California Trip 7/16-31/2000 - David Larson
I spent the last 2 weeks in California, attending a course at Stanford University, with a final quick trip to the Sierra Nevada Mountains, at and north of Donner Pass (I-80). I got to spend a few hours birding the Stanford campus on Sunday morning (7/16) before the course started, brief snippets while walking to class every morning, and an afternoon in the Palo Alto Baylands area. After the course, I rented a car and headed northeast, with a stop in Davis, toward the Sierras.
The following are lists of bird species I noted, in order of sighting (sorry!) by location. Common birds have been omitted in later locations, depending on my whim and my energy levels.
Palo Alto/Stanford University Campus
7/16/2000
Rock Dove
California Towhee
House Wren
Acorn Woodpecker
House Finch
California Quail
Spotted Towhee
California Thrasher
Violet-green Swallow
Mourning Dove
Western Scrub Jay
Killdeer
Mallard
American Coot
Oak Titmouse
Great Egret
Cliff Swallow
Bewick’s Wren
Barn Swallow
Northern Rough-winged Swallow
Pied-billed Grebe
Black Phoebe
Northern Mockingbird
Dark-eyed Junco (Oregon)
Western Bluebird
Green Heron
Great Blue Heron
Vaux’s Swift
Turkey Vulture
Red-tailed Hawk
Anna’s Hummingbird
American Robin
American Crow
Bushtit
Chestnut-backed Chickadee (barlowi)
Brewer’s Blackbird
7/19/2000
European Starling
7/21/2000
Lesser Goldfinch
7/22/2000
Downy Woodpecker
7/26/2000
Red-shouldered Hawk
Palo Alto Baylands
7/23/2000
California Gull
Western Gull
Herring Gull
Ring-billed Gull
Willet
Black-necked Stilt
Common Raven
Barn Swallow
Cliff Swallow
Long-billed Curlew
Least Sandpiper
American White Pelican
Brewer’s Blackbird
Forster’s Tern
Turkey Vulture
Ruddy Turnstone
Long-billed Dowitcher
Song Sparrow
Marsh Wren
Blue-winged Teal
Mallard
Snowy Egret
Great Egret
Black Skimmer (a surprise, I didn’t know that they ranged to here)
Ruddy Duck
Red-winged Blackbird
Black-crowned Night-Heron
American Coot
Marbled Godwit
Whimbrel
American Avocet
"The Pavilion Area" (S of P.A. Baylands)
Black-necked Stilt (scores)
American Avocet (100s)
Marbled Godwit (100s)
American White Pelican (~100)
Willet
Long-billed Curlew
Whimbrel
Turkey Vulture
Northern Harrier
Snowy Egret
Great Egret
Black-crowned Night-Heron
Caspian Tern
American Coot
Driving from Palo Alto to Portola, CA 7/29/2000
Just north of Vacaville on I-80
California Condor (okay, okay; I know it doesn’t count but it’s way cool)
Davis, CA (with Alison Kent)
Yellow-billed Magpie
Belted Kingfisher
Western Kingbird
Swainson’s Hawk
Sierraville, CA
Black-billed Magpie
7/30/2000
Yuba Pass (Rte. 49)
Northern Flicker (red-shafted)
American Robin
Western Tanager
Dark-eyed Junco
Chipping Sparrow
Orange-crowned Warbler
Hammond’s Flycatcher
Western Wood-Peewee
Mountain Chickadee
Townsend’s Warbler (out of place?)
Nashville Warbler
Olive-sided Flycatcher
Mountain Quail (by ear)
Cassin’s Finch
Red-breasted Nuthatch
Golden-crowned Kinglet
White-headed Woodpecker
Hermit Warbler
Juniper Titmouse (?paler and grayer than the Oak Titmice seen earlier in the week)
Cassin’s Vireo
Purple Finch
Red-breasted Sapsucker
Hairy Woodpecker
Wilson’s Warbler
Calliope Hummingbird
Red-tailed Hawk
Stellar’s Jay
Bassett’s Station
Anna’s Hummingbird
Rufous Hummingbird
Vaux’s Swift
Violet-green Swallow
Hairy Woodpecker
1.9 miles west of Bassett’s on Rte. 49 (North Yuba River)
American Dipper
Mountain Quail (1 ad, 3 juv)
Marble Hot Springs Road (off of A-23) in the Sierra Valley
Northern Harrier
Turkey Vulture
Osprey
Long-billed Curlew
American Coot
Pied-billed Grebe
Brewer’s Blackbird
Vesper Sparrow
Savannah Sparrow
Brewer’s Sparrow
Barn Swallow
Cliff Swallow
Brown-headed Cowbird
Yellow-headed Blackbird
Common Raven
Sandhill Crane
Great Blue Heron
White-faced Ibis
Blue-winged Teal
American Bittern (juv)
Red-winged Blackbird
American Kestrel (4 in one tree)
Back to Yuba Pass
Williamson’s Sapsucker
Mountain Quail (about 30, mostly juv)
Warbling Vireo
Rte. 49 lookout (east of Yuba Pass)
Common Nighthawk
Hairy Woodpecker
American Crow
7/31/2000
Sierraville (0530)
Great Horned Owl (nearly hit it)
Donner Camp Historical Site (on 89 north of Truckee)
Green-tailed Towhee
Northern Flicker
Yellow-rumped Warbler
Dark-eyed Junco
Cooper’s Hawk
Mountain Chickadee
California Gull
Great Blue Heron
Western Wood-Peewee
Song Sparrow
Red-breasted Nuthatch
Yellow Warbler
Stellar’s Jay
Donner Memorial State Park (west of Truckee)
Hermit Warbler
Yellow-rumped Warbler
American Robin
Dark-eyed Junco
Western Tanager
Orange-crowned Warbler
Hairy Woodpecker
Mountain Chickadee
Northern Flicker
American Crow
Stellar’s Jay
Song Sparrow
Evening Grosbeak
Brown Creeper
Brewer’s Blackbird
Mourning Dove
Calliope Hummingbird
San Francisco Bay from 101
Brown Pelican
San Francisco International Airport
Last identified California bird was a Black-necked Stilt next to a taxiway
I finished the trip with 15 life birds (not counting the condor). Special thanks to Alison Kent and Kevin Guse for hints and tips and help.