San Francisco, California (with Jack Cole and Ed Frost)
07 March 2005

Ed (left) and Jack (right)

The “Burger King” Round Trip: 07 March 2005
A great day in San Joaquin Valley with two very good friends of mine - Jack Cole (who, with wife Jeannie, I met back in 1991) and Ed Frost (who I met a year or two later), both stalwarts of the south San Fransisco birding scene and both proof that living life with enthusiasm and a good heart (and in almost permanent good weather, of course) will slow the ageing process to a crawl.

They possibly won’t take too kindly to any mention of “age” at all, but it has to be said that a day we might have charged at like virile young bulls (well, not quite, but the picture is forming perhaps?) before our knees and our backs gave out back in the early nineties, was today strolled through in a far-more laid back way…

Did the birding suffer though? Not in any way. Jack and Ed (and I, when I’ve been there) have been keeping trip lists from various circuits done around southern California for almost twenty years, and the list we managed today was as good as any of them: a few normally very reliable birds weren’t seen (House Finch for example) but by taking it easy we still managed to rack up almost ninety species - and got some unbelievably good views of one or two of them…

Starting from the car-park of a local Burger King, the circuit criss-crosses parts of the northern San Joaquin Valley and takes in beautiful rolling hills and vallies studded with California Oak as well as the low-lying Merced and San Luis NWRs - areas of both seasonal and semi-permanent wetlands that throng with waterfowl (seeing up to 15 species is not unusual) and Lesser Sandhill Cranes. The range of habitats mean that a good number of species are always logged - unless, like today, the thick fog that sometimes shrouds the San Fransisco coast for days comes stealing down the Central Valley and into inland sites like San Luis. Having said that, the fog usually burns off by about 10:00 am at this time of the year - which makes things considerably easier if you actually want to see anything…!

Burrowing Owl

We made so many stops that it would hard (and probably repetitive) to write a coherent blog that details them all, so perhaps it’s just best to say that if anyone reading this plans to make a similar journey allow a full day and keep an eye out for birds like Yellow-billed Magpie (left) around the oaks, Burrowing Owl at the edges of the fields (like the incomparably approachable individual featured above and in a series of photos here), Loggerhead Shrikes, and check any blackbird flocks congregating at the dairies that dot the route - Red-winged and Brewer’s are very common, and Tricoloured are usually found too: the much scarcer Yellow-headed is not guaranteed but is seen occasionally…

It’s also definitely worth taking some time checking any sparrows: the western form of Song is pretty much everywhere and White-crowned and Golden-crowned are very common, but with a bit of effort Vesper and Fox can usually be found (according to our notes anyway…)

Adult White-crowned Sparrows, Los Banos

1st winter Golden-crowned Sparrows, Merced and San Luis

Other “non-waterbird” birds that can usually be found during the day include good numbers of wintering Yellow-rumped Warblers - particularly in the trees and shrubs around the water - and of course raptors, though numbers of these do vary from year to year depending on how hard the winter has been: however Red-tailed Hawk is unmissable, there are plenty of Northern/Hen Harriers at both Merced and San Luis, and American Kestrels are fairly common in open countryside. Even a short-sighted trio like us usually pick up Ferruginous Hawk (though not this year) and the odd White-tailed Kite…

Anyway - enough words, time for more photos…

Shovelers and other ducks, Merced

 

American Avocets, Grey Plovers, and Black-necked Stilts, Merced

 

American Avocets, Merced

 

Black-necked Stilts, Merced

 

American Pipit, Merced

 

Western Meadowlark

 

Marsh Wren (left) and Loggerhead Shrike

 

Merced National Wildlife Refuge:

Merced Refuge, located in California’s northern San Joaquin Valley, is critically important to wintering waterfowl, and attracts large concentrations of ducks, geese, and Lesser Sandhill Cranes.

Over 2,000 acres of seasonal and semi-permanent wetlands are extensively managed to produce natural waterfowl food plants such as wild millet and swamp timothy. Thousands of ducks (primarily Pintails), Green-winged Teal, and an impressive variety of shorebirds and wading birds, use the wetland habitat.

The refuge hosts up to 15,000 Lesser Sandhill Cranes, the largest population in the Central Valley. Peak populations occur during November. A mixture of up to 100,000 geese (Ross’, Snow, Greater White-fronted, and Cackling) use refuge marsh and croplands during November to March

San Luis Refuge Location/Directions:
The San Luis National Wildlife Refuge Complex is well known for its diverse population of bird life. October through May represents the optimum viewing period. During the winter, the refuges will support several hundred thousand waterfowl, highlighted by large concentrations of mallards and green-winged teal. Birds of prey are common, drawn to an abundance of waterfowl, ground squirrels, meadow voles and rabbits. The wooded slough channels provide a haven for both migratory and resident songbirds.

San Luis Refuge consists of 15,322 acres of permanent and seasonal marshes, wooded sloughs and grasslands. The seasonal marshes are flooded during the fall, winter and spring, and provide habitat for thousands of migrating ducks and geese, sandhill cranes and shorebirds. The meandering, wooded sloughs represent examples of ancient San Joaquin River channels and are especially important for songbirds and wading birds. The uplands support remnants of native grasslands and provide important habitat for a variety of raptors.

San Luis Refuge is approximately 10 miles north of Los Banos, California. From Highway 152 in Los Banos, take Highway 165 (Mercey Springs Road) north 8 miles, then northeast 2 miles on Wolfsen Road to the refuge. The Kesterson Unit’s public access point can be reached by driving 4 miles east of Gustine on Highway 140.

More information:
San Luis NWR
Bird Checklists: San Luis

Directions:
All directions are given from the junction of California Highway 33/152 and California Highway 165, in the center of Los Banos.

• For the San
  Luis Unit of the San Luis National Wildlife Refuge, go 6.2 miles north on CA 165, turn east on Wolfsen Road, then go 2.3 miles to the entrance of the San Luis Unit (parking, restrooms).
• For Los Banos Wildlife Area, go 3 miles north of Los Banos on CA 165, turn east on Henry Miller Road and go 0.7 mile to entrance.
• For Merced National Wildlife Refuge (NWR), go 3 miles north of Los Banos on CA 165 and turn east on Henry Miller Road. Drive 6.9 miles to Turner Island Road, and turn north. Follow the right-angle turns, keeping to the main road each time, as the road names progressively become Sand Slough Road, Nickel Road, and Sandy Mush Road. The entrance to Merced NWR (parking, restrooms), is on Sandy Mush Road, 10.5 miles from the junction of Henry Miller and Turner Island roads.
• To get to the southern end of the Santa Fe Grade Road, go 3.2 miles north on CA 165 from Los Banos, just beyond Henry Miller Road, and turn left.

(From www.cvbirds.org/SiteGuides)

Coyote, Merced

Trip List - includes birds seen on March 07 and 09 at sites around San Jose (note, numbers marked with a “+” are approximate):

Drake Hooded Merganser (left) and Ring-necked Duck

English and scientific names mainly from “The North American Bird Guide”, Sibley D, Pica Press, 2000:

Black-necked Grebe Podiceps nigricollis 1; Pied-billed Grebe Podilymbus podiceps 20; Western Grebe Aechmophorus occidentalis 1; Clark’s Grebe Aechmophorus clarkii 1; American White Pelican Pelecanus erythrorhynchos c) 20; Double-crested Cormorant Phalacrocorax auritus 20+; American Bittern Botaurus lentiginosus 2; Great Blue Heron Ardea herodis c)10; Great Egret Ardea alba 10+; Snowy Egret Egretta thula 5 -6; Black-crowned Night-heron Nycticorax nycticorax 1; White-faced Ibis Plegadis chihi 20+; Tundra Swan Cygnus columbianus 4; Canada Goose Branta canadensis c) 10; Greater White-fronted Goose Anser albifrons 4; Snow Goose Chen caerulescens 2000+; Mallard Anas platyrhynchos +; Gadwall Anas strepera 10+; Northern Pintail Anas acuta 50+; American Wigeon Anas americana 5; Northern Shoveler Anas clypeata 100+; Cinnamon Teal Anas cyanoptera 20+; Blue-winged Teal Anas discors 4; Green-winged Teal Anas crecca 100+; Canvasback Aythya valisineria 3; Ring-necked Duck Aythya collaris 2; Greater Scaup Aythya marila 100+; Lesser Scaup Aythya affinis 100+; Surf Scoter Melanitta perspicillata c) 20; Bufflehead Bucephala albeola 20+; Hooded Merganser Lophodytes cucullatus 6; Ruddy Duck Oxyura jamaicensis 20+; Turkey Vulture Cathartes aura 20+; Hen/Northern Harrier Circus cyaneus 4; White-tailed Kite Elanus leucurus 1; Cooper’s Hawk Accipiter cooperii 2; Red-shouldered Hawk Buteo lineatus 1; Red-tailed Hawk Buteo jamaicensis c) 20; American Kestrel Falco sparverius 4; Common Moorhen Gallinula chloropus 4 -5; American Coot Fulica americana 100+; (Virginia Rail Rallus limicola 1 heard); Sora Porzana carolina 1; Sandhill Crane Grus canadensis 500-600; Grey Plover Pluvialis squatarola 30+; Killdeer Charadrus voveiferus 10+; American Avocet Recurvirostra americana 20+; Black-necked Stilt Himantopus mexicanus 20+; Greater Yellowlegs Tringa melanoleuca 4; Willet Catoptrophorus semipalmatus c) 10; Whimbrel Numenius phaeopus 1; Long-billed Curlew Numenius americanus 20+; Marbled Godwit Limosa fedoa 20+; Dunlin Calidris alpina 20+; Long-billed Dowitcher Limnodromus scolopaceus 20+; Mew Gull Larus canus brachyrhynchus 30+; Ring-billed Gull Larus delewarensis 30+; California Gull Larus californicus 10+; American Herring Gull Larus simthsonianus 20+; Thayer’s Gull Larus thayeri 10+; (Kumlein’s Iceland Gull Larus glaucoides kumleini 1); Glaucous-winged Gull Larus glaucescens 20+; Western Gull Larus occidentalis 1; Mourning Dove Zenaida macroura 20+; Great Horned Owl Bubo virginianus 1; Anna’s Hummingbird Calypte anna c) 10; Nuttall’s Woodpecker Picoides nuttallii 2; Loggerhead Shrike Lanius ludovicianus 5 -6; Western Scrub-jay Aphelocoma californica 3 -4; Yellow-billed Magpie Pica nuttalli 4; Common Raven Corvus corax 4 - 5; American Crow Corvus brachyrhynchos 20+; Northern Rough-winged Swallow Stelgidopteryx serripennis 1+; Tree Swallow Tachycineta bicolor 20+; Cliff Swallow Petrochelidon pyrrhonota 20+; Barn Swallow Hirundo rustica 10+; Bushtit Psaltiparus minimus 2 - 3; Marsh Wren Cistothorus palustris 3 (+ many heard); Starling Sturnus vulgaris 30+; American Pipit Anthus rubescens 5+; Yellow-rumped Warbler Dendroica coronata 20; Spotted Towhee Pipilo maculatus 1; California Towhee Pipilo crissalis 5 -6; Vesper Sparrow Pooecetes gramineus 1; Golden-crowned Sparrow Zonotrichia atricapilla 10+; White-crowned Sparrow Zonotrichia leucophrys 20+; Fox Sparrow Passerella iliaca 1; Song Sparrow Melospiza melodia 10+; Western Meadowlark Sturnella neglecta 20+; Brown-headed Cowbird Molothrus ater 10+; Tricolored Blackbird Agelaius tricolor 10+; Red-winged Blackbird Agelaius phoeniceus 100+; Brewer’s Blackbird Euphagus Cyanocephalus 500+; Pine Siskin Carduelis pinus 5; Lesser Goldfinch Carduelis psaltria c) 10; House Sparrow Passer domesticus 20+

All photographs © Charlie Moores.