Tour Narrative
In Brief: This year’s Southern Sierra and Kern River tour experienced cooler temperatures than expected, which meant that even in the lowlands the days were comfortable and that at high elevations, the deciduous vegetation still hadn’t leafed out! Ornithological highlights included eleven species of woodpecker, including Red-breasted and Williamson’s Sapsuckers, White-headed, and even a male Black-backed at a burn—to my knowledge, the most southerly record ever. Other highlights included parties of Mountain Quail and Chukar, prolonged studies of a calling Sooty Grouse, close flight views of a pair of Golden Eagles, Willow (endangered extimus subspecies) and Brown-crested Flycatchers, Summer Tanager, a party of Pinyon Jays including begging juveniles, multiple Le Conte’s Thrashers, hundreds of juvenile canescens Sage Sparrows in post-fledgling migration, American Dipper, and four Lawrence’s Goldfinches. A Bobcat and a Gray Fox were also seen.
In Detail: Our tour began with drive from Bakersfield up the Kern Valley to Lake Isabella and Kernville. Thanks to the winter’s heavy snows, the Kern River was flowing at nearly full volume for the first time in several years.
We departed well before dawn the next morning. We had good views of an American Dipper, then continued higher into the mountains for chaparral species including California Thrasher and Wrentit and the always local Black-chinned Sparrow. Continuing up into the pine-oak zone, we had excellent views of the Pacific ridgwayi subspecies of the Nashville Warbler (whose vocalizations are distinct from those of the eastern subspecies) and a stunning adult male Hermit Warbler, as well as the first of the day’s five White-headed Woodpeckers. We also had brief views of a Cassin’s Vireo. Still higher, we birded around the edge of the Quaking Aspen meadows, where we found a variety of birds including Red-breasted Sapsucker, Dusky Flycatcher, “Thick-billed” Fox Sparrow, and Green-tailed Towhee. At lunch at Trail of the Giants, we heard a Pileated Woodpecker and saw several Hammond’s Flycatchers while we marveled at the size of the giant Sequoia trees. Our mammal highlight of the day was a Bobcat that wandered across the road.
The following morning we departed early again for the Mohave Desert and the east slope of the Sierra Nevada. On the way up Nine Mile Canyon, we studied Cactus Wrens and had two Scott’s Orioles, while in the pinyon-sage zone higher up we noted Brewer’s and canescens Sage Sparrows and a roving flock of Pinyon Jays complete with several begging juveniles. Near Kennedy Meadows we watched a pair of Bushtits attending a nest, while there were multiple Anna’s and a single Black-chinned Hummingbird and an adult male Cassin’s Finch along with multiple Pine Siskins at the feeders. Up above Black Rock Ranger Station, we found two Williamson’s Sapsuckers, including prolonged studies of the stunning male. A Hermit Thrush and several Mountain Bluebirds were also of interest, as were several calling territorial Soras at Troy Meadow. Late in the afternoon we stopped at the Knecht Ranch, where we had excellent views of multiple Loggerhead Shrikes and Le Conte’s Thrashers being fed mealworms!
The next morning we started at the Kern River Preserve, where we had close studies of a stunning red adult male Summer Tanager. Here we also saw Nuttall’s and Downy Woodpeckers and Western Bluebirds and had scope views of four Lawrence’s Goldfinches. We also had a singing “Southwestern” (extimus) Willow Flycatcher; a handful of pairs of this endangered subspecies breed here, one of the few breeding locations in southern California. Later up the Kelso Valley, we had good comparisons of Ash-throated with a single Brown-crested Flycatcher, apparently one member of the only pair in the South Fork region this summer, reflecting that species’ decline over the last decade or so. At Frog Springs, some of us had a quick view of a family of Mountain Quail; we got decent views of another family later at Butterbredt Spring. The piping whistle of the adults was an excellent means of tracking them. Here we had a party of Chukars, and as an indication of how late the spring migration can be even in southern California, we also encountered two late migrant Willow Flycatchers, likely of the subspecies brewsteri, and a “Russet-backed” Swainson’s Thrush.
The next morning at the reserve, we had nice studies of adult male Tricolored Blackbirds. The broad white bar on the folded wing, the overall glossy black coloration with a grayish sheen, and the long, narrow bill were all evident field marks. Later we continued up steep Chimney Creek Road, where we had nearly eye-level views of White-throated Swifts as well as Canyon Wrens and a juvenile Rufous-crowned Sparrow. A pair of Golden Eagles came over low and gave us repeated superb views. Once we reached the pass, and for the next few miles, we ran into flock after flock of Sage Sparrows. In all we estimated more than a hundred, and there could have been twice that number; nearly all were juveniles and almost certainly of the canescens subspecies, which nests on the Mohave Desert to the east. These post-fledging migrants didn’t act like classic Sage Sparrows; instead, they perched prominently in the oaks for extended scope studies. Recent research by Carla Cicero on their genetics and vocalizations indicates that canescens, along with the darker and more coastal belli, is in fact a separate species from the larger and paler Sage Sparrows (nevadensis) of the Great Basin. Along the road here we located several singing Black-throated Gray Warblers, and on reaching the campground we had superb views of a pair of Plumbeous Vireos.
On our final day, we went back above Johnsondale, where we eventually we located a singing Cassin’s Vireo and got good views. We then headed up Sherman Pass from the west and through the McNally Burn area, where the chaparral was full of birds. Here we heard singing Black-chinned Sparrows and saw another party of roving canescens Sage Sparrows, well to the west of where we had seen the the previous day’s flocks. California Thrashers and Wrentits were singing, and we had superb views of male Lazuli Buntings, Black-headed Grosbeaks, and a Canyon Wren. We headed up and over the pass to Boone Road and the old burn; almost immediately we found a male Black-backed Woodpecker, which we followed for nearly an hour as it fed and gave courtship drums—the eleventh woodpecker species for the tour. This bird, a burn specialist, was found last year, and to my knowledge it represents the most southerly record of the species ever (they are more regular, but still uncommon, in the Sierra farther north).
Heading back west, we stopped at a site where Sooty Grouse had been found in the past. Soon after we stopped, we followed the bird’s calls to an isolated stand of conifers. Eventually we watched it for a good thirty minutes as it hooted in a fir literally right over our heads. As with my previous sightings of hooting birds, I noticed that the yellow air sacs were just barely exposed; one wonders whether the air sacs in life are ever exposed in the manner depicted in Sibley and the National Geographic guides. Sooty Grouse hoot from the trees, and their hoots are a series of single, rather low notes. Dusky Grouse call from the ground, and their hoots are higher, softer, and double-noted. Sooty Grouse in the southern Sierra is represented by the subspecies howardi, which is considered threatened and has disappeared from all of the ranges to the south and west over the century.
Eventually we left the high country to head back down the west side of Sherman Pass. We were surprised by a Gray Fox—normally nocturnal—that crossed the road. After a picnic lunch in Kernville, we stopped at Heart Park near Bakersfield, where we saw Wood Ducks and several feral (and thriving) Rose-ringed Parakeets. Later in Bakersfield we eventually located a Spotted Dove, an introduced species that is rapidly declining in the Los Angeles area.
- Jon L. Dunn
Updated: June 2010