Saturday September 6, 8:00 AM - Beginning Bird Walk. Meet at Chico Creek Nature Center for a walk in the park.

September 19,20,21 - Point Reyes. Meet at Chico Park and Ride at 6:00PM on Friday to carpool to Olema Ranch Campground, or meet us at 7:30AM on Saturday at the Olema Ranch Campground headquarters parking lot. We are going birding for Eastern migrants and shorebirds. R.S.V.P. by September 10 to Richard Redmond at 893-5382 so we can reserve campsites. If you aren't camping you will need to make your own reservations for accommodations.

Sierra Valley & Yuba Pass - June 28^th-29^th, 1997 – Five of us arrived Friday night at the Yuba Pass Campground around 10 PM and immediately turned in. At around 5 AM, the singing started, so we arose for the morning chorus of American Robins, Western Wood Peewees, Yellow-Rumped Warblers, Cassin’s Finches, and assorted other birds, including a few Red Crossbills (which I missed – I wasn’t seeing much that morning, it was one of those mornings when I was always looking in the wrong direction!). Hairy and White-Headed woodpeckers were also seen in camp.

We then crossed the highway to a meadow where the group had seen Black-Backed Woodpeckers in previous years, and were fortunate enough to get several good looks at them, as well as numerous Lincoln’s and Fox Sparrows, and a Red-Breasted Sapsucker. We also saw a House Wren, which we were unable to relocate after a quick glimpse, and a small flycatcher where several of the group identified as a Hammond’s.

Looking back across the highway, we noted a large number of birders walking up the highway a ways. Obviously they were folks who knew where the Northern Pygmy Owls were nesting, so we followed them and were rewarded by excellent looks at the owls, one of which was carrying a suspiciously familiar House Wren. Hopefully we didn’t flush it to its death! We had been thinking "That’s a pretty good bird…" and that’s probably what the owl was thinking as well. At least one of the owls was probably young; good looks at the back of the head didn’t show the "false eyes" shown in the field guide.

After picking up a few other birds seen around the parking lot, including Pine Siskin and Evening Grosbeak, we headed down the hill. On a walk up a dirt road we picked up Olive Sided Flycatcher, Hermit Thrush, Calliope Hummingbird, Orange-Crowned and Nashville Warblers, among others.

Making our way into Sierra Valley, we missed a turn and headed east a ways, which got us a bonus Tricolored Blackbird. A brief stop at "Vesper Corner" gave the expected results (although the wind kept the birds down a bit). We also saw an Osprey flying near the highway. Heading down Dyson Lane/Marble Hot Springs Road didn’t yield as much as we expected (the wind again) but we did get a surprise – a Peregrine Falcon, which we hadn’t been expecting. Most other birds seen were typical of the area: Yellow-Headed Blackbird, American Bittern, Common Snipe, Sandhill Cranes, Savannah Sparrows, American White Pelicans, Black-Necked Stilts, etc.

We then headed over to Lake Davis for lunch, and picked up Violet-Green Swallow (Cliff and Barn Swallows were seemingly everywhere) as well as Western Grebe and Ring-Billed Gull. After a quick Gasoline/House Sparrow/Lesser Goldfinch stop we attempted to reach Antelope Lake, but ended up circling Davis Lake instead on the network of dirt roads surrounding it (our leader was never a Boy Scout!) We headed back to the lake and made camp, with a short walk to get good looks at a Bald Eagle and 3 Spotted Sandpipers.

Sunday we awoke to the calls of a Great Horned Owl, and after a quick bite went out to Dyson Lane again to try our luck without the high winds. The birds were much more cooperative, and we picked up Brewer’s Sparrow as well as an additional Vesper Sparrow, and got a great view of the Peregrine perched as well as in-flight.

Another quick walk down the road across from Yuba Pass Campground gave us several Hermit Warblers, Warbling Vireo, Magillavray’s Warbler, Mountain Quail, and a fine wild goose chase after Pileated drumming that turned out to be a false alarm. After heading over the pass to Bassett’s (a small market) for their Anna’s Hummingbirds, we headed back to Chico with around 90 species total. – Skip Augur

Eagle Lake- Honey Lake - July 12-13th 1997 - Six Altacalers headed up to Lassen county for a full weekend of Birding and we were not disappointed with our accommodations, food, company or the birds. We saw 92 species of Birds and some good mammals. The mammals were Deer, Pronghorn Antelope, Cotton tail and Jackrabbits and a Badger.

The birds were: Eared Grebe, Western Grebe, American White Pelican, Double-Crested Cormorant, Great Blue Heron, Snowy Egret, White-Faced Ibis, Canada Goose, Mallard, Northern Pintail, Cinnamon Teal, Lesser Scaup, Common Merganser, Turkey Vulture, Osprey, Bald Eagle, Northern Harrier, Northern Goshawk, Red-Tailed Hawk, American Kestrel, Calif. Quail, American Coot, Semipalmated Plover, Killdeer, Black-necked Stilt, American Avocet, Greater Yellow Legs, Spotted Sandpiper, Long-Billed Curlew, Marbled Godwit, Western Sandpiper, Least Sandpiper, Ring-Billed Gull, Caspian Tern, Forster's Tern, Rock Dove, Band-Tailed Pigeon, Mourning Dove, Common Nighthawk, Lewis's Woodpecker, Acorn Woodpecker, White-Headed Woodpecker, Northern Flicker, Olive-Sided Flycatcher, Western Wood-Peewee, Western Kingbird, Tree Swallow, Violet-green Swallow, N. Rough-winged Swallow, Cliff Swallow, Barn Swallow, Steller's Jay, Scrub Jay, Black-billed Magpie, Mountain Chickadee, Bushtit, White-breasted Nuthatch, Pygmy Nuthatch, Brown Creeper, Rock Wren, House Wren, Blue-gray Gnatcatcher, Western Bluebird, Townsend's Solitaire, American Robin, Sage Thrasher, Loggerhead Shrike, European Starling, Cassin's Vireo (formerly Solitary Vireo which has been split in to 3 species: Cassin's, Plumbeous and Blue-headed Vireos), Yellow-rumped Warbler, Western Tanager, Black-headed Grosbeak, Green-tailed Towhee, Spotted Towhee, Chipping Sparrow, Brewer's Sparrow, Vesper Sparrow, Lark Sparrow, Savannah Sparrow, Song Sparrow, Dark-eyed Junco, Red-winged Blackbird, Tricolored Blackbird, Western Meadowlark, Yellow-headed Blackbird, Brewer's Blackbird, Brown-headed Cowbird, Bullock's Oriole, Pine Grosbeak (3rd Lassen County Record, 1st summer record), Cassin's Finch, Lesser Goldfinch, House Sparrow. – Richard Redmond

Lassen National Park - August 8-10, 1997 - Seven Altacalers were treated to 67 species of birds. The birds were: Pied-billed Grebe, Double-crested Cormorant, Canada Goose, Wood Duck, Mallard, Turkey Vulture, Osprey, Sharp-shinned Hawk, Cooper's Hawk, Red-tailed Hawk, American Kestrel, Blue Grouse, American Coot, Spotted Sandpiper, Common Snipe, Red-necked Phalarope, Common Nighthawk, Vaux's Swift, Rufous Hummingbird, Belted Kingfisher, Red-naped Sapsucker, Hairy Woodpecker, White-headed Woodpecker, Black-backed Woodpecker, Northern Flicker, Olive-sided Flycatcher, Western Wood-Peewee, Willow Flycatcher, Pacific-slope Flycatcher, Black Phoebe, Western Kingbird, Tree Swallow, Violet-green Swallow, Barn Swallow, Steller's Jay, Clark's Nutcracker, American Crow, Common Raven, Red-breasted Nuthatch, Pygmy Nuthatch, Brown Creeper, House Wren, Golden-crowned Kinglet, Mountain Bluebird, Townsend's Solitaire, American Robin, Plumbeous Vireo, Cassin's Vireo, Warbling Vireo, Orange-crowned Warbler, Nashville Warbler, Yellow Warbler, Yellow-rumped Warbler, Black-throated Gray Warbler, Townsend's Warbler, Hermit Warbler, MacGillivray's Warbler, Wilson's Warbler, Western Tanager, Lazuli Bunting, Spotted Towhee, Fox Sparrow, Song Sparrow, Lincoln's Sparrow, Dark-eyed Junco, Red-winged Blackbird, Brewer's Blackbird, Cassin's Finch, Pine Siskin.

– Richard Redmond

Saturday, September 13, 11 AM-1 PM – Head Wreaths. Kimberly Carrow, local artist and craft instructor, will lead children in making beautiful head wreaths. Bay leaves, oak leaves, and dried flowers will be on hand for children to decorate their wreaths. Please call the Nature Center at 891-4671 to register for this event. Space is limited to 15 participants.

Saturday, September 20, 11 AM-12 PM – Meet the Animals. Don’t miss this opportunity to get close-up with the non-releasable animals at the nature center. A staff naturalist will discuss the history of each animal, their physical characteristics, and how they acre cared for. Participants will even get a chance to pet the animals. A wonderful event for children. The event meets at the Nature Center, please call at 891-4671 to register .

Saturday, September 27, 7 PM-9-PM – Owl Prowl. Join local teacher and naturalist, Scott Torricelli, for this popular night-hike around the grounds of CCNC to search for OWLS! This event will give participants an opportunity to see these creatures up close in their own natural environment when they are most active. A wonderful event for the entire family. Please wear appropriate clothing and bring your flashlight. This event meets at the nature center. Call 891-4671 to register.