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PERSONAL TRIPS
Klamath 12-26-02 to 12-31-03
Kelly and I had a wonderful Christmas that was divided between
our two family's homes with many gifts and food and frivolity.
The day after Christmas we left her parent's home in Lodi
and began our long road trip up to the Klamath Basin which
straddles the Oregon/California border. We visited Lower Klamath,
Tule Lake, Butte Valley and Klamath Falls before returning
home via the Sacramento NWR which includes Sacramento River,
Colusa and Graylodge. Our 1500 mile journey subjected us to
heavy rain, winds, snow and fog but we were still able to
log a great number of species, many of which had to be viewed
from the car.
The purpose of the trip was to see the "Eagle spectacle" where
as many as 1500 Bald Eagles gather in the Basin to
feed off of the wintering Waterfowl which have exhausted themselves
on their migration from the north. Tundra Swans are
in abundance during this time and often fall victim to the
huge, hungry scavengers. It is really quite something to see
the Eagles standing watch on the frozen ponds just yards from
the nervous Swans who remain close to one another, each one
hoping they will not be selected by the nearby predator. We
did not see as many Eagles as we had hoped, but up to 14 individuals
were counted in a single grove of trees and a total of 44
were seen on our three days in the area. Raptor turnout was
otherwise good with uncountable numbers of Northern Harriers,
American Kestrels and Red-tailed Hawks, perhaps
10 Rough-legged Hawks, 3 Merlin, 3 Golden
Eagles, a Peregrine Falcon,a Prairie Falcon,
and a Ferruginous Hawk.
We did, however seen the Waterfowl numbers we expected. There
were unbelievebly large clouds of spinning, swarming Snow
Geese and other Waterfowl that simply defied counting.
We were witness to so much conspicuous beauty while we were
there however, that it is hard to describe. But imagine, if
you will, what a flock of some 100 Swans might look like as
it flies thought the icy haze overhead in a perfect "V" formation,
their cries breaking the near silence, and you might have
some idea what it was like in this wonderful wintery northern
land...
The species list below includes all birds seen between Christmas
and New Year's with (K) refering to birds found only in Klamath
Basin and (S) for those found only in the Sacramento NWR.
Especially interesting species were Rock Wren at the
Sacramento NWR and Northern Shrike in Lava Beds NP
overlooking the nearby Tule Lake.
Eared Grebe
Pied-billed Grebe
Clark's Grebe
American White Pelican (S)
Double-crested Cormorant (S)
Great Blue Heron
Great Egret
Snowy Egret
Cattle Egret (S)
Green Heron (S)
Black-crowned Night Heron (S)
White-faced Ibis (S)
Tundra Swan
Trumpeter Swan (heard only among Tundras, RBA confirmation)
Greater White-fronted Goose
Snow Goose
Ross' Goose
Canada Goose (including "Cackling")
Wood Duck (S)
Green-winged Teal
Mallard
Northern Pintail
Blue-winged Teal (S)
Cinnamon Teal
Northern Shoveler
Gadwall
American Wigeon
Canvasback
Ring-necked Duck
Lesser Scaup
Common Goldeneye
Barrow's Goldeneye (K)
Bufflehead
Hooded Merganser (K)
Common Merganser (K)
Ruddy Duck
Turkey Vulture (S)
White-tailed Kite (S)
Bald Eagle
Northern Harrier
Sharp-shinned Hawk (S)
Cooper's Hawk (S)
Red-tailed Hawk
Red-shouldered Hawk
Ferruginous Hawk (K)
Rough-legged Hawk (K)
Golden Eagle (K)
American Kestrel
Merlin
Peregrine Falcon (S)
Prairie Falcon
Ring-necked Pheasant
California Quail
Sora (S)
Common Moorhen (S)
American Coot
Sandhill Crane (S)
Killdeer (S)
Black-necked Stilt (S)
American Avocet (S)
Greater Yellowlegs
Long-billed Curlew (S)
Least Sandpiper (S)
Dunlin (S)
Long-billed Dowitcher (S)
Ring-billed Gull
California Gull
Herring Gull
Mourning Dove
Rock Dove
Great Horned Owl
Anna's Hummingbird (S)
Belted Kingfisher
Acorn Woodpecker (S)
Red-breasted Sapsucker (K)
Nuttall's Woodpecker (S)
Downy Woodpecker (S)
Hairy Woodpecker
Northern Flicker
Black Phoebe (S)
Horned Lark
Tree Swallow (S)
Oak Titmouse (S-heard only)
Steller's Jay (K)
Western Scrub Jay (K)
Black-billed Magpie (K)
Yellow-billed Magpie (S)
American Crow
Common Raven
Bushtit
Rock Wren
Bewick's Wren
Marsh Wren
Ruby-crowned Kinglet
Townsend's Solitaire (K)
American Robin
Northern Mockingbird (S)
American Pipit (S)
Northern Shrike (K)
Loggerhead Shrike
European Starling
Yellow-rumped Warbler (S)
California Towhee (S)
Savannah Sparrow
Song Sparrow
Lincoln's Sparrow (S)
Golden-crowned Sparrow
White-crowned Sparrow
Dark-eyed Junco
Red-winged Blackbird
Tricolored Blackbird
Western Meadowlark
Yellow-headed Blackbird
Brewer's Blackbird
Brown-headed Cowbird
House Finch
Lesser Goldfinch
American Goldfinch
House Sparrow
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