From south-bay-birds-bounces+south-bay-birds-archive=[[email protected]] Sun Nov 28 20:19:55 2004 Received: from www.plaidworks.com (localhost [127.0.0.1]) by plaidworks.com (8.12.9/8.12.9) with ESMTP id iAT4Gxjp029939 for <[[email protected]]>; Sun, 28 Nov 2004 20:17:00 -0800 (PST) Received: from rproxy.gmail.com (rproxy.gmail.com [64.233.170.195]) by plaidworks.com (8.12.9/8.12.9) with ESMTP id iAT4FqVC029895 for <[[email protected]]>; Sun, 28 Nov 2004 20:15:56 -0800 (PST) Received: by rproxy.gmail.com with SMTP id r35so334648rna for <[[email protected]]>; Sun, 28 Nov 2004 20:15:49 -0800 (PST) DomainKey-Signature: a=rsa-sha1; q=dns; c=nofws; s=beta; d=gmail.com; h=received:message-id:date:from:reply-to:to:subject:mime-version:content-type:content-transfer-encoding; b=cqUVSe9YBO4q8sPVudVKiftw9RMRqVm4WOVyc4Vg9b56cfZ5HL/VG1DKBVmi9TESTJ2hx6jPNjOqh+JUbHdlNYxMz7x5Z7Ou3idGFZVP3vneROx4YbIASulzYITHQjbuO+D5sOvW2zHsj4bICEzZp2RvBHwlyAH+utEFxTn1DO8= Received: by 10.38.92.16 with SMTP id p16mr1401762rnb; Sun, 28 Nov 2004 20:15:49 -0800 (PST) Received: by 10.38.162.39 with HTTP; Sun, 28 Nov 2004 20:15:49 -0800 (PST) Message-ID: <[[email protected]]> Date: Sun, 28 Nov 2004 20:15:49 -0800 From: Karen DeMello <[[email protected]]> To: [[email protected]] Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit Subject: [SBB] Henry Coe State Park X-BeenThere: [[email protected]] X-Mailman-Version: 2.1.5b1 Precedence: list List-Id: South Bay Birding List-Unsubscribe: , List-Post: List-Help: List-Subscribe: , Sender: south-bay-birds-bounces+south-bay-birds-archive=[[email protected]] Errors-To: south-bay-birds-bounces+south-bay-birds-archive=[[email protected]] Today Jan Hintermeister and I went to Henry Coe State Park to see the RED CROSSBILLS that have been reported in recent weeks. This park is less than an hour drive and even though I've had good intentions to visit, I hadn't been there in 20 years (where does the time go?). >From the visitor center (exit Hwy 101 on East Dunne Ave. and follow it to the end of the long, windy, narrow road), it is only a 1/2 mile uphill hike on the Monument Trail to the intersection where the Crossbills are feeding in the Ponderosa Pines. We roamed the area for a couple of hours before seeing them, though in the meantime we were treated to RED-BREASTED NUTHATCHES galore (laying on Eric's bench looking up through my binocs at one was absolutely magical), plus: several WHITE-BREASTED NUTHATCH lots of OAK TITMOUSE, BUSHTITS and RUBY-CROWNED KINGLETS CHESTNUT-BACKED CHICKADEE WESTERN BLUEBIRD SPOTTED TOWHEE CALIFORNIA TOWHEE RED-BREASTED SAPSUCKER NORTHERN FLICKER NUTTALL'S WOODPECKER ACORN WOODPECKERS everywhere (and quite a few impressive granary trees) and RED-TAILED HAWKS soaring It was crisp, chilly and breezy today, which meant that the air was clear and the views were astounding. From the trail intersection you can turn left to Eric's bench and a view of Morgan Hill, or you can turn right to see the Henry Coe Monument. Both are short walks. From the monument, following the trail uphill to the crest (1/4 mile or less) there is a picnic table off to the right where there were stunning views of the distant snow-covered Sierra Nevada mountain range. The sights were incredible, and the sounds were even more incredible. We saw only 2 other hikers, heard only 2 airplanes fly over, so most of the time all we could hear was the wind and the honking nuthatches. Later we heard the crossbills pecking on the pine cones. The last 2 lines on the Henry Coe monument, written by Sada Coe, touched me: May these quiet hills bring peace To the souls of those who are seeking. (the entire monument text is at http://www.coepark.org/coefamily.html) This park is indeed peaceful and well worth a visit. Karen DeMello Mountain View _______________________________________________ Do not post admin requests to the list. They will be ignored. south-bay-birds mailing list ([[email protected]]) Help/Unsubscribe/Update your Subscription: http://www.plaidworks.com/mailman/options/south-bay-birds/south-bay-birds-archive%40plaidworks.com This email sent to [[email protected]]