Birds of the Sierras - Part 2: Sierra Valley

Sierra Valley early in the morning, photo by Kelly Wohlwend

Yellow-headed blackbird, photo by Kelly W

The Sierra Valley was one of the most amazing places for birds that we visited during our nature journaling course with Jack Laws.  Sierra Valley is at 4,850 feet in elevation and can be reached by traveling east along Hwy 49, north along 89 or east on 70.  It's a huge valley...you can't miss it!  If you travel into the heart of the valley most of the roads are compact dirt and be careful where you park because farm equipment use these roads often.

We got to the Valley really early to catch the morning birds, around 7:00am.  Some of the first birds we saw were yellow-headed (left) and red-winged blackbirds (mostly the bicolored form, which means the red patch on the wing is only red and not red and yellow/orange.)  I wasn't seeing many tri-colored blackbirds or my vision is just that bad...but other people were saying they were out there (these blackbirds have red and white covert feathers on the wings).

The loud, croaky, scratchy call of yellow-headed blackbirds were the lead singers in the Valley that morning mixed with the "concureee" of the red-winged blackbirds.  Some other birds were able to get their say, such as a noisy marsh wren, irritated we were near the nest, American coots and their featherless, red-faced, weird but cute babies and sandhill cranes in the distance. 

American coots, photo by Kelly Wohlwend

Being in a nature journaling class, I naturally picked up my pencils and began sketching...after I got the bird shots I wanted, of course!  Species, after species, I was adding birds to my life list.  Seeing the white-faced ibis flying in the sky with its shallow wing beats and vocalizing its strange squawk/quack as I call it, was a life first for me!  Later, I watched them quarrel in the tall grass, hopping up into the air, flapping their wings lightly and landing pretty much in the same spot.  It was definitely humorous watching the birds appear and then disappear as they hopped into the air.

Marsh wren nest, photo by Kelly Wohlwend

After we got our fill of blackbirds, cute (maybe?) baby coots, a screaming marsh wren and barn swallows, we moved deeper into the valley...

Cliff swallow nest, photo by Kelly Wohlwend

Cliff swallow, photo by Kelly Wohlwend

We moved to a bridge where we had breakfast and an earful of chirping cliff swallows, which had claimed the bridge as their home base.  Fortunately, we were not disturbing the birds at all, they merely kept close to the bridge as they fed.  Swallows are incredibly frustrating to photograph.  They rarely land and when they're in the air they swoop and turn rapidly and it's nearly impossible to follow them with a zoomed in camera lens.  And when they do land, they stay perched for only moments before they return to the wing.  I did manage to get a few swallow shots.  Maybe the heat of the day was forcing them to land more often.

American bittern, photo by Kelly Wohlwend

Sample from my nature journal

One of the most memorable experiences in the Valley was my interaction with an American bittern.  It was the first time I had ever seen one and it is a delightfully strange bird.  It blended in so well with the reeds that were as tall as the bird that it was really hard to spot and even when I had my sights on it, it disappeared really easy, back into the grass.

Sandhill cranes, photo by Kelly Wohlwend

Then its hunger brought it out to the slough that ran along the edge of the road, teaming with vegetation and I guess bullfrog tadpoles, after watching the bittern hunt for a while.  I learned a lot from watching the bittern for almost an hour.  It has some strange, almost eerie, hunting techniques.  Like a heron it stalks its prey, moving its feet so slowly and with such care in water that it doesn't even create a ripple.  When it has its sights on a prey item, it extends its neck to almost grotesque lengths, lowers its head close to the surface of the water, wobbles its neck while keeping its head perfectly still and then it strikes.  I watched it swallow a slimy, wiggly tadpole, the large lump moving quickly down its throat.  The bittern gorged itself on multiple tadpoles and even a small fish or two paying little attention to the 15 or so people watching it, mesmerized by it.

Sample from my nature journal at the ranch

As we left the Sierra Valley a few of us were treated to sandhill cranes only feet from the road.  Over the last few hours we had listed to their extremely loud and beautiful "whooping" call.  They travel in pairs throughout the valley and spotting them is always a treat.  Their dark, red heads are very distinctive and their movements are fluid and very heron like.





 

Our next spot in the Sierra Valley was Maddalena Ranch, which is normally a lush, freshwater marsh in early summer.  However, the Sierras were experiencing one of their driest seasons on record...so very little water was there.  The communal red canoe sat dry docked and unused.  No ducks or waterfowl were using the area, lacking precious water to wade, drink and feed from so the area was rather desolate.  Only the wind kept us company at first...until I saw the elusive sage thrasher!  (More to come on this bird in a bit).  We were also greeted by a savannah sparrow, which serenaded us for a short time and a female northern harrier kiting for prey over the valley.  Without the typical bird distraction I took the time to sketch (right).  I have recently been experimenting with using ink pens during my sketching (after first using my non-photo blue pencil as a baseline).  I love the way the pen brings out the colored pencil.

Sage thrasher, photo by Kelly Wohlwend

Photo by Kelly Wohlwend

After some sketching we were ready to head out.  The sage thrasher had been making multiple appearances along the fence posts so a fellow birder and I hunkered down in the sage brush.  My nostrils were immediately overpowered by the potent smell of sage.  I had to take a second to breathe before I could even focus on using my camera.  After settling down in the sand and among the sage, quickly getting used to the smell, we waited.  We watched the thrasher tease us by hopping up on a post very far away, waiting, looking and then flying back down into the sage only to reappear one post closer (literally).  It moved post by post, closer and closer to our hiding spot.  I'm sure it saw us and knew we were there.  This sage thrasher had an inquisitive nature to it.  Once it got nearly close enough for photos it would fly back into the sage only to appear to our right just at a distance a photo wasn't going to turn out to our liking.  I couldn't help but smile and wait with baited anticipation for the thrasher to land on the perfect fence post right in front of us.  Sure enough, after about 15 minutes of waiting the thrasher took center stage.

It was definitely a thrilling stake out!  The thrasher was beautiful, I got some great shots and to top it off I smelled really good afterwards!

Thank you for continuing on with me on this journey as we explore the birds of the Sierras.  Next time we will be looking at some of the amazing birds of South Lake Tahoe!  Including...cute baby common mergansers!  Stay tuned!

Birds of the Sierras - Part 1: Upland Meadows

Hint #11:  Incorporate drawing and journaling in with your

Sample from my nature journal

birding!  It's a great way to allow you to explore other media than photography and you'll notice greater details and interesting behaviors by close observation.  You'll be surprised what you find when you start sketching!

I just got back from a fantastic six day camping trip in the Sierras along Highway 49.  I was taking a
nature journaling course and birding at the same time.  In this post I'll show you some of the different habitats I visited, what birds I found there and birding hotspots around Hwy 49.  I'll also share some of my bird sketches to hopefully inspire you to record what you see in a new, exciting way :)

I was shocked at how many different bird species I saw in the Sierras.  So here it is, the list of all species seen and or heard in the Sierras.  (?) = a questionable sighting.  I am fairly confident on my ID but not enough to be certain.  (*) = a species I have never seen before (a life species for me).  I did not put (*) next to questionable sightings for my life list.  (v) = the species was identified by vocalization only.

Grand Total Sierra Bird Count
((Total species: 61 (does not include questionable sightings).  Total new personal life species: 19))   Alphabetized by common name

American avocet (v)                         Olive-sided flycatcher (v)
American bittern*                            Osprey
American coot                                   Pied-billed grebe
American robin                                 Pileated woodpecker (v)

Mountain Chickadee, photo by author

Anna's hummingbird                        Pine sisken
Bald eagle                                            Purple finch
Barn swallow                                    Pygmy nuthatch
Black-headed grosbeak (v)               Red-breasted nuthatch (v)
Brewer's blackbird                            Red-winged blackbird
Brown creeper                                  Red-tailed hawk
Calliope hummingbird*                    Rufous or allen's hummingbird (female) (?)
Cassin's finch*                                  Sandhill crane*
Chipping sparrow (v)                       Sage thrasher*
Clark's nutcracker*                           Savannah sparrow*
Cliff swallow*                                  Steller's jay
Common raven                                 Tennessee warbler (?)
Dark-eyed junco                               Turkey vulture

Downy woodpecker (v)                    Warbling vireo* (v)
Evening grosbeak                             Western tanager
Forster's tern*                                   Western wood-pewee*
Fox sparrow - thick-billed                White-faced ibis*
Gadwall                                             White-headed woodpecker*
Great blue heron                                Willow flycatcher*
Green-tailed towhee*                        Wilson's warbler
Golden-crowned kinglet (v)              Wood duck
Hermit thrush (v)                              Yellow-headed blackbird*
Hermit warbler*                                Yellow-rumped warbler
Lincoln's sparrow (?)                         Yellow warbler (v)
MacGillavry's warbler                       Common merganser (forgot to add)
Mallard
Marsh wren
Mountain bluebird
Mountain chickadee*
Nashville warbler (v)*
Northern harrier


 Alpine Meadows and Wetlands - Elevation ~6,000ft.

Yuba Pass

A striking meadow of wildflowers next to the Yuba Pass campground is our first birding hotspot!  This place is home to a lot of small, mid-canopy and shrub dwelling birds such as mountain chickadees, red-breasted nuthatch, yellow warbler and a variety of sparrows. 

However, one bird in particular nests here and observing it was an experience I won't soon forget!  In a short, stump in the trees on the edge of the meadow lives a white-headed woodpecker.  It was a life bird for me (meaning I've never seen or heard it before) and I couldn't look away.  During this sighting I didn't journal, too enthralled by the bird and wanting to get a good picture or two.  (I was with a fellow birder on this excursion).  We first noticed the female woodpecker, clinging to a tree, motionless (below middle).  She looks identical to the male (below right) except she lacks the red patch on the back of her head.  Next we saw the male with a gourmet snack.  He scoped the area, prepared for landing and then went into the nest to a mouthful of hungry young.

Female white-headed woodpecker

After a few comings and goings by both parents, the male decided he wanted to take a rest and where would be the best place for a quick (or in this case long) breather?  Well, with his head plugging up the nest hole of course!   You can just barely see the red patch on his head (left).  The male white-headed woodpecker literally chilled out in this position, only moving his head ever so often for about 10 minutes.  I wanted to get a great in flight shot, so I waited and waited and waited for him to depart the nest.  Cramped and stiff I waited.  When he left it was quick and way to fast for me to even press the button on my camera.  I had to laugh at his sense of humor. 

White-headed woodpeckers are somewhat common in this part of the Sierras and prefer to be in areas near open meadows or water.  Some woodpeckers in the Sierras prefer burned tree stands, such as the black-backed woodpecker, a woodpecker we searched for and didn't find, except for a potential fleeting glimpse in flight and some drumming (not enough to make a definitive ID).

Sand Pond Interpretative Trail 

 Basics:  6,000ft in elevation, 0.8 mile loop, mostly flat with some boardwalk and tons of mosquitoes!  Don't forget your repelent! 

Sand Pond, Photo by Kelly Wohlwend (author)

This was a great trail for birding.  It begins at the clear, warm Sand Pond, which is just downstream of Lower and Upper Sardine Lakes along Sardine Lake Road.  From Hwy 49 near Bassetts turn onto Gold Lake Hwy, onto Packer Lake Road, and then onto Sardine Lake Road. 

Willow flycatcher, photo by Kelly Azar

Before we talk about Sand Pond, I want to throw in a snippet about the willow flycatcher (which I heard and saw briefly but couldn't photograph).  There is a willow thicket and wetland off of Packer Lake Road with great birds, including the elusive and hard to find willow flycatcher (right).  It is rather rare locally and is considered an indicator species because it is relatively sensitive to habitat change. 

Western wood-pewee, photo by author

Now for Sand Pond.  I spent half my time swatting at mosquitoes but the trail is great and easy to walk.  Along the way I saw orange-crowned warblers, western wood-peewee (another flycatcher).  Notice on both flycatchers the thin bill, straight body generally perched upright or at a slight angle and the tell tale crest of feathers on the head.  Most flycatchers are rather drab looking with rather prominent wing bars.  Another bird I saw and had an amazing close interaction with was the wilson's warbler.

Wilson's warbler, photo by Kelly Wohlwend

Wilson's warblers are cute, little yellow warblers with a black cap.  They have an olive colored back, wings and tail.  Like all warblers their main food of choice is insects.  They prefer habitats near water and frequent willow thickets.  Wilson's warblers also have a large vocal vocabulary and their signature song generally changes between individuals and locations.


Let's travel up Sardine Creek to Lower and Upper Sardine Lakes.

Green-tailed towhee, photo from wikimedia.org

Upper Sardine Lake, photo by Kelly Wohlwend

This is a relatively short trail but steep.  It's also covered in large cobbles so wear hiking shoes!  The views are incredible and the birding is decent.  This is where you can see and hear the green-tailed towhee!  I have also read that this trail is frequented by off road vehicles (however, I didn't see any when I took the trail).  The relative seclusion offered by Upper Sardine Lake makes the trek worth it. 

Lower Sardine Lake from the beginning of the trail, photos by Kelly W
Hiking the trail to Upper Sardine Lake (Lower Sardine on Left)

When I hiked this trail the sun was overhead and the weather was heating up fast.  Generally birds take shelter at this point but a few were out, mostly the towhees.  I had a great moment with a green-tailed towhee when it perched in a pine tree only feet behind me.  I was so mesmerized by it in my binoculars I didn't stop to take a picture.

Another bird I saw along the trail was an osprey hunting over Lower Sardine Lake.  It was awesome to watch such a large bird of prey hunt over open water from a vantage point that allowed a full, unobstructed view.

  

That's it for this part of "Birds of the Sierras."  Stay tuned for Part 2 where we explore the stunning Sierra Valley where I saw the most new species, saw the most amazing birds and got the best photos!