ArnelGuanlao
Well-known member
Sunday, July 20, I visited Ano Nuevo State Reserve,
to see if there might still be any Bank Swallows there.
Bank Swallows have become rare in California, and
Ano Nuevo is one of the few places in the San
Francisco Bay Area where one can find them reliably.
I was also curious to see if there might be a repeat of
last summer's small outburst of local rarities, when
Ano Nuevo produced such unusual birds as Yellow-
breasted Chat and Scissor-tailed Flycatcher. Since I
had heard no reports from Ano Nuevo recently, the
only way to find out was to make a trip there.
I arrived at Ano Nuevo around 10:30 AM. Expecting
the cold, marine overcast that prevails there during the
summer months, I was a bit surprised to find it bright
and sunny, with relatively warm temperatures. There
was only the faintest of breezes drifting off the ocean;
it was just persistent enough to keep Ano Nuevo from
becoming too hot.
My first stop was Ano Nuevo Pond - a small, freshwater
pond located about a quarter of a mile north of the
Visitors Center, on some bluffs overlooking Cove Beach.
This pond can be an excellent place to spot Bank
Swallows in June, when they are breeding in the small
cavities that riddle some nearby cliffs; by now, however,
many of them had already departed for their wintering
grounds in South America, so there was no sign of them
here. I did, however, see a few BARN and CLIFF
SWALLOWS snapping up insects above the pond. It
was also a favorite bathing spot for a seemingly endless
stream of BROWN PELICANS and WESTERN GULLS.
From the pond, I followed the dirt trail north to Bight
Beach, where many of the reserve's Northern Elephant
Seals hang out. Along the way, I passed through a
broad expanse of coastal prairie, covered with a variety
of grasses and coyote brush. This area usually teems
with WRENTITS, WHITE-CROWNED SPARROWS,
SONG SPARROWS, and BEWICK'S WRENS, but on
this visit their numbers were down significantly. They
seemed to have fared poorly in this year's cold and
unusually wet spring.
After walking roughly half of a mile, the trail began to pick
its way through a long procession of rolling sand dunes.
Long ago, these dunes used to march inexorably
northwards, driven by the prevailing winds. When farms
began irrigating fields near these dunes, however, the
water table rose, allowing plants such as yellow bush
lupine, beach evening primrose, Monterey centaury, and
yellow parentucellia to establish themselves. Although
some of the dunes still march northwards with the wind,
many others are now fixed in place, shrouded in the
greens and grays of foliage, as well as the pinks and
yellows of summer wildflowers.
For the most part, there weren't that many birds among
these dunes - just the occasional HOUSE FINCH,
BEWICK'S WREN, or WESTERN SCRUB JAY.
However, in the dunes just above Bight Beach, I finally
saw the BANK SWALLOWS that I'd been searching for -
three of them, flying in tight formation through a trough
between the dunes. They moved quickly, so I was only
able to observe the unbroken breastband on two of the
birds; then they flew up the side of a large dune with a
few squeaks and chatters, and vanished behind its
brow. It was a frustratingly brief observation, but better
than no observation at all.
After the Bank Swallows had disappeared, I continued
following the trail to the Bight Beach Overlook. There, I
was able to watch a relatively small group of NORTHERN
ELEPHANT SEALS snoozing in the sand. Most of them
were young males who had come ashore for their molt,
an awkward period in their lives when they do little more
than sleep. A few of the males had ventured into the surf
for some half-hearted play-fighting; most of these animals,
however, were quite inert.
Aside from a few EUROPEAN STARLINGS inspecting
beach wrack for bits of food, there were really no birds
onshore. Just offshore, however, I saw a few WESTERN
GULLS bobbing up and down on the gentle waves, and
a few BRANDT'S CORMORANTS dashing low across
the narrow passage of water between Ano Nuevo Point
and Ano Nuevo Island. A large group of Elephant Seals
was barking loudly from the island, but there was no
sign of the Rhinoceros Auklets that nest there.
Once I had seen all there was to see at Bight's Beach, I
began the long walk back to Ano Nuevo Pond. For the
most part, it was uneventful, although seeing BROWN
PELICANS fly overhead in formation is always an awe-
inspiring sight. There were now a lot of CLIFF and
BARN SWALLOWS flitting through the air, as well, but
unfortunately, there were no more Bank Swallows.
At Ano Nuevo Pond, I took the narrow trail down to
Cove Beach (also called Ano Nuevo Beach on some
maps). It was as nice a pocket beach as they come in
northern California: broad, flat, and sandy, with only a
few people strolling past the small waves that rolled
softly onto shore. Along the surfline, HEERMANN'S
GULLS foraged for mole crabs and other creatures that
had been briefly exposed by the advance and retreat of
the waves. However, they avoided the many By-the-
wind Sailors (Vellela vellela) that had washed up on
the beach; apparently, even the gulls can't tolerate the
thought of eating these jellyfish!
I now headed south along the beach, walking almost its
entire length. As I did, I searched the waters offshore for
any interesting birds, but found only a single PIGEON
GUILLEMOT and 3 over-summering SURF SCOTERS.
When I reached the small trickle of water that was Ano
Nuevo Creek, I took a steep trail back up to the blufftops;
there, I found myself passing through a dense stand of
poison hemlock, toyon, and Monterey pine. In this area,
the birds tended to remain well-hidden; however, I did
manage to hear the trill of a SPOTTED TOWHEE, the
rattle of an ANNA'S HUMMINGBIRD, and the twittering
of a few BUSHTITS. As with the other landbird species
here, their numbers were down significantly from
previous years.
The trail continued on to the Visitors Center, which was
closed. From there, it was a short walk back to the parking
lot, where I heard an OLIVE-SIDED FLYCATCHER calling
loudly from some well concealed spot near the entrance
road into the reserve. Before I left, I also noticed 6 BAND-
TAILED PIGEONS fly over the parking lot, then land in a
large cluster of Monterey pines.
It had been a relatively quiet walk, but summers here
can be hit-or-miss. As the year wanes, the birding here
will improve markedly. Fall will bring vagrant landbirds
to the trees around the Visitors Center, and winter will
bring sea ducks, shorebirds, and the breeding battles
of the Elephant Seals. In any case, the walk had been
a pleasant way to spend a gorgeous summer's day, and
it was great to finally add Bank Swallow to my year list.
Good Birding!
Arnel Guanlao
_________________________________________________
Additional information on Ano Nuevo State Reserve can be found
at the following links:
California State Parks
http://www.parks.ca.gov/default.asp?page_id=523
Virtual Parks (map):
http://www.virtualparks.org/parks/anonuevo-qtvr-map.html
Wildernet:
http://areas.wildernet.com/pages/area.cfm?areaID=CASPANSR&CU_ID=157
Bay Area Hiker:
http://www.bahiker.com/southbayhikes/anonuevo2.html
BirdingAmerica:
http://www.birdingamerica.com/California/anonuevo.htm
Bank Swallows in California:
http://www.ca.blm.gov/pdfs/cdd_pdfs/Basw1.pdf
Northern Elephant Seals:
http://www.tmmc.org/learning/education/pinnipeds/noelephseal.asp
_________________________________________________
BIRD LIST
Ano Nuevo State Reserve
San Mateo County, CA
7/20/2003
Brown Pelican (Pelecanus occidentalis)
Brandt's Cormorant (Phalacrocorax penicillatus)
Pelagic Cormorant (Phalacrocorax pelagicus)
Turkey Vulture (Cathartes aura)
Surf Scoter (Melanitta perspicillata)
California Quail (Callipepla californica)
American Coot (Fulica americana)
Heermann's Gull (Larus heermanni)
Western Gull (Larus occidentalis)
Pigeon Guillemot (Cepphus columba)
Band-tailed Pigeon (Columba fasciata)
Anna's Hummingbird (Calypte anna)
Olive-sided Flycatcher (Contopus cooperi)
Black Phoebe (Sayornis nigricans)
Steller's Jay (Cyanocitta stelleri)
Western Scrub Jay (Aphelocoma californica)
Common Raven (Corvus corax)
Bank Swallow (Riparia riparia)
Cliff Swallow (Petrochelidon pyrrhonota)
Barn Swallow (Hirundo rustica)
Chestnut-backed Chickadee (Poecile rufescens)
Bushtit (Psaltriparus minimus)
Bewick's Wren (Thryomane bewickii)
Wrentit (Chamaea fasciata)
European Starling (Sturnus vulgaris)
Spotted Towhee (Pipilo maculatus)
Song Sparrow (Melospiza melodia)
White-crowned Sparrow (Zonotrichia leucophrys)
Brewer's Blackbird (Euphagus cyanocephalus)
House Finch (Carpodacus mexicanus)
American Goldfinch (Carduelis tristis)
OTHER WILDLIFE:
By-the-wind Sailor (Vellela vellela)
Northern Elephant Seal (Mirounga angustirostris)
to see if there might still be any Bank Swallows there.
Bank Swallows have become rare in California, and
Ano Nuevo is one of the few places in the San
Francisco Bay Area where one can find them reliably.
I was also curious to see if there might be a repeat of
last summer's small outburst of local rarities, when
Ano Nuevo produced such unusual birds as Yellow-
breasted Chat and Scissor-tailed Flycatcher. Since I
had heard no reports from Ano Nuevo recently, the
only way to find out was to make a trip there.
I arrived at Ano Nuevo around 10:30 AM. Expecting
the cold, marine overcast that prevails there during the
summer months, I was a bit surprised to find it bright
and sunny, with relatively warm temperatures. There
was only the faintest of breezes drifting off the ocean;
it was just persistent enough to keep Ano Nuevo from
becoming too hot.
My first stop was Ano Nuevo Pond - a small, freshwater
pond located about a quarter of a mile north of the
Visitors Center, on some bluffs overlooking Cove Beach.
This pond can be an excellent place to spot Bank
Swallows in June, when they are breeding in the small
cavities that riddle some nearby cliffs; by now, however,
many of them had already departed for their wintering
grounds in South America, so there was no sign of them
here. I did, however, see a few BARN and CLIFF
SWALLOWS snapping up insects above the pond. It
was also a favorite bathing spot for a seemingly endless
stream of BROWN PELICANS and WESTERN GULLS.
From the pond, I followed the dirt trail north to Bight
Beach, where many of the reserve's Northern Elephant
Seals hang out. Along the way, I passed through a
broad expanse of coastal prairie, covered with a variety
of grasses and coyote brush. This area usually teems
with WRENTITS, WHITE-CROWNED SPARROWS,
SONG SPARROWS, and BEWICK'S WRENS, but on
this visit their numbers were down significantly. They
seemed to have fared poorly in this year's cold and
unusually wet spring.
After walking roughly half of a mile, the trail began to pick
its way through a long procession of rolling sand dunes.
Long ago, these dunes used to march inexorably
northwards, driven by the prevailing winds. When farms
began irrigating fields near these dunes, however, the
water table rose, allowing plants such as yellow bush
lupine, beach evening primrose, Monterey centaury, and
yellow parentucellia to establish themselves. Although
some of the dunes still march northwards with the wind,
many others are now fixed in place, shrouded in the
greens and grays of foliage, as well as the pinks and
yellows of summer wildflowers.
For the most part, there weren't that many birds among
these dunes - just the occasional HOUSE FINCH,
BEWICK'S WREN, or WESTERN SCRUB JAY.
However, in the dunes just above Bight Beach, I finally
saw the BANK SWALLOWS that I'd been searching for -
three of them, flying in tight formation through a trough
between the dunes. They moved quickly, so I was only
able to observe the unbroken breastband on two of the
birds; then they flew up the side of a large dune with a
few squeaks and chatters, and vanished behind its
brow. It was a frustratingly brief observation, but better
than no observation at all.
After the Bank Swallows had disappeared, I continued
following the trail to the Bight Beach Overlook. There, I
was able to watch a relatively small group of NORTHERN
ELEPHANT SEALS snoozing in the sand. Most of them
were young males who had come ashore for their molt,
an awkward period in their lives when they do little more
than sleep. A few of the males had ventured into the surf
for some half-hearted play-fighting; most of these animals,
however, were quite inert.
Aside from a few EUROPEAN STARLINGS inspecting
beach wrack for bits of food, there were really no birds
onshore. Just offshore, however, I saw a few WESTERN
GULLS bobbing up and down on the gentle waves, and
a few BRANDT'S CORMORANTS dashing low across
the narrow passage of water between Ano Nuevo Point
and Ano Nuevo Island. A large group of Elephant Seals
was barking loudly from the island, but there was no
sign of the Rhinoceros Auklets that nest there.
Once I had seen all there was to see at Bight's Beach, I
began the long walk back to Ano Nuevo Pond. For the
most part, it was uneventful, although seeing BROWN
PELICANS fly overhead in formation is always an awe-
inspiring sight. There were now a lot of CLIFF and
BARN SWALLOWS flitting through the air, as well, but
unfortunately, there were no more Bank Swallows.
At Ano Nuevo Pond, I took the narrow trail down to
Cove Beach (also called Ano Nuevo Beach on some
maps). It was as nice a pocket beach as they come in
northern California: broad, flat, and sandy, with only a
few people strolling past the small waves that rolled
softly onto shore. Along the surfline, HEERMANN'S
GULLS foraged for mole crabs and other creatures that
had been briefly exposed by the advance and retreat of
the waves. However, they avoided the many By-the-
wind Sailors (Vellela vellela) that had washed up on
the beach; apparently, even the gulls can't tolerate the
thought of eating these jellyfish!
I now headed south along the beach, walking almost its
entire length. As I did, I searched the waters offshore for
any interesting birds, but found only a single PIGEON
GUILLEMOT and 3 over-summering SURF SCOTERS.
When I reached the small trickle of water that was Ano
Nuevo Creek, I took a steep trail back up to the blufftops;
there, I found myself passing through a dense stand of
poison hemlock, toyon, and Monterey pine. In this area,
the birds tended to remain well-hidden; however, I did
manage to hear the trill of a SPOTTED TOWHEE, the
rattle of an ANNA'S HUMMINGBIRD, and the twittering
of a few BUSHTITS. As with the other landbird species
here, their numbers were down significantly from
previous years.
The trail continued on to the Visitors Center, which was
closed. From there, it was a short walk back to the parking
lot, where I heard an OLIVE-SIDED FLYCATCHER calling
loudly from some well concealed spot near the entrance
road into the reserve. Before I left, I also noticed 6 BAND-
TAILED PIGEONS fly over the parking lot, then land in a
large cluster of Monterey pines.
It had been a relatively quiet walk, but summers here
can be hit-or-miss. As the year wanes, the birding here
will improve markedly. Fall will bring vagrant landbirds
to the trees around the Visitors Center, and winter will
bring sea ducks, shorebirds, and the breeding battles
of the Elephant Seals. In any case, the walk had been
a pleasant way to spend a gorgeous summer's day, and
it was great to finally add Bank Swallow to my year list.
Good Birding!
Arnel Guanlao
_________________________________________________
Additional information on Ano Nuevo State Reserve can be found
at the following links:
California State Parks
http://www.parks.ca.gov/default.asp?page_id=523
Virtual Parks (map):
http://www.virtualparks.org/parks/anonuevo-qtvr-map.html
Wildernet:
http://areas.wildernet.com/pages/area.cfm?areaID=CASPANSR&CU_ID=157
Bay Area Hiker:
http://www.bahiker.com/southbayhikes/anonuevo2.html
BirdingAmerica:
http://www.birdingamerica.com/California/anonuevo.htm
Bank Swallows in California:
http://www.ca.blm.gov/pdfs/cdd_pdfs/Basw1.pdf
Northern Elephant Seals:
http://www.tmmc.org/learning/education/pinnipeds/noelephseal.asp
_________________________________________________
BIRD LIST
Ano Nuevo State Reserve
San Mateo County, CA
7/20/2003
Brown Pelican (Pelecanus occidentalis)
Brandt's Cormorant (Phalacrocorax penicillatus)
Pelagic Cormorant (Phalacrocorax pelagicus)
Turkey Vulture (Cathartes aura)
Surf Scoter (Melanitta perspicillata)
California Quail (Callipepla californica)
American Coot (Fulica americana)
Heermann's Gull (Larus heermanni)
Western Gull (Larus occidentalis)
Pigeon Guillemot (Cepphus columba)
Band-tailed Pigeon (Columba fasciata)
Anna's Hummingbird (Calypte anna)
Olive-sided Flycatcher (Contopus cooperi)
Black Phoebe (Sayornis nigricans)
Steller's Jay (Cyanocitta stelleri)
Western Scrub Jay (Aphelocoma californica)
Common Raven (Corvus corax)
Bank Swallow (Riparia riparia)
Cliff Swallow (Petrochelidon pyrrhonota)
Barn Swallow (Hirundo rustica)
Chestnut-backed Chickadee (Poecile rufescens)
Bushtit (Psaltriparus minimus)
Bewick's Wren (Thryomane bewickii)
Wrentit (Chamaea fasciata)
European Starling (Sturnus vulgaris)
Spotted Towhee (Pipilo maculatus)
Song Sparrow (Melospiza melodia)
White-crowned Sparrow (Zonotrichia leucophrys)
Brewer's Blackbird (Euphagus cyanocephalus)
House Finch (Carpodacus mexicanus)
American Goldfinch (Carduelis tristis)
OTHER WILDLIFE:
By-the-wind Sailor (Vellela vellela)
Northern Elephant Seal (Mirounga angustirostris)
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