Darlingtonia Trail and Crescent City

Turkey Vultures in the mist Point St George, Crescent City

A walk to the Smith river after breakfast revealed little except a couple of Barn Swallows foraging over the water and a Cedar Waxwing again in the area. A few Steller’s Jay noisy on the far bank and, later, back near the cabins. For a short while 2 Vaux’s Swifts swooped about close to the river giving excellent close views. Still no Dippers!

Start of the Darlingtonia Trail

We all head N on the highway for a short distance to the Darlingtonia Trail. Magificent spread of pitcher-plants on this small bog. No birds.

Pitcher Plants

The Madrone tree

We continue on up the highway to have lunch at ‘Patricks’ on Patrick creek. Excellent. A walk along a short trail downstream reveals nothing (no Dippers!) but we found a very tired and tatty Western Tiger Swallowtail Papilio rutulus. Two feral ducks were on the ornamental pond outside the restaurant!

Moribund Swallowtail

Back at the lodge there was an American Robin on the lawns and a noisy Steller’s Jay.

In the afternoon I set off on my own to have a more leisurely look at the north side of Crescent City and its harbour. David lets me have the Subaru WRX on my own!

Two panorama views of Crescent harbour looking south and the sea defence wall with the famous B street pier to the left

First I go to the B Street pier and wander out about half way before I spot a MARBLED MURRELET in non-breeding plumage out to sea towards Steamboat Rock. Easily identified by dark crown and face with white chin and half collar; two irregular white patches on the back and white undertail. The Sibley illustration gets the outline and pattern exactly right. A glimpse of a few more further out and I see at least one of them in dusky summer plumage. They dive and drift about in pairs or small groups of up to 10 or so. Otherwise I can find only a scattering of Pacific Loons and a couple of Common Loons along with a few Surf Scoter – all at a considerable distance off in the harbour mouth. A black and white Pigeon Guillemot flying past far out to sea. A large collection of gulls and a couple of Harbour Seals on the beach up towards Sunset circle. The gulls look mostly to be Western Gulls.

Sub-adult Western Gull

Far too far away to determine more accurately and since I have spent some time with them I decide not to go that way to scan them more thoroughly. Two waders fly by with a clear Tringine-like call (kewtutu according to Sibley would be right), white rumps, barred tails, whitish along inner trailing edges of upperwings and very Redshank-like in flight. I think of Yellowlegs. They turn out to be Short-billed Dowitchers. One still more or less in summer plumage the other almost half way into winter plumage. I return to the car to collect my longer lens and get some record shots of them diligently feeding including their typical sewing-machine actions, which of course I cannot capture without video. Splendid views.

Short-billed Dowitchers feeding

Other waders include at least 12 Black Oystercatchers on the rocks inside the harbour and a few Semi-palmated Plovers, Western Sandpipers and Black Turnstones but nothing else of real note. I move out to have a look at Battery Point and its lighthouse, but not before taking some pictures of Ground Squirrels in the car park. A mob of Brewer’s Blackbird including many dull brown juveniles in this same area.

Ground Squirrels

Battery Point Light Station

At Battery Point lots of people on the pebble beach that cuts it off from the mainland and at the lighthouse doing a tour of the building for $3. I set up the telescope on the N side of the buildings and have further good views of Marbled Murrelets including another good summer plumaged bird with overall dark blotchy brown feathering. Non-breeding birds show a clear collar of white that just fails to meet across the lower nape and a reciprocal black band that just fails to cross the upper breast. With the two white wing patches, the forward scapular patch is irregularly marked dusky and white but the rear patch above the folded wingtips is on the sides of the lower back showing as a clear white patch. The underside of the body is all white. I enjoy watching them with the telescope. An adult Osprey flies in off the sea with something in its talons. On a rock islet to the N of the point I spot at least 4 Pelagic Cormorants. The Oystercatchers disperse into this bay. The tide must be falling. It was gloriously warm and clear when I arrived at about 1415 but by 1530 there were ominous signs of a thick sea mist swirling in.

Gathering sea mist

As I worked along the Pebble Beach Drive I stopped at the turnout above the cliffs at 9^th street and had a look at Castle Rock in the thickening mist. A couple of Wandering Tattlers were foraging below me on the rocks along the tide edge.

Castle Rock photographed on 19th August

It is here at Castle Rock that all of the Aleutian Canada Geese assemble in March before going N. The majority of the world population uses this staging area on the spring migration. This subspecies has rebounded from a low of about 800 birds in the mid 1970s to about 40,000 geese by 2000, according to Barron (2001). There is now an annual ‘Aleutian Goose festival’ held in Crescent City in late March.

Sure enough the thick mist arrived soon after and visibility falls off to half a mile or worse before I can get out to Point St George. The details in Barron (2001) were spot on. I walked to the headland and saw very little except a Turkey Vulture in the mist perched atop the rock at the point. A Surfbird was on the rocks along with 2 Wandering Tattler.

Cliff top vegetaion at Point St George in the mist

It was cold and bleak on the headland and with such poor visibility not much point me staying longer although I did take a few pctures in the misty light before I returned to the car and drove back to our cabin arriving at about 1800. Two American Robin on the lawns this evening though noe seen here all morning. Another a good day. Tracey reports seeing a Red-tailed Hawk when she had a swim in the river near the cabin during the afternoon. Now seen 116 species this trip. Not spectacular but reasonable. Pitcher-plants and Marbled Murrelet highlights today.