Culture Desk // Travel

A science stopover for migrating birds

The southern section of Point Reyes National Seashore, on the outskirts of Bolinas, offers a spot to see some charismatic birds up close. There are downy woodpeckers with black-and-white-polka-dotted wings and red splashes on their heads, emerald-green, fuchsia-capped Anna’s hummingbirds, and the rare Northern spotted owl.

Lishka Arata, communications coordinator for Point Blue Conservation Science, says that if she had to pick a favorite bird at Point Blue’s Palomarin Bird Station, it would be the wrentit. This mud-brown bird is slightly smaller than a sparrow.

“I love their bird confidence. The females and males share child rearing. They both sing to protect their territory, not just the males; their songs sound like little bouncing ball notes that run into a trill.”

These are the only babblers that are in Point Reyes National Seashore year round, and they maintain small territories in the coastal scrub. This employee pick is quite an honor, considering that 490 bird species have been recorded passing through this part of the Pacific flyway during autumn migration, August through November.

The tiny Palomarin interpretive center has been banding birds and recording patterns in migration and other habits since 1966. It’s the oldest banding station west of the Mississippi River. Just off the main road, it’s surrounded by trees and coastal scrub that protect it from the dramatic wind and waves of the Pacific. Here, visitors can participate in scientific data collecting.

On a recent weekday morning visit, some taxidermied species, also known as “study skins,” were out on display along with nests, skulls and other bird information to orient visitors to the avian world.

Interns Isabel Lawrence and Emily Reich, along with Arata, lead me to the path that cuts through crooked oak trees and bushy ferns. It’s lined with high, finely meshed netting that is nearly invisible from a short distance away. Once birds hit the net, they become trapped in the folds. The nets are checked every 30 minutes from sunrise until noon every morning except Mondays. Visitors can tag along on the short, song-filled hike.

As we walk the length of the net, looking for trapped birds, we hear twittering and rapid warbling coming from the brush. Arata identifies the source. “Pine siskins. Wilson’s warbler.” She also explains the difference between a bird’s call and song. “Male birds have songs to establish territory and attract mates. A call is simpler — it’s both male and female, and more about communicating to build nests, feed their young and warn for predators.”

On the easy 20-minute walk through the woods, we don’t net any birds this trip. This time of year, many young birds are just starting to fledge from their nests; this peaks in June and fall migration begins in August, so there is a lot of calling, singing and rustling in the mixed conifer forest and coastal scrub during that peak time. Now, despite the lovely song-scape, it was pretty quiet.

So the biologists talk me through the process. When a bird is netted, it is gently put into a small sack so it doesn’t become too stressed. Back at the field station, researchers determine the bird’s age by the shape of its skull and wing pattern; sex and wing length and weight are also recorded.

Point Reyes National Seashore is an annual destination for many migratory species, but is also a safe landing for those birds who got blown off track by wind or fog, or just took a wrong turn and ended up here instead of say, across the Pacific or New Jersey. These are known as “vagrants,” and because their arrival here is an accident, it causes great excitement in the birding world and can trigger a mass migration of birders to the area.

The netted birds are banded with a nine-digit ID number. If the bird is recaptured, this will help determine its life span. GPS and geo locators are now small and light enough to put onto songbirds. These pinpoint their migratory patterns and may help biologists and conservationists make sure they always have a place to land and refuel. Point Blue is partnering with farmers and ranchers to ensure that there are stops along their migratory paths for food and rest, particularly wetlands, that are critical to their survival.

Point Blue has a California focus for bird conservation, but has been expanding to other hot spots along the Pacific flyway, including Alaska. The organization also added penguins in Antarctica to the research and conservation efforts. Birds are considered indicators of a healthy ecosystem, and Point Blue is increasingly focusing its research on growing concerns around climate change.

The birds visitors witness being banded might one day prove to be the canaries in the coal mine.

Maria Finn is a freelance writer. Email:

If you go

Palomarin Field Station, 999 Mesa Road, Bolinas. Sunrise to noon Tuesday-Sunday. The mist nets are opened 15 minutes after sunrise and remain open for six hours each day. Go early (between 8 and 11 a.m.) for the best chance of seeing birds. Nets are not open on rainy or windy days. Call the hotline, (415) 868-0655, Ext. 395, to check conditions.