Upcoming trip to WA/OR/CA (1 Viewer)

[kfjachmann]

Hello everybody,

I am a German birdwatcher soon starting my first trip to the western part of the United States. I have been to the eastern parts several times and my hitlist for this trip contains about 135 species. After picking uo my girlfriend in Revelstoke/British Columbia and staying a few days in Vancouver, we are planning to drive from Seattle to San Francisco in about 4 weeks starting around the 24th of July. I know this is not a lot of time for such a large area, but that is all we have. For that reason we will try to stay as far in the west of the three states as possible.
For 2 weeks now I have tried to plan a route, but that is very difficult. Most of my information stems from the three Falcon Guide books on Birding Washington, Oregon and Northern California. Unfortunately I have no idea how correct and up to date these books are. Therefore I put together a list of the species that seem to me either localized or rare or hard to find and I would like to ask you on any info on these species. The list contains the species and the sites from the Falcon guides. At the end of the mail I put the complete list of lifers for me on that trip, I have you have any comment on these species, I am very happy about any information I can get.

Greater Sage Grouse CA: Shaffer Lek at Honey Lake; does it make sense to check the area outside the lekking-season?
White-tailed Ptarmigan WA: Mt. Baker, Mt. Rainier-Sunrise Area
Clark's Grebe CA: Klamath
California Condor CA: Julia Pfeiffer Burns SP
Marbled Godwit OR: Bandon; WA: Damon Point, Tokeland, Willapa NWR and Leadbetter Point
Rock Sandpiper any reliable site this early?
Greater Roadrunner CA: Alum Rock Park, Pinnacles NM, Panoche Valley
Costa's Hummingbird CA: Mines Road
Williamson's Sapsucker CA: Lake Almanor, Summit Lake at Lassen; OR:Sisters area, Bend; several sites in central Washington
White-headed Woodpecker CA: Lassen, Lake Almanor; OR: Ochoco Mountains, Sisters Area, Ashland Area, Crater Lake; WA: lake Chelan, Swakane WA, Colockum WA, Taneum Creek, Wenas Basin, Oak Creek WA,
Three-toed Woodpecker OR: Sisters Area, Davis Lake, Crater Lake NP; WA: Colockum WA,
Black-backed Woodpecker CA: Warner Mountains, Lassen; OR: Moutn Hood NF, Sisters Area, Davis Lake, Crater Lake NP; WA: Lake Chelan, Icicle Creek, Colockum WA,
Grey Flycatcher CA: Modoc Plateau, Warner Mountains; OR: Sisters Area, Bend, Moore Park (Lower Klamath); WA: Colockum WA, Wenas Basin, Conboy Lake, Trout Lake,
Cordilleran Flycatcher CA: Warner Mountains
Pinyon Jay CA: Eagle Lake; OR: Cabin lake Campground (Fort Rock SP area), Sistera area,
Juniper Titmouse CA: Modoc Plateau
Sage Thrasher CA: Butte Valley, Modoc Plateau, Honey Lake; OR: Summer Lake, Fort Rock SP; WA: Colockum WA, Quilomene WA, Yakima River Canyon, Wenas Basin, Toppenish, Fort Simcoe
California Thrasher CA: Clear Lake, Skyline WP, Stebbins Cold Canyon, Mines Rd, Mount Diablo,
Phainopepla CA: Feather River (Oroville), Lake Solano, Mines Rd, American River (Sacramento)
Green-tailed Towhee CA: Warner Mountains; OR: Cabin Lake Camground, Sistera area, Bend, Davis Lake, Mount Ashland, Crater Lake,
California Towhee CA: Lewiston Lake, Gray Lodge WA, Richardson Bay, San Bruno Mountain, Pinnacles NM; OR: Grants Pass area, Medford area, Ashland area
Black-chinned Sparrow CA: Mines Rd, Mount Diablo
Black-throated Sparrow any chance?
Sage Sparrow CA: Honey Lake, Mines Rd, Mount Diablo, Mix Canyon Rd; OR: Summer Lake, Fort Rock area; WA: Quilomene
Blue Grosbeak CA: Sacramento Refuge Complex, Gray Lodge WA, Vic Facio Yolo WA, Consumnes River Preserve
Hooded Oriole CA: Presidio, Foster City, Alum Rock Park, Monterey Penins
Grey-crowned Rosy Finch quite a few sites, which one is reliable at this time of the year?
Lawrence's Goldfinch CA: Mix Canyon Rd, Mines Rd, Mount Diablo, Pinnacles NM


One thing I was wondering is, is it worth checking any of the Washington sagebrush-sites? Or will the ones in California be enough to get all the specialties?

Thanks a lot for your help,


Felix

 

[ayasuda]

Hi Felix,

You can find Clark's Grebe in the San Francisco Bay along with Western Grebes.

You might want to join and post your list in Calbirds in Yahoo. Birders will tell you where the birds are now. Have fun.

Ann

 

[gvca1]

A couple notes on the CA part of your trip:

If it's your first trip to California, you can't pass up the Yellow-billed Magpie. Central Valley locations like Gray Lodge, Vic Fazio, etc.

California Condor is also a possibility at Pinnacles Nat Monument. Their web page says they manage 26 individuals. You already have Pinnacles on your list for a couple other species.

Might be wrong time of year for California Towhee? Tons of them in my yard last winter/spring. (Sierra Nevada foothills)

Another interesting bird I don't see you your list is the American Dipper?

Note that there aren't a lot of facilities around the Modoc county, Warner Mts. area. Alturas would be a possible place for a base of operations. Are you planning to day-hike into the Warners?

I don't hang out in the WA forum so I might not see your responses, but have a great trip!

Jim

 

[jthoppes]

Might be wrong time of year for California Towhee? Tons of them in my yard last winter/spring. (Sierra Nevada foothills)

Here in the Bay Area it's never the wrong time of year for California Towhee. If you're going to try for the Sage Sparrow on Mount Diablo and look around the bay for grebes/godwits/Hooded Oriole, the towhee should be guaranteed.

 

[cassowary]

Felix - looks like you are doing your homework!

A good bet is to look on e-bird to get the recent sightings eg:

http://ebird.org/ebird/GuideMe?repo...=states&continue.x=52&continue.y=8&continue=t

some of the species you mentioned are not that difficult as you will see by looking at e-bird

If you can go on a pelagic (eg off Monterrey) its worth doing - even though its perhaps not the best time.

 

[Jim M.]

A good bet is to look on e-bird to get the recent sightings eg:

http://ebird.org/ebird/GuideMe?repo...=states&continue.x=52&continue.y=8&continue=t

some of the species you mentioned are not that difficult as you will see by looking at e-bird

Mike has made a great suggestion and provided an excellent link. I'll add that the way to see recent sightings via his link is to click on a species name--then a map will appear with colored balloons. The yellow balloons show sightings of that species within the last 30 days (and Mike has limited his chart to 2010, so only 2010 sightings will show up--but these settings can be easily modified to select multiple years or particular months or seasons). Click on a balloon and you can see the name of the location and the exact date. Zoom in and you can see exact locations and figure out how to get there. You can also limit sightings to particular counties.

Hope this helps,
Jim