Bill, myself, and Robyn along Route 1 with the Trinity Alps in the background. This past Sunday, 16 June, I had a full and productive day of birding with Robyn Puffenbarger and Bill Benish from Virginia. We were out for 12 hours and tallied 82 species without even hitting the coastal slope! The day was pleasant with very mild temperatures, mostly clear skies, and little wind. About 8 hours of the day were spent exploring the high country of the Horse to Grouse Mountain areas along Titlow Hill Rd./Forest Service Route 1 and the remaining time was spent birding the Mad River Hatchery near the town of Blue Lake. Highlights of the day were great looks at the following species: MOUNTAIN QUAIL (always hard to see), WHITE-HEADED WOODPECKERS (attending a nest), RED-BREASTED SAPSUCKER, HAMMOND'S, DUSKY, and WILLOW FLYCATCHERS, CASSIN'S VIREO, HERMIT WARBLER, YELLOW-BREASTED CHAT, GREEN-TAILED TOWHEE, and THICK-BILLED FOX SPARROW. LAZULI BUNTING was the abundant bird of the day and was seen at almost every stop we made in the Horse/Grouse mountain area. The rarity of the day was an adult male INDIGO BUNTING (INBU), which may have followed the Puffenbargers from Virginia somehow! ;) (This was the 3rd INBU to be found within the past 2 weeks in Humboldt County and all of them have been adult males!)
I met Robyn and Bill at 0600 and we started our journey east on Highway 299 to the Horse/Grouse Mountain area. We arrived at the base of Titlow Hill Rd. at around 0640 and the sun had not yet started peeking over the mountains a chill was still in the air. Our first bird getting out of the car was LAZULI BUNTING and we started the bird list with a singing WESTERN TANAGER, a couple more singing Lazulis and a wayward BARN SWALLOW, which is unexpected in the area here. We made another couple of stops along the road on the way to Horse Mountain picking up ACORN WOODPECKER (only one spot along the whole road to pick this species up), getting a nice look at a male WESTERN TANAGER, seeing some WESTERN SCRUB-JAYS, hearing some CHESTNUT-BACKED CHICKADEES, a PACIFIC-SLOPE FLYCATCHER, and a singing BLACK-HEADED GROSBEAK.
Western Tanager before the sun came up at one of our first stops.
Our first really productive spot was the overlook that looks over the mountain brush field that had the shrubs with the showy white flowers, which is some kind of Ceanothus sp. When we arrived at this location the sun was just starting to come up over the mountains and was just starting to hit the vegetation. Once it really hit the veg. the birds just lit up in song! We stayed at this stop for pretty much an hour, which is the longest time I've spent at this stop. (You can see a picture of this location from my RRAS Horse Mountain trip report). Usually I stop here for five minutes but today the activity warranted our full attention and a longer stay. Once again, the Lazuli Buntings were the first birds we got looks at, but we also had killer looks at RED-BREASTED SAPSUCKER, NASHVILLE WARBLER, HERMIT WARBLER, MACGILLIVRAY'S WARBLER, SPOTTED TOWHEE. It was a rare occasion to be able to watch the sapsucker make at least 4-5 trips back and forth across the valley below us to supposed foraging and nesting locations. We also heard at least 3 MOUNTAIN QUAIL, a HUTTON'S VIREO, and a TOWNSEND'S SOLITAIRE here. One of the quail was really close by so we walked up the road to investigate. After minutes of looking for the bird we had it come out in the open and had confiding looks at it from less than 50 feet away!
Mountain Quail. 16 June 2013. Bill and Robyn's lifer!
One of the many Lazuli Buntings encountered before reaching Horse Mountain. This was from the mountain brushfield where we lingered at for an hour or so. 16 June 2013.
After thoroughly enjoying the stop at this pullout we made our way up to Horse Mountain where we stopped at the saddle area and got Robyn and Bill their lifer looks at DUSKY FLYCATCHER. We then walked a short trail south to an overlook and found both male and female AUDUBON'S YELLOW-RUMPED WARBLERS that were carrying food to a nest location in a old Jefferey pine. Lately this has been a good spot for TOWNSEND'S SOLITAIRE but we dipped on getting looks at this species here today.
From here, we drove 3-4 miles down the road and made a couple of brief stops along the road, encountering our first MOUNTAIN CHICKADEES (carrying food to a nest), CHIPPING SPARROWS, more looks at NASHVILLE WARBLER, and Robyn and Bill's lifer HAMMOND'S FLYCATCHER.
After the couple of stops we made along the road we ventured to the location ("Russ Ranch clearcut" is what I call it) where I had the nesting WHITE-HEADED WOODPECKERS on the RRAS Horse Mountain trip, which would have been a new bird for Robyn and Bill. We walked right down to the area and the male flew out of nest hole on onto a snag downslope of the nest, affording us perfect "lifer looks!" We walked past the nest and positioned ourselves far enough away to where we wouldn't disturb the birds and had the female come in and drop off some fat, juicy-looking, grubs to some of the nestlings inside. We spent a couple of minutes waiting for another food drop off but didn't want to stay in the area long and Robyn and Bill were satisfied with the looks they got so we moved on.
From here, we drove 3-4 miles down the road and made a couple of brief stops along the road, encountering our first MOUNTAIN CHICKADEES (carrying food to a nest), CHIPPING SPARROWS, more looks at NASHVILLE WARBLER, and Robyn and Bill's lifer HAMMOND'S FLYCATCHER.
After the couple of stops we made along the road we ventured to the location ("Russ Ranch clearcut" is what I call it) where I had the nesting WHITE-HEADED WOODPECKERS on the RRAS Horse Mountain trip, which would have been a new bird for Robyn and Bill. We walked right down to the area and the male flew out of nest hole on onto a snag downslope of the nest, affording us perfect "lifer looks!" We walked past the nest and positioned ourselves far enough away to where we wouldn't disturb the birds and had the female come in and drop off some fat, juicy-looking, grubs to some of the nestlings inside. We spent a couple of minutes waiting for another food drop off but didn't want to stay in the area long and Robyn and Bill were satisfied with the looks they got so we moved on.
female White-headed Woodpecker attending her nest cavity. 16 June 2013.
male Hairy Woodpecker foraging like a Downy Woodpecker below eye level. 16 June 2013.
Soon after the White-headeds we walked a bit down from the nest and heard some heavy tapping and investigated and found a pair of HAIRY WOODPECKERS working a dead pine and obviously being very successful finding grubs and whatever else was there embedded in that snag. Right then the male WHITE-HEADED WOODPECKER flew into the vicinity and gave us nice, prolonged views. After walking up to the road we had nice looks at a singing OLIVE-SIDED FLYCATCHER, and noted that it had some yellowish coloration in between the breast, a plumage feature not really shown in the popular field guides of the day. We then ventured across the road to look for GREEN-TAILED TOWHEE and found at least a couple of them while having to almost swat the overly-abundant Lazuli Buntings from us.
After an amazing lunch along the road provided by the Puffenbargers which included fresh baked sourdough from Oregon, some delicious herbed cheese curds from Oregon, strawberries and peaches, and some San Pellegrino Limonata to wash it down, we headed further south to look for one of our last target birds, THICK-BILLED FOX SPARROW. We ended up tracking one male singing from a couple of prominent perches in the open, along with another 1-2 GREEN-TAILED TOWHEES, more DUSKY "FLYKES," and our first and only WESTERN BLUEBIRD of the day.
After an amazing lunch along the road provided by the Puffenbargers which included fresh baked sourdough from Oregon, some delicious herbed cheese curds from Oregon, strawberries and peaches, and some San Pellegrino Limonata to wash it down, we headed further south to look for one of our last target birds, THICK-BILLED FOX SPARROW. We ended up tracking one male singing from a couple of prominent perches in the open, along with another 1-2 GREEN-TAILED TOWHEES, more DUSKY "FLYKES," and our first and only WESTERN BLUEBIRD of the day.
Green-tailed Towhee that was in the same area as the Thick-billed Fox Sparrow. I really need to get a better photo of this species! 16 June 2013.
After soaking in the Fox Sparrow we drove to Grouse Mountain and took the gravel road that goes to the peak of the mountain and then heads downslope. We didn't pick up any other new birds driving down this road and, after this last portion of the high country, we decided to head back towards the coast and finish the day at the Mad River Fish Hatchery. On the way back we did stop off at Cold Springs to get our water bottles filled with some cold and clean spring water! REFRESHING! There was an Earth First weekend-long workshop event going on here and after chatting with a couple of them we made out way to the Mad River Fish Hatchery.
It was a bit warmer at the hatchery since we were back down almost to sea level elevation and, since it was a Sunday AND Father's Day, lot's of people were out enjoying the perfect late-spring weather. The birds were also enjoying the warm weather with lot's of species out and about and singing constantly. We birded here for almost 2 hours and tallied 51 species during that time with the highlights being great looks at OSPREY, PEREGRINE FALCON, ALLEN'S HUMMINGBIRD, WRENTIT, CEDAR WAXWINGS, numerous singing YELLOW-BREASTED CHATS, some juvenile ORANGE-CROWNED WARBLERS, ,a couple of BULLOCK'S ORIOLES, and one of our target birds, WILLOW FLYCATCHER.
For the past 6-7 years a male Willow Flycatcher has been present in the same area singing away for most of the summer. Last summer breeding was documented for the first time here with an adult seen feeding a fledgeling a large dragonfly and 2 Willows interacting with each other before that! This is the only current location in Humboldt County where Willow Flycatchers breed and there are only a handful of past breeding records for the county so it was very exciting for us to see at least TWO Willow "Flykes" interacting with each other! There may have been another Willow in the area, as we saw 2 birds interacting with each other while one Willow was calling from another area, but we only got on one of them enough to confirm it's identity. Hopefully they will successfully breed here again this year!
It was a bit warmer at the hatchery since we were back down almost to sea level elevation and, since it was a Sunday AND Father's Day, lot's of people were out enjoying the perfect late-spring weather. The birds were also enjoying the warm weather with lot's of species out and about and singing constantly. We birded here for almost 2 hours and tallied 51 species during that time with the highlights being great looks at OSPREY, PEREGRINE FALCON, ALLEN'S HUMMINGBIRD, WRENTIT, CEDAR WAXWINGS, numerous singing YELLOW-BREASTED CHATS, some juvenile ORANGE-CROWNED WARBLERS, ,a couple of BULLOCK'S ORIOLES, and one of our target birds, WILLOW FLYCATCHER.
For the past 6-7 years a male Willow Flycatcher has been present in the same area singing away for most of the summer. Last summer breeding was documented for the first time here with an adult seen feeding a fledgeling a large dragonfly and 2 Willows interacting with each other before that! This is the only current location in Humboldt County where Willow Flycatchers breed and there are only a handful of past breeding records for the county so it was very exciting for us to see at least TWO Willow "Flykes" interacting with each other! There may have been another Willow in the area, as we saw 2 birds interacting with each other while one Willow was calling from another area, but we only got on one of them enough to confirm it's identity. Hopefully they will successfully breed here again this year!
male Willow Flycatcher. Yup, that is fishing line hanging above and to the left of it. 16 June 2013.
In addition to the other birds noted, we had a wayward PILEATED WOODPECKER, which is rare for this location in the spring/summer. By the time we had gotten to the fish hatchery the light was getting to be really nice for photography and some of the bird posed rather nicely, like the AMERICAN ROBIN and WESTERN WOOD-PEWEE seen below. We tallied a bunch of other species and got nice looks at some like PEREGRINE FALCON, BLACK-CROWNED NIGHT-HERON, NORTHERN ROUGH-WINGED SWALLOW, and CALIFORNIA QUAIL.
American Robin. 16 June 2013. That fishing line that was in the Willow Flycatcher shot above actually was somehow part of a failed robin nest that this bird was perched nearby. I have never seen robin nest with fishing line woven into to it; maybe that is why it failed!
Western Wood-Pewee. 16 June 2013.
It was starting to get late and the 12 hours of birding was starting to sink in and we decided to call it quits. On the way out from the fish hatchery I spotted a WHITE-THROATED SWIFT and we turned the car around and parked by the Hatchery Rd. bridge really quick and got some nice looks at about 4 of these birds, our last new species for the day! Robyn and Bill dropped me off at my car and we then parted ways after I suggested they go have some pizza and beer at Big Pete's in Arcata. It was another full and productive day of birding in Humboldt County.
Here's the eBird lists from the day and below them the full day list:
eBird lists:
base of Titlow Hill to Horse Mountain saddle
Horse/Grouse Mountain area
Mad River Fish Hatchery
Mad River--Hatchery Rd. bridge
Cumulative species list:
Number of Species: 82
Mountain Quail 5
California Quail 3
Double-crested Cormorant 1
Great Blue Heron 1
Black-crowned Night-Heron 1
Turkey Vulture 12
Osprey 1
Red-tailed Hawk 1
Band-tailed Pigeon 18
Mourning Dove 1
White-throated Swift 4
Anna's Hummingbird 3
Allen's Hummingbird 1
Rufous/Allen's Hummingbird 8
hummingbird sp. 1
Belted Kingfisher 1
Acorn Woodpecker 1
Red-breasted Sapsucker 9
Downy Woodpecker 2
Hairy Woodpecker 2
White-headed Woodpecker 2
Northern Flicker 6
Pileated Woodpecker 1
Peregrine Falcon 1
Olive-sided Flycatcher 2
Western Wood-Pewee 4
Willow Flycatcher (Northwestern) 2
Hammond's Flycatcher 4
Dusky Flycatcher 6
Pacific-slope Flycatcher 4
Black Phoebe 1
Cassin's Vireo 3
Hutton's Vireo 1
Warbling Vireo 1
Steller's Jay 3
Western Scrub-Jay 5
American Crow 15
Common Raven 3
Northern Rough-winged Swallow 4
Tree Swallow 5
Violet-green Swallow 3
Barn Swallow 10
Cliff Swallow 5
Black-capped Chickadee 5
Mountain Chickadee 6
Chestnut-backed Chickadee 2
Bushtit 2
Red-breasted Nuthatch 6
Bewick's Wren 1
Golden-crowned Kinglet 5
Wrentit 4
Western Bluebird 1
Townsend's Solitaire 2 (heard only).
Swainson's Thrush 5
American Robin 13
European Starling 20
Cedar Waxwing 4
Orange-crowned Warbler 5
Nashville Warbler 10
MacGillivray's Warbler 9
Yellow-rumped Warbler ("Audubon's") 9
Hermit Warbler 15
Wilson's Warbler 4
Yellow-breasted Chat 3
Green-tailed Towhee 3
Spotted Towhee 5
Chipping Sparrow 10
Thick-billed Fox Sparrow 3
Song Sparrow 3
White-crowned Sparrow 2
Dark-eyed Junco 20
Western Tanager 13
Black-headed Grosbeak 4
Lazuli Bunting 36
Indigo Bunting 1
Brown-headed Cowbird 1
Bullock's Oriole 4
Purple Finch 2
Pine Siskin 10
Lesser Goldfinch 2 (heard only)
American Goldfinch 5
House Sparrow 2
Here's the eBird lists from the day and below them the full day list:
eBird lists:
base of Titlow Hill to Horse Mountain saddle
Horse/Grouse Mountain area
Mad River Fish Hatchery
Mad River--Hatchery Rd. bridge
Cumulative species list:
Number of Species: 82
Mountain Quail 5
California Quail 3
Double-crested Cormorant 1
Great Blue Heron 1
Black-crowned Night-Heron 1
Turkey Vulture 12
Osprey 1
Red-tailed Hawk 1
Band-tailed Pigeon 18
Mourning Dove 1
White-throated Swift 4
Anna's Hummingbird 3
Allen's Hummingbird 1
Rufous/Allen's Hummingbird 8
hummingbird sp. 1
Belted Kingfisher 1
Acorn Woodpecker 1
Red-breasted Sapsucker 9
Downy Woodpecker 2
Hairy Woodpecker 2
White-headed Woodpecker 2
Northern Flicker 6
Pileated Woodpecker 1
Peregrine Falcon 1
Olive-sided Flycatcher 2
Western Wood-Pewee 4
Willow Flycatcher (Northwestern) 2
Hammond's Flycatcher 4
Dusky Flycatcher 6
Pacific-slope Flycatcher 4
Black Phoebe 1
Cassin's Vireo 3
Hutton's Vireo 1
Warbling Vireo 1
Steller's Jay 3
Western Scrub-Jay 5
American Crow 15
Common Raven 3
Northern Rough-winged Swallow 4
Tree Swallow 5
Violet-green Swallow 3
Barn Swallow 10
Cliff Swallow 5
Black-capped Chickadee 5
Mountain Chickadee 6
Chestnut-backed Chickadee 2
Bushtit 2
Red-breasted Nuthatch 6
Bewick's Wren 1
Golden-crowned Kinglet 5
Wrentit 4
Western Bluebird 1
Townsend's Solitaire 2 (heard only).
Swainson's Thrush 5
American Robin 13
European Starling 20
Cedar Waxwing 4
Orange-crowned Warbler 5
Nashville Warbler 10
MacGillivray's Warbler 9
Yellow-rumped Warbler ("Audubon's") 9
Hermit Warbler 15
Wilson's Warbler 4
Yellow-breasted Chat 3
Green-tailed Towhee 3
Spotted Towhee 5
Chipping Sparrow 10
Thick-billed Fox Sparrow 3
Song Sparrow 3
White-crowned Sparrow 2
Dark-eyed Junco 20
Western Tanager 13
Black-headed Grosbeak 4
Lazuli Bunting 36
Indigo Bunting 1
Brown-headed Cowbird 1
Bullock's Oriole 4
Purple Finch 2
Pine Siskin 10
Lesser Goldfinch 2 (heard only)
American Goldfinch 5
House Sparrow 2
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