[SBB] Henry Coe, Gilroy Hot Sprs 6/9 & 6/10, 2005

["Garth Harwood" <[[email protected]]>]

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Hello All,

I had never birded the southeastern corner of the county at this time of
year so I used a bit of vacation time to walk portions of Gilroy Hot Springs
Rd. (GHSR) and then backpack into the Hunting Hollow entrance of Henry Coe
State park overnight on the night of 6/9/2005. I found relatively few birds
of county-wide interest, but was surprised on reviewing the very detailed
online Coe Park bird list today that a couple of the species seen were
listed as "accidental/observed only once or twice in the park"
(Red-shouldered Hawk, Northern Saw-whet Owl) or were not previously reported
for the month of June (Tree Swallow, Selasphorus hummingbird, Song Sparrow)
- at least at the time the list was compiled.

The night was particularly productive for owls. Although I did not hike
after dark, my camp spot at the base of Coon Hunter's Gulch afforded an
excellent listening range in all directions. During the night both Western
Screech and Northern Saw-whet Owls took turns calling from the Live Oak just
a few feet away from me. A Barn Owl cruised the length of the Hollow
throughout the night, at one point calling so loudly it awakened me from a
sound sleep (I got to see it glide overhead at dawn without even having to
sit up.) Two Great Horned Owls called to each other at first light and last
of all, just as the dawn turned more light than dark, a Northern Pygmy-Owl
sounded off for a minute or so.

General highlights included the above-mentioned Selasphorus hummingbirds,
one female at the park edge on GHSR feeding from Elegant Clarkias at 6 feet
distance on 6/9, and another of unknown gender (seen in back view only as it
sped away, chased by an Anna's) in lower Coon Hunter's Gulch on 6/10. Also a
total of 3 Golden Eagles, a pair of adults circling about 1 mile west of the
park boundary at 1:45Pm 6/9, and an immature driven off by a determined
Red-shouldered Hawk near the fire station at GHSR and Canada Rd. at about
noon on 6/10. I was glad to find that the Coyote Creek riparian corridor
along GSHR remains a hotspot for all of the vireos, with a total of 5
Cassin's Vireos encountered at widely spaced intervals. Warbling Vireos were
refreshingly common all along the creek too; Hutton's were more
intermittent. 

Also at the base of Coon Hunter's Gulch was a silent male Western Tanager, a
family group of 5 Chipping Sparrows with adults still feeding fledged young,
and a singing Lark Sparrow. Outside the park, a Green Heron flew downstream
toward Coyote Lake from a point about 1/2 mile up GHSR from the turn-off to
the reservoir.

The following trip list is from the Henry Coe portion of the trip only,
excluding birds seen only along parts of GSHR not adjoining the park. During
the slow walk in on 6/9 I recorded all individuals bird-count style from
5:45-8:45PM. Species seen during this interval have a number after their
name signifying the number encountered during this time. Species lacking a
number were not encountered until the next day (or during the night.) One
asterisk indicates the species is considered rare in the park, two asterisks
denotes "uncommon". 

Wood Duck* (hen with 8 downy young on Fish Pond 6/10)
Turkey Vulture 3 
White-tailed Kite* 2 (adult pair interacting less than 1/2 mile in from
trailhead; no breeding record for park yet)
Red-shouldered Hawk* 1 (separate observation from the one noted above; this
one well within park)
Red-tailed Hawk 1
American Kestrel 1
Calif. Quail 20
Mourning Dove** 2 (young on nest CH Gulch 6/10, full distraction display by
adult)
Barn Owl* 
W. Screech Owl 
Great Horned Owl 
No. Pygmy-Owl* 
No. Saw-whet Owl*
White-throated Swift** 1
Anna's Hummingbird
Selasphorus spp.*
Acorn Woodpecker 2
Nuttall's Woodpecker 3
No. Flicker 1
W. Wood-pewee** 1 (lwr CH Gulch)
Pacific-slope Flycatcher** (lwr CH Gulch)
Black Phoebe 4
Ash-throated Flycatcher** 6
Hutton's Vireo* 2
Warbling Vireo** 4
Steller's jay 3
W. Scrub Jay 10
American Crow** 26 (in big noisy mob)
Tree Swallow* 2 (pair at confluence Hunting Hollow/CH Gulch evening and AM)
Violet-green Swallow 2
Chestnut-backed Chickadee** 2 (seen with begging fledglings 6/10)
Oak Titmouse 6
Bushtit 8
White-breasted Nuthatch 5
Bewick's Wren 1
House Wren 11 (w/fledglings)
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher*  (heard-only from HH parking area)
W. Bluebird 7 (w/fledglings at confluence Hunting Hollow/CH Gulch)
American Robin 4
Wrentit** 2
Calif. Thrasher** 1
European Starling** 6
Orange-crowned Warbler** 6 (with fledglings)
Western Tanager*
Black-headed Grosbeak 1 (w/fledglings at confluence Hunting Hollow/CH Gulch)
Lazuli Bunting* (1 male along GHSR at park bdy. approx. 1/2 mile E of HH
entrance)
Spotted Towhee** 11
Calif. Towhee 3
Chipping Sparrow** 2 (family group not observed until AM)
Lark Sparrow
Song Sparrow* 1
Dark-eyed Junco (w/fledglings at confluence Hunting Hollow/CH Gulch)
Bullock's Oriole** 2
Purple Finch* 4 (w/fledglings)
House Finch 2
Lesser Goldfinch 2

There was also a very late-evening, northward flight of 24 quiet ducks with
pale undersides which I thought were probably Common Mergansers, but in the
failing light I could not be sure.

Whew. That's all for now, have fun out there - 

Garth Harwood
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