1. South Yuba River State Park
Birds at Bridgeport
South Yuba River State Park
Birds at Bridgeport
Introductory sample, selected by Ed Pandolfino Pictures and sound extracted from Internet by Herb Lindberg

2. Resident year around Three groups of birds: Summer Visitors
Acorn Woodpecker Western Scrub Jay Steller’s Jay Black Phoebe Spotted Towhee California Quail American Dipper American Robin
Summer Visitors
Cliff Swallow Bullock’s Oriole
Winter Visitors
Dark-eyed Junco Ruby-crowned Kinglet Golden-crowned Sparrow
Bird Groups
Three groups of birds:

3. Presentation Use Notes
Note: In all the slides with a speaker symbol, move your mouse around until the arrow cursor appears and then click on the speaker to hear the bird’s call. This takes a bit of time for long bird calls.
To jump ahead or back to a specific bird, right click anywhere and use “Go.”

4. ---RESIDENTS YEAR AROUND---

5. Acorn Woodpecker
Nest in communal groups; some guard hoard while others are away
Can be spotted on dead trees or branches where holes for acorns can be drilled
Sounds like Woody Woodpecker

6. Western Scrub Jay
Buries acorns that often sprout, so they are critical “oak farmers”
Piercing call
It’s blue, and a jay, but is NOT a Blue Jay

7. Steller's Jay
Generally at higher altitudes than Western Scrub Jay; both found at foothills altitude of Bridgeport.
Both are aggressive with piercing calls
Both are blue and jays, but not Blue Jays

8. Black Phoebe Flycatcher Usually close to water
Repetitive two-note song

9. Spotted Towhee
Forages on the ground doing a ‘two-foot-kick’ dance (kicks material backwards with both feet at once and a hop).
Covers wide range of altitudes.
Formerly known as Rufous-sided Towhee

10. California Quail
Male (shown here) has dark, smooth plume and black and white face and throat pattern; females are duller with fuzzy plume.
Male is chief baby sitter.
Groups often stay in contact with little sputtering sounds.
Very susceptible to domestic cats.
Male’s song is a dragged out “Chi-ca-go” :

11. American Dipper
A bird of mountain streams, and is always near the water.
Has a most interesting feeding method: perches on stream rock as here, dives into the water and flies underwater against strong current while eating larvae etc. on rocks and river bottom.
Also known as the Water Ouzel
Complex exuberant song -- John Muir’s favorite bird.

12. American Robin
Very familiar bird, often seen walking erect on the ground.
A clear caroling song; short phrases, rising and falling, often prolonged.

13. ---SUMMER VISITORS---

14. Cliff Swallow Vacuums up insects on the wing.
Builds dense colonies of mud nests under eaves and bridges. Thousands of mouthfuls of mud in each nest for Spring nesting.
Winters in southern South America.
This is the Capistrano Swallow.

15. Bullock's Oriole Song: Chatter: Winters in Central America
Formerly lumped with Baltimore Oriole as Northern Oriole
Charming, bouncy song, harsh chatter
Song: Chatter:

16. ---WINTER VISITORS---

17. Dark-eyed Junco Usually found in actively-foraging flocks.
Primarily a ground feeder, as here.

18. Ruby-crowned Kinglet Non-stop forager with an attitude
Only shows ruby crown (male) when angry
Breeds mainly in mountains

19. Golden-crowned Sparrow
Migrates up west coast as far as Alaska
Lacks “golden” crown until mature
Plaintive “Oh .. Dear .. me” song

20. Credits
Photographs
Ruby-crowned Kinglet
All others
Sound
American Dipper
All Others: Doug Von Gausig at