Last Saturday I made my annual pilgrimage to Panoche Valley, southeast of Hollister. I've written about it before, in 2008 and 2009, both very dry years for California in general and Panoche in particular. This winter, we were blessed with early, heavy rain and things began greening up as early as October. More rain since then, especially a good soaking in mid-January, has refilled ponds and dry creekbeds, greened up the hillsides and valleys, and given the birds lots of resources. It was interesting to see the difference a wet year can make. And unfortunately, there's something else out there that's going to have a much bigger effect, rain or shine. (more at the end of the diary)
You begin to realize just how many shades of green there are in a landscape like this. To me, it's the essence of "old California". (larger version - opens in new window)
The day requires an early start. Meeting south of Hollister at 8 am means leaving SF around 6... and some people just aren't morning people. It's okay - there will be plenty to keep him awake once we start birding. Our first destination is Quien Sabe Road in Tres Pinos, about 8 miles south of Hollister and a few miles north of Panoche Road. This road goes through some great habitat for Golden Eagles. This year we only saw one, but in some years we've seen as many as eight in the few short miles of Quien Sabe and the field at the end of the road (and we did see 4-5 others on Panoche Road). Along this road, we also saw our first Ferruginous Hawk of the day and spent some time looking for burrowing owls. We've seen them there before in the ground squirrel burrows, but this time the burrows were occupied by squirrels. Go figure. Amidst our pursuit of birds for pure pleasure, we saw some birds doing the same.
Western bluebird male tries to get closer to the object of his attention.
From there we headed to Paicines Reservoir, a mid-sized bit of water right at the start of Panoche Road. Over the past two winters, we've seen it shrink to a fraction of its former size, with an ever smaller number of birds hugging the shore at the far end against the hills. Here, we look for waterfowl and the occasional shorebird, and it's also the most reliable spot on the trip for Bald Eagle. Usually, we spot one through the scope, perched in the trees along the left toward the far end. (Even though it's quite distant, the white head stands out in the trees like a beacon.) This year, we were treated to two balds - an adult chasing a near-adult (still had some dusky plumage on the head and in the tail) much closer. For big birds, they move fast when they want to.
Although it can hold much more water, it was still nice to see how far it has re-filled this year.
Your travelling companion along Panoche Road is a creekbed that meanders along, sometimes to your right, sometimes to your left. In the narrow floodplain, you might find Roadrunners (we saw only one this year, but he put on a great show of running), Cal Thrashers (we saw one who did an excellent roadrunner imitation with the tail raising - but was a lousy runner), Yellow-billed Magpies and quail (along with the usual assortment of sparrows.
This photo was taken yesterday; it's gotten greener still over this past week. We saw our roadrunner just on the other side of the cut through the hill here. (photo by Walter Kitundu, used with permission. You can see some photos from his solo trip to Panoche here. And some very cool video/photos here)
The canyon gets steeper and narrower as you approach Panoche Valley, with the creek now far below. Sage covers the sunny hillsides and the trees try to get closer to the water.
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Finally, the valley floor. Though it's possible to see most of these species along other parts of the drive, it's most likely here in the valley. One target species that's only in the valley is Mountain Plover; we missed them this time, but the flocks have been good this year. The rain has provided the kind of short-grass cover that they rely on in winter.
Mountain Bluebirds (and a few House Finches), in flight and foraging on the valley floor. (larger version)
Mountain Bluebirds can almost always be found there in winter, but the numbers have been extraordinary this year - nearly a thousand reported in November, and there may be even more now. We saw two very large flocks and other, smaller groups. Another reason to make the drive, for many people, is the chance to see Ferruginous Hawks.
Easy to see why it's called Buteo regalis.
There are other birds who can be found other places around the state, but who can sometimes be found in good numbers in Panoche - especially in the winter, like the Say's Phoebe:
... and the Lark Sparrow. As my friend said, while helping someone to ID them - that is one sharp sparrow.
We didn't do one part of our normal trip this year - we didn't go to Mercey Hot Springs to check out the Long-eared Owls who winter there every year. If you are considering a trip to the area, it's definitely worth a visit (there is a $5 day use fee) to get the chance to see these birds up close in good numbers.
It was such a nice trip that I'm thinking about trying to get out there again before the winter is over, something that has taken on an added sense of urgency based on something we heard a bit about during our trip. A developer is trying to put in a large scale solar project that will pretty much blanket the valley floor with solar collectors. I am a strong proponent of renewable energy, but this valley is not the right place for it - the habitat it provides is too valuable to too many threatened and endangered species. (Bob Zimway wrote about this, along with other ill-sited solar, in a diary last month.) The locals, mostly ranchers, have set up an organization (Save Panoche Valley) to fight this plan and have the support of several environmental organizations. It's a fight worth waging, for a place worth saving.
Save Panoche Valley