September 4-13, 2025 with Chris Benesh
The Field Guides Slice of California tour offers up a great overview of the diversity that is California. Transiting between the coast near San Franciso to the great Mono Basin, we saw nearly 200 species of birds. Our first day of birding was dedicated to birding along the south end of San Francisco Bay. We started off at Byxbee Park, hoping for Ridgway’s Rail. No luck there, but we had a nice White-tailed Kite and masses of Violet-green Swallows. Lots of Song Sparrows, California Towhees, and Yellow Warblers in the fennel. Then a stop nearby at the Palo Alto Baylands proved amazing. Right away Richard spotted our Ridgway’s Rail! Then we enjoyed masses of shorebirds shifting with the changing tides. We then headed over to Alviso where we had a Burrowing Owl, and off to the McClellan Ranch for a mix of oak woodland species. Great views of Oak Titmouse, Nuttall’s Woodpecker, and a roosting Western Screech-Owl. Then it was back to the bayside where we picked up Black Skimmer before finishing up the day at Coyote Point with a nice mix of shorebirds, including Black Oystercatcher and Black Turnstone, Elegant, Caspian, and Forster’s terns.
Our second day took us to Mines Road and Del Puerto Canyon Road in the first half of the day. Yellow-billed Magpies started things off for us. Then it was California Quail, California Thrasher, Wrentit, Bell’s Sparrow, Lawrence’s Goldfinches, vying for highlight of the day. We also found a few Tricolored Blackbirds roosting in a tree by an isolated pond. Then the afternoon was spent traveling to Sonora, home for the next two nights.
Day three included a drive up Highway 4 to the Calaveras Big Trees State Park. A White-headed Woodpecker appeared soon after. Then we spent a little time at a seep that had birds trickling in. This included a fabulous Pacific Wren. Once on the trail, we were really fortunate to encounter a small covey of Mountain Quail, perhaps our most hoped for species. The Giant Sequoias themselves were breathtaking! Later that afternoon we headed further up Highway 4 with one of the highlights being a Pileated Woodpecker.
The fourth day was traveling from Sonora to Lee Vining with multiple stops along the way. The first was unplanned, when a small covey of Mountain Quail crossing the highway in front of us. We stopped in at Cascade Campground for a nice mix of birds. We had a nice Nashville Warbler here, a couple of White-headed Woodpeckers, a "Thick-billed" Fox Sparrow, and a couple of flyover sapsuckers. Next was Donnell Vista, less of a vista due to smoke from the giant Garnet Fire burning to the south. New for us here were Cassin’s Vireo, Clark’s Nutcracker, and Cassin’s Finch. We also had better views of Williamson’s Sapsucker and some nice Black-throated Gray Warblers. Along Clarks Fork Road we had a small flock of Vaux’s Swifts and an American Dipper. More Clark’s Nutcrackers were at the top of Sonora Pass. Then it was on to Bridgeport for lunch. Afterward, we headed out to Bridgeport Reservoir where we spotted our only Pinyon Jay in a yard. There were the typical masses of birds out on the reservoir, with many too distant to easily identify. There were hundreds, perhaps thousands of Gadwall. Eared, Pied-billed, and Western grebes were all present, with some begging young Westerns. American White Pelicans, hundreds of Violet-green Swallows, and smaller numbers of Barn Swallows were also seen. We spotted a Bald Eagle here, and a Merlin and Peregrine Falcon both put in brief appearances. Our last stop for the day was at Mono Lake County Park, where the highlight was a Red-breasted Sapsucker. Much of the surrounding habitat was sadly burned by the Inn Fire in June of this year.
Conditions were smoky owing to the Garnet Fire. This morning was spent out early at the South Tufa area taking in the sunrise. Surprising was the lack of phalaropes here, but we saw some good birds. The biggest surprise was a juvenile Ash-throated Flycatcher. We managed to squeeze out our only Yellow-headed Blackbird of the trip here. We had some good birds on the drive out though, including Sage Thrasher, Sagebrush Sparrow, and Brewer’s Sparrow. There were a couple of Western Meadowlarks, lots of Horned Larks, and lots of Killdeer hanging out in the burn scarred areas from the Beach Fire of 2020. After breakfast in Lee Vining, we headed south along the highway to Owens River Road and headed out to the Owens River Ranch area. It was pretty active here with good looks at a young Red-shouldered Hawk, Black-billed Magpies, and Vesper Sparrow among the 21 species seen. Other stops along the road produced a perched Cassin’s Finch and a really nice study of a male Williamson’s Sapsucker. We made a stop along the highway on the northwest shore of Mono Lake and were able to scope some rafts of Red-necked Phalaropes. Then it was on to Bodie for the rest of the afternoon. There we met our host Dave Swisher, who shared with us some wonderful historical gems from this famous gold rush ghost town. After a brief grouse search with Dave, we headed into town itself and found a female Greater Sage-Grouse quietly foraging among some old buildings.
Our last morning near Mono Lake started with a visit to the Lee Vining Creek Delta. We saw some 25 species of birds here, including a couple of Lazuli Buntings and another MacGillivray’s Warbler. Then a last stop at Mono Lake County Park. There were a few migrants evident here, including our first Western Warbling-Vireos of the trip. There were several Western Wood-Pewees, Lark Sparrows, our first Downy Woodpecker, and our only Black-headed Grosbeak. Climbing up the east slope toward Sonora Pass, we spotted a few Townsend’s Solitaires that showed off well. The rest of the day was spent driving across to Half Moon Bay in preparation for our pelagic trip.
Having had a productive pelagic trip, Alex Sundvall and I decided to combine our efforts on the final day and go off in search of California Condors. Our destination was Pacheco Peak Ranch where we were treated to nice views of up to a dozen condors. This proved to be a highlight for nearly everyone. Up to five Golden Eagles here were also a treat. Then it was on to Moss Landing with a stop along Dolan Road for Tricolored Blackbirds. Lunch at Sea Harvest with views of the harbor. Then a walk on the beach for Snowy Plover and many hundreds of Sanderlings. Then it was off to Pescadero Beach for a rocky shorebird fest. Great views of a couple of Wandering Tattlers, and many Surfbirds, Black Turnstones, and several Black Oystercatchers. Then off to Tunicas Creek, which was somewhat quiet. However, a Northern Pygmy-Owl sitting out right in the open was a treat, and a Chestnut-sided Warbler was a surprise find. And lastly, we paid a visit to Purisima Creek Redwood grove to take in the majestic coastal redwoods. A fine conclusion to the Slice of California Tour.
Other critters seen on the tour:
Brush Rabbit (Sylvilagus bachmani)
Mountain Cottontail (Sylvilagus nuttallii)
Least Chipmunk (Neotamias minimus)
Long-eared Chipmunk (Neotamias quadrimaculatus)
California Ground Squirrel (Otospermophilus beecheyi)
Eastern Gray Squirrel (Sciurus carolinensis)
Western Gray Squirrel (Sciurus griseus)
Douglas’s Squirrel (Tamiasciurus douglasii)
Bigg’s Killer Whale (Orcinus orca rectipinnus)
Pacific White-sided Dolphin (Sagmatias obliquidens)
Dall’s Porpoise (Phocoenoides dalli)
Humpback Whale (Megaptera novaeangliae)
Bobcat (Lynx rufus)
Coyote (Canis latrans)
Northern Raccoon (Procyon lotor)
Pacific Marten (Martes caurina)
Sea Otter (Enhydra lutris)
California Sea Lion (Zalophus californianus)
Northern Fur Seal (Callorhinus ursinus)
Harbor Seal (Phoca vitulina)
Western Fence Lizard (Sceloporus occidentalis)
California Banana Slug (Ariolimax californicus)
Signal Crayfish (Pacifastacus leniusculus)
Thanks to each of you for making the Slice of California tour such a treat. Special thanks to Alvaro Jaramillo, Malia de Felice, Chris Hayward, and Caitlin Chock for spotting so many great finds on our pelagic trip. And thanks to Alex Sundvall and his crew for our two days of joint birding on the pelagic and condor quest.
You can see my complete trip report on eBird at this link: https://ebird.org/tripreport/409054
You can download a combined PDF of this page and the eBird report at this link: https://fieldguides.com/triplists/nca25TRIPLIST.pdf
-- Chris