A fine morning greeted us at the park. A few birds called as we set off but it was a quiet start. Our first good look at some birds was in a Douglas fir near the parking lot at the top of the park. A Northern Flicker landed in the top of the tree followed by a second bird. We talked about how the Flicker is an odd woodpecker as it likes to forage for ants on the ground. Heading down towards the restaurant we found a Bushtit busily pulling lichen off a branch then flying off. In a minute it returned for more. We could tell by its white eye it was a female. As she flew off a second time we were able to follow her to the opposite side of the tree. She was busily working on a nest and had the upper section roughed out. We could see spider web, moss and lichen being used in the construction.

From that spot we noticed a medium sized bird at the top of a Red Cedar across the road below the restaurant. With the scope we were able to identify the bird as a Band-tailed Pigeon. These pigeons pass through the park in the spring and fall but aren’t usually found here in the nesting season. Though the Red-breasted Sapsucker that has been in the park this winter has moved on, we stopped at the Red Cedar it has been feeding from to look at the hundreds of wells drilled into the thick bark.

Heading toward the little quarry duck pond, we came across several Anna’s Hummingbirds and a Black Throated Grey-Warbler sang briefly from the tree tops. In the pond were several Canada Geese and Mallards as well as a pair of American Wigeons and a pair of Gadwalls.

Moving into the Cedar grove we heard a Brown Creeper and then a sharp eyed birder spotted it on a tree trunk. We were all able to watch it for several minutes as it climbed up the trunk then flew down lower onto another trunk, to work its way up, foraging as it went.

As we moved up to the top of the park again, a Bald Eagle soared over head. On the top of the large Metasequoia in the large quarry gardens, a male Anna’s Hummingbird perched for several minutes. We headed back to the rose garden hoping for sparrows, but a birthday party in progress there nixed that idea. We did hear a possible Chipping Sparrow near the garden but it sang only briefly and we couldn’t locate the bird.

Our quiet but pleasant walk produced 23 species for our list which is here  https://ebird.org/checklist/S328017511