Bird Guides of the World: Rachel Clark, California

What is your favorite bird species?

My favorite bird species is the Western Tanager, because this is the bird that inspired my love for birding when I was just nine years old.

Wrentit

What is your name, and where do you live?

My name is Rachel Clark and I live in Fresno, California, which is very near the center of the state.

Hermit Warbler

What are the main regions or locations you cover as a bird guide?

I cover most of the Central California area. Most of my guiding is in the central Sierra Nevada from the Sierra National Forest to the north and the Sequoia National Forest to the south. Kings Canyon and Sequoia National Parks are sandwiched in there! In the San Joaquin Valley, I guide from San Joaquin County to the north and Kern County to the south. Along the coast, I guide from Pacific Grove to the north and Morro Bay to the south.

How long have you been a bird guide?

I’ve had my company, Central California Birding Tours for just over a year, but I have been guiding for over five years.

White-headed Woodpecker

How did you get into bird guiding?

I fell into bird guiding more or less by chance. I was doing it on a volunteer basis for a local Audubon chapter that I was affiliated with when living in the Midwest. It began with leading local trips and gradually evolved into co-leading birding trips to places like south Texas, Florida, and Alaska. I realized that I had a passion for guiding and that it was something that I wanted to do professionally.

Williamson’s Sapsucker

What are the aspects of being a bird guide that you like best? Which aspects do you dislike most?

The thing that I like the most about guiding is seeing the joy in my clients’ faces when they see a new bird for the first time. To me, that is pure magic, and there is no other feeling like it! The thing that I like least about guiding is the pressure I sometimes feel when trying to find specific targets. Some birds are just so incredibly elusive (Mountain Quail is a prime example of this), and it can be extremely difficult to get eyes on them, and I always feel a sense of guilt if I can’t make that happen.

Mountain Quail

What are the top 5-10 birds in your region that you think are the most interesting for visiting birders?

There are many popular targets in the Central California area! While California is not exactly a hotspot for endemics, we have many range-restricted species that reside here. The Yellow-billed Magpie, which is endemic, is a very popular target. Mountain Quail, Lawrence’s Goldfinch, White-headed Woodpecker, Wrentit, Williamson’s Sapsucker, Northern Pygmy Owl, Nuttall’s Woodpecker, Hermit Warbler, and California Thrasher are all very highly requested targets as well. Some of these are certainly more challenging to find than others, but each is worth the effort!

Yellow-billed Magpie

Can you outline at least one typical birdwatching trip in your area? Please briefly describe the locations, the key birds and the approximate duration of such a trip

A typical trip in my area can vary quite widely, but I do have a bit of a preferred route that I take in the Sierra National Forest, as it covers a diversity of habitat types and is generally quite reliable for yielding a high number of species. This route covers open oak woodlands, chaparral, mid-elevation Sierra mixed conifer forests, heavily burn-scarred forests (though these can look somewhat abysmal, the bird life they host is surprisingly rich), streams, meadows, and high elevation pine forests. Along the way, clients are likely to see Western and Mountain Bluebirds, Oak Titmice, Rock Wren, American Dipper, White-headed Woodpecker,  Nuttall’s Woodpecker, Williamson’s Sapsucker, Clark’s Nutcracker, Lawrence’s Goldfinch, Hermit Warbler (depending on the season), Mountain Chickadee, Purple Finch, Cassin’s Finch, and many more. Northern Pygmy Owl, Mountain Quail, and Wrentit are all possible along this route, but can be a little more challenging. This route is most productive in late spring, but is great through the fall. Hitting all of the habitat types along this route can make for a long day (~12 hours), but the itinerary will always be tailored to a client’s needs and the day can be much shorter if need be.

American Dipper

What other suggestions can you give to birders interested in your area?

For birders coming to my area, I’d recommend avoiding the San Joaquin Valley in the summer, as it is BLAZING hot down here that time of year! Luckily, it’s much cooler in the Sierra and along the coast, even in summer. No matter what time of year you’re birding in my area, or where you plan to go, I’d recommend having plenty of sunscreen and insect repellant on hand just in case. If you’re going to be birding along the coast or in the Sierras, definitely watch out for poison oak. I always carry special wipes with me in case anyone accidentally touches or brushes against the plant. As far as the best time overall to visit is, that really depends on what a person is looking for. If a person is focusing on shorebirds and waterfowl, fall and winter are definitely best (there are some amazing wildlife refuges in the Valley, and the coast is super productive during these times of year). If a person is focusing more on songbirds and/or high elevation specialties in the Sierra, late spring through mid-summer is the ideal time frame.

Lawrence’s Goldfinch

If any reader of 10,000 Birds is interested in birding with you, how can they best contact you?

I can easily be reached through a few different avenues. My email is [email protected] and my business phone number is 559-492-6240. People can reach out through my website, which is https://centralcaliforniabirdingtours.com. I can also be found on Instagram. My business profile is central_ca_birding_tours and my personal profile (which is extremely bird-centric) is tanager_girl.

Northern Pygmy Owl

Is there anything else you would like to share with the readers of 10,000 Birds?

I’d like for potential clients to know that each trip is tailored according to a client’s particular needs. If a client has limited mobility, or for any reason prefers not to spend much time birding on foot, I will design an itinerary that involves mostly car birding. Conversely, if a client prefers to hike all day, we will definitely do that! I ask each client a few questions such as how much time they’d prefer to hike VS bird by car, how long of a day they’re looking for, what species they’d like to see, and if they have any special requests/needs. Each itinerary is individually tailored based on the answers to these questions!