BIRDS SPECIES OF COLD CANYON

The avifauna of the Cold Creek and Wildhorse drainages, the two drainages which comprise the Stebbins Cold Canyon Reserve, consists of at least 34 families, 82 genera, and 114 species, one half (56) of which are known or suspected to nest in these two basin. A very few these 114 species are rare to very rare in occurrence, having been seen only once or several times. Nevertheless, they are included in the total tally with the season seen and the rarity of the sighting duly noted. In addition, what is not noted are a number of "fly overs" such as waterfowl and gulls, which can be seen from the canyon, but which do not land in the canyon on their way from one aquatic area to another.

California’s terrestrial avifauna consists of about 235-240 regularly occurring species. Thus, the Cold Canyon basin contains nearly 50% of the total for the state, which is a most impressive number for such a small area. About one half of the recorded species either pass through the reserve during migration (transients) or migrate to the reserve to spend the winter (winter visitors).  Because species abundance is so seasonal, the checklist below includes estimates for seasonal abundance, abbreviated as follows:

The checklist also notes species that have been observed to nest in Cold Canyon ('Y' under nesting), or are suspected nesters ('S' under nesting.

The checklist reflects observations made by many people between 1975 and 1999, with fairly extensive surveys by Andrew Engilis, Jr., Cameron Barrows, Katherine Barrows, Ron Cole, Sid England, and Wesley Weathers. In addition, a number of casual birders and also more organized outings (e.g., the Audubon’s Christmas bird count) have also contributed to this table. Starting in 1976, the Cold Canyon basin has been included within the Audubon Christmas bird count circle (Area 10). Records from these counts are published in Burrowing Owl, the official publication of the Davis Audubon Society. Most visitors who bird the basin tend stay on or close to several established trails, thus missing many acres of back country, much of which has a cooler microclimate than the areas served by the trail system. Thus, although this list is reasonably complete, there is ample room for additional entries.