More Dawn Birding

After experiencing such a magnificent dawn chorus at Santa Rosa Creek Trail, we craved more dawn birding! The following day, we arrived at Sweetwater Springs Road at 5:13 AM just before first light.
 
The special “dawn song” of a Western Wood-Pewee greeted us – a reward for waking before the sun. As with many other flycatchers, the dawn song is typically reserved for a short period before sunrise and sometimes at twilight.

Right as we exited the car in near darkness, a small, potentially bird-like shape fluttered by, disappearing within the oak tree above us. Implementing our standardized birding protocol, we asked ourselves: “Step 1: Is it a bird?” We strained our eyes, but in such low light we could only make out a small bump on a limb. With enough illumination 15 minutes later, we excitedly realized it was not only one bird, but two birds! And not only was it two birds, it was two OWLETS!
 
We snapped this photo with a super slow shutter speed and discovered we were in the presence of two young Western Screech-Owl fluffballs!!!

The owlets emitted some quiet vocalizations, which we only managed to capture a second of – listen below between 0:01 and 0:02 seconds for a soft “purring” sound. You can hear more of this neat juvenile call here in this recording captured by our favorite audio-recordist Paul Marvin.

Baby birds abounded along the road – here’s one of several juvenile Western Bluebirds we encountered.

Nearby, a Rufous-crowned Sparrow sang from a low perch in the dried grass while some Wild Turkeys gobbled in the distance.

Later, we stood listening to a presumed-but-unknown juvenile bird sound emanating from a blackberry bush. Patience paid off and minutes later, an adult Rufous-crowned Sparrow flew into the bush and promptly flew out with begging baby in hot pursuit! Listen to the juvenile vocalizations below.

Although we didn’t capture a photo of the Rufous-crowned Sparrows, here are two photos from past years from the same location.

The sparse, grassy, hillside habitat attracts many House Wrens, whose song is confusingly similar to the Rufous-crowned Sparrow. Take a listen and compare it to the sparrow’s song above.

We watched a male Northern Flicker forage on the ground – perhaps probing an anthill with its sticky tounge, as flickers like to do. As it took to the air, we followed its flight and delighted to see it disappear into a nest cavity. Even from a good distance, the sound of the begging babies within could be heard!

Taking in a pre-dawn soundscape is a magical experience. There’s something so special about being outdoors in the darkness before sunrise and getting to witness the birds (and the world) waking up!