Marin County Birding: Bear Valley Visitor Center and Earthquake Trail

Last week, we ventured out for a day of birding at Point Reyes National Seashore. We wanted to do a little recon for our upcoming “Birding for Beginners and the Bird-Curious” event with the Point Reyes National Seashore Association, scheduled for November 23.
 
Fortuitously, the fog lifted as we arrived at the Bear Valley Visitor Center, giving way to this beautiful scene.

Right away, a handful of Western Bluebirds provided a nice opportunity to compare the color-intensity differences between males and females.

Dark-eyed Juncos also abounded in the grasses and bushes surrounding the parking lot.

As we set off along Earthquake Trail, a coyote kept watch from the edge of the woods.

Several high-pitched, whiny whistles started raining down on us from high in the trees – Cedar Waxwings!

Deeper along the trail, we encountered this unconcerned mama deer grooming herself with two nervous fawns nearby.

Then, we heard a familiar sound close by that excited us!

We triangulated the source of the sound to an alder tree where this female Pileated Woodpecker treated us to great looks at her handiwork.

Nearby, a Fox Sparrow dove across the trail, low to the ground. It immediately gave a string of rapid “smack” calls, sounding none too pleased about something. Perhaps there was a hidden predator in the bushes? You can sense the urgency in its calls.

We encountered the Pileated again farther down the trail. As we stood quietly observing, her mate suddenly flew in and landed directly above her on the tree trunk.

The pair pecked loudly away at the alders, ripping into the bark, creating a flurry of visible tree dust around us as we stood in awe. Listen below to the incredibly loud pecking. Around 0:30 seconds, you can hear the wing-noise of the male as he flew over our heads and landed in a different tree before letting out a few “kuk!“-s. What an experience!

Back near the Visitor Center, we encountered this thirsty American Crow drinking at a water trough.

Later at home, we discovered this photograph below had captured the crow’s blue nictitating membrane. A nictitating membrane is a translucent third eyelid that closes horizontally across the eye. These membranes help birds protect, clean, and moisturize their eyes without impairing their vision. They’re hard to notice in the field, but look super neat when you get lucky with a photo!

Just as we were calling it a day, we noticed two wonderful wildlife photographers we’d met earlier on the trail snapping photos at the edge of the parking lot. We slowly approached and found this beautiful bobcat posing undisturbed in the sunlight. We all quietly watched while the bobcat soaked in the sun and unsuccessfully pounced on potential prey. It eventually moved on, disappearing into the tall camouflage of grass.

Thank you, beautiful bobcat, for a fantastic end to an already fulfilling day of connecting with the natural world.