of northern California and several national parks including Six Rivers National Forest, and Trinity/Shasta national forests before they converge and flow into the Pacific Ocean north of Humboldt bay. The sites that we band at on the rivers usually consist of willow patches on the rivers edge. Alder is also abundant. The willows provide nesting area, and food resources to many species of migratory songbirds. The position of the nets is important and usually located between willow thickets and near flowing water. A poorly placed net will have very low capture rates or may fail to capture any birds at all. Some of the busier nets will catch birds consistently throughout the day. After we open the nets just after sunrise, we check the nets every half hour. We will decrease this to 20 minutes if the capture rates are high, or the temperature is too cold. If the capture rates are slow we may increase the time, but never more than 40 minutes as the longer the birds are in the net the more severely they can become entangled. The risk of predation also increases when birds are in the nets. When we take a bird back to the station, under ideal conditions we can process a bird in about a minute. This includes checking for breeding characteristics, fat stores, wing and tail wear, body or flight feather molt, and determining the age and sex of the bird. We also swab birds quickly to contribute samples to an avian influenza study that is being conducted. After that we weigh the birds and release them. This continues for 5 hours every day until we close the nets and take them down and drive to the next site.

birds banded:

Red Cap Creek (13 birds banded)
Yellow-breasted chat 3 (1 fledgling)
Yellow warbler 1
Spotted Towhee 3 (1 fledgling)
Macgillivray's warbler 3
Orange-crowned warbler 3

Hamilton Ponds (13 birds banded)
Yellow warbler 3
Bewick's wren 2
Yellow-breasted chat 2
Spotted towhee 5

Indian Valley (44 birds banded)
GOLDEN-CROWNED KINGLET 2 (both fledglings)
Hermit warbler 2
Macgillivray's warbler 2
Warbling vireo 1
Orange-crowned warbler 3
Mountain chickadee 2
Pine siskin 5 (4 fledglings)
Oregon Junco 5 (1 fledgling)
Chipping sparrow 1
Purple finch 1
WESTERN TANAGER 1 (beautiful after second year male)
Red-breasted sapsucker 3
Thick-billed fox Sparrow 3
Black-headed grosbeak 1
Spotted towhee 3 (s fledglings)
Yellow warbler 1
Wrentit 2 (including the same individual captured 4 times)
CALLIOPE HUMMINGBIRD 1 (the smallest bird in North America!!)
Rufous Hummingbird 1
Allen's Hummingbird 1
Dusky flycatcher 3 (1 fledgling)

Hocker Flat (19 birds banded)
WESTERN SCRUB-JAY 1 (fledgling)
BLACK-THROATED GREY WARBLER 1
Macgillivray's warbler 3 (1 fledgling)
Song sparrow 5 (3 fledglings)
DOWNY WOODPECKER 1
Wrentit 2 (1 fledgling)
Yellow-breasted chat 4 (2 fledglings)
Anna's Hummingbird 1
Bewick's wren 1

And now some pictures:

A fledgling Western-scrub Jay at Hocker Flat

A fledgling Golden-crowned kinglet at Indian Valley

An adult male Downy woodpecker at Hocker Flat

An adult male (ASY) Calliope hummingbird captured at Indian Valley

An adult male (ASY) Western tanager captured at Indian Valley

Black-throated grey and Macgillivray's warblers

Me with western-scrub jay and funny shadows on my face

Highlights this week included Blue Grouse (Pacific Sooty Race) and Townsend Solitaire at Doe Flat, Northern Pygmy Owl singing at Indian valley as well as Mountain Quail with 5 or 6 fledglings. I also got to visit a sea-bird nesting colony which held 50,000 Common Murres as well as Pelagic Cormorants, Double-Crested Cormorants and Black Oystercatchers. I didn't have my scope to scope out the Island (Doing that later today), but twelve different species are known to have nested on this island including common murre, cormorants, pigeon guillemots, Cassin’s auklets, rhinoceros auklets, and storm petrels.
Special Congratulations to Lucy, Laurie, and Amber for catching a Northern Pygmy Owl in the net at Burney Falls (photos to follow courtesy of Lucy Rowe). Dave, Maia and Jared's team netted 100 birds at Masterson Meadows, and 86 birds at Plaskett Meadows, mostly orange-crowned warbler fledglings. Fledgling season has arisen and we can expect bird numbers to increase.
Speaking of juvenile birds, you may wonder "How can I tell a bird is a Juvenile?" Well there are various techniques that we use. Some birds such as the Dark-eyed Junco (Oregon Race) show notably different plumage patterns and are distinct in the field without any other tests. Feather quality is also different since juvenile birds molt out of their pre-natal down very quickly to avoid nest predation. This causes the feathers to be of a poorer quality than adult feathers since the birds have traded quality for speed. This juvenile plumage is usually very obvious with the bird in your hand. By far the most accurate method and the one that we use for most birds is a technique called skulling. This technique allows one to age birds based upon the amount of pneumatization in the sections of skull over the brain. When a young bird fledges there is a single layer of bone over the brain. Pneumatization is the gradual formation of a second layer of bone over the brain. We can see this bone formation through the skin and therefore judge a bird to be a juvenile (hatch year bird) based upon this observation. Tables are available for each species which tells us between which months skull pneumatization occurs. Enough about that for now. Here are this weeks lists, and some photos to enjoy:



Birds Banded:

Doe Flat
Dark-eyed junco (Oregon)
Macgillivray's warbler 2
Purple finch 2
Hermit warbler 4
Warbling vireo 2
Swainson's thrush 3
Willow flycatcher 1
American Robin 1
Pine siskin 2

Hocker Flat
Macgillivray's warbler 5
Yellow warbler 1
Song sparrow 3
Wrentit 5 (including 3 recently fledged birds)

Indian Valley
Dark-eyed Junco 2 (Oregon, 1 fledgling)
Chipping sparrow 1
Nashville warbler 5
Orange-crowned warbler 1
Yellow warbler 4
Macgillivray's warbler 4
Hermit warbler 4
Cassin's vireo 2
Dusky flycatcher 2
Red-breasted sapsucker 1
Allen's Hummingbird 3
Calliope Hummingbird 1
Bushtit 3 (2 fledglings)
Purple finch 2
Fox sparrow 2 (pacific thick billed)
Audubon's warbler 2
Spotted Towhee 2

Swainson's Thrush banded at Doe Flat in No CA, near the Oregon border

Cassin's Vireo banded at Indian Valley

A Beautiful after second year (ASY) male calliope hummingbird caught at Indian Valley

Checking a Yellow warbler for molt limits. This is an obvious second year bird. Notice the contrasting feathers in the alulas (the elbow of the wing) The yellow feathers are fresh feather while the darker feathers were retained from the previous year indicating this is a second year bird. This birds also shows alternate breeding plumage in the coverts.

Lucy Rowe demonstrating how not to hold an owl, that is unless you want a painful reminder just what those talons are for. A Northern Pygmy Owl at Burney Falls (Photo provided by Lucy Rowe)

(Photo by Lucy Rowe)

An Adult Oregon Junco Near Big Springs

Hatch year Oregon Junco near Big Springs

Pretty much all I do is look at birds!!!

This was a busy week for the banding team as we visited 4 sites in northern California. We headed out of Arcata on Monday for a five hour drive across the central valley and up to a site called Burney Falls. The site is actually about 5 miles from the falls in a beautiful isolated meadow surrounded by mountains. The site was pretty birdy with loads of purple finches and warblers. Olive sided flycatchers, Nutall's and Acorn woodpeckers, and a bald eagle were also good sights. From here we headed out to the falls, one of the most beautiful I have ever seen. Nesting behind the falls were a colony of black swifts, the largest US swift that primarily nests behind (are you ready?) waterfalls. The next morning we banded at Big Springs in Lassen National Forest about an hour from the falls. After a bout of rain early in the morning we were able to open the nets and band. Highlights were willow flycatcher in the net and a pygmy nuthatch nest near the banding station. We headed back across the valley and south east the next morning to Indian Valley, a beautiful isolated creek surrounded by willow thickets and rich with bird life. Birds of interest that we banded were a western tanager and 2 epidonax species of flycatcher Dusky, and Hammon's. We flushed a Northern Pygmy owl while checking the nets and a Great Horned owl sang us to sleep. The last site brought us down out of the mountains to the Trinity River to a place called Burney Road. This site was beautiful but with few birds. We were all tired from camping out for the last 4 nights and the heat and swampy trails were getting to us. The following is a list of all birds banded by the team this week as well as some photos. Enjoy!!


Big Springs
song sparrow 6
yellow warbler 2
fox sparrow (thick billed) 1
dark-eyed junco (Oregon) 1
orange-crowned warbler 2
yellow-rumped warbler (Audubon's) 1
pine siskin 2
lazuli bunting 1
red-breasted sapsucker 1
Brewer's blackbird 2
American robin 1
Allan's hummingbird 1
willow flycatcher 1

Burney Falls
spotted towhee 4
western wood peewee 2
song sparrow 3
purple finch 17
bushtit 1
Nashville warbler 1
black-throated grey warbler 2
lesser goldfinch 1
oak titmouse 1
lazuli bunting 1
black-headed grosbeak 2
hairy woodpecker 1
red-winged blackbird 1
orange-crowned warbler 1

Indian Valley
purple finch 3
yellow warbler 3
fox sparrow (thick billed) 5
Nashville warbler 3
hermit warbler 4
pine siskin 2
lazuli bunting 3
Macgillivray's warbler 1
western tanager 1
black-headed grosbeak 1
spotted towhee 1
American robin 1
dusky flycatcher 4
Hammon's flycatcher 1
Anna's hummingbird 1

Hawker Road
downy woodpecker 1
song sparrow 5
Macgillivray's warbler 3
spotted towhee 1
yellow-breasted chat 1
wrentit 1

black-throated grey warbler at Burney Falls (Photo taken by Lucy Rowe)

pygmy nuthatch at Big Springs (notice this bird has a band on its leg)

hermit warbler at Big Springs

Nashville warbler at Burney Falls

Lazuli Bunting at Indian Valley

On my days off earlier this week I headed out to Clam Beach to try and find the Snowy Plovers. Snowy Plovers are federally endangered and are threatened by loss of habitat. They are also in danger of being struck by vehicles that ride on the beach of which there are many (Can't we keep our cars on the roads?). They build their nests right in front of the dunes and are very hard to see due to their cryptic coloration. I was also able to photograph these birds:

California Gulls at Clam Beach, CA

California Gulls at Clam Beach, CA

White-Crowned Sparrow at Clam Beach, CA

Wrentit at Clam Beach, CA

California (foreground) and Western (background) Gulls at Clam Beach, CA

This week's banding sites included some of the higher elevation sites (6000 feet) that we work at in Northern California. We banded at two natural high elevation wet meadows dominated by mixed conifers and willow thickets, great for breeding warblers and sparrows. The sites were Plaskett Meadows and Masterson. We had our busiest days this season capturing 36 birds and Plaskett Meadows and a remarkable 58 birds at Masterson.

Plaskett:
Nashville Warbler
Yellow Rumped Warbler (Audubon's Race)
Orange Crowned Warbler
Wilson's Warbler
Yellow Warbler
Lincoln's Sparrow
Fox Sparrow (Pacific thick billed race)
Purple Finch
Robin
Stellar's Jay
Black Headed Grosbeak
Warbling Vireo
Olive-sided Flycatcher
Mountain Chickadee
Red-Breasted Sapsucker
McGillavry's warbler
Dark-eyed Junco (Oregon Race)
Red-Breasted Nuthatch


Masterson:
Hermit Warbler
Wilson's Warbler
Orange Crowned Warbler (including an entire nest of fledglings in one net!)
Yellow-rumped warbler (Audubon's Race)
Lincoln Sparrow
Dark-eyed Junco (Oregon)
American Robin
Fox Sparrow (Pacific thick billed race)
Black-headed grosbeak
Red-Breasted Sapsucker
Dusky flycatcher
Pine Siskin

Olive-Sided Flycatcher at Plaskett Meadows, CA(very unusual to catch in the nets, one of my favorite birds)

Stellar's Jay at Plaskett Meadows, CA

Fox Sparrow at Plaskett Meadows (note the thick finch-like bill in this race)

Mountain Chickadee at Plaskett Meadows

Yellow Warbler at Plaskett Meadows

Campsite at Masterson Meadow in CA

A few pics that I shot in Samoa, CA near my house. Enjoy!!

Caspian Tern - Samoa, CA

Barn Swallow - Samoa, CA

Untangling a bird in a mist net can be quite a difficult process. Many birds hit the net and fall into the bag area between the trammel lines. It is a matter of realizing which way the bird entered the net, grasping the body, and beginning to remove the netting from a wing. With one wing free, the bird can be more securely handled to extract the head, the other wing and the feet. This is the best case scenario. I am finding that many birds get far more tangled. Song sparrows for example like to ball up the net with their feet, sometimes grabbing their own wing which makes it difficult to free. Chickadees sometimes enter the net and in an attempt to fly, spin around and around before grabbing the netting with their feet. Even worse are wrens with their tiny wings that can easily fit through multiple holes in the netting. Some birds that hit the net just right can swing in one net bag down to the one below and get tangled in that one. You must thus untangle two separate layers of net and it can be difficult to judge just which way the bird can enter. Nonetheless, I am getting the hang of it. I feel more confident than I did my first day out, especially with the larger birds. I will get plenty practice this week as we are heading out to the Masterdon banding site up in the mountains which is supposed to be one of the busiest. Here are some pictures of birds that we netted this week:

Audubon's Warbler - CA

Black-headed Grosbeak - CA

Female Hairy Woodpecker - CA

Yellow-breasted Chat, CA

Willow Flycatcher - CA

This weekend I went on an Audubon Bird Walk at the
Arcata Marsh and found some interesting stuff including these guys below:

Cliff Swallow - Arcata marsh, CA

Cinnamon Teal - Arcata marsh, CA