[SBB] Smith Creek/Grant Ranch - HAFL, SWTH

[Mike Rogers <[[email protected]]>]

All,

Early this morning 4/18/06, I headed up to Grant Ranch County Park to 
look for migrants. I started out at the Smith Creek Fire Station, where 
it was cool, quiet, and the oaks had yet to start leafing out. Warblers 
were few, with 5+ ORANGE-CROWNED, 3 WILSON'S, and 2 flyover 
YELLOW-RUMPEDs being all that I could muster. Along the creek trail near 
where the creek crosses the road, I got nice looks at a calling 
HAMMOND'S FLYCATCHER. Other birds of note included 1 WOOD DUCK, 1 
PACIFIC-SLOPE FLYCATCHER, 3 WARBLING VIREOS, a BLUE-GRAY GNATCATCHER, 
and 3 BLACK-HEADED GROSBEAKS (no House Wrens, no Black-throated Gray 
Warblers, and no Cassin's Vireos!).

I decided to head back over to Grant Ranch proper, where the trees had a 
lot more foliage. A quick stop at Twin Gates added a singing LARK 
SPARROW and a silent CASSIN'S VIREO, which worked its way quickly to the 
east in the treetops. Down at Grant Lake I spent most of my time 
checking the riparian areas east of the lake and along San Felipe Creek 
near the ranch house. The warbler show was much better here, with 44 
YELLOW-RUMPEDs (most AUDUBON'S, but several MYRTLE around too), 8 
ORANGE-CROWNED, 3 WILSON'S, 3 COMMON YELLOWTHROATS, and a female 
BLACK-THROATED GRAY WARBLER (also 5+ singing HOUSE WRENS). At Grant Lake 
were 6 FORSTER'S TERNS, a COMMON MOORHEN, and 3 BUFFLEHEAD, as well as 
the 5 expected species of SWALLOWS. A GOLDEN EAGLE was being harassed by 
a RED-SHOULDERED HAWK north of the lake and a WOOD DUCK pair was along 
the Canal Trail. Other birds of note included 3 WESTERN KINGBIRDS (low 
number for mid-April), 2 ASH-THROATED FLYCATCHERS, 2 BLACK-HEADED 
GROSBEAKS, 2 SELASPHORUS HUMMINGBIRDS, and an early SWAINSON'S THRUSH 
(south of the ranch house). A small bat was clinging to the eave of the 
white shed west of the ranch house.

Still many signs of winter, with 105 GOLDEN-CROWNED SPARROWS, 15 
WHITE-CROWNED SPARROWS, 2 LINCOLN'S SPARROWS, 5 HERMIT THRUSHES, and 6+ 
RUBY-CROWNED KINGLETS found this morning.

Mike Rogers


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