[Parts two and three will run tomorrow and the following day.]
It’s been two years since I’ve had an opportunity to go birding out in Sierra Valley, and this trip happened rather serendipitously. I was conjuring plans to get out there by putting my bicycle on the rural bus on a weekday afternoon and taking a motel in Portola for the night, which is close by on the western side of Sierra Valley and then bicycling around early in the following morning, but the mileage on the bicycle was daunting and I finally decided against the idea. Then an opportunity arose to join the folks who manage the Sierra Valley Preserve, the Feather River Land Trust (I’m a donor to the organization), for a workday in the area but that got rained out (it was to have been on May 4). So I whined about it in a Daily Bucket, here, and our magnificent compatriot 2n10 (John Hackney) piped up that he’d been wanting to visit Sierra Valley and would even come all the way to Quincy to pick me up and include me.
I offered in return to put him up in a motel here in Quincy on a Friday night (May 10) to ease the driving hours demand, and then we could go together from here on Saturday, May 11. He said that sounded like a good plan. Ooh, ooh! We have a plan. It’s ON.
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And… the best-laid plans of mice and men…
sometimes work out pretty damn good!
An interpretive sign out in the Sierra Valley Preserve. Right-click and “Open Image in New Tab” to see enlarged version for better readability. Reminder: you can do that for all of my photos.
I admit to a shortcoming in my photography: I am prone to be oblivious to the need to take at least a few scenic, referential shots of my landscape surroundings, just for the record. Which is exactly what I again didn’t do out in Sierra Valley on the 11th. So, I’m going to “cheat” and use a reference photo from another source, and one from my trip out there back in 2022. This will give you a fair idea of what it’s like out there.
First, a Google Earth image and a couple of maps to help you orientate:
Sierra Valley and Quincy, CA, with relative proximity to Reno, NV
The redline road at the top (in photo below) is California Highway 70. The Sierra Valley Preserve is bounded by roads A23 (west) and A24 (east), with Highway 70 along the north and Marble Hot Springs Road across the south.
The wetland and stream channels form the headwaters of the Middle Fork of the Feather River.
A visitors map of the preserve, by the Feather River Land Trust. John and I went to both the east and west entrances; Maddalena Loop and Bulson House, respectively.
Now that you should have a fair idea of where in space and California the place is, here are the scenic/referential photos of Sierra Valley and the preserve area.
Not my photo:
Looking north across a part of Sierra Valley Preserve. The faint buildings at left background under the foot of the mountains are the hangars at Beckwourth Airport.
My photo:
Members of Feather River Land Trust and Plumas Audubon Society on a bird walk, May 21, 2022. This is the Maddalena Loop Trail, east entrance to the preserve, parking area.
You can, of course, just do an internet search yourself and find all sorts of photos and information on Sierra Valley and the Feather River Land Trust Sierra Valley Preserve. But I’ll save you a click or two:
A birding hotspot in the Sierra Nevada
The Sierra Valley Preserve is located at the headwaters of the Wild and Scenic Middle Fork of the Feather River. A paradise for birders and nature enthusiasts, Sierra Valley supports the greatest diversity and abundance of birds in the entire Sierra Nevada. We welcome you to explore this unique and dynamic landscape. The Preserve offers the only year-round public access to the wetland and meadow ecosystems of Sierra Valley.
The preserve’s 2,575 acres have a rich variety of habitats including montane meadows, dynamic wetland channels, and upland areas of sagebrush scrub, ancient dunes and spring wildflowers.
The Preserve is a key stopover on the Pacific Flyway. Its seasonal and perennial wetlands provide migratory and breeding habitat for sensitive species such as Greater Sandhill Cranes, Black Tern, Redhead, White-faced Ibis, and 200+ pairs of Yellow-headed Blackbirds.
3 miles of family-friendly interpretive trails meander through the Preserve, offering amazing 360-degree views of mountains near and far.
Not my photo:
Kayakers under the steel bridge over the Feather River Middle Fork headwaters, on Marble Hot Springs Road. John and I went across this bridge, but that part of the trip is for tomorrow’s Daily Bucket.
One final “other people’s” stuff. This is nice. It’s from the Feather River Land Trust.
All righty then! Now, what did I see at the Maddalena Loop Trail, and where are those new species I bragged about? Why, right here! Enjoy. These are in the relative order in which I sighted them.
Horned Lark
(First new species for the day)
Right off the bat, we hadn’t even gotten parked yet, we stopped in the middle of the road, I took the first photos right out the car window.
A different Horned Lark, at another location, a bit later in the morning.
Still not yet at our first parking place, Northern Pintail just a few yards down past the Horned Lark.
(Second new species)
Same species, but different individual and location.
Best Northern Pintail shot.
Not new species, Green-winged Teal
We arrived at the Maddalena Loop Trail parking area just before 7:30 a.m. We had just scarcely walked inside when John caught my attention and pointed this bird out to me.
Third new species for the day, Brewer’s Sparrow
One of the loveliest singers out in Sierra Valley is the Sage Thrasher. You can go here for a video (not mine) of a Sage Thrasher with its singing. Sigh. Why didn’t I stop and take video of my birds? Well, because I hadn’t yet put my camera on my tripod, and I don’t like to take shaky video which is what I get without the tripod. Ah, well.
Sage Thrasher. Sure has beautiful eyes.
I might mention that although birding was our primary objective for the day, any other wildlife is also on the agenda to photograph, as observed, if any. Well, the only other ones I saw were lizards and voles and butterflies, and they were too skittish for my camera. John did better, though, I think, and we’ll hope he chimes in today with his catches.
Out on the trail loop…
White-faced Ibis. These were marvelously abundant, both on the ground and in the air. Trouble was though when they were down they were prone to hiding. No problem. Not a new species for me, and I got a superb photo set of a pair right close by my apartment just back at the beginning of April.
So, not all my photos today were blue-ribbon. But I took ‘em, they count, and fuzzy though they be, they’re still worth sharing.
Northern Shoveler, with Cinnamon Teal in foreground.
Bald Eagle, juvenile, on the wing. You can just see some white on its tail.
By golly, Osprey into the bargain.
And (drum roll, please)
Fourth new species for the day,
American Bittern
If there’s any “excuse” for fuzzy photos, I’ve got one for this one. This Bittern was way the heck far off, I’d estimate at least one hundred yards. But, this satisfies my own standard of “must be photographed and photo must be of sufficient quality for positive i.d.”. And so it makes my life list.
I’ll finish today’s diary with this old familiar and favorite, the Savannah Sparrow. Just gotta love that subtle yellow brow.
Now it’s your turn. What’s up in your world nature-wise? Please let us know in the comments, and be sure to include your location and any photos if you have them and want to share.
