Met Rosemary Flamion out at the fire station at Carrizo Plain this morning
(found out that I, like many others, have erroneously been saying "Plains")
to scout for the Morro Bay field trip I'd be leading on Friday. Al
Schmierer and his friend Kara joined us as well; they were there to do a
Mountain Plover survey, but he very kindly put that off until he could show
me some great places to take the crew for sparrows and other things.
Apparently the roads were as slick as snot a few days ago, but they've dried
out pretty much (although one road we tried was still pretty soft), so I
feel comfortable taking a van to the places we'll be going.
First place we went was the educational building (where they have decent
bathrooms; still pit toilets but better than the porta potty at the fire
station...), where the best sighting wasn't a bird but a San Joaquin
Antelope Squirrel, and endangered species! We also saw Pronghorn a couple
of times on the main road (always a crowd-pleaser, noted Al). We slowly
headed back up Soda Lake Road, picking up gobs of Savannah Sparrows,
Meadowlarks, Shrikes, and Horned Larks. We stopped at the Soda Lake Nature
Trail (have no idea if that's its real name, but it fits) to try for Sage
Sparrow, which was very cooperative, especially with the help of Kara's
squeeker! Heading north again a flock of Sandhill Cranes in the field was a
surprise (normally if you don't catch them at dawn or dusk by the lake it's
pot luck)! Opposite Seven Mile Road was Spraguehill, another dirt road
that was traditionally good for Vesper Sparrow, but we only had one (and
only Al saw it way up on the hill with some Lark Sparrows); in the meantime
Savannahs were in the gazillions! A Sage Thrasher also popped up on the
fence, which happened to be a life bird for Kara! Down towards the end of
the road there were tons of blackbirds with a few Tricoloreds in the flock,
and we also had a distant herd of Tule Elk on the hillside.
The endangered San Joaquin Antelope Ground Squirrel
Pronghorn Antelope against the Tremblor Range
Red-tailed Hawk
Western Meadowlark
On the trail (L-R: Rosemary, Kara, and Al)
Our quarry (Sage Sparrow)
Sandhill Cranes
View from Spraguehill Road
Sage Thrasher
Heading north again Al took us onto Gaviota, another dirt road that would
loop around and up to the main highway. We were joined by Tom Edell (with
his flashing light on his Caltrans truck--we though Al was under arrest for
nor getting to his survey plot on time!
J
), after which we kept leap-frogging down the road. This was where all the
Mountain Bluebirds were hanging out, but try as we might, we couldn't spot
any plovers or Burrowing Owls. But as we turned the corner and headed out
into wide open spaces we hit the jackpot: two Golden Eagles and two Bald
Eagles (an adult and youngster)! The Baldie just sat very cooperatively in
the middle of a field, while the youngster had nabbed one of the ubiquitous
ground squirrels and was paying us no mind as we ogled at him through our
scopes! Other good raptors we had during the course of the day included
several Ferruginous Hawks, a couple of Merlins, and some nice male
Harriers. (Interestingly TVs are actually rare there, so I was pleased to
spot one on our way out!)
Boulders on Gaviota Road
Brewer's Blackbird
Fleeing Mountain Bluebird
Savannah Sparrow
Digiscoped Bald Eagles (adult left, immature right)
We left the guys to do their survey after that, while Rosemary and I headed
up 58 to try and find some Long-eared Owls in some willows by the side of
the road. Couldn't find them, but did spook two huge Golden Eagles from a
cottonwood, while Bewick's and Rock Wrens called and several White- and
Golden-crowned Sparrows fed on the ground. There were tons of Lark Sparrows
here, all snorting away! After that we went back to the educational
building via Seven Mile Road (where we picked up a young male Shoveler in
one of the alkaline ponds) to use the potties one last time and pick up
Rosemary's car; this time the place was jumping with Whiteys! (Al told us
about a semi-tame Roadrunner that hung around there, but I guess he was
hiding...) From there we both headed north then west on 58, where we
stopped at a little farm pond where a Ross's Goose had been hanging out, but
nothing but a Coot and a couple of Mallards were there then.
View of Carrizo Plain from highway 58
Rosemary at the Long-eared Owl roost
Yet more Pronghorn
Young male Shoveler
We both headed to Morro Bay after that.
Go to top
