Finley Pigeon Butte adventure

[Don Boucher]

Hello,

On Saturday morning, June 22, I led a group of fellow naturalists on a hike from Bruce Road, Pigeon Butte, Maple Knoll, the Beaver Pond and Cattail Pond. We had a good number of bird species, wildflowers, dragonflies and more. Since I was facilitating the hike, I wasn't prepared to take photos.

Some bird highlights: Between Maple Knoll and Pigeon Butte, we watched a Yellow-breasted Chat do a display song/flight and then sing while perched in a nearby ash tree. Another Yellow-breasted Chat was singing in earshot from the field edge on the NE side of Maple Knoll. When we got closer to this other Chat, we noticed it was occasionally making a sound very similar to the kind Steller's Jays often make. Meanwhile, there were actual Steller's Jays making the same noise from the forest on Maple Knoll! I've encountered a chat making this jay sound before. We had 3 Willow Flycatchers, one one the south side of Pigeon Butte, another at the Beaver Pond and another at the Cattail Pond. On the trail SE of the Cattail Pond, we watched a Western Tanager eat serviceberries and a few Band-tailed Pigeons in the nearby trees.

Here's a list of the birds I remember encountering:

California Quail, Band-tailed Pigeon, Mourning Dove, Rufous Hummingbird, Virginia Rail, Sora, American Bittern, Turkey Vulture, Downy Woodpecker, Northern Flicker, Western Wood-Pewee,  Western Flycatcher, Willow Flycatcher, Warbling Vireo, Steller's Jay, California Scrub-Jay, American Crow, Common Raven, Black-capped Chickadee, Tree Swallow, Violet-green Swallow, Barn Swallow, Bushtit, Brown Creeper, House Wren, Pacific Wren, Marsh Wren, Bewick's Wren, European Starling, Swainson's Thrush, American Robin, Cedar Waxwing, House Finch, Purple Finch, American Goldfinch, Dark-eyed Junco, White-crowned Sparrow, Song Sparrow, Spotted Towhee, Red-winged Blackbird, Brown-headed Cowbird, Brewer's Blackbird, Yellow-breasted Chat, Orange-crowned Warbler, Common Yellowthroat, Yellow Warbler, Black-throated Gray Warbler, Wilson's Warbler, Western Tanager, Black-headed Grosbeak, Lazuli Bunting.

At the rocky area between Pigeon Butte and Maple Knoll we saw a Western Fence Lizard and a couple of California Ground Squirrels. At the Beaver Pond, bullfrogs were numerous and their booming chorus was an impressive and ridiculous cacophony.

We encountered many dragonflies and damselflies, especially at the ponds but elsewhere too. We saw a teneral male Western Pondhawk (that had yet to develop its final coloring). Owen Dell posted a photo of this individual in all his bright green glory. We didn't take special effort to ID all the species we encountered but some that stood out were, Common Whitetail, Eight-spotted Skimmer, at least one species of darner, Pacific Forktail, one or more species of bluets. While we scanned the pond surface with binoculars, we could see swarms of all kinds of these odonates.

There was such a variety of plants and flowers to see but I'll mention some. Hairy Vetch (Vicia villosa, introduced) was very showy and conspicuous. We observed and talked about Western Poison-Oak; dreadful to people who are allergic to it but a native shrub that is important to wildlife (birds love the fruits). Owen Dell posted this photo in appreciation (or warning?).

In the forest there was a lot of Enchanter's-Nightshade (Circaea alpina) blooming. Lady Ferns (Athyrium filix-femina) arched over the trailsides. The diminutive Small-flowered Nemophila (Nemophila parviflora) charmed us.

In more open areas, there was Meadow Checker-Mallow (Sidalcea campestris) and another species, probably Rose Checkermallow (Sidalcea virgata) but they vary a lot and can be a challenge to ID.
There were lupines in bloom. I thought they could be Kincaid's (Lupinus oreganus) but without having detailed photos to review, I'm not sure. There are also Longspur Lupine's (Lupinus arbustus) reported in the area too. We saw some Slender Cinquefoil (Potentilla gracilis)

Night-blooming Morning Glory (Calystegia atriplicifolia) and Meadow Deathcamas (Toxicoscordion venenosum).

I'll be leading another adventure in July at the Starker Park pond where we'll look at Dragonflies. For more info: http://neighborhood-naturalist.com/field-trips

Otherwise, I'll be posting some autumn field trips in the not too distant future.

-Don Boucher

http://neighborhood-naturalist.com

[Don A Boucher]

Here are some photos Matt Lee took during our June 22 hike at Finley/Pigeon Butte.

-Don B