A Bird Year on the Tuolumne River

I've talked many times in my blogs about getting to know the Earth, to see as much of it as one can given the circumstances of one's life (for instance, this blog post on a New Year's Resolution). I do a lot of traveling, and I fully appreciate the gift of that opportunity, but I do have a place that is in my backyard that is that 'special' place, the one that I get to several times a week. It's a short section of the Tuolumne River that flows through Waterford.

The first bird of 2019 near the Tuolumne River

The Tuolumne is one of the most spectacular rivers in North America, with its headwaters in the alpine country of Yosemite National Park. It flows through a gorge as deep as the Grand Canyon, is trapped for a time in Hetch Hetchy Reservoir, and then flows free again for a number of miles before being trapped again in Don Pedro Reservoir. After that, the river flows unimpeded until it joins the San Joaquin River near the Sacramento Delta. The stretch I walk almost daily is a two mile trail (the Tuolumne River Parkway) where the river emerges from the Mother Lode of the Sierra Nevada into the Central Valley.

High water, 2017. At around 15,000 cfs, portions of the trail are underwater.

The river has many moods. Although the flow is controlled by the dams upstream, there are times when the dams have to open their spillways to prevent them being overwhelmed by floodwaters. For much of the year, the flow is artificially kept at around 200-400 cubic feet per second (cfs). During 'normal' years, there will be a few 'surge' flows to help the salmon runs, and the water will reach 2,000-3,000 cfs. But in emergencies, the flows will reach 18,000 cfs or more (the worst ever was 1997 when the flows reached a record 70,000 cfs). At 15,000 cfs, almost the entire floodplain is inundated and portions of the trail end up underwater (see above, from 2017).

The first Bald Eagle to be reported officially on the Parkway Trail

I don't see many mammals on my walks (squirrels of course, and the occasional river otter or fox), but the birds are an ever-changing drama, as you have no doubt noticed if you follow this blog. I have become a familiar sight to the river 'regulars' as the quirky old man who is always looking up and taking pictures of birds. I was astounded to discover the variety of birds who call the river home (or their migration stopover).

Western Tanager, a summer migrant along the river. One our most colorful species.

I have been counting all of the birds I've seen on my excursions. They get reported on e-Bird, which is one of the main citizen science birding organizations. With thousands upon thousands of reports daily, E-bird is able to track the numbers and movements of bird species all over the world, and the data is available online. When you enjoy numbers the way I do, you'll understand how easy it can be to get lost for hours on their website. It might seem overwhelming at first, but e-Bird encourages reports every day, and not just for unusual or exotic species. They also want to know what is happening in backyards and urban parks as well. Over time, we'll be able to see the effects of global warming on bird migration and populations, so the reports, however mundane they might be, are extremely important.

A Hooded Oriole. They nested on the bluffs this year and usually head south in the winter, but two of them remained in late November, the only ones reported in Central California

This was the first year when I have made at least one bird report of each week of the year, and my counts along with those of several other birders have revealed the diversity of bird life on this long abused river environment. In 2019, 116 bird species were reported. That placed the Tuolumne as the sixth most diverse birding "hot spot" in our county, behind only the Modesto Wastewater Treatment Ponds (!), and four sites within the San Joaquin River National Wildlife Refuge (that's for the year; for all time, the river trail is tied for 20th out of more than 100 hot spots in the county).

A Rufous Hummingbird along the river. I saw only a couple this year as they migrated through the region.

Walking along the river, one becomes familiar with many of the individual birds. There are the year-round residents: California Scrub Jays, Northern Mockingbirds, European Starlings, Eurasian Doves, Yellow-billed Magpies, Belted Kingfishers, and Canada Geese. A different group hangs out at the water treatment ponds midway along the trail: Killdeer, Greater Yellowlegs, Spotted Sandpipers, Least Sandpipers and Black Phoebes. There are three woodpecker species that can be seen nearly every day, Acorn Woodpeckers, Nuttall's Woodpeckers, and Northern Flickers. A pair of Mute Swans have raised several broods in the quarry lake across from the western trailhead.

A female Phainopepla. The males are entirely black.

Then there are the migrants, those that are resident for only part of the year. The spring and summer brings the colorful tropical birds from Mexico and Central America. They include the Western Tanager, the Black-headed Grosbeak, the Bullock's Oriole, the Hooded Oriole, and the Rufous Hummingbird. I'm a sucker for bright colors, so these are my favorite birds to see. I catch my breath every time I spot one of the them and I'm tense all through March and April waiting for their first arrival (although I had a tremendous shock in November, having two sightings of extremely unseasonable Hooded Orioles). The Phainopepla is another tropical favorite whose range is extending northward, and I've seen them at odd times throughout the year.

A male Bullock's Oriole. Like many birds, the females are less colorful.

The spring also brings the swallows, the Barn Swallow, Tree Swallow, Cliff Swallow, and Northern Rough-winged Swallow. The sky is sometimes filled with hundreds of them.

American White Pelicans occasionally fly over the Tuolumne River

The raptors are always around, including Red-tailed Hawks, Red-shouldered Hawks, Swainson's Hawks, Turkey Vultures (check this link for a 'cute' baby vulture 'smoking' a cigarette), Ospreys, Cooper's Hawks (see photo above), and American Kestrels. I had a single sighting this year of a Northern Harrier, and a Sharp-shinned Hawk.

The shallows of the Tuolumne provide good fishing for the Osprey (also known as the Sea Hawk).

There were the single sightings this year...a flyover of Sandhill Cranes, several kinds of duck passing through, including Ring-necked, and Buffleheads, a Blue-gray Gnatcatcher, a Red-breasted Sapsucker, and several flycatchers and warblers.

Red-breasted Sapsucker, seen just once this year along the Tuolumne.

What did I miss seeing the most? My most desired sightings are a pair of blue-colored birds: the Lazuli Bunting, and the Blue Grosbeak. I saw a Bunting in 2018, and I saw both birds this year along other parts of the river. But I didn't see any this year on the Parkway Trail. Anyone want to guess what I'll be watching for in a few months?

Lazuli Bunting at Ceres River Bluff Regional Park, downstream of the Parkway Trail

I saw a Blue Grosbeak several times, at the Ceres River Bluff Regional Park downstream from the Parkway Trail, and I was especially surprised to find the bird upstream at Robert's Ferry Bridge. To make the experience even stranger, I saw a bobcat a few moments later. Our region is at the extreme north end of the range of this tropical bird.

Blue Grosbeak at Ceres Bluff Regional Park, downstream of the Tuolumne Parkway Trail

The highlight of the year? I saw a bird seen in Stanislaus County only four times previously: a Rose-breasted Grosbeak. It's a bird whose range is really in the eastern U.S., but a very few wind up in California. I was tracking some Black-headed Grosbeaks, and this individual flew by and landed in a nearby oak long enough for a couple of pictures (which I'm glad I got; I don't think anyone would have believed me without them). It was a thrilling moment for me and the four other birders who made out to Waterford in time to see it.

If you are a glutton for punishment, here is the complete list of all the Tuolumne River's 116 birds seen in 2019 (the all-time list numbers 133 species). If you click on the name, you'll be taken to eBird description of the species. If you want to contribute to the 2020 list, you can find it here: https://ebird.org/hotspot/L2153651?m=&yr=cur&changeDate=Set. I'm still an amateur at this, and would love the help of sharper-eyed people than myself. Who knows what we can find this year!

1	Canada Goose
2	Mute Swan
3	Wood Duck
4	Common Goldeneye
5	Eurasian Collared-Dove
6	Mourning Dove
7	White-throated Swift
8	Least Sandpiper
9	Greater Yellowlegs
10	California Gull
11	Great Egret
12	Red-tailed Hawk
13	Belted Kingfisher
14	Acorn Woodpecker
15	Nuttall's Woodpecker
16	Northern Flicker
17	American Kestrel
18	Black Phoebe
19	California Scrub-Jay
20	Yellow-billed Magpie
21	Ruby-crowned Kinglet
22	Blue-gray Gnatcatcher
23	European Starling
24	Northern Mockingbird
25	Cedar Waxwing
26	House Finch
27	White-crowned Sparrow
28	Golden-crowned Sparrow
29	Orange-crowned Warbler
30	Yellow-rumped Warbler
31	Ring-necked Duck
32	Wild Turkey
33	Spotted Sandpiper
34	Double-crested Cormorant
35	Great Horned Owl
36	American Crow
37	Lincoln's Sparrow
38	Pied-billed Grebe
39	Rock Pigeon
40	Anna's Hummingbird
41	Bonaparte's Gull
42	Bushtit
43	White-breasted Nuthatch
44	American Robin
45	House Sparrow
46	American Goldfinch
47	Dark-eyed Junco
48	Killdeer
49	Lesser Goldfinch
50	Sharp-shinned Hawk
51	Red-shouldered Hawk
52	Oak Titmouse
53	Downy Woodpecker
54	Northern Pintail
55	California Towhee
56	Spotted Towhee
57	Snowy Egret
58	American Wigeon
59	Cooper's Hawk
60	Hooded Oriole
61	American Coot
62	Western Bluebird
63	Green Heron
64	Northern Shoveler
65	Bufflehead
66	House Wren
67	Turkey Vulture
68	Hermit Thrush
69	Lesser Yellowlegs
70	Northern Harrier
71	Barn Owl
72	Phainopepla
73	Brewer's Blackbird
74	Great Blue Heron
75	American White Pelican
76	Hooded Merganser
77	Greater White-fronted Goose
78	Western Meadowlark
79	Mallard
80	Sandhill Crane
81	California Quail
82	Song Sparrow
83	White-faced Ibis
84	Osprey
85	Red-breasted Sapsucker
86	Western Wood-Pewee
87	Western Tanager
88	Warbling Vireo
89	Black-throated Gray Warbler
90	Wilson's Warbler
91	Barn Swallow
92	Black-chinned Hummingbird
93	Willow Flycatcher
94	Bullock's Oriole
95	Cattle Egret
96	Rufous Hummingbird
97	Cliff Swallow
98	Ash-throated Flycatcher
99	Western Kingbird
100	Black-headed Grosbeak
101	Northern Rough-winged Swallow
102	Tree Swallow
103	Wrentit
104	Swainson's Hawk
105	Forster's Tern
106	Rose-breasted Grosbeak
107	Brown-headed Cowbird
108	Cinnamon Teal
109	Townsend's Warbler
110	Olive-sided Flycatcher
111	Common Merganser
112	Black-necked Stilt
113	Savannah Sparrow
114	Bald Eagle
115	Say's Phoebe
116	Fox Sparrow