Last Thursday, we joined Rich Cimino and Janet Bodle of Yellowbilled Tours at Olompali State Historic Park for the 2018 Cheep Thrills Christmas Bird Count.
Olompali State Historic Park lies west of Highway 101 just north of Novato. For years, every time we drove along 101, we’d say, “Hmm… Olompali, we gotta check that out.” We finally explored it during last year’s CBC in 2017, and we’re glad we did! It’s a beautiful 700-acre park featuring oak woodlands and open grasslands, as well as several historic buildings and barns. The area was historically inhabited by the Coast Miwok, and “Olompali” is a Miwok word that likely translates to “southern village” or “southern people.” The higher elevations of the park look out onto sweeping views of San Pablo Bay and the Petaluma River and its surrounding wetlands.
During the 2017 CBC in Olompali, our group inexplicably didn’t observe any White-crowned Sparrows! This year, we were pleased to see several as we drove through the gate to the park early in the morning, along with our very first bird of the day – a Say’s Phoebe. We met up in the parking lot where a Hermit Thrush was busy wheer-ing away in the nearby bramble.
Our group of eight then split off in two directions – five to cover the higher elevations, and three to the lower orchard and garden areas. As our group set off on the Miwok Trail, right off the bat we ran into a group of Wild Turkeys that was known to have an Indian Peafowl associating with it. It was a nice opportunity to look closely at what is quite a beautiful bird.
Traversing the grasslands, we tallied up many usual suspects: Yellow-rumped Warblers, Dark-eyed Juncos, Cedar Waxwings, Ruby-crowned Kinglets, Bewick’s Wrens, White-breasted Nuthatches, Bushtits, Oak Titmice, Hutton’s Vireos, Northern Flickers, Acorn Woodpeckers, etc.
We were thrilled when a Peregrine Falcon cruised by, and a Red-breasted Sapsucker landed on a tree directly in front of us.
These cows looked curious when our heads popped up over the stone fence… oh, hi there!
We encountered a second group of Wild Turkeys – this gang was apparently in quite the mood! We watched them for several minutes and witnessed some individuals repeatedly challenging each other, noisily vocalizing, and grabbing each other by the neck. They were making quite the ruckus!
As we continued on the Miwok Trail, it wound uphill into thick and damp oak woodlands.
As we reached the ridge and started heading back down along the Loop Trail, a falcon zipped by across the open expanse in front of us. It perched looking out toward San Pablo Bay, and we were able to make out its rather compact body and dark tail with thin light bands. We had ourselves a Merlin! Not 60 seconds after it perched, it took flight, flapping continuously and within seconds was gone from view.
The Loop Trail landed us back at the old barns close to the Visitor Center.
This handsome Red-Tailed Hawk peered down at Miles peering at a distant bird.
Our entire group reconvened at the Visitor Center’s conference room to tally species for the day. The hallway featured historical information on the Park and the Olompali people, including some great archival posters.
All in all, our group tallied 48 species, which was five more than in 2017. A successful 2018 Christmas Bird Count for the Olompali section of the Cheep Thrills Count! Here’s looking at you, 2019!
To learn more about the Coast Miwok people, visit the Federated Indians of Graton Rancheria’s Historical Background & Timeline page.
If you’re interested in visiting the property and seeing some wintering birds, Rich Cimino and Janet Bodle will be leading a free bird walk at Olompali on Saturday, February 9, 2019. Visit their Yellowbilled Tours website for more information.
To learn more about the CBC, visit the National Audubon Society’s History of the Christmas Bird Count page.