West County Regional Trail runs 5.5 miles through the towns of Forestville, Graton and Sebastopol. The vineyards, oak woodlands, rural countryside, and waste water treatment ponds provide a great locale for birding. Each time we visit, we look forward to the Wood Ducks that are reliably seen in the Graton ponds.
We headed out during a break in the rain last week, and set off on the trail from Ross Station Road.
Right off the bat, we spotted a Cooper’s Hawk perched in a tree across the vineyard. Close by was an unsuspecting male American Kestrel on a power line. Five minutes later the Kestrel began alarming loudly and we guessed he finally noticed the nearby Coop. We looked back and watched the Kestrel dive on the perched hawk until he gave up several attempts later.
Here in winter, it’s common to see mixed flocks of White- and Golden-crowned Sparrows with some California Towhees mixed in. Though Cal Towhees are mostly drab brown birds, we find them to be subtle beauties. The warm orange tones on this particular bird really pop.
Not far along the trail heading south toward Green Valley Road is a birdy patch of oaks where we often linger.
Since we live in the redwoods, our home patch lacks some of the oak woodland-loving birds. Just 15 minutes away, West County Trail is a convenient location to see and hear those birds with some regularity.
Here’s a recording of two Oak Titmice calling simultaneously. Their two different calls seem to sync up creating a neat pattern.
Here’s a White-breasted Nuthatch foraging in an oak tree.
If you love farm animals, look no further than this bucolic trail!
This Spotted Towhee was skulking less than expected and laid down on a post behind some bramble. It appeared to be wet from a bath, so hopefully it was just fanning out its feathers to dry and not injured!
In our experience, Hutton’s Vireos are quite curious birds. They often come close to inspect when we’re observing them, leading to nice photo opportunities. Here are two of several Hutton’s Vireos we encountered on the trail. Do you know the field marks to look for to make sure these aren’t Ruby-crowned Kinglets?
As we approached the Graton waste water treatment ponds, the first bird we noticed was this introspective Killdeer staring out at the water.
The ponds housed many Bufflehead and a few Common Goldeneye. Yet, the Wood Ducks were nowhere to be found!
We looked behind us, and there they were – mixed in with Mallards in the adjacent flooded field! Notice how much smaller they are than the Mallards.
Wood Ducks are pretty shy and it was a treat to hear them vocalize.
Just beyond the ponds, the trail traverses Atascadero Creek Marsh Ecological Reserve via a short boardwalk before reaching Green Valley Road. Due to recent rains, this part was flooded out and was unfortunately the end of the road for us.
But before we turned around, this Hairy Woodpecker gave us a nice sendoff.
Still yet to see a wood duck. : ( Great pics!
Next time you’re out here, we’ll go see the Wood Ducks!