Santa Clara County Big Day
April 15, 2007
Jennifer Rycenga and I spent an entire day in Santa Clara County, CA looking for as many species as possible in one day, April 15. We ended our arduous task with 128 species, giving up with four hours still remaining in our allotted time due to exhaustion and the prospect of only adding one or two species at best.
We met at the Page Mill Road Park and Ride lot off of I-280 at 4:45 AM (I was only three minutes late). From there we drove to Almaden-Quicksilver County Park, McAbee Street Entrance. We walked up the trail until we came to the historical marker for an old quicksilver mine and listened for Poorwills. Jennifer did her best poorwill imitation but they were either absent or unimpressed. However, we managed to call in two Great Horned Owls and two Western Screech Owls. The dawn chorus began even before darkness gave way to light with the Spotted Towhees being the first to awaken. There must have been fifteen. Next a California Thrasher began to sing his head off a short distance away from us. Then there was a cacophony of song of typical oak woodlands species, Wrentit, Oak Titmouse, Bewick’s Wren, Orange-crowned Warbler. I did not have sufficient clothes on and was becoming quite chilled in the cool early dawn hours of the Santa Clara Valley. We started back up the trail and saw Allen’s Hummingbird and Anna’s Hummingbird and near the entrance Wilson’s Warbler.
We got in the car and drove a short distance to Guadalupe Oak Grove Park, a San Jose City Park at Thornton off of McAbee. This small oak grove yielded a large mixed warbler flock that was mostly Yellow-rumped Warbler but also contained Black-throated Gray Warbler and Orange-crowned Warbler. Along the trail we heard a Pacific-slope Flycatcher and Nuttall’s Woodpecker. There were many Acorn Woodpeckers in the oak trees. We saw a White-breasted Nuthatch gather nesting material and head for a nest cavity. On our way out we saw gathering swallows twittering in the skies that included Violet-green Swallow and Tree Swallow. After making a pit stop in the well maintained bathroom we drove over to the Santa Clara Valley Water District. We walked around the contaminated water where two people were fishing and saw a few Black-crowned Night-Herons and lots of Cliff Swallows. While looking into what Jennifer said was the Guadalupe River I spotted a Spotted Sandpiper. On our way out we saw a female Brown-headed Cowbird.
Our next stop was the lovely Ed Levin County Park in Milpitas off of Highway 237 which turns into Calaveras Road. We ran into a vicious group of birders gawking at some birds in the trees surrounding the parking area. We opted to pass on that and to walk up the trail to a sycamore grove instead. In a small tree in the parking area a gorgeous Bullock’s Oriole was perched. Along the trail numerous Grasshopper Sparrows were singing. As we came to the sycamores Jennifer pointed out a Lazuli Bunting, my first of season. While stopping on the trail to catch our breath I noticed a white bird over the pond which turned out to be a Caspian Tern. Jennifer found a singing House Wren and up the trail slightly more was a Rufous-crowned Sparrow perched on a fence post making an excellent photo. A Sharp-shinned Hawk flew over and later we saw a Northern Harrier just over the ridge. We descended the trail back to the trees around the parking area and found a few Lawrence’s Goldfinches. We drove to another section of the park and witnessed a White-tailed Kite locked in battle with a Red-shouldered Hawk. The earlier reported sapsuckers had apparently departed but we saw a couple of White-throated Swifts overhead, one Western Bluebird, and a few Wild Turkeys. Not having seen any kingbirds we went back to the main park and scanned the fenceposts until finally Jennifer found one.
We made a side trip on a narrow one lane winding road, Calaveras Road to the Calaveras Reservoir where Jennifer said a Bald Eagle was nesting. We made a dangerous stop to just barely get a glimpse of mom’s head before making a dangerous turn around. It was then we came across a few Yellow-billed Magpies in the road. As we headed back down Calaveras Road an idiot in the Miata speed demon club tried to send Jennifer and me to an early grave but he and she slammed on brakes just in the nick of time. My heart was in my throat as I’m sure Jennifer’s was as well.
Every morning it is my habit to make my lunch for the day so as to maximize my time for more important things. Jennifer insisted on going to the odious MacDonald’s again. I persuaded her to at least buy it to go and count and strategize in the car. Then it was off to the birding magnet but desolate and ugly Alviso section of the San Francisco Bay NWR. Alviso has been host to numerous rarities over the years but it is ugly, trashy, and unpleasant. We scanned the Spreckels and State Street ponds and came up with American Avocet, Black-necked Stilt, Semi-palmated Plover, but not much else. So we moved on to the boardwalk. We looked into the owl box and saw a Barn Owl inside. On the boardwalk the wind was howling. We could not draw out a sora nor were the snipes on the little pond on the drive in. Out on the boardwalk we saw Herring Gull, Glaucous-winged Gull, Western Gull, Glaucous-winged x Western Gull, Ring-billed Gull, California Gull, and Bonaparte’s Gull. We also saw on Forster’s Tern and were surprised to see an American White Pelican. There was one Greater Scaup, a Gadwall, one Western Grebe, and one Eared Grebe. When we could tolerate the wind no longer we turned back and checked the pond again but still no sora. There was however, a Cinnamon Teal. We parked at the mega-church parking lot and scanned the ugly field looking for meadowlark without success. We did see two Burrowing Owls which we graciously showed to some Christian lady who probably would run us off the road under other circumstances but no meadowlark. We were about to leave when we heard the Western Meadowlark give his melodious song.
Next we drove to San Antonio Road off of Highway 101 to Charleston Slough. At the pond we saw our only Surf Scoter of the day, Green-winged Teal, and Clark’s Grebe. We drove a short distance to Palo Alto Baylands where we ran into more odious birders who chastised us for not fund raising for Santa Clara Audubon. They asked how many birds we had and when Jennifer said 115 they admitted to only having 80. How pathetic. As Jennifer was chatting with them (I was largely ignoring the self-congratulatory amateurs) they did point out to us a Peregrine Falcon flying overhead. We walked between some ponds whose name I cannot recall and played a yellowthroat tape. Jennifer saw a Common Yellowthroat; it was the only bird of the day I did not also see. How embarrassing. We stopped at the feeding pond and could not locate the Cattle Egret but saw several nesting Snowy Egrets making weird sounds and saw a Black-crowned Night-Heron on top of some chicks. We parked on the side of the road where Jennifer assured me we would get Ring-necked Pheasant but to no avail. Next we took our scopes and walked out on the boardwalk. It was super windy. In fact, it had been windy and cool all day long but it was extra windy out on the boardwalk that goes over the bay. We stopped at clapper alley and played a tape but saw nothing so we continued to the end. The wind was shaking our scopes badly but we finally found a Dunlin in breeding plumage. A few Black-bellied Plovers were also in full breeding plumage. When we could stand the wind no more we turned back stopping again at clapper alley and there out in full view was indeed a Clapper Rail.
It was getting late in the day and we were running out of options. We drove to Stevens Creek Reservoir and scanned it. There were people in it or near the edges and it looked bleak. But just when we were most dismayed a spotted a soaring Osprey. Jennifer said we could see a dipper at one of the bridges over the creek. So we drove along and stopped at the most likely one only to find a family swimming in the creek where the dipper nests-- so no dipper for us. We checked two more to no avail. I saw one of only three butterflies of the day, a pitiful, Cabbage White near the creek. While looking for the proper direction to the Upper Stevens Creek trail we pulled over and heard a Black-headed Grosbeak. We walked Upper Stevens Creek and only heard a couple of Chestnut-backed Chickadees and that was it. It was getting very late but the birds were getting fewer and fewer.
For our last stop of the day, we drove to Monte Bello Open Space Preserve, a Mid-peninsula Regional Park. We walked down the trail to a pond hoping once again for sora. Along the trail Jennifer spotted a coyote sunning in the grass hill. There was no sora around but we were delighted to find five Ring-necked Ducks on the pond. We lingered and looked and played tapes and cajoled all in vain as nothing else revealed itself to us. We walked back up the trail completely defeated and dejected. It was still an hour until sunset and it was quite obvious we were not going to meet my goal of 160 nor break Jennifer’s personal Santa Clara County best of 126. We sat in the car deciding whether to cut our losses or await darkness and only a dim chance of pygmy owl or even more remote, Saw Whet Owl. We decided it wasn’t worth it to just add realistically one species so we got in the car ready to go back to the Park and Ride. Jennifer decided to stop at the bathroom at the Stevens Creek Nature Trailhead. A White-tailed Kite was hawking rodents in the hillside and a Band-tailed Pigeon flew by. After Jennifer got out of the car and started toward the bathroom I heard and then called out—Purple Finch! It turned out to be our last species of the day, number 128, not bad for someone who has never birded Santa Clara County even though not even close to my completely unrealistic goal of 160. Our butterfly count was even lamer at only three—Monarch, Field Crescent, and Cabbage White. We did well in the mammalian department with Jack Rabbit, Brush Rabbit, Coyote, Black-tailed Deer, Western Gray squirrel, and Mule Deer. All in all, despite the annoying strong winds and numerous failures to pull out easy birds, it was a fine day of birding. As Jennifer says, bird on!
Michelle Brodie
