Great Gray Owls in Yosemite National Park

For many people there is one particular bird or bird species that once seen can ignite an interest in birds and birding. In my encounters with other birders out there I often discover that it was the sighting of an owl species that lit the fuse for them.  For my friend Jeff it was the Burrowing Owls that were present in his Southern California neighborhood that really fanned the flames of his passion for birds. For many years now he has been hoping to encounter North America's largest owl species the Great Gray Owl and the month of April is a good time to go looking for them.

In California the Great Gray Owl (GGOW) is an endangered species. Scientists estimate that there are fewer than 100 pairs in the state, 65% of which reside within the boundaries of Yosemite National Park. The California population of these birds is somewhat unique in that researches have shown them to be genetically and behaviorally distinct from the rest of the GGOWs found in North America. This indicates that they have been geographically isolated from the rest of their species for a significant period of time. In 2009, while leading a school group for a week of outdoor ed in the park, I had my one and only encounter with the GGOW. You can see that blog post here. That encounter gave me some insight on when and where to see these birds in the park. April is a good time to look for them for several reasons. As the snow melt is accelerating the mid-elevation meadows become more accessible for hunting owls, the deciduous trees on the meadow edges have not yet begun to leaf out making sightings there easier, and the owls are beginning their mating activities as they move upslope into these meadows for the breeding season.

Knowing that Jeff wanted to make an effort to see these birds I proposed a one-day speed run up to the park to make the attempt. Fortunately, Friday April 18 was free for both of us. We met at 5 am. at the Pleasanton Park-n-Ride and were in place for our attempt by 8 am. Since the park identifies the GGOW as a sensitive species they state on their website that the locations of sightings of these birds should not be publicized and therefore I will not disclose where we saw them. We began our survey by starting in the place where I saw them 16 years ago. Not surprisingly, we did not see them there so we expanded our search to other meadows in the area. At one point, as we were moving through the forest between meadows we heard the characteristic low booming hoot of the GGOW. For the next 30 minutes we tracked it through the forest catching periodic brief glimpses in an increasingly frustrating attempt to get a clear view of it. Eventually our hunt took us to the edge of a large meadow where there in the distance we could see a large owl perched on a branch 10 feet off the ground at the meadow's edge. Although our observation was distant we could clearly see that we had found our elusive GGOW. As we watched this bird we could hear another hooting in the forest near by indicating that there were at least two in the area. Each time the one in the forest hooted we could see the one perched in the tree react to it and eventually it flew off into the forest in the direction of the other bird. We congratulated ourselves on the good fortune of seeing this bird and went to examine the ground below the owl's perch for pellets then sat at the meadow's edge in the hope that we might see the bird again. We gave it a good 20 minutes and decided to head back. As we got up and began to move off I turned and looked over my shoulder and across the meadow to a stand of Birch trees and thought that an excellent place for an owl to perch so I paused and scanned the small grove. I immediately called Jeff back because there, 5 feet off the ground was another GGOW. I think this was a third bird but we could not be certain of that. We were much closer this time and were able to get some good pictures and spend some quality time enjoying this bird.

After this the rest of the day was gravy. We traveled the Hetch Hetchy Rd. out to the dam then followed the Mather Rd. down into the canyon of the Tuolumne River and enjoyed a picnic along the river. We then drove Smith Station Rd. off of Hwy. 120 down to Coulterville an on across Hwy. 132 where we visited San Joaquin River National Wildlife Refuge to end our day. Other notable birds of the day were Nashville Warbler, Black-throated Gray Warbler, Pileated Woodpecker, Mountain Quail, Rock Wren, and Lawrence's Goldfinch.

We had such an amazing day, it is so rewarding to find what you think might be there in the place you think it might be. I stress the word 'might' as there are no guarantees in the world of birding. This is a field trip that I will repeat next year and hopefully for many years to come. Great Gray Owls are truly amazing birds, what a joy to see them again.

Revisiting the Greater Sage Grouse

Two years ago in early spring Michael, Jeff and I traveled to Northeastern California hoping to find the Shaffer Mountain Sage Grouse Lek. I wrote about that adventure in a previous post that you can see here. As winter in Northern California began to wind down and hints of spring began to excite my wanderlust, I thought that a return to Shaffer Mountain would be an excellent way to kick off the spring birding campaign. The three of us met again in Susanville, did a little evening birding and then prepared for the early morning walk up Shaffer Mountain. This time we had a good idea of the precise location of the lek and after about a mile and a half of walking positioned ourselves behind a shrub/tree blind and soaked in the spectacle. We counted 33 grouse on the lek that morning, the males fanning their tails and booming with their air sacks, a few females moving amongst them searching for that perfect male. This is such a spectacular scene in nature and it strikes me that so few people actually have the chance (or take the chance) to see it. As the three of us stood in the light of early morning taking in our surroundings and the show in front of us, we counted ourselves amongst a very special group, those that go out into the world to enjoy what nature has to offer us. For us in this case it is the birds that draw us out but for everyone there is a reason to step into nature. Find what draws you into the natural world and go!

Greater Sage Grouse

After our experience with the Sage Grouse we went over the mountain and down to Eagle Lake where we were able to continue to build our trip list of species. Two notable birds here were a pair of Osprey and a single Clark's Nutcracker. We continued north to visit another of our favorite spots in NE California, Jess Valley at the foot of the Warner Mountains. It's been a good snow/rain winter up there and there was a fair amount of water in the valley even before the real melt begins. We saw lots of ducks here but most notably was our count of over 50 Sandhill Cranes. Moving on our next stop was Modoc National Wildlife Refuge in Alturas where we took in the expected birds for this time of year without any surprises.

Jess Valley

We would stay in the area for 2 nights at a cabin we found on Vrbo that is right up against the Warners just off of hwy 299. It's a great spot that I would use again. The next day we devoted to Lava Beds National Monument, Tule Lake and Lower Klamath National Wildlife refuges. Taking the back way into to Lava Beds off of hwy 139 in cold early morning conditions we had many singing Meadowlarks and then a small flock of Pinyon Jays, a species I have not seen there for many years. We picked up some good forest birds up by Mammoth Crater however, it was the severity of destruction caused the most recent fire to pass through Lava Beds that really caught our attention. From this spot we were also able to look southwards towards what is now called Sáttítla Highlands National Monument. Recently designated by the Biden administration and now in danger from the new administration, it's future is uncertain. What is certain is it's importance to California's most critical natural resource - water. You can learn more about why it is so important at this link. We then focused our attention on Tule Lake for the remainder of the morning. You can see the Tule Lake basin quite easily from the higher land of Lava Beds and as we looked down on it we could clearly see that it was full of water, a very good sign. I think I can safely say that in all my many years of visits to Tule Lake I never seen so many ducks and this is directly due to the amount of water in the sumps of the refuge. The only duck species we missed was Blue-winged Teal and that is uncommon there. Michael even found us an Eurasian Wigeon. Other highlights were the Ring-billed Gulls in exceptionally bright breeding plumage, many Bald Eagles and a large raft of Snow Geese still present on the water. A truely memorable day at Tule Lake. As we finished up our tour we stopped in at the new visitor's center and refuge headquarters where we learned that the surplus water from this year's rains was responsible for Tule Lake's condition and surprisingly to us, for Lower Klamath's condition. Lower Klamath NWR has been starved of water in recent years and has been dry that last few times I've driven by it. Refuge staff told us that water managers were putting water into every conceivable place they could this year and that meant that Klamath was also full. Well, we just had to see that so we crossed over to the other side of Sheepy Ridge and drove the tour route of Lower Klamath. Our notable additions to the list here was a female Barrow's Goldeneye and a Rough-legged Hawk. In general, Lower Klamath and Tule Lake were in the best condition we have seen them in for many years. I only hope it can stay this way.

Tule Lake

When we returned to the Alturas area we decided we would cross over the Warners and have dinner in the quaint little town of Cedarville in Surprise Valley. We had an excellent meal at Woody's and then drove the diked up portion of 299 across the Lower Alkali Lake picking up two additional birds, Ferruginous Hawk and White-faced Ibis.

The next morning, after packing up we devoted some time to the hunt for the Juniper Titmouse. This was a life bird for Jeff and I saw a pair the previous evening but they flew off before Jeff could see them. We expected them at the campground at Lava Beds but they weren't present there so it was now or never. Fortunately for Jeff it was now. They were spotted and Jeff was able to get some good photos of them as well.

From the Warner Mountains we then began our journey westward and the road home. We made our traditional stops at the Rat Farm (Ahjumawi Lava Springs State Park) and the Hat Creek Picnic area and then Michael was off for Eureka and Jeff and I back to the Bay Area. Another great trip in the books and a warm up for our California desert trip in May.

See our trip species list here.