If you’re an avid birder who is working on your life list, there are 255 species to be found in Yosemite National Park, thanks to a wide range of climates and elevations ranging from the Sierra Nevada foothills to alpine highlands over 10,000 feet in elevation. Free birding checklists are available at park visitor centers.
For those with a casual interest in birding, taking a naturalist-guided nature walk is a great introduction to Yosemite’s myriad bird life. Check the free park newspaper Yosemite Today or ask at visitor centers for current schedules of free ranger-led programs. The nonprofit Yosemite Association offers in-depth birding field trips, including banding studies; visit www.yosemite.org or call (209) 379-2321 for more information.
In Yosemite Valley, the family-friendly Nature Center at Happy Isles displays replicas of some of the park’s most famous resident and migratory birds. Here are just a few of the avian species you might catch sight of during your Yosemite vacation:
Peregrine Falcon
Formerly an endangered species, peregrine falcons usually nest in granite cliffs and walls in Yosemite Valley and the Hetch Hetchy area of the park. In fact, some rock-climbing routes including Half Dome are off-limits to climbers during the falcons’ nesting season, usually from March to July. About the size of a common crow, peregrine falcons (also known as duck hawks) can have a wingspan of up to four feet long. they can sometimes be observed diving at amazing speeds of up to 200mph as they hunt for prey, mostly smaller birds.
Interestingly, female peregrine falcons are typically 30 percent larger than males. Both sexes are slate gray or blue-black on their backs, with banded white underparts and a distinctive black mustache visible on their whitish cheeks. The name peregrine, which is Latin in origin, means traveler or wanderer, which probably refers to the fact that this falcon has one of the longest migration routes in the Americas.
Western Tanager
The Western tanager provides a cheery, bright spot of color in conifer forests throughout the western U.S. With its reddish-orange head, yellow underbelly, and the brushed white and yellow markings on its blackish wings, the male of the species is easily recognized. Interestingly, the red pigment seen on its head comes not from its genes, but from its diet of mostly insects that feed on plants.
Females do not share this red pigment; also, they have duller yellow underbellies and dark gray wings. During summer, Western tanagers are found from Texas all the way up to the Northwest Territories of Canada. In winter, most migrate to Latin America, although some only fly as far as Southern California.
Blue Grouse
As you hike through the conifer forests of the Sierra Nevada, you might wonder what on earth is making all that racket! Chances are, if it’s not a black bear ripping up a log looking for an insects, it’s a male blue grouse calling out with low-pitched hoots for a mate as he displays nearly two dozen tail feathers and struts around, or else that same bird making whirring sounds with its wings as he hops and flies around.
About the size of a chicken, the male of the species is typically blue-gray in color with a black tail, while females are smaller and brownish colored. The habitat of the blue grouse ranges throughout the mountains of the western U.S. In Yosemite, blue grouse have been spotted up to 11,000 feet in elevation.
Great Gray Owl
An endangered species in California, great gray owls are seldom seen by park visitors, although you may hear the owl’s hoots echoing through upland forests. Scientists estimate that there are only 40 great gray owls currently living in Yosemite National Park, which represents the southernmost limit of the species’ habitat.
Your best chance of seeing one is in the middle elevations of the park, especially on the border between forests and meadows. You can recognize them by their gray color and the distinctive shape of their rounded faces, as well as their lack of ear tufts. They also have a small black-and-white “bowtie” directly under their facial discs. Although great gray owls are the tallest (over two feet high) and have the longest wing span (up to five feet) of any North American owl, their small feet make them less skilled hunters.
