Sunday, May 3, 2015--Arcata and 52 degrees to Willows and 87 degrees

We left the ocean and Arcata behind at 8 am and headed across the mountains on Hwy 299 toward Redding 148 miles away. We were quickly into conifers. Though I did not get a photo, it was surprising to see pampas grass growing wild along the hillside mixed with pines.

We drove up and down over 4 or 5 different summits, the highest at 3200 feet elevation. This is a panorama photo of one of the summits.

The road was winding and curvy with the speed limit at 55 which seemed too fast to us, but not for the others on the road.

We stopped frequently for breaks, lunch, and to try to find birds. 

The best spot was the turn-off to Hoopa where we chased a Western Scrub-jay around.

 and Paul got a photo of an Acorn Woodpecker.  There were lots of oaks once we got to the east side of the coast range of mountains.

We went for miles and miles along the  Trinity River, lots of muddy water and lots of rapids with a deep canyon and few guardrails. At times it was a white knuckle ride for the passenger!  The driver tended to business!

The saving grace was two different pieces of road construction with traffic stopped for one lane passage. We maneuvered to the end of the line after our lane passed through, and then the next bunch of cars did not catch up to us for a while!

We finally got to the bottom of the canyon beside the Trinity River. Pretty though it was, we were glad to say goodbye to the tiresome twisty-turny road!

At Redding we joined the throng on I-5 South to Willows, CA. The landscape changed dramatically to hilly, scrubby trees

and then to flat farmland with almond and olive groves, the coast mountain range very faint in the distance.

For several miles along the freeway the median was ablaze with colors of pink, red and white flowering shrubs.

We arrived in Willows at 3 pm after a very long and tiring 210 miles--the temperature was 87 degrees!

At our motel an insistent Northern Mockingbird teased us with its loud calls until we finally located it and got its photo.

We also saw a Western Kingbird.

P. S. A curious note is this photo of hot sauce choices in a grocery store--quite a colorful array. We did not sample any!

Saturday, May 2, 2015--Arcata Marsh RRAS Audubon Field Trip

We arrived at Arcata Marsh at 7:45 am for the weekly Saturday at 8:30 Redwoods Regional Audubon Society led field trip. The temperature was a cool 52 degrees and the skies were deeply overcast. We found a Red-Throated Loon while waiting. It was far across the lake, and the dark skies made taking photos problematic, but the loon finally faced us long enough to see its red throat!

The history of Arcata Marsh is very interesting. The area became the docks of Arcata during the Gold Rush and then was used once the early folks decided to use the redwoods around them for lumber. Around the 1950's people recognized that the ocean was not the best place to dump sewage. This became especially critically important when people began to enjoy the oyster beds nearby!

At first a large pipeline was proposed to carry the offensive material to some far distant place. However, someone got the idea of setting up a series of ingeniously constructed oxidation ponds to treat the  water naturally with less reliance on chemicals. This unique system has been the model for similar facilities world-wide. They continue to modify and make improvements to the entire system.

This has resulted in many types of habitats that appeal to many types of birds. There are

Freshwater Wetlands

Grassy Uplands & Wooded Habitats

Brackish Marshes

Salt Marshes

Intertidal Mudflats

and Tidal Sloughs

Fifteen very congenial folks joined the field trip and we enjoyed chatting with them along the way. Because the field trip happens every Saturday rain or shine, it is well advertised and there were a number of visitors from elsewhere, as well as local Audubon members. We walked paths between the various ponds.

Among the birders was Tom who we had met at a bakery in Crescent City several days ago. His wife noticed our birding shirts and we got into conversation. They told us about this field trip. Birders are the nicest people!

We saw a Greater Yellowlegs

Long-billed Curlew

Whimbrel

Marbled Godwit

Snowy Egret getting ready to take off

and we enjoyed the scenery of a beautiful recovered marshland

As happened yesterday, a huge bunch of dowichers settled in on the mudflat at high tide, among them a Western Sandpiper, a couple of Willets and two Semi-palmated Plover. Nice to have help with ID's.  It was fascinating to watch many murmurations of dunlin in the distance and several groups flew in close enough to identify.

But the big thrill of the day was my number one target bird for the trip. A White-tailed Kite flew overhead hovering many times in midair while dropping its big, fanned white tail; then the wings rose up and you could see the black wingtips. I watched it for a good 5 minutes until it finally faded from sight. What a beautiful bird and extravagant show it put on for us! I did not take the photo below. I was too busy enjoying the show in front of me!!!! 

After so many busy days in a row, we decided to take the rest of the day off. We were ready to warm up and rest a bit.

Friday, May 1, 2015--Arcata Marsh and Wildlife Sanctuary

We headed to Arcata Marsh at 8:45 am. It was sunny and 53 degrees. In the parking lot we saw a Wilson's Warbler and an Anna's Hummingbird.

Arcata Marsh Interpretive Center volunteers were very welcoming and helpful.

We first walked around Butcher's Slough Log Pond. What was the first thing we heard and saw?A volunteer told us this is only the second year they have had a breeding pair of Yellow Chats at Arcata Marsh, so we were lucky to see them. 

 There were Song Sparrows everywhere, and Red-winged Blackbirds in the pond. We caught this American Goldfinch sunning.

Another Anna's Hummingbird

Then on to Hauser Marsh

which was really beautiful!

A lady Mallard on her throne

Then we turned our attention to the McDaniel Slough trail at high tide. The shorebirds were in and staging. There were 4 Marbled-Godwits . . .

. . .among Dowichers aplenty!

. . .and even more Dowichers!

We saw Short and Long-billed Dowichers, and even some Middle-billed Dowichers!

Willets

Oodles of Dunlin

Snowy Egret with Dunlin

Western Sandpiper with Dowicher

Great Egret

Paul got this great photo of Great and Snowy Egrets together

We watched the dowichers and dunlin for quite a while, resting with their heads tucked under their wings. All of a sudden they all took off and swirled around us with the audible whisper of thousands of wings and headed out to sea. It was a magical moment!

We traipsed along a flowery marsh

and alongside Klopp Lake

Marsh Wrens sang and sang along the edges of the marshes

This baby Marsh Wren finished off our day on loud and high note wobbling on his perch among the cattails.