We regularly lead bird walks at Bohemia Ecological Preserve – a beautiful 1,000-acre property in Occidental, California owned by LandPaths. Back in March 2017, we participated in LandPaths’ volunteer docent training course for the Preserve, and absolutely fell in love with the place.
In addition to the unique serpentine chaparral habitat, Bohemia features five other habitat types within its 1,000 acres: hardwood-conifer forest, oak woodlands & savannah, riparian woodlands, wetlands, and grasslands. It’s home to several rare or threatened species of plants such as Pennell’s Bird’s-beak, Baker’s Manzanita, Crystal Springs Lessingia, and Sonoma Jewelflower, among others.
Due to the Preserve’s wide variety of habitats, it’s a wonderful place to bird. It also happens to feature incredible views and an impressive seasonal waterfall.
We visited the property this week to do some hike recon and survey the condition of the trails, and ended up roaming around birding for nearly six hours.
We’ve noticed Hutton’s Vireos singing around our house this past week, so we weren’t surprised when we came across one singing at Bohemia. We were surprised at just how loud and intense his song was!
This is the male who was hopping around a live oak singing nonstop. At least three others followed loosely behind him, vocalizing softly, which you can also hear in the above recording starting at the 1:09 mark. Do you know the field marks to look for to make sure he isn’t a Ruby-crowned Kinglet?
Not long after being treated to this Hutton’s Vireo performance, we heard a distinct single-note tooting in the distance. Could it be…? Could it possibly be…?! A Northern Pygmy-Owl! We couldn’t believe our ears!
We scanned the treetops for ages with no luck. Just before giving up, we walked down a side trail for one last scan – and there it was! Right out in the open at the top of a Douglas-fir! We were beyond thrilled!
Check out this comparison of the “false eyes” on the back of its head versus its real eyes! Could’ve fooled us!
Here’s the owl mid-toot. We briefly heard counter-tooting far in the distance.
We watched the owl for 20 minutes. He looked left, he looked right, he tooted, he blinked, he swiveled his head this way and that, he stared at us with the black patches on the back of his head, and he tooted more. He eventually stretched out one leg and wing lazily and hopped down one branch to face a different angle. We took that as our cue to move along, and thanked him for letting us watch him attend to his owly business.
We reveled in our post-owl glow, and celebrated with peanut butter sandwiches – a PB&J for Miles and a PB&P (pickles!) for Teresa.
We noticed this Douglas-fir growing directly through the branches of a Coast Live Oak – incredible! Nature!
Can you tell which raptor this silhouette belongs to?
It was a Peregrine Falcon! What a treat – this was the first time we’ve encountered a Peregrine at the Preserve. Just on the other side of the tree trunk was a lone, perched Turkey Vulture. When the Peregrine took off, the Turkey Vulture spooked and nearly fell of the branch in apparent panic.
At the top of the first elevation climb, we arrived at “Hut Hill” where spectacular views awaited us. From here, a trail winds down through these manzanitas leading to the riparian habitat around Duvoul Creek. This is just one of many gorgeous sections of the property.
“The Meadow” below is visible from the manzanita trail, and a great spot for a picnic!
The most magical thing about Duvoul Creek is that it feeds a stunning seasonal waterfall on the property.
During our saunter, we saw many California Tortoiseshells flitting about. We also saw this Mourning Cloak, said to be a harbinger of spring!
On the trail back, we passed by this seemingly endless stand of Oregon Oaks – leafless, but certainly not barren.
As we headed back towards the property exit, we came across a massive mixed flock of Oak Titmice, Ruby-crowned Kinglets, Dark-eyed Juncos, Hutton’s Vireos, Anna’s Hummingbirds, Golden-crowned Sparrows, Spotted Towhees, Yellow-rumped Warblers, Purple Finches, Western Bluebirds, Acorn Woodpeckers, California Towhees, a White-breasted Nuthatch, a Townsend’s Warbler, and a Black Phoebe –Â whew!!
At one point, the birds went bananas. We wondered if there was a predator nearby, but didn’t see anything. Check out how loud some of the birds were (led by an Oak Titmouse):
Nearly six hours after we began, we bid adieu to Bohemia and this bluebird basking in the afternoon sun bid adieu to us.
If you’re interested in visiting Bohemia Ecological Preserve or any of LandPaths’ other wonderful properties, check out the guided hikes and stewardship days listed on LandPaths’ Outings page.
If you’d like to join us for a morning of beginner’s birding at Bohemia, check our Guided Bird Walks page for any upcoming dates.