Tag Archives: outreach

Wildcat Canyon Birding: Late Summer

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Townsend's Warbler

This is the second essay I wrote on birding in my local open space. Originally posted on Next-door as a way to reach out to neighbors and get them excited about enjoying the biodiversity in our local park.

 

 

 

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Birds in Wildcat Canyon: Late Summer Edition. After more than a week of extreme heat, smoke, and park closure, my binoculars and I finally made it out to Wildcat Canyon yesterday. It was pretty quiet, but I ended up with around 37 species including several fall migrants. I heard a Western Tanager, so they are still coming through. I also had four species of warblers, a sure sign that fall is approaching! Wilson’s Warblers breed in the park so the one I saw may have been a local bird from this summer, but Yellow Warbler, Townsend’s Warbler, and Black-throated Gray Warblers are all newly arrived from their breeding grounds. [photo is a Townsend's Warbler, probably a young female]

FALL WARBLERS: Up for a challenge? Fall warblers can be tricky to find and to identify. In the spring, male warblers are considerate enough to SING LOUDLY AND DISTINCTLY, OVER AND OVER AGAIN. We’re not so lucky in the fall, and today I was straining my ears to pick out quick, infrequent call notes. Also, the adult birds will now be mixed with the young of the year, so be prepared for some drabber plumages along with the more vibrant yellows that the spring males of some species show off. Sometimes warblers will join our noisier resident birds in foraging flock, so if you come across some chickadees or bushtits, take a moment to pick out bird movement in the trees and maybe you’ll spot some other species too. The warblers and other migrants can show up anywhere, and different species may prefer different vegetation, but in general good places start your search include patches of willows in Wildcat Canyon and the mixed woodland along Wildcat Creek in Alvarado Park.

ACORN TIME: Fall in our oak woodlands means the start of a food bounty for some of our local wildlife. Watch for Western Scrub-jays flying around with their mouth full. Like many corvids (crow relatives), these jays will obsessively collect food then stash it around the landscape. And of course there are the aptly-named Acorn Woodpeckers. Family groups of these noisy hoarders can include multiple breeding males, multiple breeding females, and stay-at-home kids from previous years! The whole family works together to stash large numbers of acorns in tree sections called granaries. Other wildlife that incorporate acorns in their fall diet includes Wild Turkeys, California Quail, Band-tailed Pigeons (our fantastic large native pigeon), Woodrats, and Fox Squirrels. The Huchiun Ohlone people who lived in what is now Wildcat Canyon also relied on acorns as part of their diet.

LEAVING SOON: if not already gone, many of our breeding birds that head further south for the winter. These include the Wilson’s Warblers and Orange-crowned Warblers, along with Black-headed Grosbeaks.

OUTSIDE THE PARK: Looking for other places to see migrating songbirds? Wildcat Canyon is pretty dry, and in our parched summer landscape birds may be a little easier to find around water. Keep your bird bath filled, you could get surprise visitors to your backyard! One spot I’ve visited in late summer (although not yet this year) is Creekside Park on the Albany/El Cerrito border, on the north side of Albany Hill. The solitary wooded hill rising out of the urban landscape may be an attractor for birds coming through. Once they’re drawn in, they pause and forage in the trees along the creek. I’ve never had a sketchy experience there but as always be aware of your surroundings.

One of the most exciting bird migrations we get in the Bay Area is the fall migration of raptors. Not all raptors migrate, but some species and populations do, and they often take routes with advantageous topography and thermals to make their way south. The best place in the Bay Area is probably Hawk Hill in the Marin Headlands just north of the Golden Gate Bridge. Prime days will see dozens or hundreds of hawks of several species zoom past, some practically at eye level. Osprey, Sharp-shinned and Cooper’s Hawks should start increasing soon, and the overall peak is usually late September. Go on a sunny day for your best chance. Visit https://www.parksconservancy.org/programs/golden-gate-raptor-observatory for more details.

I’ve always thought we should get more migratory raptors along San Pablo Ridge than we do. Could be I’ve just not caught the right day yet!

Wildcat Canyon Birding: Early August

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Hermit Warbler

I’ve always enjoyed sharing my love of birds and nature, whether with students in the classroom, field techs on a research trip, or strangers I might meet on the trail. In fact, this was a big reason why I started my photography business. Since I haven’t been able to do this much in person this year, I’ve started to write up some short nuggets to share online. These have been focused on Wildcat Canyon (my local open space), and I’ve been posting versions of these on our Nextdoor network so I can reach neighbors who have ready access to the park. So far the feedback has been really positive and I’ve gotten a lot of messages of thanks along with questions and observations shared.

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SUMMER BIRDS IN WILDCAT CANYON PARK. With the hills covered in beaten down brown grass, August may not seem like an interesting time to look for birds, but it is! What’s going on in the park these days? I’ve put together a few highlights from my own experience walking there, with some help from a citizen science platform called eBird. For example, eBird can summarize the seasonal occurrence of all the birds that have been reported in Wildcat Canyon.

https://ebird.org/barchart?r=L388820&yr=all&m=

What have you been seeing? YOUNGSTERS: Most birds have already finished their nesting season, but family life for many species extends once the nest is empty. Look for groups of Dark-eyed Juncos and Spotted Towhees with the fledglings still showing streaky plumage. Young crows and ravens sound like spoiled brats as they give their higher nasal begging calls. Keep your eye on the ridges for young red-tailed hawks taking advantage of the updraft to look for rodents on the slopes below. In past years I’ve seen more than a dozen from one spot! And our fledgling Great-horned Owls should still be around somewhere!

FALL MIGRATION BEGINS: It’s still a bit early for many of the migrating songbirds, but it’s never too soon to start looking for birds making their way to or through the Bay Area in the fall. I’ve seen a few notices of Western Tanagers already making their way south, including one along McBryde Avenue near the park. These are a great bird to find since they do only pause here in the East Bay Hills during migration. Plus they are gorgeous! Try to get a good look at their beaks to make sure you can separate them from the similarly-sized Black-headed Grosbeak or Hooded/Bullock’s Orioles. For a tougher “migration challenge” in the park, look for another bird that only visits briefly in the spring and fall, the Hermit Warbler. I’ve only seen these little yellow-faced beauties a few times.

WHO’S LEAVING. Some of our summer breeders have left or will leave by the end of August. For example, Ash-throated Flycatchers and our cavity-nesting Tree and Violet-green Swallows, common sights throughout the spring, will be much harder to find by Labor Day. Also, get your last looks at Lazuil Bunting if you can find some, although they are more easily found in the spring when their cheerful song rings out from the mustard and willows.

OUTSIDE THE PARK: Actually, the best migrations going on right now are not in the hills and woodlands. Instead, check along the bay, coast, or other spots where there’s lots of mud or water. I’m talking about Shorebirds! Many species of sandpipers, plovers, and their relatives breed well to the north. Many species have already started their southward migration. Often the adults leave the breeding grounds first, and the fledglings will leave a little later. Shorebirds are one of the trickiest groups of birds to master, and you’ll benefit from good optics like spotting scopes to see more of the fine detail. Even if sorting through field guides to identify shorebirds isn’t (yet) your cup of tea, this is still a great time to appreciate shorebirds in the Bay Area. Not only are some of the adults still in their breeding plumage, but the young may be sporting crisp colorful new feathers as well.

Good birding!

On owls: the balance between love and obsession

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Owlet takes flight

Reposting another essay I wrote this year for Golden Gate Audubon. There haven’t been a lot of things to celebrate in 2020, but one highlight has been in finding two Great Horned Owl families in Wildcat Canyon, my local open space. In this piece I talk a bit about taking a moment to evaluate my impact on the birds, in light of the potential negative effects that too much attention can have on these birds. The essay features lots of my photographs as well!

Essay is here, from August 2020.

On Covid and Research

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Wilson's Warbler

It’s apparently been ages since I’ve updated my site here! I’ll share an essay I wrote this spring that was published by the Golden Gate Audubon Society, a large local chapter of the national conservation organization. Given the start of the Covid closures, GGAS put out a call to members for essays on their experience with birds and birding during the shelter-in-place regulations that we still, more or less, are facing here in Northern California. Many people wrote about the opportunities of focusing on their local birds, or the importance of connecting with nature during challenging times. My thoughts turned to the hurdles my colleagues in the sciences would be facing.

Essay is here, from April 2020: When Birds Are More Than A Hobby.

Nature Sounds Society Workshop (Part 1)

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Alan La Pointe recording in Sierra Valley

I’ve spent a decade recording sage-grouse pops and whistles, and yet this weekend I felt like a novice. And that’s a good thing! I had the amazing good fortune to be invited to give a talk at the 2017 Nature Sounds Society Field Recording Workshop. This was one of the first times I’ve gotten to interact with serious nature recordists. I’m talking about people who sweat the details of getting the gear and technique right to capture what it feels like to be somewhere else. I’ll freely admit that I’m much more of a data collector, and it was wonderful to spend time with these folks who seem to bring together the best parts of aesthetics, technology, and love of nature.

The workshop, the 33rd of its kind, was held at the Yuba Pass field campus of San Francisco State University (north of Truckee, California). This is a gorgeous field station nestled among towering pines near a rushing river in the Sierra Nevadas. We slept on surprisingly comfortable cots in large tents on raised platforms. Meals and lectures were held in a 2-story main building where our class would mingle with other station users and staff. We had, in my opinion, a perfect combination of amenities: Hot water– Check. Flush toilets– Check. Cell service– Not Available.

Looking up at the Yuba Pass Field Campus

In the evenings, organizers Dan Dugan and Sharon Perry along with tech consultants Greg Weddig and Steve Sergeant helped us test our recording gear to prepare for the next morning. We were also invited to test out and borrow spare equipment. Mauricio Shrader, a birding-by-ear instructor, provided helpful tutorials, on what to listen for while out in the field.

For me, it was really valuable to hear so many perspectives on nature sound recording. Steve Seargent led a roundtable discussion about how best to set up a relationship with a state or national park and provide valuable services in documenting their soundscapes. Jim Metzner, host of Pulse of the Planet, shared several enchanting clips from his decades of travel and interviews, and gave his perspective on what it meant to capture an audience’s attention and imagination with sound. I spoke about the role of sound in sage-grouse biology and conservation.

As someone who last shopped for audio gear more than a decade ago, the hands on demonstrations were particularly interesting for me. Dan, Greg, and Steve set up a selection of more than a dozen different kinds of microphones, from omni to shotgun to parabolas, along with several stereo rigs. It was so cool to be able to put on headphones and test them all out. Sharon led the apparently famous “Build your own windscreen” workshop too. I’ve now got a shaggy shotgun windscreen that looks like a cross between an opossum and a giant hotdog!

Lupines dot the ground around the field campus buildings

Of course most of the best parts were getting out to some beautiful spots to record. I’ll talk about that in Part 2.