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Recap of Wings Over the
Basin 2006
Hello Wings Over the Basin participants!
Thank you for braving the wet weather and coming to Big Basin Redwoods
State Park for the 5th Annual Wings Over the Basin, where we were
treated to some fabulous birds and birdwalks on May 19-21, 2006.
We began the weekend with a night hike on North Escape Road.
To walk in the calm of dusk and then the silent darkness of the
redwoods is a unique experience.
We saw moths and we learned about the local owls, though the
owls stayed quiet and hidden.
A Slender Salamander squiggled in the road, and some of us had
a brief view of a possible glow worm that then disappeared (it either
quit glowing or it moved under a leaf or we were seeing things!).
There is a California Firefly in the park, a dark oval beetle
with a couple of small red/orange patches, and even thought its a
firefly it does not light up when flying; however its larvae glows.
Perhaps that's what the bright glow was?
Those of us who camped at the park were privileged to camp near
headquarters, and at 5:37 AM on Saturday morning I heard a MARBLED
MURRELET call out, prompting me to leave my cozy tent and head to the
picnic area where Gazos Creek and North Escape Roads meet.
Marbled Murrelets were quite vocal, calling and flying over every 5-10
minutes until 6:30 AM. I saw several high flying trios, a few
duos flying low just above the treetops, and several single murrelets
also flew over. The dawn chorus was enchanting, especially the
melodic Hermit Thrush. I didn't hear any Swainson's Thrush this
weekend.
The murrelet history walk with Steve and Stephanie Singer was really
special. They showed us the Douglas Fir tree where the first
Marbled Murrelet nest was discovered by accident in 1974, the Douglas
Fir tree that held a nest in 1989 (this was the first nest found
after years of searching), and where the first witnessed Marbled
Murrelet fledging was observed at the Father of the Forest redwood
tree in 1991. To be in these historic spots and hear first hand
accounts of what happened was fascinating and very touching.
Steve pointed out how Douglas Fir trees seem to have wider platform
branches high up in the tree, whereas the Redwood trees tend to have
thinner branches. I
hadn't thought of that before, and will be looking at the trees at Big
Basin with a keener eye in the future.
The wide, platform branches are the type of branch that a
murrelet might nest on.
Bird-wise, we heard a Spotted Towhee, saw a Winter Wren, and
saw a Steller's Jay sitting in its nest just above eye-level only 5
feet away in a Huckleberry near the wavy-bark tree on the Redwood
Loop.
On Paul Johnson's butterfly walk we heard and then saw a PILEATED
WOODPECKER atop a dead snag.
That was sure exciting!
The cool, damp weather meant that there were no butterflies
out, however we fortunate because Paul knows insects.
Paul said that there are about 415 species of birds in
California, and about 28,000 (GASP!) species of insects in California
(including approximately 204 species of butterflies and 108 species of
dragonflies/damselflies). Insect
field guides can barely cover the 100 insect families at a broad level
(no wonder we can't find the exact bug in the guide).
Along the Last Chance Road trail we saw a variety of
interesting insects: Predacious Beetles, Katydid, Cicada Exuvia
on a leaf, a green Inchworm dangling on a thread in midair, several
Moths, a blue Aeshna sp. Dragonfly, and a newly emerged female
Grappletail Dragonfly. About 2 feet off of the trail there was a
rattlesnake trying to hide in the foliage.
There were Banana Slugs galore and several Yellow-spotted
Millipedes -- including a pair of mating millipedes!
We also saw a couple of dead moles (a Shrew Mole and later a
Broadfooted Mole; Sara said that moles have a high metabolism and must
eat insects constantly, if they don't get enough to eat they can drop
dead which is why you often find dead moles on trails), and some of us
also got a glimpse of a dead fox off the trail.
The ferns and wildflowers on Last Chance Road were beautiful!
Because the weather was iffy and the picnic tables were still damp
from rain, the potluck was moved indoors to the Old Lodge.
Ahhh, what comfort!
The wood stove provided heat, the screen door kept the
mosquitos out, and we feasted and chatted for hours, while Jim played
fiddle and Trond played guitar in the background.
Afterwards we headed over to the campfire center, where Rancho
del Oso Intepreter Varyl White entertained us with old-fashioned
campfire songs and skits, followed by a slide show about Marbled
Murrelets.
Sunday: It was a dark
and stormy morning. Jan
Hintermeister led the dawn Marbled Murrelet Survey with 8 of us
standing under the eaves of the Park Headquarters building at 5:15 AM.
Having never looked for Marbled Murrelets before in the rain, we
weren't quite sure what to expect. What happened was magical.
At 6:04 AM we heard a single distant "keer", and for the
next 20 minutes the Marbled Murrelets flew low and silent. They
made no sounds at all, and were flying way below tree level -- a
couple of times it felt like they were less than 50' over our heads as
a pair flew towards headquarters and right over us. We saw many
pairs, which we assumed were the same pair (or maybe 2 pairs?)
circling low through the trees. We also saw pairs flying
high in the sky above the parking lot, and single birds flying.
Around 6:25 AM the Marbled Murrelets finally started to call, and they
became very vocal. At 6:35 AM we saw 4 Marbled Murrelets flying
high away from Headquarters towards Opal Creek. It was an
incredible experience, and by far the best views of Marbled Murrelets
that I have had during the past 5 years. (And to think I had
been worried about the rain...!).
Wings Over the Basin concluded with Todd Newberry's wonderful Birding
By Ear walk. The rain subsided just prior to the start of the walk, so
we lucked out. The forest was quieter than usual, except for the
American Robins and Acorn Woodpeckers doing their usual thing.
We watched a nearby Steller's Jay make an odd whispering sound.
Pacific Slope Flycatchers were very cooperative, singing out for the
entire walk (2-1/2 hours), and we also heard a Brown Creeper, a
Golden-crowned Kinglet, a Dark-eyed Junco, a Chestnut-backed
Chickadee, a Band-tailed Pigeon and a brief Wilson's Warbler. We
listened to the sound of light rain falling in the forest. The
highlight was a concert from a nearby WINTER WREN, who belted out its
long tinkling song over and over for a good 5 - 10 minutes. Todd
played the Winter Wren song at quarter speed, and it was incredible to
hear all that is packed into this song (details that our ears cannot
fathom at full speed). After
the walk, Todd signed copies of "The Ardent Birder", a book
that I enjoyed so much that after I read it last fall I bought a bunch
more to give out as presents.
In summary, we had an incredible weekend in the redwoods!
Many thanks to our walk leaders who made this weekend come alive:
Steve and Stephanie Singer, Paul Johnson, Jan Hintermeister,
and Todd Newberry.
Many thanks California State Parks and to the Big Basin park staff for
helping with Wings Over the Basin and allowing us to camp in a very
special place, to the Mountain Parks Foundation for providing
interpretive activities at Big Basin, and a huge thanks to Big Basin
Interpreter Julie Sidel who coordinated the group camp registrations.
Many thanks to our sponsors for helping to promote the weekend: Santa
Cruz Bird Club, Ohlone Audubon, Sequoia Audubon, Santa Clara Valley
Audubon, Mt. Diablo Audubon, Wild Bird Center of Los Gatos, Wild Bird
Center of Monterey, Wild Bird Center of San Carlos, and Wild Birds
Unlimited of Fremont.
And many thanks to the wonderful participants who came to Big Basin to
celebrate Wings Over the Basin, even with the unseasonable rain.
Your good nature and inquisitiveness really made the weekend.
Karen DeMello, docent
Big Basin Redwoods State Park |
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