Credit: Kathleen Scavone
Have you seen the informative signs at some boat launches that educate boaters on the importance of slowing down near shorelines to keep birds safe from harmful waves and boats, or the marked bins for disposing of and recycling monofilament fishing line? That’s our Redbud Audubon hard at work.
We are blessed in Lake County to have a small but thriving Audubon chapter, Redbud Audubon, with Donna Mackiewicz as its president. Vice President is Roberta Lyons, Treasurer is Nicola Selph, Secretary is Katherine Lindsley, Member-at-large is Cindy Jasse, and a host of other vital individuals perform tasks such as managing the newsletter, programs, publicity, social media, the Christmas Bird Count, and more.
The April field trip offered by Redbud Audubon was a walk at Cache Creek Redbud Trail off of Highway 20. We were looking for red-shouldered hawks, western meadowlarks, bluebirds, woodpeckers, hummingbirds, and more. We were not disappointed! I had not seen or heard so many meadowlarks since I lived out on Big Canyon Road, Middletown. The meadowlark’s colors are cheery, with their bright yellow breast and a black V pattern, along with their tan-to-grey colored back for the male of the species. The lovely call of the meadowlark can include quite a repertoire when the male is looking for a mate. The Cornell Lab’s All About Birds site allows you to listen to the meadowlark and other birds: https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Western_Meadowlark/sounds
The slow walk (bird-watching is a stop-and-go affair as you bring up your binoculars and listen intently to the different birds of the area) gifted us with much to witness! No wonder, since the terrain was varied. Oak woodlands draped over the green hillsides and lush grasslands. Manzanita, with its namesake ‘little apples’ in the meadow, gave us plenty to pay attention to before we got to Cache Creek. Vast swaths of spring growth were dotted with bees and butterflies. Lovely yellow and blue lupine, poppies, and other multihued flora abounded.
Before arriving at cool and serene Cache Creek, we enjoyed viewing prolific hot pink owl clover growing along the trail. Old snags of giant oak limbs were peppered with holes and plugged with acorns by industrious acorn woodpeckers. Interesting geologic features piqued our interest, reminding us to learn more about the rock formations of the area. Not to be outdone by all of the birds and other beauty were the bright blue-bellied western fence lizards performing their pushups along the way. The trail was interspersed with gnarled and twisted grey pines, willows, and redbuds, which were all important plants to the indigenous people who lived here long ago.
The Cache Creek Conservancy website explains that the people who have lived here for thousands of years and still thrive today are the Northern Wintu and Southern Patwin. Like other tribes, life was altered dramatically when Spanish explorers arrived in what is now California. Next, the American Westward Expansion contributed to the changes, with agriculture being the next significant transformation in the region, alongside mining. Cache Creek was mined beginning in the early 1900s, since gravel was needed to rebuild the distressed city of San Francisco after the 1906 earthquake.
The shade provided by willows and oaks along cool Cache Creek was just what the doctor ordered. We took our time listening to the song that its flowing waters provided, and observed riparian life there. Flying insects invited other avian species to visit, and dragonflies patrolled the waterway, while wolf spiders carrying egg sacks across the rock-strewn shoreline provided additional non-human nature shows.
The Cache Creek watershed, the area of land that Cache Creek flows through, has much to offer, whether it’s a bird walk with fellow birders, a wildflower hike bursting with vibrant color, or a picture-perfect path to a cooling water feature such as storied Cache Creek. The Cache Creek Wilderness Area includes 27,000 acres with a topography so varied that you may get lucky and spy upon the American bald eagles that live here or the impressive tule elk.
For information on supporting Redbud Audubon and joining future fieldtrips.
