[SBB] Los Gatos Creek Dippers

[Lisa Myers <[[email protected]]>]

I thought today would be a good day to go look for the Los Gatos Creek Dippers.  A nice walk after a huge meal!

 

Sure enough, not 10 minutes out of the car we found our first dipper (3:45 PM).  We parked on the Los Gatos, Main Street Bridge over looking highway 17.  We walked south on the Los Gatos Creek trail heading toward Lexington.  We were on the West side of the creek when we saw our first AMERICAN DIPPER down along the creek's edge.  This is where we have always found one before.  This is the cemented part of the creek.  This was in the area of the "1 1/2" white cement marker on the side of the trail.  The dipper was dipping, blinking and foraging.

 

We continued south along the trail and could hear dippers at various times but the visibility to the creek becomes limited the farther you follow the trail and its a challenge to see them.  In the dimming light we walked down to the creeks edge and waited.  We were in an area of the creek where we could see white-wash on several of the rocks and knew the birds had to be around.  Before long we could hear them and within seconds two flew past.  One stopped and seemed to watch us for awhile.

 

We later walked up to the top of the trail where you get your first few of the damn.  This is where the "WALK YOUR BIKES" sign is posted.  As you look down to the creek you can see the old road.  It was here we could again hear the dippers below. Their chatter rather echoed up the sife of the creek.

 

Other then our target birds, it was quiet all the way into dark.  Just a few Spotted Towhees, a Wrentit, a flock of Bushtits, a few chipping crown sparrows and a Great Blue Heron. 

 

Hope you are all enjoying your holiday.

 

Lisa Myers

Looking for some birding adventures?
http://www.letsgobirding.com

 Tel:408-656-7524

"Wild beasts and birds are by right not the property merely of people today, but the property of the unborn generations, whose belongings we have no right to squander." Theodore Roosevelt

---

Everyone is raving about the all-new Yahoo! Mail beta.
_______________________________________________
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://plaidworks.org/mailman/listinfo/south-bay-birds_plaidworks.org