[SBB] Uvas Canyon County Park

[Les Chibana <[[email protected]]>]

Today, 4/23/05, I led a fieldtrip for my SVCAS Intermediate Birding by 
Ear class. Despite the showery-to-misty conditions, we had an 
exceptional time. We started out with Kunal Basu informing us that he 
had just been looking at a NORTHERN PYGMY-OWL (NOPO) that was being 
mobbed when we drove up. It had just flown off. So, I played about 20 
seconds of recorded calls and the owl flew back to perch right above 
us. It eventually began to call on its own for about 30 min. This 
started at around 8:40a and was on the creekside of the first parking 
area beyond the self-pay machine ($5/day-use).

We moved on to some singing nearby that sounded like a Black-headed 
Grosbeak. After a bit of searching, a WESTERN TANAGER (WETA) popped out 
of the area from which the song emanated. Hmmm!? How to explain this!? 
Fortunately, a few seconds later, a BLACK-HEADED GROSBEAK (BHGR) 
emerged from the same clump of leaves! The two proceeded to sing one 
after the other, then over each other's songs. What better comparison 
for a birding by ear class! Oh, it could have been better if a robin 
had joined in.

We walked down to Swanson Creek, then to Uvas Creek. No dipper or 
kingfisher in evidence, as on previous visits a few years back. But as 
we ascended a trail, Lori Cuesta noticed a pair of glowing eyes deep in 
a hollowed-out tree trunk below trail level. It looked to be more 
mammal than, say, owl. Peering into the darkness with our optics, we 
could see a GRAY FOX mom with three puppies moving back and forth over 
her. Pretty neat!

Along the Waterfall Loop Trail, PACIFIC-SLOPE FLYCATCHERS achieved a 
density of about 5 within about 30 yards of creek. Back at the parking 
area, at least 3 male BHGR were singing and chipping.

After lunch we birded along Old Oak Glen Ave. at the west end of 
Chesbro Reservoir. TURKEY VULTURES roosted in trees very close to the 
road, providing some of the closest views I've ever had. We saw 2-3 
male WOOD DUCKS in the western arm of the reservoir, which was flooded. 
Later, a female and 3 medium-sized ducklings motored by. Just before we 
left, a female WETA was seen foraging in a Calif. Buckeye at roadside. 
The more we watched, the more WETA we saw. We eventually saw about 6 
males and 2 females in this tree at close range. They didn't sing and 
only called quietly for a bit.

Among the birds providing vocal samples: KILLDEER, FORSTER'S TERNS, 
BELTED KINGFISHER, NUTTALL'S and ACORN WOODPECKERS, ASH-THROATED 
FLYCATCHER,  WARBLING VIREO, TREE and VIOLET-GREEN SWALLOWS, OAK 
TITMOUSE, WHITE-BREASTED NUTHATCH, BROWN CREEPER, BEWICK'S and HOUSE 
WRENS, and SPOTTED and CAL TOWHEES. Also seen were a GREAT EGRET in 
nuptial plumage, including green "lore-shadow", a BLACK-CROWNED 
NIGHT-HERON with natty plumes, and a GOLDEN EAGLE flying north.

Les
---
Les Chibana
BirdNUTZ(tm) - Ornigasmic Birding
Palo Alto Baylands Birding Classes
em <[[email protected]]>
web <http://www.birdnutz.com>
ph 650-949-4335
fx 650-949-4137
snailmail: SR2 Box 335, La Honda CA 94020
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