Hangin' Around
Story: Michael O'brien
Photo: Frank Kratofil
BIRDING AT THE SHASTA COLLEGE CAMPUS
January may be too cold for swimming,
surfing and other outdoor activities, but it’s not
too cold for bird watching. On the contrary,
the winter months are ideal for birding. Why?
Our feathered friends are just as dedicated to
their cold weather digs as they are their balmy
breeding grounds. The North State is winter
home to many migrating species of songbirds,
raptors and waterfowl.
Start the month by participating in the
Wintu Audubon Society’s 34th Annual
Redding Christmas Bird Count. This
year’s dawn-to-dusk, rain-or-shine birding
extravaganza is Saturday, January 2. “Counters”
add to their life lists and contribute in a
Western Hemisphere effort to census bird
populations by dispatching in small groups over
a 15-mile circle to record the number of each
species seen in their assigned area. Each group
is led by an experienced local birder. The day
culminates with a gathering at a local restaurant
for dinner and results compilation. Contact
your local Audubon Society for information on
the count going on in your area.
For a quality birding outing any time, check
out the Shasta College campus in Redding.
Opened in the mid-1960s, Shasta College
showcases 337 acres of both natural and
manicured foliage in and around the campus.
Wild habitat may seem most desirable for
birding, but human-engineered landscape also
attracts many birds. This campus offers a unique
mix of groomed park-like settings, a farm and
riparian woodland.
Pack your binoculars, notebook, sketchbook,
pencil and field guide, and go on a weekend
day when you’ll find the campus empty and
quiet. Park in the north or east parking lot, and
scan the trees and grassy areas as you traverse
the college grounds. A pond by the Performing
Arts Center is a good place to check. Sit quietly
and the birds will come to you.
From here, walk east towards the agricultural
area. Put your binoculars on the tall trees at the
lot’s edge and look for raptors, crows, ravens
and songbirds. When you spot a bird you
cannot readily identify, log as much as you can
about plumage and behavior in your notebook
before consulting your field guide. Your guide
will always be available; the bird most likely will
not!
Make your way to the farm road under the
trees you just spied. Walk north along this
paved road, keeping the farm fence on your
right. Check the adjacent brush, plowed fields
and irrigation pipe wheels. The road passes by
the Shasta College Farm entrance. Continue
north towards the sewage ponds. Strange as
it sounds, sewage ponds are typically birding
hot spots. Ducks, shorebirds, egrets and herons
frequent these sheltered, wet areas. From the
main gate, you’ll find a nice view into the first
pond.
Keep walking north on what is now dirt road
towards a grove of mature trees, keeping the
pond on your right. Make a few stops on your
approach to the grove to find birds in the brush,
on the trunks, in the lower branches, the upper
branches and soaring overhead. Each species
has its canopy level preference; your field guide
can help you understand which birds prefer
which level.
Under the grove and past the sewage ponds,
the road turns east-west, hugging the bank
of Stillwater Creek. Travel west and take
advantage of the views down into the creek
area. Blackberry brambles and brush provide
concealment as you search for birds feeding on
the bank, in the brush or bathing in the creek.
Scan the trees along the creek, looking for
Acorn Woodpecker, Mourning Dove or Rubycrowned
Kinglet. The wooden boxes you’ll see
nailed to trees along the creek are for wood
duck nests. Return to this area in March to spot
new wood duck families.
Continue walking west, making frequent
stops, until you reach a point where the road
bends to the south. The trees to the north of
this spot are thick with Lewis’ Woodpecker.
Not your average pecking Picidae, these unique
birds are green backed and red chested. They
do not hammer their heads into trees to forage,
as do their cousins tapping nearby. They catch
insects on the fly, store nuts in tree holes like
Acorn Woodpecker, and are more likely to sit
upright than cling to the sides of trees.
Follow the road here as it turns east, and
reconnect to the Stillwater Creek road via one
of two cut-through roads that bisect plowed
fields. Follow the road past where you entered
by the sewage ponds and work your way back to
the parking lot to end your ideal day of January
birding. •
Christmas Bird Count info:
Bill Oliver, (530) 941-7741 or
wwoliver9@gmail.com
