Birding Trip Report: Mt. Rose Wilderness

Earlier this week, we birded two creekside areas within the Mt. Rose Wilderness in Washoe County, Nevada, southwest of Reno. The first, Hunter Creek, winds through the Wilderness along a popular trail to a waterfall. The second, Jones Creek, runs through the Galena Creek Recreation Area, located along the Mount Rose Scenic Byway (Highway 431).
 
We accessed Hunter Creek Trail from a trailhead off Woodchuck Drive, above a suburban neighborhood.

There, we observed a trifecta of birds in blue.

This California Scrub-Jay stood sentry on a skinny branch high above us.

The third bird in blue was the incredible Lazuli Bunting – a jaw-dropper every time.

We came across two singing males along the lower section of the trail. Enjoy one of bird’s songs here below.

Though we didn’t walk the three miles to the waterfall, we could tell it would’ve been a gorgeous hike. (Let’s be real… six miles round-trip of birding by foot would’ve taken us like a million hours at our pace!)

Knowing we have family in Reno, our friend Jeff gave us this great Lahontan Audubon Society book – A Birding Guide to Reno and Beyond. Our second stop was one of the book’s featured destinations, Galena Creek Recreation Area. Though the Galena Creek Visitor Center provides access to many miles of trails, we mainly birded the scrub and montane forest surrounding Jones Creek just behind the visitor center.

From a far distance, this bird vexed us – gray head, mottled white breast, brownish wings. When we got a closer look, we realized it was a Fox Sparrow subspecies other than the “Sooty” we’re used to back home! After inspection, our best guess was a Thick-billed, based on the fairly heavy bill with an all-gray lower mandible and the dull, rufous-brown wings and tail.

He sang a beautiful and varied song of whistles, squeaks, and trills.

We’ve only seen the Green-tailed Towhee once down in Big Bend National Park, and instantly fell in love. Meeting this funnily colored bird again was a long-awaited treat!

We observed this guy for a long time as he sang – first from atop a pine, and later a scrubby shrub.

We also enjoyed these cat-like calls from one foraging on the ground. The Green-tailed Towhee’s call is similar to the Spotted Towhee’s in shape – a slightly rising, inquisitive sound – but softer and clearer.

We encountered this silky clump of crawling caterpillars. After some research, we believe it was a Western Tent Caterpillar nest.

The vibrant color of several Western Tanager males in their fresh breeding plumage popped against the greens of the pine forest.

Low in the willows lining Jones Creek, a warbler-esque chip note and short buzzy song emanated. After a few minutes, we finally got a brief look at a lovely MacGillivray’s Warbler.

We then spotted a small, mostly gray flycatcher perched quietly in the willows before it flew off. Its eye-ring and wing-bars indicated it was likely within the Empidonax genus. The expected empids in Washoe County include Hammond’s, Dusky, Gray, and Willow Flycatchers, with some occasional sightings of Pacific-slope/Cordilleran Flycatchers traveling through.
 
The large eye-ring seems to likely rule out a Gray or Willow Flycatcher, who typically have a thin eye-ring. The bird’s eye-ring appears almost teardrop-shaped; but, Pacific-slope and Cordilleran Flycatchers are generally overall olive in color.
 
Thus, we wonder if it may have been a Dusky or Hammond’s Flycatcher. A Hammond’s typically has a slightly peaked head, while a Dusky’s head is usually more rounded. The photo below suggests a hint of a peak. Length of primary projection is another helpful clue – however, we never got a clear enough look to gauge this. Nor did we hear the bird vocalize, so we are stumped.
 
If you have any thoughts, please let us know in the comments below!

Several Cassin’s Finches foraged in the pines, singing often. It was fun comparing the Cassin’s song to the more familiar House and Purple Finch songs heard in Sonoma County. To us, this particular Cassin’s Finch sounds akin to a Purple Finch, but ending with a buzzy, ascending “zip!” reminiscent of a House Finch.

Spotted Towhees are normally shy guys, foraging on the ground within thick shrubbery. However, they often sing from a conspicuous perch, allowing for extended observation. This tidy male sang out in the open, seemingly indifferent to his adoring audience – that’s us!

His song lacked an introductory note.

Exploring the Mount Rose Wilderness was fun – but at 30,000 acres, we’ve barely scratched the surface – we look forward to visiting again soon!