Birding Silverwood Lake in San Bernadino California

 

Silverwood Lake State Park - San Bernadino California

Part 1 - Trestles Beach - San Clement CA

Part 2 - (this post) Silverwood lake - Cajun Pass CA

Part 3 - Grand Canyon Birding -Williams AZ 

Hey Y'all,

I had a few birding and butterfly sightings on my most recent trip out to the southwestern corner of the USA.

During the last week my family visited a few spots in the southwest such as Phoenix AZ, Flagstaff AZ, Williams AZ then we moved towards California. Arizona is breathtakingly beautiful... as is California.

At Silverwood Lake ... some targets were:

Oak Titmouse

Mountain Quail

California Scrub Jay

Wrentit

The Oak titmouse was a big priority for me as one of the first sparkbirds for me was the lovable "tufted titmouse" back in Windsor.

California Thrasher

Acorn Woodpecker

Lewis's Woodpecker

Lewis's Woodpecker

Mountain Quail

California Scrub Jay

Western Bluebird

Oak Titmouse

Wrentit

Seeing a Lewis's Woodpecker (4!) Was a brilliant surprise! A lewis's woodpecker has dramic perch - flycatch - return flight... remenisent of an olive sided flycatcher.

This was a beautiful spot, and my son Micheal joined me here while my wife and my older boy spent the morning rail fannning.

Some butterlies seen here were: 

Sara Orangetip

Western Brown Elfin

Propertius Duskywing

Funereal Duskywing

Painted Ladies 

Others...

Propertius Duskywing

One the way to this park, I stopped along a valley bottom with scrub - desert- meadow habitat and the bird life was impressive.

Merlin picked up golden crowned sparrow, bells sparrowand a few other cool birds but I was unable to see them. 

I had also birded a park which was supposed to have Sonora Blue Butterflies but I was unable to find them. I did however pick out a Swainson's Hawk overhead. 

Silvery Blue (western)

Sara Orangetip

Swainson's Hawk

Bushtit

Another random beach that we visited on route to San Clemnte feature the following birds:

Rock wren

Loon Sp.

Spotted Sandpiper

Hudsonian Whimbrel

Good Birding!

Lifer summary: 

Oak titmouse 481

Mountain Quail 482

Wrentit 483

California Scub Jay 484

California Thrasher 485

California Towhee 486

Dean Hale Woodpecker Festival Birding - Catch up Tour (Day 4 of 4)

Dean Hale Woodpecker Festival Shirt Artwork

Brewers Sparrow

[***
Editors Note:
This Sisters Oregon Woodpecker Posting is part of a 4-part series on my June 2014 trip
Day 1: Arrival & self guided touring
Day 2: Ochocos Tour 
Day 3: Black Butte Tour 
Day 4: Catch up Tour - Dry Creek Burn  ***]

The last of my three day Woodpecker Festival featured a "Catch up Tour" where festival participants requested various birds they were hoping to get. Most birders wanted to go where we went on Saturday, so we re-united with our guides from the previous day and had some fun exploring different areas. Some target species were mountain grouse, Hermit Warblers, Lewis's Woodpecker, and Pileated Woodpeckers. With those two woodpeckers, my total woodpecker species for this festival would hit the maximum 11 species mark.

Our first stop was an old burn that had now become a brushy field. Brewer's Sparrow and White crowned Sparrows were present. We noted the slight difference in Western White crowned Sparrows (see above), whose eye line is from the eye back. The western species essentially has white lores while the eastern species has a complete black eyeline! [compare]

Steller's Jay

We then continued on into some forest stopping at various spots seeing what was around. We found a Townsend's Warbler with a white belly, hinting that it was an "intergrade" - having traits from Hermit Warbler. Below, you will see a Hermit Warbler, which should have a white belly - having a yellow belly - showing features that Townsends Warbler may have passed on with some interbreeding. Common nighthawks were seen flying overhead as well.

Townsend's Warbler - Should have a yellowish breast

We saw our first Hermit Warbler - I was really happy to see this. This was one of the few lifers I had on my fourth day in Oregon. Very exciting to get all four target warblers!

Hermit Warbler

The Dry Creek Burn area had several Lewis's Flycatchers easily seen. When we were there, they were very active, flycatching and moving from snag to snag. These were not life birds, but still, breathtaking to see. Only nature could have come up with such a colour combination! Lazuli Buntings and Olive sided Flycatchers were singing and easily seen in the area as well. I saw several Stellar's Jays as well, but they were a little camera shy.

One last stop at Suttle Lake made one last try at seeing Pileated Woodpeckers - Mission Accomplished! We also saw more Hermit Warblers! The Hermit Warbler shown below has a yellowish breast - hinting of some genetic traits from Townsend's Warbler.

Hermit Warbler - with yellowish breast of a Townsend's Warbler

Hermit Warbler - My only lifer on day 4!

Red Crossbills (Type 2 – Ponderosa Pine Crossbill ) were seen almost daily on this trip

On Sunday afternoon, I was anxious about getting back to Portland to prepare for returning back to Detroit. I went to the Best Western Hotel in Sisters which sometimes hosts the local flock of Pinyon Jays but came up short. I also attempted to find Barrows Goldeneye, American Dipper and Vaux's Swifts while driving back but no luck!

The last four postings really detailed my Oregon trip and my personal birding highlights. I had a great trip and wanted to document what happened photographically and through my blog so that I would not forget about it and also to share the experience with my blog readers. Its expensive to travel, not just financially but environmentally, time not with family, opportunity costs abound ... so the least I can do is document my trip. I like knowing I can at any time go back and look at this trip, my old Florida trips, or my trip out to BC two years ago and easily re-live the highlights of those trips. This concludes my Oregon Trip to the Dean Hale Woodpecker Festival. If I had to rate this trip I would rate it.... 11 out of 11 Woodpeckers! ;-)

MacGillivray's Warbler at Black Butte Swamp

Rufous Hummingbird at Cold Springs Campground

Good Birding!
Dwaynejava

Life List Summary based on my 50 target birds (crossed out birds were missed):

1 American Dipper

2 Canyon Wren (#351)

3 Townsend's Solitaire (#352)

4 Sage Thrasher

5 Black-throated Gray Warbler (#353)

6 Townsend's Warbler (#354)

7 Hermit Warbler (#355)

8 MacGillivray's Warbler (#356)

9 Western Tanager (#357)

10 Green-tailed Towhee (#358)

11 Brewer's Sparrow (#359)

12 Sage Sparrow

13 Black-headed Grosbeak (#360)

14 Tricolored Blackbird (#361)

15 Bullocks Oriole(#362)

16 Cassin's Finch(#363)

17 Red Crossbill(#364)

18 Lesser Goldfinch

19 Cassin's Vireo(#365)

20 Pinyon Jay

21 Steller's Jay(#366)

22 Western Scrub-Jay(#367 - Seen while driving through Prineville)

24 Pygmy Nuthatch (#368)

25 Rock Wren(#369)

26 Northern Pygmy-Owl (#370)

27 Common Poorwill

28 Vaux's Swift

29 Anna's Hummingbird

30 Calliope Hummingbird (#371)

31 Gray Jay

32 Williamson's Sapsucker (#372)

33 Red-naped Sapsucker (#373)

34 Red-breasted Sapsucker(#374)

35 White-headed Woodpecker(#375)

36 Hammond's Flycatcher(#376)

37 Gray Flycatcher(#377)

38 Dusky Flycatcher(#378)

40 Ferruginous Hawk

41 Prairie Falcon

42 Snowy Plover

44 Cinnamon Teal (#379)

45 Barrows Goldeneye

46 Sooty Grouse

47 Clark’s Grebe (#380)

48 Ruffed Grouse

49 western screech

50 White throated swift (#381)

51-Barn Owl(#382)
52-Band tailed Pigeon (#383)
53- American Three toed Woodpecker (#383)


Dean Hale Woodpecker Festival Websites:

http://www.ecbcbirds.org
http://www.ecaudubon.org

PS: I photographed and attempted to identify some butterflies while in the Sisters Oregon area. The eight or so species below were photographed in Central Oregon.

Becker's White - Seen at Smith Rock State Park

Nelson's Hairstreak?

California Tortoiseshell

Pale Swallowtail - Common around Sisters Oregon

Hoary Comma

Great Arctic

Two banded Checkered Skipper

Ancilla dotted Blue - Smith Rock State Park

Lewis's Woodpecker in BC's Okanogan Valley

Click image to view full size. Only nature could have come up with these colours!

Before embarking on my BC trip, I wrote out a wish-list of birds I would like to see. I came out with a reasonable list of the more common southern BC residents that would likely be around in mid-summer. Out of the twenty birds, I had one bird that I was dying to see... The elusive Lewis's Woodpecker.

I actually read BC birding lists, contacted birders on Flicker... and no useful advice or insight was gained on where I could find these birds. Jim Palwicki, (last years hawk counter at Holiday Beach) mentioned the habitat these birds like. They like Cottonwood trees in a valley meadow with dead snags. I recall him telling me this from last fall. This experience has reminded me about the value of understanding a bird's habitat if you want to see a bird.

So how did I find this bird? There are as little as 500 pairs of this bird in British Columbia (BCMOE) . It is an at risk species due to it's specific habitat requirements and the conversion of natural areas in valley bottoms to human interests such as highways, subdivisions, vineyards and strip-malls. Its a funny story actually. I was driving along eating some recently purchased fresh black-cherries when my son (who is 2 yrs old) threw up in his car seat of our rented car. I immediately pulled over for fear of him choking. As I took him out of his seat and stood him up on the side of the highway, my wife started cleaning him up and I saw a woodpecker-like swoop of a bird in the corner of my eye. I look over and see a row of Cottonwood trees in a with a some dead snags with huge woodpecker holes in them. I grabbed my binoculars and bammm!!! Lewis's Woodpeckers, possibly 4 or more in this group!!! I also noted a Red-shafted Northern Flicker and an American Kestrel perched in the same group of trees.

 

 

The gestalt, or overall 'essence' of this bird is all that I read it would be. They were flycatching from the top of a telephone pole. They would jump off and fly up, circling while rapidly flapping their wings and just circle downward filling their beaks with bugs. Then they would perch up on the top of the telephone pole and eat their bugs. Sometimes, three would be in the air at the same time, or one on top of the pole, one on the side of the pole, and one in the air or perched on a nearby tree. This could be the single rarest bird out of the 280 or so birds in my life list. And it was self-discovered, by a freak accident that was my son vomiting. I call it: "my little birding miracle".

My wife was unhappy that I walked away from the car onto private property at this point. I shot these photos of the woodpecker from about 150ft away, as I did not want to hop a fence with a dog warning on it. Further complicating the moment, my first memory card had filled after 10 or so photos, so I ran back to the car to get a second card.  I figured I would see more on my trip (actually, I didn't) so I abruptly left without really checking the quality of my photos.

Just as I was about to get in the car, another bird catches my eye. I snapped a few photos just in case it flushed. To my utter amazement, a male California Quail, tame as could be. I have such awesome photos of it, one might think they were in captivity. Soon after photographing the male, a few baby chicks jump up on a rock along with the mom. 

This is only the beginning of my Okanagan Valley birding experience. The next morning, I was to have one of the best days of birding I've ever had. I woke up at 5am and picked up a tonne of western bird species. I'll leave this for my next posting.

Good birding!
Dwaynejava

Lifer Summary-
260-Lewis's Woodpecker
261-California Quail

Spotted Towhee. Male and Female.

Violet Green Swallow from Butchart Gardens...

Sources:
British Columbia Ministry of Environment (BCMOE), "Lewis's Woodpecker-Species at Risk", Sept 1998,
http://www.env.gov.bc.ca/wld/documents/lwoodpecker_s.pdf