Spotted Towhee on the Tuolumne River Parkway and a Few Thoughts on Diversity

Spotted Towhees (Pipilo maculatus) are a colorful sight, although they tend to be a little shy when I see them on the Tuolumne River Parkway Trail. Many times I've been able to only see a mysterious red eye staring out of the shrubs. So it was a bit of a treat this week to have two of them just sitting out there just a few feet off the trail. Given that they were singing their heart out, I'm guessing it's springtime, and love is in the air.

The Spotted Towhee is one of those birds I had no idea existed in the world, and much less that it lived in the river environments close to my own home. I can still remember those days fifty years ago when I thought there were just a few kinds of rocks and minerals, and then I discovered the incredible world of geology that changed the trajectory of my life. In the same way, I found out only five years ago that there were more than just pigeons and sparrows that lived in my immediate neighborhood. I could not have conceived that with the completion of the Tuolumne River Parkway Trail that after two or three years, myself and another couple of birders would discover more than 120 species living along the walkway, with more being sighted every month. I was amazed by the diversity of species I could see.
And the really neat part? This is pretty much true no matter where you live. Would you believe that the most diverse county in California for bird species is Los Angeles, with 544? Followed closely by San Diego with 542? It's true that there are more eyes looking in the skies in those urban landscapes, but the sightings are real. If that seems unlikely, get out and have a look in any open spaces where you live: parks, rivers, refuges, even school yards. You might be amazed.

Spotted Towhee at the San Luis National Wildlife Refuge

Photo by Mrs. Geotripper

The Spotted Towhee (Pipilo maculatus) is actually a large sparrow that is relatively common across the American West and Canda, but is not often seen (at least by me) because it spends a lot of time in the underbrush. Many of my first pictures of the species have been mysterious red eyes looking out from among the leaves.

These pictures, which I think may be the best I've taken (Mrs. Geotripper took the lead picture above), were captured along the Souza Marsh Trail at the southeast corner of the San Luis National Wildlife Refuge. We had just had a close encounter with a beautiful coyote, and had almost gotten back to the car when we spotted the Spotted Towhee (you see what I did there?), and we froze. Fortunately it did too and didn't disappear into the thicket, so we both had a chance to get some decent shots.

There is a similar related species, the Eastern Towhee. The two groups overlap and sometimes hybridize in the Midwest, and were once even considered to be a single species. The populations were separated by glaciers during the Ice Ages and diverged, as they were living in different environments that required different traits to survive and thrive. The "spots" are unique to the western species, who live in drier environments.

Spotted Towhees from All Over

Spotted Towhees (Pipilo maculatus) are beautiful colorful birds that I've seen a fair number of times, but I've found them difficult to photograph. Most of the time it is because they are foraging in thick underbrush, and they never seem to sit still. A case in point: I got a nice shot of the Towhee above at Silver Lake near Mt. St. Helens in Washington at Christmastime. But it never turned around to show its colorful breast.

Then, I was at Don Pedro Reservoir on the Tuolumne River to take a look at water levels prior to the big storms of last week (which also explains why no birds for two weeks; I was distracted by events being posted at Geotripper). There was a Towhee in the parking lot foraging for seeds or bugs. I got a shot of the bird's front, and a video as well. But no side shots!

Finally, I was out on the Tuolumne Parkway Trail today for the first time since the storms began, and I saw another Towhee foraging in the open. I got the side shot I wanted, so I was finally able to cobble together this post, from three different locations and with three different birds.

Spotted Towhee at Knight's Ferry

It's that red-eyed sparrow that I keep trying to photograph! Spotted Towhees (Pipilo maculatus) are common enough, apparently, but I mostly see them hiding and rustling around in the underbrush, and flying away if I raise a camera. But it's getting to be springtime, and the males are earnestly looking for mates, so they're spending more time out in the open, singing their hearts out.

Knight's Ferry is a historic village that has the longest covered bridge west of the Mississippi River at 330 feet. The bridge is in this location because it is the last exposure of solid metamorphic bedrock along the Stanislaus River, providing a solid foundation for the structure. It's the second bridge that was built; the first was destroyed by the Great Flood of 1862.

The landscape surrounding Knight's Ferry is mostly flat and gently sloping, but along the river there are rugged cliffs. It provides a variety of habitats for birds of all kinds. Some of the spookier ones are the dozens of Turkey Vultures that like to roost in the high cottonwood trees.

Spotted Towhee on the Tuolumne River Parkway

Spottted Towhees (Pipilo maculatus) are another of those birds that drive me nuts by being hard to photograph. I've seen a fair number of them during my walks along the Tuolumne River near my home, but they are fond of hiding in the underbrush and rarely stick around when I walk by.

The Towhees are one of the largest members of the sparrow family. There is an Eastern Towhee species with a range in (surprise!) the Eastern U.S.that is very similar, but the populations were separated by the vast continental glacier that moved repeatedly into the midwest states during the ice ages. With different climate and habitat, the two groups diverged.

I was walking under a large oak tree along the River Parkway Trail in Waterford when I noticed the buff-colored bird. I thought it was a Robin at first but quickly realized the coloration was wrong. For once the bird remained still while I pulled out the camera and got a few pictures off. They aren't the best shots I could hope for (yet), but sunny days will come. One thing that doesn't come through in today's pictures are the incredible orange-red eyes. So you can appreciate them, I've included a shot from last November when I saw a Towhee creeping through the brush at the Joe Domecq Wilderness on the Tuolumne River.