The Great Northern California Birding Circle

After sharing the details of my earlier trip in May with my friend Jeff Manker I dangled the possibility of another trip in early June. I called this one the Great Northern California Birding Circle as the plan was to make a large circle through Northern California over the Sierra, north to Modoc, west to Tule Lake, continuing west to the coast and then south back to Napa.

Jeff is in the process of building ebird lists in all of California’s counties and the possibility of being able to add a bunch more in one fell swoop was too good so he signed on. In addition to Jeff I contacted one of my oldest birding friends Michael Morris and corralled him into joining us. Both of these fellas were at various times roommates of mine during our college days at Humboldt. Michael is probably the most talented birder of my acquaintance and Jeff is of course responsible for rekindling my childhood interest in birds. These two had not seen each other since a graduation party at our house on 16th St. in Arcata in 1982 and they had never birded together.

At Yuba Pass

Jeff arrived in Napa in time for us to head out to the local marsh (Huichica Creek) and pad his Napa County list and we left early the next morning to meet Michael at Colusa NWR. We had an excellent morning here including a stop at Sutter NWR before winding our way over the Sierra via Yuba Pass. Some highlights were a nesting Dipper on the Yuba River and a nice but chilly lunch stop at Yuba Pass. We had heard we might get some interesting weather but little could have prepared us for what was to come. From the pass we dropped down into Sierra Valley and found a Least Bittern (first sighting recorded in ebird there since 1992) at the Marble Hot Springs bridge. Sierra Valley is a remarkable place and of significant interest geologically as well as for its bird life. Several fault lines come together here and help to explain the vast flat plain of the valley floor. As the afternoon progressed the clouds grew more and more ominous. Rather than camp in the area we headed towards Susanville and a motel. Good thing too as we needed scuba gear rolling into Susanville. 

The next day began with a search for air. We literally drove in a giant 20 mile circle searching for a gas station that had a functioning air hose. After finally finding one we checked out the Fleming Unit of the Honey Lake Wildlife Area. Here Jeff once again found the only tree for miles around that had a Great Horned Owl in it. Heading north from here our plan was to explore up into the Warner Mountains and this is when the weather decided to intervene. I have experienced snow in the summer months but usually at high elevation in the Sierra. As the snows blew horizontally across the roadway we abandoned any thoughts of going higher into the mountains and we headed instead for Jess Valley.

Although the snow did stop long enough for us to have lunch there we did not get the chance to experience this beautiful valley in all of its green spring glory. We did see Mountain Bluebirds, Townsend’s Solitaires, and a variety of other good birds but not the Black Tern I was hoping for.

Modoc NWR

The next stop was Modoc NWR. Originally we were not going to stop here but this turned out to be one of the most productive stops on our trip in terms of the number of species seen. It also seemed to be the doughnut hole in the sky as we could see large cells of falling water all around while the warm sun shown down on us. If Paul was here we would have been singing. That night we stayed in Klamath Falls so we could get an early start around the Tule Lake region.

On the Tule Lake Tour

We did the Tule Lake auto tour route and then made our way through Lava Beds and up to the visitors center. This area brings to mind so many great Thanksgiving trips that we did here. Such fun, always with a great crowd.

We were a little hesitant to drive the road over to Medicine Lake due to the snow but it turned out to be no problem. Just near the crest of this road we stumbled on a Black-backed Woodpecker who put on a show for us. After a stop at Medicine Lake it was south down a county road to the area around McCloud. We had several productive stops along this road, one of which netted us a spectacular Male Hermit Warbler. After what seemed like mere minutes back amongst the civilized we started up the road that skirts Castle Crags State Park. I had never driven this road and the east side all the way to the crest was great. Shortly after cresting we branched off for 3 miles on a pretty rough forest road that took us to the area we were planning on camping near Tamarack Lake. We were not able to get all the way in so we camped rough in a clearing and hiked up to the Lake the next morning. From our camp we could hear the elusive Mountain Quails calling around us but were never able to see them. Tamarack Lake is situated in quite a beautiful little bowl and we could even see all the way to Lassen from the ridge above the lake. Along the way up to the lake we came upon a group of McGillivery’s Warblers who eventually showed us their wares after stringing us along for a while. Green-tailed Towhees where also present here. Concluding our morning hike we resumed our drive over the mountains which led us down the drainage of the East Fork of the Trinity River. Getting down to the river was no problem but a Forest Service sign at a road junction stated that the remainder of our route out to Hwy. 3 was not maintained by the agency. While we eventually make it out to the highway my kidneys may never be the same again. Not a road I would recommend to other travelers. We headed south on 3 around Trinity Lake and picked up 299 to take us out to the coast where we went north on 101 to the mouth of the Klamath River and Del Norte County. Michael took us to several great stops where we could put together a decent list for Jeff of Del Norte Co. birds. The view of the Pacific and the mouth of that mighty river from the southern headland where we were was breathtaking. We saw a pair of Bald Eagles just sitting on the sand spit and witnessed a constant stream of Osprey flying out to sea. As we left this beautiful area Michael bid us farewell and Jeff and I headed back to Arcata for the night.

Jeff and my last day began with a trip to the Arcata Marsh Project, a now world famous birding spot that was in its infancy when we were both in school there. On the way to the marsh we stopped at Aldergrove Marsh to pick up Black-capped Chickadees and then found our way to the foot of I Street and the Marsh Project. When I was in school Michael and I led Audubon walks at the marsh, he is still doing it! Great fun to walk the paths again, so much more vegetation now. Michael had told us to look for Yellow-breasted Chats and as usual he was right and we picked up yet another notable trip bird here.

Leaving Humboldt County behind we headed south and then east for a quick jaunt into Lake County adding a few more species. Our last stop would be just inside Marin County at Olompali State Park where we picked up a few last species bringing our total to 169 for the trip. While we didn’t have a huge number of birds for all of the habitat we saw, I can guarantee that we had a huge number of laughs and a great time. I am looking forward to the next time the three of us can get together for an adventure like this one. In fact, there is talk of next spring in Southeastern Arizona where we can finally reunite with our friend Paul Sheppard and maybe even have a quartet (Jeff, as Meredith Wilson said, “Singing is just sustained talking.”)

You can see more images from our trip at this link.