Favorite Places to Bird
around Bear Valley, Alpine Co.
Phil and Ann-Sofie Dean
Here are some of our birding
places around Bear Valley and along the Highway 4 corridor to Ebbets Pass.
With-in Bear Valley Village (The Bear Valley Real-estate listing has a map.
They’re in a hand-out slot below their office in the
shopping hallway near the General Store).
1. The house at 107 Bloods
Ridge Rd (Lot 259) has a dozen feeders or so, which attract many hummers. Usually a feeding frenzy of Rufous.
2. At the northeast corner
of BV Lake the road overlooks willows between the swimming beach and the small
creek feeding into the lake; a good place for warbler and sapsuckers
3. Park at the end Bear Paw
Road (east side of BV Lake). The road continues up as a dirt jeep road. Where
it continues on top of Bear Paw ridge is a good place for flycatchers
(Olive-sided, Hammond’s), and Mt. Quail. And it’s a good place for birds passing
through (Cross-bills in the fall)
4. Check the surface of BV
Lake. Park at either end of the dam; either the end of Lake Rd or on the east
end off Creekside Rd for Kingfisher in the summer, Common Mergansers and other
water fowl in the fall. Check the trees and willows around the lake for both
Red-breasted and Williamson’s Sapsuckers.
5. At the upper end of
Avalanche Road a trail (jeep road) heads up to the top of Bloods Ridge. On the
start of the trail (< 100 yds) have seen Mt. Quail and Blue Grouse.
6. After a steep hike to the
top of Bloods Ridge, it’s a pleasant walk all along it until it joins the ski
mountain. This is an excellent place for birds passing through in the late
summer and fall. (Townsends Solitaire, Mt Bluebirds, our only Western Kingbird,
flycatchers………)
7. During late July and
early Aug (during the BV Music Festival) look for Common Nighthawks that fly
around the village at tree top level as it’s getting dark. We usually get one
during the intermission of the musical festival performances.
8. Turn right off Highway 4
just north of the airstrip. You can drive into a baseball field. Bird the
conifers from there to Bloods Creek to the east. A very good
place for mixed flocks of Warblers. Lazuli Buntings nest in aspens by
the creek. In early summer, Spotted Sandpipers are in the creek. The private pasture land is fenced, look for the Sandpipers downstream
from the fence. Cross the creek and follow the fence. A good
place for flycatchers. There’s an alternate place to park where Highway
4 first meets Bloods Creek. From there, either take a well used mountain bike
trail either back towards the turn in for the ball field, or cross the creek
and follow a trail down the creek on the east side, to the fence. This July we
saw 2 Pileated Woodpeckers near where this bike trail starts climbing out of
the flat meadow (The trail ends just above the flat; it’s used by Mt Adventures
for rock climbing on the granite face there).
9. Par Course Meadow in BV.
As you drive past the shopping area with the General Store you’re on No Name
Road. This road veers left after the buildings (a right turn goes to the
parking area for the music festival and library). After a 100 ft or so the road
is gravel until it rejoins the paved Creekside Dr by the school. Halfway on the
gravel section, on the left, there’s an old Par Course sign. Follow the trail.
After 100 feet the trail enters a meadow with several patches of willows. This
is a good place for Flycatchers (Willow possible), Mt. Quail, Cassin's Finches
and Chipping Sparrows. The trail continues to join Creekside Rd at the east end
of the dam. It’s level except a short steep part where it joins Creekside Dr.
Mt Reba Ski Area
1. Bird all along the
parking area (Hummers, Mt. Bluebirds, Cassin’s Finch) and especially the trees
below the lower parking lot where many birds stop as they’re passing through.
(Townsend’s Solitaire, Warblers, Red-breasted
Sapsuckers, have even seen Blue Grouse under the trees).
2. Walk up the maintenance
road that goes straight west from the lodge. (This is National Forest land,
leased to the ski are). Check the group of Aspen just after going under/around
the second lift. Good for warblers. Watch for Cassin’s Finches in the conifers
along the road and Chipping Sparrows in the Mule Ear. The road levels at the
2nd lift that goes down hill (Grizzly). Go to the left of the top of this lift
and check the downhill slope. A good place for Blue Grouse.
3. On the road out, just
before turning right to the saddle where the buses are parked below the
maintenance building, there’s an old trailhead that goes straight north from
the road. It’s on the left side of the cut bank with the snow depth gauge that
looks like it’s made from wrought iron. There’s 2 old trailhead posts with no
text and there’s no discernable trail. Just walk into the woods and circle a uphill. A good place for both Mt. Quail
and Blue Grouse. Probably best in the late summer or
fall, when the quail covey up.
Lake Alpine
1. Take the first right turn off Hy 4 on the west end of the lake. This road
continues after it passes the end of the lake and eventually becomes the Slick
Rock Jeep Road. The road is public but passes 2 or 3 private houses that are
generously marked as such. Park at the big lot just as the road leaves the lake
and walk the road. This is consistently good for mixed
flocks of conifer birds, especially from the last house to the gate where the
jeep road starts. The Emigrant trail to Highway 4
start at the gate.
2. Either on the way in or out, turn into the Marmot Picnic area and the Amphitheater. A good place for Sapsuckers.
3. Check the lake for water fowl (Mergansers and Canada Geese nest here). Watch
for Ospreys circling the lake in the summer. Spotted Sandpipers are along the
shore.
Highway 4 East of Lake Alpine
1. 0.7 miles past the
Woodchuck Basin trailhead parking there’s a small meadow and slope that’s brush
covered on the left of the road. Park in a dry camp site
on the right side. This is 0.2 miles before the Cape Horn view
point. This slope is good for Dusky Flycatchers. (Woodchuck basin is
between Lake Alpine and Stanislaus Meadows - at about 7400 feet elevation)
2. Park at Stanislaus
Meadows Trail Head. There’s a jeep road down to the big meadow. Just 50 feet or so this crosses the Emigrant Trail. Walk the Emigrant trail a little to the east and then further to
the west. A good for Black-backed Woodpeckers and Creepers.
3. Stanislaus Meadows: The
trail to Bull Run Lake passes along side the big meadow. Depending on your
car’s clearance you can drive closer to the actual trailhead to Bull Run Lake.
The walk along the meadow to the Wilderness Boarder marker is lovely and good
for woodpeckers, warblers and conifer birds. Spotted Sandpipers nest along the
creek in the meadow. From the Wilderness Boarder marker the trail goes
downhill. Good for Black-back Woodpeckers. After descending a
100 yds or so the trail nears the creek. In the spring and early summer
Dippers have been here.
4. Heiser Lake Trail. The
trailhead is at the east end of Mosquito Lake. About a mile up the trail is
good for Hermit Thrushes in the spring/early summer.
5. Between
the Pacific Creek Bridge, down in Pacific Valley, and the Mokelumne Creek
bridge there’s an old cabin on the left (Forest Service?). Either park at the cabin or
the first turn out up hill from the cabin. Behind the cabin Pacific Creek flows
over large granite slabs. From there down hill 100 feet of so is a good place
for Dippers in the early summer.
6. Spotted Sandpipers nest
in Mokelumne Creek in Hermit Valley in early summer.