Berkeley Backyard Bird Blog: Bluebirds & Warblers Flash Mob Near Wildcat Peak in the Berkeley Hills

LoveBirds in the branches (Western Bluebirds)

Is one bird watching spot

better than another?

Atop Conlon Knoll near Wildcat Peak

Is a riparian / woodland setting preferred

over bay / pelagic shoreline viewing?

Yellow-rumped Warbler in private, still moment

Is meadow / range country more attractive

than desert scrub / High Sierra sparsity?

Wildcat Canyon hills and Quail family crossing trail

Does altitude matter?

Yellow-rumped Warbler at attention

I suppose it all matters and depends on – many factors! Including seasonal migration patterns, weather conditions, climate influences, and birds' adaptability to varied ecosystems, which we know is infinite and shrewd.

Always a stop-off and bike drop to picnic and spot birds here

The good news is that no matter where you find yourself, birds will be there, too, in all their physiological diversity, richness of behavior, and pure delightful quirkiness.

Northern Flicker pops in for a brief appearance

It's why you love birding – birds! – so much.

Beautiful colors of Western Bluebird

A rise of land in Wildcat Canyon Regional Park beckons up a final stretch of gravelly trail to attain a high plateau and eventually Conlon Knoll, as I call it. One of my favorite places for birds and more.

One of the dying but still majestic trees on the knoll

Up here, maybe 1150 ft. elevation, fabulous near 360 views of San Francisco, the Golden Gate Bridge, Marin Headlands, Angel Island, Mount Tamalpais, Briones and San Pablo watershed lands, Las Trampas wilderness, and Mount Diablo radiate, stretching as far south as the Santa Cruz Mountains to 4000 ft. Bay Area visible peaks.

Mount Diablo viewed from the bird hot spot knoll

Up here, it's a detour off the main path; few people pass through, despite a connector from Conlon Trail to Wildcat Peak and the Peace Grove Lookout.

Yellow-rumped Warblers can sometimes fool you

Up here, I've seen my only instances of Lazuli Buntings, Ash-throated Flycatcher and Winter Wrens.

Western Bluebirds perching together

Up here, four Monterey Pines dominate in the shadow of 1250 ft. Wildcat Peak. A gigantic healthy tree stands alone on the bare ridge, an iconic natural feature seen from San Francisco's waterfront.

Iconic sentinel Pine atop Conlon Knoll seen from afar

Two other nice sized trees grow nearby, but, rather suddenly, it seems, a third tree has perished, for after many visits over the past few years, I'm only now noticing it is completely, 100% dead.

Western Bluebird hunting and pecking

But like all dead things in nature, it continues to provide life (or life-giving gifts) in countless ways.

Yellow-rumped Warbler in a tangle of branches

Why the tree died, while the other trees live on, is a mystery. Maybe it's older and naturally at the end of its life? If not that, I have my suspicions: climate change / drought drove the nail through the coffin of this great tree that was somehow already compromised.

Wildcat Creek churns and burbles below in the small gorge

We're seeing this pattern of mortality throughout the American West, where aspens are being ravaged by beetle infestation and stately oaks in California are under severe attack by Sudden Oak Death.

Hence, the name

Climate change is probably to blame for this unprecedented dying off of the planet's most important living things – taking place before our eyes, and we wonder, are we powerless to prevent, is it too late to stop, the disappearance of trees.

Egg fallen from nest

Well, for now our bird friends don't mind the tree's "non-living" status. They arrive in flocks to roost in the gnarled branches and roust up seeds and insects on the ground.

Western Bluebird ground feeding for grub

Just passing time up here, lackadaisically, hoping for a bunting sighting, wouldn't that be something. So far, nothing much exciting: a few Juncos, solitary appearances of Hermit Thrush, Scrub Jay, Red-breasted Nuthatch and Northern Flicker. Above circle Red-tailed Hawks and Vultures, the usual stuff.

Red-breasted Nuthatch finds bounty of insect delights

When suddenly, leaving to go scout out a woodsier area, in fly a bunch of colorful birds, drawn to the dead tree and rich pickings beneath. It's the return of my little lovelies, Western Bluebirds and Yellow-rumped Warblers.

Yellow-rumped Warbler clutching to thin stalk

They flit out and float in and aeroglide to the ground to find a seed or a nut or a worm, putting on an absolute show, adding dashes of avian spice and elan to the once quiet scene.

Wildcat Canyon country

Up here, that's why I love it!

Yellow-rumped Warbler loving it

That's why the birds love it.

Pretty Western Bluebird

The sociable, smart Bluebirds are delightful and very pretty. Males come in a shade of blueberryblue, with a handsome rust "vest" and white breast belly combo.

Yellow-rumped Warblers are delightful birds to watch

The Warblers, of the Adult Male Audubon's variety, are handsome fellows adorned with yellow throats, yellow side streaks, yellow rump patch, and a pat of sunshine atop the pate.