May 6, 2022
11:30 to 13:30
Distance traveled: 2 km
After we were finished at the Palomarin Field Station, while most of the Vertebrate Biology class headed home, a small group of us decided to make a stop at a different part of the Point Reyes National Seashore to forage for mushrooms. We parked at the Bear Valley Visitor Center and took a hike along the Morgan Trail, a detour that only took us about 10 minutes off of the route we were taking home This turned out to be an excellent decision. We didn’t see as many different types of mushrooms as my companions had hoped, but we saw LOADS of other wonderful things: birds galore, some lovely native plants, and a few mammals, as well. I made good use of the Merlin app on my phone to help me sort out the multitude of birds who were singing in the woods (all identifications were verified by me once I returned home).
The day had brightened up a bit and there was no longer any precipitation, but it was still overcast, keeping the temperature nice and cool. As we started up the trail, the grassy green fields were decorated with gorgeous purple Sky lupine and orange California poppies.
As we passed by the horse barn, we spotted a few Columbian black-tailed deer at the far end of the meadow. They were there, foraging, for the duration of our hike.
The trail goes along the edge of the meadow, and as soon as we were past the barn, the air was filled with birdsong, including some birds that I haven’t encountered in a long time, and one new species for me. Some of the highlights of our hike:
We spotted two utterly adorable Sonoma chipmunks on fallen logs along the trail. I hadn’t seen chipmunks in quite some time, so this was a real treat.
We had a relatively close up look at a gorgeous 6-point buck, as he wandered around in the woods.
We heard several woodland birds that aren’t common in the places I usually frequent, including Warbling Vireo, Western Wood-pewee, and most exciting, at least one Olive-sided Flycatcher, which was a life bird for me!
The other highlight of the walk was a tiny little friend. Merlin picked up the call of an Allen’s Hummingbird, so I started scanning the trees to try and spot it. This is a difficult bird to identify by sight, so having heard the call was extremely helpful. When we’d gone as far as we intended down the Morgan Trail, one of my companions spotted the bird. All three of them were watching it perch in a tree right in front of us, but no matter how they tried to describe where it was, I couldn’t find it! I was at a slightly wrong angle, and when I moved a few feet over, suddenly I was able to see it. Before I could get my camera focused, it flew away (of course). I was feeling just a bit sad, and I said, jokingly, “Please come back! Come back, come back.” And it did. The bird came back and perched cooperatively in the same tree, and this time I was not only able to see it, but I got some decent photos. As we headed back down the trail toward the car, we saw another Allen’s (or maybe it was the same bird). Pretty spectacular, and I think this is the only one I’ve ever seen that I’m 100% certain about the ID.
As we were heading back to the car, we veered onto a side trail for a bit, where I tried to spot the Olive-sided Flycatcher to no avail. When the path started heading downhill, however, I tapped out, knowing that I wouldn’t be happy when it came time to walk back up the hill later. Everyone else was in agreement, so all four of us headed back to the car. I was tired, but extremely satisfied with our wildlife observations. The final bird of the day: a Turkey vulture soaring over the parking lot. What an absolutely wonderful day.
Species List
Birds and wildlife observed: Western bluebird (Sialia mexicana occidentalis), California quail (Callipepla californica brunnescens), Columbian black-tailed deer (Odocoileus hemionus columbianus), California scrub jay (Aphelocoma californica caurina), Warbling vireo* (Vireo gilvus swainsoni), Chipping sparrow* (Spizella passerina arizonae), Acorn woodpecker* (Melanerpes formicivorus bairdi), Eurasian collared dove* (Streptopelia decaocto), Pacific-slope flycatcher* (Empidonax difficilis difficilis), Western wood pewee* (Contopus sordidulus veliei), California towhee (Melozone crissalis), Northern flicker* (Colaptes auratus collaris), Button’s banana slug (Ariolimax buttoni), Song sparrow (Melospiza melodia), Sonoma chipmunk (Neotamias sonomae), Olive-sided flycatcher* (Contopus cooperi), Spotted towhee (Pipilo maculatus), Allen’s hummingbird (Selasphorus sasin sasin), Steller’s Jay (Cyanocitta stelleri carbonacea), Black-headed grosbeak* (Pheucticus melanocephalus maculatus), Bronze beetle (Chrysolina bankii), Brown creeper (Certhia americana), Dark-eyed junco (Junco hyemalis oreganus), Black Phoebe (Sayornis nigricans semiater), Convergent ladybug (Hippodamia convergens), European starling (Sturnus vulgaris), Leaflitter crab spider (Oxyptila sp), Turkey vulture (Cathartes aura aura)
*Heard only
There were also several birds picked up by Merlin that I was not able to verify when I reviewed the audio later: Pine Siskin (Spinus pinus), Yellow-rumped Warbler (Setophaga coronata), Cedar Waxwing (Bombycilla cedrorum), White-breasted Nuthatch (Sitta carolinensis), Violet-green Swallow (Tachycineta thalassina)
Notable plant and fungal species: California poppy (Eschscholzia californica), Sky lupine (Lupinus nanus), Redstem stork’s-bill (Erodium cicutarium), Miniature lupine (Lupinus bicolor), Italian thistle (Carduus pycnocelphalus), Fat jack/False bolete (Suillus caerulescens), Miner’s lettuce (Claytonia perfoliata), Ganoderma brownii, Carbon balls, Poison oak (Toxicodendron diversilobum), Pacific trillium (Trillium ovatum), Fomitopsis ochracae, Hypoxylon, Shelf fungus (Porodaedalea sp), Northern red belt (Fomitopsis mounceae), Coast live oak (Quercus agrifolia), Turkey tail (Trametes versicolor), Tasmanian blue gum (Eucalyptus globulus), California blackberry (Rubus ursinus), Witch’s butter (Tremella mesenterica), Hairy curtain crust (Stereum hirsutum), Red maids (Calandrinia menziesii)
Let me know what you think!