I did a little reconnaissance around the proposed M and T gravel operation this morning in preparation for Altacals January 5 trip, and found it to be rich in native bird species.
My first stop was along Chico River Road where the road crosses Little Chico Creek (no surface water at this point) where I found black phoebe, house finch, red-winged blackbird, Nuttall’s woodpecker, American Goldfinch, Bewick’s wren, scrub jay, golden-crowned sparrow, lesser goldfinch, American crow, northern flicker, white-breasted nuthatch, turkey vulture, spotted towhee, song sparrow, fox sparrow, California quail and Ruby-crowned kinglet. This location is just ‘up-stream’ from where the gravel mining would take place.
Another stop a quarter mile further south yielded many white-crowned sparrow and fly-overs by a flock of sandhill crane which subsequently landed on the subject property.
After turning east on Ord Ferry road; house sparrow, western meadowlark and mourning dove graced the roadside. Where this road re-crossed Little Chico Creek (down-stream from the proposed mining) I found: oak titmouse, European starling, a lone Lincoln’s sparrow, yellow-rumped warbler, a small flock of wood-ducks on the irrigation canal, a solo long-billed curlew flying over and hundreds of sandhill cranes on the newly planted fields of Llano Seco on the south side of the road.
The existing level of vehicle and large truck traffic on this country road make it uncomfortable for birding, if not for the birds. A road-killed deer and gray squirrel suggest the possibility of greater traffic related wildlife mortality if road usage increases.
Scott Huber
December 13, 2007
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