Tehama County Birding Sites
by Bruce Deuel

Here are some birding areas that will get anyone new to Tehama Co. a reasonably good list. Place names and roads are as listed in the DeLorme atlas.

Coming up from the south, one of the first places one should visit is Black Butte Reservoir. It is the only consistent place I’ve found for shorebirds in the county, best in late summer/fall. Take the Hwy 32 exit in Orland, but turn left (west) to get to the lake. The overlook at the dam has Rock Wrens. A few ducks, egrets and other water birds can be found in the small forebay below the dam, and if the water levels are right, shorebirds can be found.  Access points to the lake include Buckhorn Recreation Area ($4.00 day use fee, but you can ask for a 15-minute pass to “look around”) and the Burris Creek area. This latter is reached by taking the Newville Road to the Glenn/Tehama line and turning left.  The road in essentially follows the county line, so you can bird both Tehama and Glenn counties.

The bridge over Burris Creek is now closed to vehicles, but during summer and fall you can drive around it by going left at the parking lot.  I’ve made this trip many times in my Honda sedan, but don’t try it in winter or spring without four-wheel drive.  You may have to walk a little to get near the water, but this is where the best shorebirding is.  If the willow patches are out of the water, good passerine migrant birding is here, too. It’s good for Lewis’ Woodpeckers in season, and an Osprey nest is in this area.

Black Butte has a resident population of Clark’s Grebes, supplemented by Westerns in winter.  Always look for rarer grebes and loons.  Lesser Nighthawks cruise over the campground every summer evening. Good for gulls, terns, diving ducks.

To get back to I-5 go north on Black Butte Road. Grassland passerines and hawks in winter, occasional Burrowing Owl.  Check the ponds at the Canoa Ranch for Common Moorhen.  Chittenden Road can have shorebirds, bitterns, marshland blackbirds.  At Corning Road turn right to get back to the freeway, or left to explore the foothills and Coast Range. At Paskenta take Round Valley Road (USFS M4) or Toomes Camp Road (USFS M2) to get to chaparral and conifer habitats. M4 will get you higher up.

If you want more winter grassland birding you can turn northeast onto Paskenta Road from Flournoy or north onto Rawson Road just before you get to Corning. Paskenta Road is usually impassible at Red Bank Creek to passenger cars, so you should turn east on Ohm Road to get to Rawson. Once in Red Bluff, on either road, turn east on Luther to get to Main Street. Go north on Main to Dog Island Park, very good in winter (if it’s not flooded) and migration for riparian habitat birds. Look for the entrance to the park on the right just past the GMC dealership near the north end of town.

Hwy 36 going in either direction is good. Going west, be sure to explore Tedoc Road which goes left or south about 2 miles before Beegum and the county line. The chaparral here is good for Sage Sparrow and Lawrence’s Goldfinch has been found near the Pattymocus Butte Lookout.

In the other direction, Hwy 36 is the gateway to Lassen Park. Be sure to check out Hog Lake during the wet season, especially after hunting season ends in January.  Flocks of Tundra Swans and wigeon, with the occasional Eurasian Wigeon can be found then.  The store in Paynes Creek used to have hummingbird feeders that attracted dozens of hummers in season, but I haven’t seen them up recently. A nice side trip is Plum Creek Road to Ponderosa Way to Panther Springs. It’s my breeding bird survey route and one of the most consistent places for Northern Pygmy-Owl.  Mountain Quail are common, and I’ve had Pileated Woodpecker near the springs.  Further on SH 36, the forest service campground at Battle Creek has also had Pileated Woodpecker. The red fir forest past Mineral and along the park entrance road is good for Hammond’s Flycatcher, Hermit Warbler, Williamson’s Sapsucker. At Bluff Falls is a good spot for MacGillivray’s Warbler. The chalet at the entrance usually has Clark’s Nutcracker.

Further on Hwy 36 the rest area near Morgan Summit has always had a good variety of mountain stuff.  Northern Goshawks and Spotted Owls both nest in the vicinity.

Going north out of Red Bluff on I-5 take the Jelly’s Ferry Road exit. This is great in winter for Lewis’ Woodpecker, Mountain Bluebird, and hawks. Cross the Sacramento River on the Bend Bridge and follow the main road to the Paynes Creek Wetlands. Good marsh and pond habitat here has American Bittern, Common Moorhen, and, recently, nesting Yellow-headed Blackbirds.

Return to Jellys Ferry Road and go north.  After you cross the Sacramento River at the Jellys Ferry Bridge (note the Osprey nest on the bridge), the road crosses another tableland, then drops down along the river again. At an obvious access point to the river is a consistent spot for California Thrasher if you haven’t found it in the chaparral. A little further on is the Battle Creek Ranch with a large stockpond good for a variety of ducks.  This pond shows up on the DeLorme map, page 57.  Unfortunately, the levee around the pond has been raised so that one cannot see into the pond unless you can stand on top of your vehicle.  Several other ponds in the area hold waterfowl, also.  Look for winnowing Wilson’s Snipe in spring.

These spots should provide anyone with a good list of Tehama County birds. I’d be happy to answer any questions about specific target birds, if I can, at bdeuel@wildblue.net