Post by tysondanny on Mar 2, 2023 17:15:40 GMT -8
Hi all,
I have gone on a few previous winter California birding trips during the winter to see species such as LAWRENCES GOLDFINCH, BLACK RAIL, CALIFORNIA CONDOR, COMMON POCHARD and RED-FOOTED BOOBY. These have all been to coastal sites with mild weather conditions.
This time at the end of February I was going to head down through the Sierra Nevada Mountains to look for a subtropical rarity that was visiting a feeder. I thought it can't be much worse than heading into the interior of BC during the winter. I was wrong, because the area was being battered by a once in a century blizzard.
Heading through Portland the storm had already passed, leaving large numbers of abandoned and disabled vehicles strewn about all lanes of Interstate 5. Further south the Willmette Pass was no worse than driving the Coquihalla. Then things became sketchy. I stayed the night in Klammath Falls and then headed south the next day. Coming into Reno, Nevada the blizzard had started, all the highways to the central valley were closed due due 5-7 feet of snowfall, Schools were closed, towns like Bakersfield, Sacramento and Fresno all received snow as well as coastal beaches in Santa Monica. I was the last vehicle to go through the highway at Lake Tahoe, as the highway was being closed due to multiple stuck and abandoned vehicles.
I made it through to Lone Pine, California to my target the STREAK-BACKED ORIOLE! This bird has been present at feeders since December. It was hunkered down in a small tree out of the horizontal blowing snow, I wouldn't even get out and birded from the car.
My plan was for a five day trip, but I decided to get out of Dodge, or Lone Pine due to the continuing poor weather. I headed back north to Reno, snow was still falling and the highways were littered with stuck cars and semi trucks.
I birded a little bit around Reno and observed a few of their rarities including, NORTHERN SHRIKE, EURASIAN WIGEON, WHITE-THROATED SPARROW and LESSER BLACK-BACKED GULL (one of two at a lake that has 6000 CALIFORNIA GULLS to look through). Other birds in the area included CALIFORNIA SCRUB JAY, AMERICAN AVOCET and LESSER GOLDFINCH.
Snow was still falling and I headed back towards OREGON. A few birds of interest along the highway to Oregon included, BLACK-BILLED MAGPIE, 450 HORNED LARKS, LAPLAND LONGSPUR, ROUGH-LEGGED HAWK, SANDHILL CRANE, TRUMPETER SWAN, NORTHERN SHRIKE and BARN OWL.
I stayed the night again in Klammath Falls and camped in my car. The temp was cool at minus 3 when I went to sleep, at 06:30 when I woke up it was minus 17.
I birded briefly around the frozen Klammath area, loads of TUNDRA SWANS with 1 rare TRUMPETER, a EURASIAN WIGEON, huge flocks of CANADA, CACKLING, SNOW and GREATER WHITE-FRONTED GEESE and SANDHILL CRANES were present.
I then headed back towards the Interstate 5 and had a RED-SHOULDERED HAWK in Linn County where it was a nice 10 degrees and sunny.
I kept heading north, since the forecast called for more snow moving into coastal areas. In Washington I stopped to see a HARRIS SPARROW near Stanwood. The temperature was a nice 8 degrees and dropped to zero by the time I made it to the Border. I explained my adventure to the CBSA officer, who found the adventure quite interesting, and then headed back into Canada. as the first snowflakes started to fall.
All in all a successful but much shortened trip.
Good Birding,
Dan Tyson
Langley, BC
I have gone on a few previous winter California birding trips during the winter to see species such as LAWRENCES GOLDFINCH, BLACK RAIL, CALIFORNIA CONDOR, COMMON POCHARD and RED-FOOTED BOOBY. These have all been to coastal sites with mild weather conditions.
This time at the end of February I was going to head down through the Sierra Nevada Mountains to look for a subtropical rarity that was visiting a feeder. I thought it can't be much worse than heading into the interior of BC during the winter. I was wrong, because the area was being battered by a once in a century blizzard.
Heading through Portland the storm had already passed, leaving large numbers of abandoned and disabled vehicles strewn about all lanes of Interstate 5. Further south the Willmette Pass was no worse than driving the Coquihalla. Then things became sketchy. I stayed the night in Klammath Falls and then headed south the next day. Coming into Reno, Nevada the blizzard had started, all the highways to the central valley were closed due due 5-7 feet of snowfall, Schools were closed, towns like Bakersfield, Sacramento and Fresno all received snow as well as coastal beaches in Santa Monica. I was the last vehicle to go through the highway at Lake Tahoe, as the highway was being closed due to multiple stuck and abandoned vehicles.
I made it through to Lone Pine, California to my target the STREAK-BACKED ORIOLE! This bird has been present at feeders since December. It was hunkered down in a small tree out of the horizontal blowing snow, I wouldn't even get out and birded from the car.
My plan was for a five day trip, but I decided to get out of Dodge, or Lone Pine due to the continuing poor weather. I headed back north to Reno, snow was still falling and the highways were littered with stuck cars and semi trucks.
I birded a little bit around Reno and observed a few of their rarities including, NORTHERN SHRIKE, EURASIAN WIGEON, WHITE-THROATED SPARROW and LESSER BLACK-BACKED GULL (one of two at a lake that has 6000 CALIFORNIA GULLS to look through). Other birds in the area included CALIFORNIA SCRUB JAY, AMERICAN AVOCET and LESSER GOLDFINCH.
Snow was still falling and I headed back towards OREGON. A few birds of interest along the highway to Oregon included, BLACK-BILLED MAGPIE, 450 HORNED LARKS, LAPLAND LONGSPUR, ROUGH-LEGGED HAWK, SANDHILL CRANE, TRUMPETER SWAN, NORTHERN SHRIKE and BARN OWL.
I stayed the night again in Klammath Falls and camped in my car. The temp was cool at minus 3 when I went to sleep, at 06:30 when I woke up it was minus 17.
I birded briefly around the frozen Klammath area, loads of TUNDRA SWANS with 1 rare TRUMPETER, a EURASIAN WIGEON, huge flocks of CANADA, CACKLING, SNOW and GREATER WHITE-FRONTED GEESE and SANDHILL CRANES were present.
I then headed back towards the Interstate 5 and had a RED-SHOULDERED HAWK in Linn County where it was a nice 10 degrees and sunny.
I kept heading north, since the forecast called for more snow moving into coastal areas. In Washington I stopped to see a HARRIS SPARROW near Stanwood. The temperature was a nice 8 degrees and dropped to zero by the time I made it to the Border. I explained my adventure to the CBSA officer, who found the adventure quite interesting, and then headed back into Canada. as the first snowflakes started to fall.
All in all a successful but much shortened trip.
Good Birding,
Dan Tyson
Langley, BC