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Recap of Wings Over the
Basin 2007
The
6th Annual Wings Over the Basin was held at
Big
Basin
Redwoods
State Park
on May 18 - 20, 2007.
Many thanks to Mountain Parks Foundation,
California
State Parks
, and the staff at
Big
Basin
Redwoods
State Park
for helping make this weekend happen. Many thanks to our
outstanding leaders: Kay Partelow, Paul Johnson, Karen Hoyt, Jan
Hintermeister, and Todd Newberry. Many thanks to Estrella Bibbey for
updating the website and handling RSVPs. And many thanks to the
participants for coming to experience the birds, butterflies, and bats
of
Big
Basin
.
Upon arriving at the park on Friday, I was surprised to see Ranger Todd
in the office with a "Detour" sign. Being the curious sort, I
inquired. It turns out that the beginning of the
Skyline-to-the-Sea trail is closed for the summer, while trail crews
make the initial part of the trail ADA-compliant. The detour signs
route hikers to the Dool Trail and then the Sunset Trail to get to
Berry
Creek
Falls
. Yikes! The Friday evening Night Wings walk needed a new
route quickly! Instead of turning left, we turned right and
followed Opal Creek which turned out well because there were dozens of
small BATS darting under and over the
Gazos Creek Road
bridge just before darkness set in. Quite exciting!
Late Friday night and early Saturday morning several docents heard a
WESTERN SCREECH OWL from the picnic area just uphill from the
Gazos Creek Road
bridge, where
Big
Basin
docents had special permission to camp over the weekend.
At 6:07 AM on Saturday morning I got up early and heard MARBLED
MURRELETS from the bridge, looked up and saw 2 flying towards
headquarters; about 15 minutes later I heard a couple of distant Marbled
Murrelets briefly upstream, but didn't see them. In the past few
years we've heard 10 - 20 Marbled Murrelets in the morning from our
camping spot, so it seemed rather quiet this year.
Saturday morning's Birds and Butterflies at the Edge of the Basin
began at headquarters, where we watched a Steller's Jay chasing a
chipmunk under the benches. That was amusing! We then
carpooled to
China Grade Road
where Kay Partelow helped us to recognize birdsongs. Highlights from
this foggy Saturday morning included: BLACK-THROATED GRAY WARBLER,
ORANGE-CROWNED WARBLER, CALIFORNIA THRASHER, WRENTIT, PURPLE FINCH,
a calling WESTERN TANAGER, and (of course) the COMMON PEAFOWL ( a.k.a.
Peacock) was calling loudly and frequently. A DARK-EYED JUNCO
fooled us with its ventriloquism; it sounded like it was on the ground,
but it was about 20' up in a small Douglas Fir! Surprises included
a Cormorant (a silhouette flying in the thick fog) and an OSPREY which
flew right over us.
There weren't butterflies out in the cool, damp, dense fog, so Paul
Johnson showed us a small moth caterpillar on a manzanita. It's
amazing how he can spot these! When the fog finally burned off at
12:45, Paul pointed out several butterflies, including a VARIABLE
CHECKERSPOT laying eggs under a leaf.
At 2:30 Paul led a Butterfly Basics walk at headquarters, where
we experienced the life-cycle of the butterfly by acting out the
process. It was lots of fun and really informative! Since
the day was chilly, butterfly activity was on the quiet side: we
saw a dragonfly (Blue Darner species) and 1 COMMON RINGLET butterfly in
the meadow on the Redwood Loop.
The potluck was held at Old Lodge at 5:15. YUM!!! What a
feast!
The campfire presentation started an hour earlier than usual, at 7:30
PM, and was one of the most exciting ever. Karen Hoyt from Sky
Hunters Environmental Education brought guest raptors for the evening:
an American Kestrel, a Red-tailed Hawk, and a Great-horned Owl.
There was a huge turnout (I'm guessing double the typical crowd for the
birding weekend), and everyone from toddlers to parents to grandparents
"ooohed" as each bird was brought out. The presentation
was captivating, we learned lots, and we had incredible close looks at
these beautiful birds.
Afterwards the 5M's provided music on the stage while dozens of kids
young and old roasted marshmallows. To have Julie Sidel singing
her insightful and appropriate songs was a special treat, and we really
enjoyed the music. Thanks Julie, Randy, Trond, Terry, Martha &
Mark!
In the darkness of the wee hours on Sunday morning, 21 intrepid birders
gathered in the headquarters parking lot for the Dawn Marbled
Murrelet Survey. We didn't see or hear any Marbled Murrelets,
though we learned lots about this endearing bird from Jan Hintermeister.
The dawn chorus consisted primarily of AMERICAN ROBIN, DARK-EYED JUNCO,
STELLER'S JAY, and ACORN WOODPECKER. This was the first time I've been
skunked for the Wings Over the Basindawn survey,
which felt quite disheartening. David Suddjian reports that he has had
dismal surveys at Big Basin Headquarters too this year, but that the
numbers seem to be up at Butano State Park. It's a bit of a
mystery as to what is going on.
At 7 AM Sunday Todd Newberry led an enthralling Birding by Ear
walk along Opal Creek to the Maddock Cabin Site, and then we crossed
over to North Escape Road. Highlights on this sunny morning
included: WILSON'S WARBLER, WINTER WREN, SWAINSON'S THRUSH, HERMIT
THRUSH, PACIFIC SLOPE FLYCATCHER, HUTTON'S VIREO, BAND-TAILED PIGEON,
PILEATED WOODPECKER, and PYGMY NUTHATCH. A male MALLARD floated down
Opal Creek.
Wings Over the Basin concluded with Peter and the Wolf Big Basin
Style, which features a Common Raven and redwood characters rather
than the wolf and original characters. We saw several CALIFORNIA
SISTER butterflies and a chipmunk along the way. It was an
enjoyable way to finish up the weekend!
Karen DeMello, docent
Big Basin Redwoods State Park |
Photos by Estrella Bibbey© |
