PERSONAL TRIPS


Sequoia National Park 07-07-01 to 07-08-01

I had a wonderful short trip to Sequoia National Park this past weekend and managed to get a couple of lifers! We had an especially great time looking for the Blue Grouse at "Little Baldy" mountain--a solid granite dome overlooking a great expanse of conifers in the valley below. Three hours of hiking among beautiful alpine flowers included spectacular views of the valley and the constant, nearly impossible-to-locate subsonic booming of the male Grouse in the distance. Eventually, we got glimpses of the bird as it continued to bellow in the top of a tall fir for females. This deep, hollow sound can be heard for up to 1/4 mile! The single female Calliope Hummingbird sipping nectar from Paintbrush presented a great opportunity for comparison with female Rufous Hummers but fieldmarks, however subtle, indicated another lifer! Evening Grosbeaks, American Dipper and Townsend's Solitaire rounded out the selection of High Sierra Species.

Turkey Vulture
Peregrine Falcon (performed a 1000' dive at top speed for us to enjoy)
Blue Grouse (booming male--an unforgettable sound!)
Band-tailed Pigeon
Vaux's Swift
White-throated Swift
Anna's Hummingbird (female)
Calliope Hummingbird
Rufous Hummingbird
Red-breasted Sapsucker
White-headed Woodpecker
Hairy Woodpecker
Northern Flicker
Olive-sided Flycatcher
Western Wood-Pewee
Hammond's Flycatcher
Pacific-slope Flycatcher
Western Kingbird (on Hwy 120)
Violet-green Swallow
Cliff Swallow
Steller's Jay
Western Scrub Jay
Clark's Nutcracker
Common Raven
Mountain Chickadee
Oak Titmouse
Red-breasted Nuthatch
Brown Creeper
Bewick's Wren
House Wren
Winter Wren
America Dipper (two adults feeding four hungry chicks)
Golden-crowned Kinglet
Western Bluebird
Mountain Bluebird
Hermit Thrush
American Robin
Wrentit
California Mockingbird
European Starling
Cassin's Vireo
Hutton's Vireo
Yellow-rumped Warbler
Black-throated Gray Warbler
Hermit Warbler
MacGillivray's Warbler
Western Tanager
Song Sparrow
Lincoln's Sparrow (everywhere)
Dark-eyed Junco
Brewer's Blackbird
Brown-headed Cowbird
Purple Finch
Cassin's Finch
Pine Siskin
Evening Grosbeak (a flock of 5 birds in the tree above the tent)