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Recap of Wings Over the
Basin 2002
Birders converged on Big Basin Redwoods
State Park the weekend of July 12-14, 2002 to celebrate birds during the
park's special summer Centennial Celebration. Each of the 4 walks had
great turnouts with 18 -20 people participating! Following are
highlights of the weekend:
Friday afternoon 2 WILD TURKEYS
foraged in the meadow, greeting campers arriving at Sky Meadow Group
Camp. A BAND-TAILED PIGEON perched high across the meadow, and the
"usual suspects" were present: DARK-EYED JUNCO,
CHESTNUT-BACKED CHICKADEE, ACORN WOODPECKER, and STELLER'S JAY. Butterflies
in Sky Meadow included California Sister and Common Wood Nymph. Someone
reported hearing a HAIRY WOODPECKER at camp.
Friday evening at the Campfire
Center we heard a MARBLED MURRELET cry out just prior to David
Suddjian's slide show and talk about the Marbled Murrelet. What timing!
And what awesome slides!!
Saturday at dawn (5 AM) in the
Headquarters parking lot we saw several bats flying around a particular
tree. Then MARBLED MURRELET's began to fly over: singly, in pairs, and
in sets of pairs. David Suddjian noted 59 detections with around 40
visuals. We had plenty of opportunities to hear the Marbled Murrelet as
well as PILEATED WOODPECKERS. An exciting morning indeed! A few VAUX'S
SWIFTS were seen flying above, and ACORN WOODPECKERS then woke up and
became active, laughing away high above.
On Saturday folks were able to rest
or explore the park on their own or take docent-led walks. Many of us
enjoyed the late afternoon Watsonville Taiko performance -- what energy!
We met up for a delicious
potluck with a variety of dishes from appetizers and side dishes &
salads to dessert. Amazingly no duplicate dishes, and everything was
delicious! This was the first time I've ever had ice cream while
camping! Many of us went to Julie Sidel's "Things that go Bump in
the Night" slide show and talk about nocturnal animals and we loved
the wonderful story about the web.
We were up at dawn again on Sunday
morning for a 5:30 AM "Birding by Ear" walk with Eric Feuss.
The early bird singing was the AMERICAN ROBIN. In the meadow we tried to
differentiate the high pitches of the BROWN CREEPER, GOLDEN CROWNED
KINGLET, and HERMIT WARBLER, and we also noted the various sounds coming
from the DARK-EYED JUNCO and STELLER'S JAY. BAND-TAILED
PIGEONS and SPOTTED TOWHEES were also heard. We then hiked up the steep
hillside behind our tents to the chaparral environment to listen to
HERMIT THRUSH, and we saw a young Hermit Thrush with light spots on its
back in the bushes near the ground merely a few feet from the trail. A
silent HUTTON'S VIREO posed for us in a tree.
At 8:30 AM Eric led a short Redwood hike, and from the Gazos Creek
Bridge we saw PYGMY NUTHATCHES flitting about high above in a Douglas
Fir, and a PACIFIC SLOPE FLYCATCHER was heard. The granary tree just
before the bridge was quite impressive with thousands of holes from the
Acorn Woodpecker. A COMMON RAVEN cruised about, and of course numerous
ACORN WOODPECKERS. We had good looks at CHESTNUT-BACKED CHICKADEES and
BROWN CREEPERS on the way back, and heard a NORTHERN FLICKER.
At 10:30 AM we hiked down Opal Creek to
Blooms Creek, and then up the Pine Mountain trail to Buzzard's Roost.
Along Opal Creek we heard and saw a WILSON'S WARBLER, and after hearing
BELTED KINGFISHERS we saw 2 fly by. There was an abundance of California
Sister butterflies flying about. As mid-day approached the temperature
rose, and the forest became a bit quieter. We enjoyed the views from
Buzzard's Roost, though the birds were scarce: a WESTERN SCRUB JAY
landed nearby and we heard a WRENTIT. Descending we looked at plants,
including the California Nutmeg tree with its sharp pointed needles, a
couple of clusters of Wintergreen in bloom, and 5 types of ferns
(Bracken, Western Sword, Giant Chain, Goldbacked, and Polypody). Looking
at plants seemed to bring out the birds! First a young CHESTNUT-BACKED
CHICKADEE chasing another around the tree while making a strange noise
that I could only imagine meant "feed me!". Then
some of us got a good look at a nearby PACIFIC SLOPE FLYCATCHER; we
could see its yellow chest and thick white eye ring. As we neared a
short bridge, a WINTER WREN was seen down in the dark bank along the
narrow run-off creek. We were able to watch this bird for several
minutes as it bounded along the creek bank. What a treat! We never did
hear the Winter Wren sing, although Eric reported that he saw one and
heard part of its song as he walked back via Opal Creek. What a change
from just a month ago on Father's Day when I heard the Winter Wren's
unique long song frequently. As we passed into Blooms Creek Campground
we heard and saw 2 BROWN CREEPERS ascending a Redwood tree. The juvenile
fluttered its wings as it climbed up the tree and was fed periodically.
Back on the Redwood Loop trail there were 2 more BROWN CREEPERS, and
again we witnessed a food exchange to the juvenile, making a nice
conclusion to a wonderful weekend in the redwoods.
Karen
DeMello, docent
Big Basin Redwoods State Park |
