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Recap of Wings Over the
Basin 2008
The 7th Annual Wings Over the Basin was held at Big Basin
Redwoods State Park on May 16-18, 2008.
Many thanks to California State Parks, to the Mountain Parks Foundation,
to the outstanding leaders and presenters, and to the participants for
making this weekend a success. Following is a summary of the
weekend, plus a list of bird species and butterfly species that we
encountered.
The warm weather at Big Basin over the weekend seemed to bring out an
abundance of birds, butterflies and wildflowers for the 7th Annual
Wings Over the Basin.
On Friday evening Jan Hintermeister led "Owls of the Redwood
Forest" up Gazos Creek Fire Road, where between the Creeping
Forest Trail and Middle Ridge Road intersections we were surrounded by
2 NORTHERN SAW-WHET OWLS and 2 or more WESTERN SCREECH OWLS. We
didn't see them, but we heard them for over 5 minutes. What an
incredible experience!
Saturday morning started out with carpooling to China Grade Road for
"Birds and Butterflies at the Edge of Big Basin" led by Kay
Partelow and Paul Johnson. At our first stop we were greeted by
an OLIVE-SIDED FLYCATCHER perched atop a snag. We also heard and
saw a BLACK-THROATED GRAY WARBLER. We learned to
distinguish the high pitched songs of the BROWN CREEPER and the
GOLDEN-CROWNED KINGLET. The butterflies were abundant, with a
highlight being a newly emerged Variable Checkerspot inches away from
its chrysalis, and great looks at the bright orange Pacific
Fritillary. Oddly enough, only 1 California Sister was seen
briefly (usually this is a common butterfly at Big Basin). We
also saw a tent moth caterpillar, a cicada exuvia, an alligator
lizard, a damselfly, and a Flame Skimmer dragonfly.
There was a record turnout of nearly 50 people for the history walk
"Once Upon a Nest" with Steve & Stephanie Singer. As
we listened to their stories we were serenaded by the HERMIT THRUSH
with its spiraling song echoing throughout the forest. We walked
to Jay Camp to see the Douglas Fir tree where history was made in 1974
with the first Marbled Murrelet nest ever discovered, and we finished
up at the Father of the Forest tree where a juvenile fledging from the
nest was observed for the first time in 1991. Afterwards, at the
parking lot, we saw 2 BAND-TAILED PIGEONS standing on the dirt by a
rock, acting like (surprise) ordinary Rock Pigeons!
The potluck at Old Lodge was delicious and enjoyable, and extra
special with the Big Basin docent training graduation ceremony.
Presentations were made by Park Interpreter Susan Blake, Big Basin
Supervising Ranger Kevin Williams, and Mountain Park Sector
Superintendent Bill Dall. Congratulations to the new docents!
The campfire presentation "Hunters of the Sky" featured
Karen Hoyt with an American Kestrel, Red-tailed Hawk, Barn Owl, and
Great Horned Owl. Seeing these beautiful birds up close was
spectacular, and many of the questions had to do with what had
disabled the bird such that it became an educator. I wonder how
many of the kids at the campfire program were inspired to be an
ornithologist after this captivating presentation.
On Sunday morning 20 people gathered in the dark to learn about
Marbled Murrelets from Matthew Strusis-Timmer at the "Dawn
Marbled Murrelet Survey". We heard and saw MARBLED
MURRELETS high in the sky, and also learned how to differentiate the
quiet fliers from the high flying VAUX'S SWIFTS. This dawn survey was
a truly magical experience!
At the "Birding by Ear" walk with Todd Newberry we heard the
WINTER WREN virtuoso and had great views of it singing while perched
on a thin branch above Blooms Creek. We also heard the
distinctive PACIFIC SLOPE FLYCATCHER and saw a MALLARD on Opal Creek.
Smaller highlights were a Yellow-spotted Millipede crossing the trail
and a couple of yellow fuzzy caterpillars. On the walk from
Blooms Creek Campground to the Redwood Loop we heard a constant slow
tooting, which might have been a Merriam's Chipmunk or a Northern
Pygmy Owl. The sounds were steady and went on for several
minutes, so the consensus was NORTHERN PYGMY OWL.
Wings Over the Basin finished up with my "Peter and the
Wolf" walk modified for the redwood forest (Peter in the Land of
the Tall Trees and Marbled Murrelets) and which features a Common
Raven in place of the wolf. At the finale, a COMMON RAVEN took
an interest and flew right by us.
While packing up my tent I noticed lots of insects flying above that
had a red or orange looks to them. At the picnic area at the
intersection of North Escape Road & Gazos Creek Fire Road they were
flying lower so the mystery could be solved: thousands of Ladybugs
flying from the picnic area towards Opal Creek.
What a wonderful weekend in the redwoods!
Karen DeMello, docent
Big Basin Redwoods State Park |
A big thank you to Jan Hintermeister for the following
bird and butterfly species lists!
BIRD SPECIES SEEN AND/OR HEARD AT BIG BASIN From 5/16/2008 to 5/18/2008:
DUCKS, SWANS, GEESE
Mallard
NEW WORLD VULTURES
Turkey Vulture
HAWKS, EAGLES AND KITES
Red-tailed Hawk
AUKS, ALCIDS
Marbled Murrelet
PIGEONS AND DOVES
Band-tailed Pigeon
OWLS
Western Screech-Owl
Northern Pygmy-Owl
Northern Saw-whet Owl
SWIFTS
Vaux's Swift
WOODPECKERS
Acorn Woodpecker
Hairy Woodpecker
Pileated Woodpecker
TYRANT FLYCATCHERS
Olive-sided Flycatcher
Pacific-slope Flycatcher
CROWS AND JAYS
Steller's Jay
Common Raven
VIREOS AND ALLIES
Hutton's Vireo
Warbling Vireo
THRUSHES
Swainson's Thrush
Hermit Thrush
American Robin
CREEPERS
Brown Creeper
WRENS
Winter Wren
KINGLETS
Golden-crowned Kinglet
OLD WORLD WARBLERS
Wrentit
CHICKADEES, TITS
Chestnut-backed Chickadee
NEW WORLD WARBLERS
Orange-crowned Warbler
Black-throated Gray Warbler
Wilson's Warbler
BUNTINGS, SPARROWS, TANAGERS, ALLIES
Dark-eyed Junco
Spotted Towhee
-------- STATISTICS --------
Total Species - 31
BUTTERFLY SPECIES SEEN AT BIG BASIN ON 5/17/2008:
SWALLOWTAILS
Pale Swallowtail
WHITES & SULPHERS
Checkered White
COPPERS, HAIRSTREAKS, BLUES & METALMARKS
California Hairstreak
Brown Elfin
Acmon Blue
BRUSHFOOTS
Pacific Fritillary
Variable Checkerspot
California Sister
'California' Common Ringlet
SKIPPERS
Propertius Duskywing
Mournful Duskywing
-------- STATISTICS --------
Total Species - 11 |
