Sierra Valley’s Birds

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The majesty of Sierra Valley’s birds

BY TIM HAUSERMAN

Afew times a year I make my way to Sierra Valley north of Truckee for a road bike ride and am always amazed by the pastoral beauty of ranches, sagebrush and marshes that provides habitat for a range of birds. While I always marvel at the beauty and majesty of the birds, I must admit that my birding knowledge is limited. I know the stars of bird land — the hawks, ravens, geese, white-faced ibis, sandhill cranes and pelicans that can often be seen as I ride around the valley — but I certainly fail to identify, or don’t even notice, many smaller birds. I decided I needed an expert to rectify the situation: Sarah Hockensmith, outreach director for Tahoe Institute for Natural Science. My friend Sarah spends a lot of time studying birds and other fauna and flora and then passes on that information to the public on bird and/or wildflower walks. I was able to convince her on a lovely March day to join me in the valley and pass on her bird secrets. While by the end of the day we decided that we were a bit early (or in the case of hawks, late) to see a wider variety of birds, I still learned a lot by listening to what she had to say. And the good news for you is that in May, the birdwatching is quite a bit better. I was quickly reminded that a topnotch birder such as Sarah does three things that us fair-weather birdwatchers don’t. First, she can carry on a pretty lively conversation in a car going 55 mph and still identify a bird 100 yards off the road. Second, she can look out at a marsh with a flock of black birds that look the same to me and start rattling off names of the four different species that are out there and finally, and this might be the most important skill, she can identify birds by sound, as well as sight. My bird song skills are limited to the “cheeseburger” bird (the mountain chickadee) and a half dozen others. We had barely entered the valley when we saw our first sighting, which was the beginning of what was surely the highlight of our birdwatching day: a pair of sandhill cranes. These large and beautiful birds are a real treat and we managed to see at least a half dozen more pairs sprinkled around the valley as we drove. They were often close enough to the road to get not only a good gander, but a chance to hear their unique and powerful song. A primary goal of my trip was to take a stroll around the Sierra Valley Preserve from its relatively new western entrance at the northwestern corner of the valley. This 2,586-acre preserve is the only large piece of public land in the valley. It was created through a partnership of

Feather River Land Trust, The Nature Conservancy and Northern Sierra Partnership. A fundraising effort is currently underway to support construction of an educational headquarters for the preserve that would be an important resource for the Sierra Valley. At the preserve, it was quite pleasant to walk away from the road on the 2 miles of trail that lead through the sagebrush and around little ponds. The pathway went past interpretive signs pointing out various forms of flora, to an old, dilapidated ranch house. One side of the house held a giant raven nest, while the other was home to a barn owl. An American kestrel flitted in and out, as well, feeding on bugs. Past the ranch house, more walkway provided an expansive view of distant marsh land and a giant swath of the valley. We saw a few more sandhill cranes, robins, redwinged blackbirds and meadowlarks enjoying the preserve grounds. Next, we headed to another Sierra Valley prime spot for birders, Marble Hot Springs Road. This dirt washboard road cuts across the valley passing open marsh land and over a one-lane bridge built in 1908. Here we saw more sandhill cranes, a cute horned lark and, on the water, lots of grebes and coots. A highlight was a low-flying, immature bald eagle that was probably cruising for an unsuspecting coot lunch. Last spring in this area, I saw lots of yellow-headed blackbirds. Finally, a third Sierra Valley bird area is Heriot Lane, which also goes through marshy areas. Last spring this area was home to flocks of white-headed ibis. They hadn’t arrived yet during our visit in March, but I did see two attractive ducks: a northern pintail and cinnamon teal. The teal was especially pretty with its shimmering — wait for it — cinnamon coloration.

We had barely entered the valley when we saw our first sighting, which was the beginning of what was surely the highlight of our birdwatching day: a pair of sandhill cranes.

LEFT: Bald Eagle. RIGHT: American Kestrel. | Jared Manninen

Visiting the Preserve

The West Entrance is located about 2.7 miles south of the intersection of Highway 70 and County Road A23 and features ADA access and a botanical trail. It is open Tuesday to Saturday. The East Entrance is located on County Road A24, about 1.7 miles south of the intersection of Highway 70 and County Road A24. It is open year-round and features a wildlife viewing platform and interpretive trail. Cell coverage may be unavailable, so bring a paper map or download directions in advance. | frlt.org n

Bird Walks

Thursdays until June 9 7:30 p.m. Village Green Incline Village, Nev. tinsweb.org

Bird Watching Field Trips

May 20 | Pope Beach June 4 | Tahoe Mountain June 8 | Hawley Grade ltccconnect.com