Contra Costa County, Part 4: Mount Diablo State
Park
Wed, 05 May 1999 20:48:50 -0700
From: Mike Feighner
Posted to EBbird by Mike Feighner, Livermore, CA
Contra Costa County, Part 4: Mount Diablo State Park
Tues, 4 May 1999 21:19:25 PDT
From: Mary Beth StoweHi, all.
Today was the big excursion to Mount Diablo, and the sun was actually out! I was so thankful to finally have a pretty day!
Headed up to Mitchell Canyon first, and that turned out to be a fabulous walk through the woodland. Besides being greeted at the parking lot by a pair of Western Bluebirds, several new birds for the trip popped up, including Western Tanager, Pacific-slope Flycatcher, and Nashville Warbler. Wilson's Warblers were singing all over, but one mystery warbler (which may have been simply a strange-sounding orangecrown) had me stumped: the song started out as a rising trill, then ended with "tew-tew!" Unfortunately I don't have my CDs with me to reference them, but I couldn't get the thing to show itself; possibilities like "Virginia's" kept haunting me for the rest of the morning! At the resting spot also picked up a couple of Golden-crowned Sparrows, and one Fox Sparrow vigorously engaged in the Towhee Shuffle.
Decided to head over to the north entrance of the park after that, where I got a tiny taste of rush hour traffic before heading up Walnut Road. The habitat was very similar to what I've seen in the parks so far (oak savannah), and the first trail I found at the boundary went through more of the same, and with more Western Tanagers as well. The higher you went, the more chaparral you ran into, with the occasional pine, and I dutifully checked out all the little picnic areas where several Lazuli Buntings were singing. Hiking the Summit Trail at the juncture of the three paved roads (where more pines invaded the habitat) picked up Hairy Woodpecker for the day (plus lots of Steller's Jays), plus Ruby-crowned Kinglet for the trip.
Ironically, the upper end of Mitchell Canyon ended up being one of the better trails as well! You picked up this trail from the Juniper campground and had a fantastic view (even with the haze) of the Bay Area: I could even make out the Golden Gate Bridge! Several new trip birds showed up here, including both Lark and Rufous-crowned Sparrow, Golden Eagle, and Horned Lark. On the way back to the car two Band-tailed Pigeons flew overhead, and as I was preparing lunch an elderly gentleman surprised me who had just walked UP from Mitchell Canyon, a nine mile hike, all uphill!! Holy cow!!
The law of diminishing returns became active after that, but the views were still stupendous: stopped at Devil's Elbow next, where the rock outcroppings were very impressive (but the birds weren't: just White-throated Swift here). Then made it up to the tippy top of the mountain where a tour bus was enjoying the view (I was amazed it made it up that road). My old college roommate (who now lives here) told me that you can see farther from Mt. Diablo than anywhere else in the country, or so she was told! And I believe it: even with the haze, it was quite a panorama!
A California Thrasher was singing in the chaparral here, and in the process discovered a wonderful loop trail called the Fire Interpretive Trail, the first quarter mile or so of which is paved. And it's here where they have signs pointing out what everything is; you can even see Lassen Peak from there (but not today)! At the resting spot watched a pair of Flickers having a big time, and heard the only Raven of the day.
The next trail of any value (many of them were uphill, which weren't any fun) was Curry Point, along South Gate Road and back into the oak savannah habitat. Another good spot for Orangecrowns and Titmice, plus a Purple Finch for the day.
I was really beat by that time, so I just poked along the rest of the way down, checking out all the picnic areas and campgrounds. The best bird was a Siskin at Rock City, but the scenery all along was out of this world. Didn't have time to check out Russ Canyon (I believe it is), plus a couple of other places the map shows, but perhaps I'll have time to pick those up later in the week.
Bird List:
Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos)
Turkey Vulture (Cathartes aura)
Red-tailed Hawk (Buteo jamaicensis)
Golden Eagle (Aquila chrysaetos)
California Quail (Callipepla californica)
Killdeer (Charadrius vociferus)
Band-tailed Pigeon (Columba fasciata)
Mourning Dove (Zenaida macroura)
White-throated Swift (Aeronautes saxatalis)
Anna's Hummingbird (Calypte anna)
Acorn Woodpecker (Melanerpes formicivorus)
Nuttall's Woodpecker (Picoides nuttallii)
Hairy Woodpecker (Picoides villosus)
Northern Flicker (Colaptes auratus)
Pacific-slope Flycatcher (Empidonax difficilis)
Black Phoebe (Sayornis nigricans)
Ash-throated Flycatcher (Myiarchus cinerascens)
Steller's Jay (Cyanocitta stelleri)
Western Scrub-Jay (Aphelocoma californica)
American Crow (Corvus brachyrhynchos)
Northern Raven (Corvus corax)
Hutton's Vireo (Vireo huttoni)
Warbling Vireo (Vireo gilvus)
Cedar Waxwing (Bombycilla cedrorum)
Western Bluebird (Sialia mexicana)
American Robin (Turdus migratorius)
Northern Mockingbird (Mimus polyglottos)
California Thrasher (Toxostoma redivivum)
European Starling (Sturnus vulgaris)
White-breasted Nuthatch (Sitta carolinensis)
Bewick's Wren (Thryomanes bewickii)
House Wren (Troglodytes aedon)
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher (Polioptila caerulea)
Bushtit (Psaltriparus minimus)
Violet-green Swallow (Tachycineta thalassina)
Ruby-crowned Kinglet (Regulus calendula)
Wrentit (Chamaea fasciata)
Oak Titmouse (Parus inornatus)
Horned Lark (Eremophila alpestris)
House Sparrow ( Passer domesticus)
Pine Siskin (Carduelis pinus)
Lesser Goldfinch (Carduelis psaltria)
Purple Finch (Carpodacus purpureus)
House Finch (Carpodacus mexicanus)
Orange-crowned Warbler (Vermivora celata)
Nashville Warbler (Vermivora ruficapilla)
Yellow-rumped Warbler (Dendroica coronata)
Wilson's Warbler (Wilsonia pusilla)
Fox Sparrow (Passerella iliaca)
Golden-crowned Sparrow (Zonotrichia atricapilla)
Dark-eyed Junco (Junco hyemalis)
Lark Sparrow (Chondestes grammacus)
Rufous-crowned Sparrow (Aimophila ruficeps)
Spotted Towhee (Pipilo maculatus)
California Towhee (Pipilo crissalis)
Western Tanager (Piranga ludoviciana)
Black-headed Grosbeak (Pheucticus melanocephalus)
Lazuli Bunting (Passerina amoena)
Red-winged Blackbird (Agelaius phoeniceus)
Western Meadowlark (Sturnella neglecta)60 SPECIES
So Far: 116 speciesMary Beth Stowe
San Diego, CA
Contra Costa County, Part 5: Tilden RP and
environs
Wed, 05 May 1999 20:47:20 -0700
From: Mike Feighner
Posted to EBbird by Mike Feighner, Livermore, CA
Contra Costa County, Part 5: Tilden RP and environs
Wed, 5 May 1999 18:35:39 PDT
From: Mary Beth StoweHi, all.
It was another gorgeous day today, and except for a couple of "clean-up" places, spent most of the day at Tilden Regional Park. The first place I visited was Las Trampas RP, which was lovely but unfortunately quite noisy with all the construction going on! More oak savannah habitat that produced lots of Lazuli Buntings, Wrentits, Warbling and Hutton's Vireos, Nuttall's Woodpeckers, Oak Titmice, etc. (plus a close encounter with a cow...)
Checked out Bishop Ranch next, and while I didn't get far on the trail (one went straight up the hill and the other went through a lovely oak riparian woodland before going straight up the hill), I did pick up a few unique species for the day, including a treeful of Cedar Waxwings and Acorn Woodpeckers in the parking lot. A cute little Wilson's Warbler "chacked" at me in the woods, his black cap all puffed up, and just barely visible through the branches a pair of Canada Geese flew overhead!
Then it was on to Tilden Park, and that was a TERRIFIC place! Stopped at Inspiration Point first where I hiked a little of the Curran Trail (along with a bunch of other people; you'd think it was a weekend!). You walked through a huge forest of mixed eucalyptus and pines and other stuff, and managed to pick up Pygmy Nuthatch and American Goldfinch for the trip here. Lots of Selasphorus hummers zinged around, but couldn't get a look at any of them: I did hear the "dive-bombing" display of what I've observed in the past to be Allen's Hummingbird (I don't know if Rufous literally sound like bomber pilots or not). Pacific-slope Flycatchers and Chestnut-backed Chickadees were all over, and on the way back up heard Cooper's Hawk and Pine Siskin.
I wanted to check out Jewel Lake next, so drove to the nature area and found the great little loop trail that takes you onto a boardwalk and into the lush riparian area. It was pretty quiet (I think several busloads of school kids had beat me to it), but there were Black-headed Grosbeaks and lots more chickadees around. A Hairy Woodpecker called on the back side of the loop (I may go back there first thing tomorrow morning if I don't get stuck in traffic...)
From then on I just wanted to explore, so the next trail I found was Wildcat Creek at the end of Lone Oak Road. That was a nice trail through the eucalyptus forest, and interestingly picked up Red-breasted Nuthatch in here! (Although I suppose I shouldn't be too surprised: the year they invaded coastal San Diego they were in anything that had leaves on it...). Also picked up Western Wood-Pewee for the trip in here.
The next trail was a killer, but got some great birds: I picked up the Wildcat Creek Trail again at the end of Brook Road, where you actually hike by some redwoods (at least that's what they look like; maybe they're just cedars), picking up Brown Creeper for the trip. The brook looked too tame for Dippers, but the trail shortly went straight up again, and I dutifully crawled up, only to be greeted with Anza Lake at the top! While sitting and resting picked up Olive-sided Flycatcher for the day, but better than that was a Pileated Woodpecker calling across the way!
Slid back down the trail and drove over to the lake after that, but the only trail I could find actually went down to some little pumping building, but the big oak I sat under had a gorgeous Townsend's Warbler in it! Purple Finches and more creepers were in evidence here as well.
After that there was nothing new for the day, even though I ended up hiking one more trail along South Park Drive that took you through the grassland and gave you a great view of the golf course ... more Olive-sided Flycatchers and Steller's Jays made noise here. A Cooper's Hawk flew by and then circled with an interesting wing flap that I assumed was some kind of display flight. He must have seen lunch and conversely lost interest in his prospective mate cuz he dropped like a bomb into the grass shortly thereafter...
After that drove up San Pablo Dam Road to Wildcat Canyon RP, where I found one access trail before I had to come "home"; again, lovely oak savannah habitat, but nothing new.
Bird List:
Canada Goose (Branta canadensis)
Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos)
Turkey Vulture (Cathartes aura)
Cooper's Hawk (Accipiter cooperii)
Red-shouldered Hawk (Buteo lineatus)
American Kestrel (Falco sparverius)
California Quail (Callipepla californica)
American Coot (Fulica americana)
Rock Dove (Columba livia)
Anna's Hummingbird (Calypte anna)
Allen's Hummingbird (probably) (Selasphorus sasin)
Acorn Woodpecker (Melanerpes formicivorus)
Nuttall's Woodpecker (Picoides nuttallii)
Hairy Woodpecker (Picoides villosus)
Pileated Woodpecker (Dryocopus pileatus)
Olive-sided Flycatcher (Contopus borealis)
Western Wood-Pewee (Contopus sordidulus)
Pacific-slope Flycatcher (Empidonax difficilis)
Black Phoebe (Sayornis nigricans)
Ash-throated Flycatcher (Myiarchus cinerascens)
Steller's Jay (Cyanocitta stelleri)
Western Scrub-Jay (Aphelocoma californica)
American Crow (Corvus brachyrhynchos)
Northern Raven (Corvus corax)
Hutton's Vireo (Vireo huttoni)
Warbling Vireo (Vireo gilvus)
Cedar Waxwing (Bombycilla cedrorum)
Western Bluebird (Sialia mexicana)
American Robin (Turdus migratorius)
Northern Mockingbird (Mimus polyglottos)
European Starling (Sturnus vulgaris)
Pygmy Nuthatch (Sitta pygmaea)
Red-breasted Nuthatch (Sitta canadensis)
Brown Creeper (Certhia americana)
Bewick's Wren (Thryomanes bewickii)
House Wren (Troglodytes aedon)
Bushtit (Psaltriparus minimus)
Violet-green Swallow (Tachycineta thalassina)
Barn Swallow (Hirundo rustica)
Wrentit (Chamaea fasciata)
Chestnut-backed Chickadee (Parus rufescens)
Oak Titmouse (Parus inornatus)
Pine Siskin (Carduelis pinus)
American Goldfinch (Carduelis tristis)
Lesser Goldfinch (Carduelis psaltria)
Purple Finch (Carpodacus purpureus)
House Finch (Carpodacus mexicanus)
Orange-crowned Warbler (Vermivora celata)
Townsend's Warbler (Dendroica townsendi)
Wilson's Warbler (Wilsonia pusilla)
Song Sparrow (Melospiza melodia)
Dark-eyed Junco (Junco hyemalis)
Spotted Towhee (Pipilo maculatus)
California Towhee (Pipilo crissalis)
Black-headed Grosbeak (Pheucticus melanocephalus)
Lazuli Bunting (Passerina amoena)
Red-winged Blackbird (Agelaius phoeniceus)
Western Meadowlark (Sturnella neglecta)
Brewer's Blackbird (Euphagus cyanocephalus)59 SPECIES
So Far: 126 speciesMary Beth Stowe
San Diego, CA
Next part of trip report Subject List