September 22, 2007: Before picking my family up from the airport I stopped by Fort Funston, an old WWII bunker that is now part of the Golden Gate National Recreation Area. This area is a bluff high above the ocean. Bank Swallows use the cliffs facing the ocean to nest in. The trees topping the bluffs used to provide a safe haven for migrating birds in the fall and rarities showed up there every fall until about five years ago when the National Park Service decided to allow off-leash dogs to roam the area at will. Ever since then the understory has been demolished, the place is overrun with dogs, and few rarities are encountered there these days. But for anyone brave enough to fend off maurading dogs and their crazed owners some surprises await. This particular morning a light rain was falling so I thought maybe some migrants would be resting there looking for a meal before continuing their long migrations further south to Mexico and South America. I immediately came across a medium sized mixed warbler flock that included Townsend’s Warbler, Yellow Warbler, Orange-crowned Warbler, one juvenile MacGillivray’s Warbler, and one vagrant, my first of the fall, a Tennessee Warbler. It was at eye level just feet away but my camera was snuggled safely in the car. After a while an off-leash dog came and began barking and charging me scaring both me and the birds away. I left there and stopped at the old abandoned boat house at Lake Merced to use the facilities. It continued to rain so I parked at the entrance to Harding Park Golf Course and walked the entrance road all the way to the wooden bridge over North Lake Merced through to Lake Merced Boulevard and back to the Harding Park Road not seeing much in the increasing rain. Then I went to the Sam Trans Station next to the airport to look at shorebirds while waiting for their plane to arrive. There were two Blue-winged Teals, which are uncommon in the Bay Area. Then it was time to pick them up.
After picking up Daddy, my sister, Ree, and my niece, Rachel we headed over to the Conservatory of Flowers where they had a display of carnivorous plants. Then we walked around the San Francisco Botanical Garden where we saw Western Tanagers and numerous Anna’s Hummingbirds.
September 23, 2007: We got up early and drove to Yosemite National Park. It was pretty chilly when we stopped in the valley to have a picnic lunch but we warmed up quickly as we walked up the Mist Trail to Vernal Falls. Even my 78 year old father made it to the bridge at the base of the falls. Many White-throated Swifts were circling overhead. The only other birds though were Steller’s Jays, Dark-eyed Juncos, Northern Flickers, and Common Ravens. Ree, Rachel, and I continued to the top of Vernal Falls where we saw a Canyon Wren. Then it was time to head back to the Sunset Cabins at the entrance for dinner.
September 24, 2007:
We got up early and drove Tioga Road. It was very cold, about 28 degrees when we got out at Olmstead Point to see the view into the Valley. Ree, Rachel, and I walked out to the point for a better look. Not much was stirring in that chill. It warmed up as we dropped down into Mono Basin and was actually pleasant when we got out at South Tufa Reserve. We walked down to the water’s edge where I saw a Sage Sparrow, one Vesper Sparrow, many Brewer’s Sparrows, and Sage Thrashers. There were the usual assortment of Red-winged Blackbirds, Brewer’s Blackbirds, and California Gulls, and Eared Grebes. Next we drove to Bodie State Historic Park in Bridgeport, CA. It was still chilly but much warmer than Tioga Road. Nevertheless, there were a lot less birds than last year. I only saw Mountain Bluebird, Say’s Phoebe, Brewer’s Sparrow, and Savannah Sparrow. After enjoying this restored ghost town from the gold rush days we had lunch at the picnic area and then headed over to Mono County Park. There were still some lingering warblers, Townsend’s, Yellow, and Wilson’s. Many Eared Grebes and American Avocets were in the lake in addition to two Blue-winged Teals along with a few Green-winged Teals. Back in the park Rachel had tracked down a Red-breasted Sapsucker in the cottonwoods and I also saw a Western Wood Pewee. Then it was time for the long drive back. We stopped about half way at Yosemite Creek picnic area and had a bar-b-que which resulted in us all smelling like a fire the rest of the trip.
September 25, 2007: We checked out of our lovely accommodations at Sunset Cabins and drove a short distance to Hetch Hetchy. Hetch Hetchy used to be a gorgeous valley that rivaled that of Yosemite Valley until the City of San Francisco convinced Congress to allow it to flood the valley, build a hideous dam, and create an ugly reservoir inside the national park on the Tuolumne River. This reservoir provides drinking water for the City of San Francisco and parts of some adjoining counties. The dam and reservoir are ugly eye sores that must be removed. We must return this national treasure to its natural state. Hetch Hetchy is a much lower elevation than the rest of the park and was quite warm during our short visit. We all walked across the ugly dam reading the City’s lies and propaganda that they have written on exhibits along the dam. Then Ree, Rachel, and I continued on the trail to the completely dry Wampama Falls. There were many Western Scrub-Jays, Spotted Towhees, California Towhees, and Yellow-rumped Warblers. At the falls we saw a Peregrine Falcon. After our walk we stopped at Diamond-O Campground and had a picnic lunch before driving back to San Francisco. When we stopped for gas at the Mobil Station at Highway 395 and Tioga Road, Ree spotted a Least Chipmunk foraging in the grass.
September 27, 2007: We got up super early and drove like mad down Highway 101. We stopped in Soledad at the rest area and while there we saw several Yellow-billed Magpies, a California endemic. We stopped at Moonstone Beach and had lunch. After lunch I scoped the beach and saw a few Parasitic Jaegers and Elegant Terns. Then it was time to drop everyone off for a tour of Hearst Castle while I walked San Simeon State Beach. At the beach there were more Parasitic Jaegers and some Common Murres and along the rocks were Surfbirds, Whimbrel, Black-bellied Plover, Long-billed Curlew, and Black Turnstones. I picked everyone up after the tour and we proceeded north on Highway 1. We stopped not far from San Simeon to admire a pack of Tule Elk. Then we pulled over to look at a big pile of Elephant Seals right on the beach. Proceeding north we next stopped in Big Sur at Pfieffer Big Sur State Park. We walked the nature trail where we saw Acorn Woodpecker, Band-tailed Pigeon, Steller’s Jay, Chestnut-backed Chickadee, Turkey Vulture, and Red-shouldered Hawk. The fog started to roll in ruining the fantastic views we were hoping for in Big Sur but we did stop at Julia Pfieffer Burns State Park to see the waterfall before driving to Monterey where we stayed for the night.
September 28, 2007: We checked out of the Holiday Inn Cannery Row and drove to the Monterey Pier. We had up close looks at a Sea Otter and many California Sea Lions resting at the end of the pier. There were lots of Brandt’s Cormorants and Surf Scoters in the water. As we stood looking into the ocean a Debbie Shearwater Pelagic trip was departing from the harbor. I could hear Debbie on the loud speaker and I watched wistfully as they headed out to sea. Daddy, Ree, and Rachel all suffer from motion sickness so a boat trip was out of the question.
Next we pulled into what I think is one of the prettiest places in California, Pt. Lobos State Reserve. We walked down the water’s edge where we saw some Black Oystercatchers and more Sea otters but not much else. It was overcast and windy, very cold at the water’s edge. We left there and drove to Pacific Grove to look for the Monarch Butterfly tree where thousand congregate in the fall. We found the park but the butterflies had not yet arrived. We also checked a local park, Washington Park where we saw lots of Townsend’s Warblers, Hutton’s Vireo, Pygmy Nuthatch, and Bushtit.
We continued north on Highway 1 stopping at Pigeon Point Lighthouse. Not much was happening there just some Red-throated Loons and one Rhinoceros Auklet. We also stopped at Bean Hollow to look at the Harbor Seals and there were more Black Oystercatchers. Our last stop of the day was the Fitzgerald Marine Reserve in Moss Beach. Luckily it was low tide and so Ree and I were able to see some interesting things in the tide pool like Green Anemone, clams, mussels, nudibranches, dogwinkle, and pink and black limpets. Then it was time to return to San Francisco for my birthday dinner.
September 29, 2007: Before taking everyone back to the airport for their flights back home we went to the downtown farmer’s market. I looked around Ferry Park and saw only a few Yellow Warblers and Western Tanagers. Then we walked to the top of Bernal Hill for the view on this clear sunny day and saw American Kestrel and Turkey Vulture. I dropped everyone off and then Susan and I headed back to Tioga Road for a meeting the next day in Mono County.
Epilogue: September 30, 2007: Heard a Great Horned Owl when we got up. We walked up the Virginia Lakes Trail before our meeting and were pleased to find an accommodating bright male Pine Grosbeak and later a female as well. There were several Clark’s Nutcrackers and the ubiquitous Mountain Chickadees.
By: Michelle Brodie
10/8/07
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