Every year I make a trip to the Panoche Valley, south of Hollister, CA. This year I was planning to go twice, last Sunday and again today. Last week was a bit of a scouting trip, and the results led to this week's trip being scratched. California's drought is hitting the valley hard, and the bird life is showing the effect.
The area is mostly ranchland, with a few small canyons mixed in. It has a very "old California" feel. In the mountains that border the valley, there was some mining - mostly mercury, if I'm not mistaken.
View from the start of Shotgun Pass, Little Panoche Road. In past years, this area has been eye-poppingly green - I've never seen it so brown. Full size version.
(Some of the material in this diary was published in Dawn Chorus last year.)
Wintering raptors first attracted me to the area, but the wonderful diversity of birds is what keeps me coming back year after year. Over the years, my cumulative trips lists for the area includes 122 species. A typical trip includes sightings of 75-80 species; this year we saw 53, including spam, and some species seen on the drive to and from the area.
After gassing up in Hollister (last chance), the trip starts about 15 miles south of town along Hwy 25 at the Paicines Reservoir. It's not a huge reservoir, but it often has some nice species - usually 10-12 species of ducks (including common mergansers), a handful of shorebirds, herons, egrets and night-herons, and sometimes white pelicans and tundra swans. It's also the most reliable spot for Bald Eagles. This year it was nearly dried up, and we had three species of ducks (mallards, a few green-winged teal, and ruddies), lots of coots, and surprisingly, both pelicans and swans (about half-dozen of each). No eagle, no herons/egrets, almost none of the usual cast of characters.
White-crowned Sparrows, Panoche Valley
From the turnout, we headed north a quarter mile or so and turned onto Panoche Road. The first part of the road is great for passerines, but at stop after stop, we stepped out to ... silence. The creek that runs through the valley was dry, so the birds were absent. The one exception was Western Bluebird - we saw more of them than usual, it seemed. Or maybe we were seeing them in normal numbers but they made up a much bigger proportion of the total. That was a nice thing.
Pair of Great Horned Owls, Panoche Valley.
About four miles in, you come to a rock face on the left side of the road with several cavities on the face. We call this Owl Rock, and always stop to scan the holes for Great Horned Owls (or sometimes Barn Owls). None this year.
You'll pass through a lot of interesting terrain, and really, almost any stop you choose to make will yield some interesting birds. There are a few stops that deserve special mention, though:
The "Woodpecker House" about 12 or 14 miles in (maybe more?), you'll be driving along with a steep rock hillside on your right and the creek on your left. The rocky hillside drops away for a moment, revealing a house with an enormous oak in the front yard, and the road crosses a small creek. Park there and take a moment to wander around. The oak is a favorite spot for woodpeckers, sapsuckers, nuthatches, phainopepla and any number of other species. We've had extremely close looks at a very cooperative roadrunner along the creek on the opposite side of the street. It's a remarkably birdy area and a lot of fun... except for this year. Not a peep.
All of the regular stops - the CDF fire station, Summit Ranch, the base of the hills, Spanish Cattle Company... nothing. And to cap it off the bar at the junction (the only place of business for 25 miles, and the only indoor bathrooms on the whole trip) was closed because of problems with their well.
We headed out Little Panoche Road (just beyond the bar) which ultimately goes to Hwy 5. The fields on both sides were dry as we headed to Shotgun Pass, though in years past this has been the best spot for Mountain Plovers. Coming down from the pass, we finally saw our first ferruginous hawk (one of the main attractions for this trip) and a second minutes later. Yea!! A bird!
Long-eared Owl, Mercey Hot Springs
A few miles past the pass, on the left, is Mercey Hot Springs. It was a resort in the 20s, abandoned for many years, and is now being rehabilitated. Its claim to fame is the Long-eared Owls who flock there every winter. The owners charge $5/person to visit, but it's worth it if you like owls. They aren't much bothered by people and will let you approach their trees without a fuss. Finally, some birds who were where they should be! We found about a dozen possible (and were feeling even happier since the day before only two had been seen).
Two Long-eared Owls, soaking up a bit of the dry sunshine
This feels like a preview of what birding in California may become, if our state turns hotter and dryer. I truly hope that we haven't crossed the point of no return for Climate Change.