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New To Summit > Birding, Photography, Geology, and other Explorations Family Nature Summits are all about exploring the natural world. We pride ourselves on offering explorations for everyone, whether you love birding, looking for butterflies, photographing wildflowers, or something else all together! This page changes throughout the year, highlighting some of our explorations.     2010 Summit in the Sierra Nevada’s Lake Tahoe Birding ReportBy Brete Griffin
 As soon as I met the “wooden Viking” in front of our lodge at Granlibaken Resort in Tahoe City, I knew that the birding here would be good. Upon arriving, while unloading the car, we saw a White-headed Woodpecker fly BEHIND and INTO the Viking. As we stood there in amazement and watched the parents come and go, a Red-shafted Flicker then flew into a hole in the FRONT of the Viking! I think that made it a semi-detached woodpecker duplex, n’est- ce pas? Unfortunately the young fledged a few days later but we also got Hairy Woodpecker and Red-breasted Sapsucker on the resort grounds soon thereafter. By the time the week was over, we would have SEVEN different woodpecker species, surpassing the number seen at the 2008 Summit in Oregon. We had 105 species of birds in total at this year’s summit as the Lake Tahoe area provided us with many good northern Sierra Nevada birds as well as spectacular scenery as a bonus. Since an earlier e-mail listed the highlights of the pre-summit bird scouting effort, I will start the birding summary reports with the first official outing on Tuesday July 6th.Tuesday: Sierra Valley and Yuba Pass
As we headed north on route 89 north of Truckee we stopped at the Donner Camp picnic area just a few miles north of I-80. Here we found the nest of a pair of Williamson’s Sapsuckers thanks to a tip from the Sierra Nevada birds listserve. Was it ever great watching them take turns going to their nest cavity (only about 8 feet off of the ground) to feed the nestlings! The loop trail there was also very productive as we got good looks at Green-tailed Towhee, Western Wood Pewee, White-crowned Sparrow, Red-breasted Sapsucker, and a distant Osprey.  When we got to the valley at Sierraville we went east to bird Heriot Lane first and the birding was exceptional! Along this road we got Brewer’s and Yellow-hd. Blackbirds, Black-billed Magpie, Great Egret, Sandhill Crane, American Avocet (with young), Willet, White-faced Ibis, Wilsons Snipe, American Coot (with young), Ruddy Duck, Killdeer (with young), Pied-billed and Eared Grebes, Western Meadowlark, and a Least Sandpiper. We then checked out the hay barn on Dyson Lane but came up with our only disappointment of the day when we noticed that they were stacking bales in this previously empty barn and the Barn Owls seen a few days earlier were now gone! We went on to Loyalton for a rest stop, where we found Eurasian Collared Dove, and then travelled south on Smithneck Road to Rotary Park for a lunch break around 11am. Here we got a nesting Kestrel, Scrub Jay, Northern Flickers, a Lazuli Bunting pair, and finally a pair of nesting Lewis’s Woodpeckers (our target bird at this location) across the road in a powerline pole. At Marble Springs Road we saw a California Quail up close and more good wetland birds and we later spotted a pair of Swainson’s Hawks soaring over the valley as we drove up to Yuba Pass at 6700’. In the parking area here both the White-hd. Woodpecker and Red-breasted Sapsuckers were active at their respective nests. We got a Dusky Flycatcher and Western Wood Pewee here before continuing on to Bassets for an ice cream and a rest stop. Up the road from here at Lower Sardine Lake a loop walk gave us Fox Sparrow singing, another nesting Red-breasted Sapsucker, a Wilson’s Warbler, Dark-eyed Juncos (Oregon form), and fantastic views of the Buttes. We then noticed that time was slipping away on us and we made a beeline back to the resort by about 515pm after an excellent first day of birding at the 2010 summit! Wednesday: Birding North Lake Tahoe
 We initially drove from Tahoe City to Kings Beach and up 267 over Mount Watson to the Martis Creek Wildlife Area. Here at the trailhead exhibit shelter was a nesting Mountain Bluebird (with young) and a Brewer’s Sparrow serenaded us from the top of a nearby sagebrush plant. We walked along the creekside trail and heard and saw Yellow and Orange-cr. Warblers, Brewer’s Blackbird, Belted Kingfisher, and even a singing Willow Flycatcher. On the upper trail loop near a pine woods ecotone we got Pygmy Nuthatches, Kestrel, Western Wood Pewee, Mountain Bluebird, and a Green –tailed Towhee. We got even better looks at a singing Brewer’s Sparrow(and some pictures) as we headed back to the parking area. On the other side of the road we saw the Wildlife Area extended to include a reservoir where we got White Pelican, Horned Lark, Sage Thrasher, and even a perched Cassin’s Finch near the campground. We then went to Donner Camp again since it was so close so that Steve could get photos of the nesting Williamsons Sapsuckers. For lunch we travelled back up Mount Watson and found a nice area to eat just off of the road where we also found Hermit Thrush, Red-breasted Sapsucker, and some interesting butterflies to keep Paul entertained. We also got Red-tailed Hawk (good spotting Elizabeth!), Red and White-breasted Nuthatches, American Robins, Hairy Woodpecker, Western Tanager, and some great views of Lake Tahoe. We then made it back to the resort by about 1245pm for a very productive half day of summit birding. Thursday: Hope Valley and Carson Pass Birding
 As a result of scouting I opted to drop Crystal Basin from the itinerary for this trip and it turned out to be a good birding AND traffic move. On our way south to South Lake Tahoe we stopped at the Emerald Bay Lookout near the waterfalls first thing in the morning and had great views of the lake in the morning light. We also heard a Western Tanager and saw both Canada Geese and at least two Western Grebes on the lake from very far away. We next stopped at the Taylor Creek Visitor Center where we found a family of Pygmy Nuthatches cavorting around and heard a Wilson’s Snipe giving its in-flight winnowing call. We continued down the trail into the riparian area and saw an Osprey, Orange-cr. Warbler, Cassin’s Vireo, and Warbling Vireo along the creek. We also heard a MacGillivray’s Warbler singing but only a few lucky people got to see it. Folks on this trip greatly enjoyed the below-stream level viewing chamber here but we did not find a nesting Chamberalliope Hummingbird in the vicinity. We saw a House Wren sing and fly into its nest cavity in an aspen tree and before leaving saw another Cassin’s Vireo just above the trail near its terminus. From here we headed south on 89 to the Hope Valley on the other side of Luther Pass and ate lunch just off of the gravel road leading towards Burnside Lake. At this location we heard and saw Audubon’s Warbler and Western Tanager just after eating lunch and then we drove up to Carson Pass (8500’) for an afternoon “walk”. Only about 6 people made it all the way to Frog Lake at 8800’ but we enjoyed Hermit Thrush, Hammonds Flycatcher, Green-tailed Towhee, and a female Williamson’s Sapsucker along the way. At Frog Lake we found a Mountain Bluebird and then saw a bird land in a tree near the top of the hillside behind us. It was backlit and silhouetted against the blue sky but its call notes confirmed it as a Gray-cr. Rosy Finch, a very hard to get high elevation species. It was a nice reward for those who trudged all the way to the lake, those who stayed behind got a Clark’s Nutcracker and a Cassin’s Finch from the parking area. Mindful of traffic and construction delays, we tore ourselves away after a brief photo opportunity at the Red Lake overlook and made it back to Granlibakken just before 5pm. Friday: Mosquito Ridge Road Owl Prowl
 This special trip got started at 130pm in the afternoon for the long drive around to the west facing slope of the mountains west of Lake Tahoe. We got on I-80 at Truckee and drove west to Auburn where we got onto the Foresthill Road to go back east. After a quick refreshment break in town we made our first birding stop at the very high bridge over the American River just east of Auburn. There was a very fresh burn here in the chapparal habitat of the sierra foothills and people enjoyed the view from the bridge as well. We got a few good birds here in this distinctive habitat found mostly in the foothills that included Scrub Jay, California Towhee, Lesser Goldfinch, House Finch, and even a brief but good look at a Wrentit. The afternoon heat was oppressive and the Turkey Vultures were soaring in anticipation of a good meal so we decided to “get on up” into the mountains sooner than later! After a quick stop at the USFS ranger station in Foresthill we began the windy but very scenic 25 mile journey up Mosquito Ridge Road to the Big Trees Grove. The loop trail around to see each of the remaining (standing) 6 Giant Sequoia trees was enjoyed by all after the boxed dinner in the picnic area around 5pm. Good birds found here included Western Tanager, Winter Wren, Hermit Warbler, Dark-eyed Junco, Chestnut-backed Chickadee, Audubon’s Warbler, and we even heard a Pileated Woodpecker call once in the area. After completing the Big Trees trail we headed further east on Mosquito Ridge Road toward French Meadows Reservoir and saw a singing male Black-hd. Grosbeak, a Band-tailed Pigeon, and a pair of Western Tanagers as well.  A few stops between MM26 and MM31 provided us with a dusk chorus of bird song as some of the birds were actively hawking insects in the air from perches high in the trees. We turned around just as we came in view of the reservoir and were able to identify a high perched Kestrel in the old burned area in the rapidly diminishing daylight hours just after 9pm. We headed back to the Big Trees Grove after dark and called for Spotted Owls in several locations with no success. We then descended to Big Oak Flats around MM19 and both Bruce and Kelly were able to hear a Flammulated Owl respond to the playback. It did not come into view for us though as we headed on to Little Oak Flats at MM17.5 and spotted a juvenile Grey Fox running in the road ahead of us. Bats were also actively foraging above the road along the way and the stars and their constellations were on impressive display in the night time sky at our last owl calling location(Little Oak Flats). We tried again for Flammulated Owls for a short while here but to no avail as we realized that it was after 1030pm and we would need to start heading back home in earnest. We made it safely back down Mosquito Ridge Road and back up I-80 to Truckee to return to the resort around 130am.  Saturday: Birding the Washoe Valley in NevadaWe drove NW from Tahoe City in the morning to Incline Village in Nevada and took 431 highway up over the Mount Rose Pass (8900’) and down into the Washoe Valley to bird. At Washoe Lake we had many good wetland bird species including Eared Grebe, Black-cr. Night Heron, American Avocets, Willets, Western Grebe, White Pelican, Caspian Tern, Spotted Sandpiper, Bank Swallow, and California Gull. Around the outskirts of the lake in the sagebrush California Quail were literally everywhere and we also got Mourning Dove, Western Meadowlark, Brewers Blackbird, Black-billed Magpie, Scrub Jay, and Brown-hd. Cowbird. We then drove to the SE corner of the lake to the state park entrance and immediately got Western Kingbird and Bullock’s Oriole in the tree grove at the entrance station. Upon hearing that Great Horned Owls had nested in the cottonwood trees closer to the lake we drove through this section slowly and scanned the trees but could not find any right away. We did see a female Kestrel high in a tree and an Osprey out over the water but soon realized we were out of time and started heading back SW up and over Mount Rose after completing our loop around the lake. We got back to the resort around 1230 in time for the next afternoon program at 1pm. Post-Summit Birding
Lesia, Alexa, and I drove west from Lake Tahoe to the Marin County area north of San Franciso and walked through Muir Woods and checked out the Muir Beach overlook just off of Highway 1.  After spending the night in San Rafael we headed for Point Reyes National Seashore. We saw many Great Egrets and Long-billed Curlews in the Bolinas lagoons along the way. After a long but scenic drive to the lighthouse we spotted some pelagic birds near the rocks below. Even without the scope we could see Common Murre, Pigeon Guillemot, Brandts Cormorants, and Western Gulls. I later heard and saw a Peregrine Falcon fly from the cliffs when I tried to get closer to what we thought were Tufted Puffins out in the water. We next hiked out to Chimney Rock and saw many Black-tailed Deer, American Goldfinch, Savannah Sparrows, and White-cr. Sparrows along the trail and saw Brown Pelicans and Black Oystercatchers on the rocks below the overlook. But the best birds were in the trees near the ranger station at Chimney Rock, a Great Horned Owl adult with two fledglings low near the ground. The adult was a very dark, chocolate brown color, characteristic of birds of this species found in the Pacific NW. What a treat it was to see them up close in the middle of the day, I sure wish I had a camera with me, or a bird photographer anyway. Yes, it was THAT good of a look and a very nice way to end our summer birding experience and Family Summit trip to California. * All images from the 2010 Summit at Lake Tahoe or courtesy of the Fish and Wildlife Service. |
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