Panoche Valley Sunday, January 7, 8:00am – 4:00pm Leaders: Bob Toleno & Juli Chamberlin RSVP by January 4 to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

We'll meet at the dirt parking lot overlooking Little Panoche Reservoir, just over four miles down Little Panoche Road from I-5. We'll start at the reservoir, bird a few spots along the road in Little Panoche Valley Rd and Griswold Hills. We'll then continue south thru Panoche Valley and finish in Paicines around 4:00pm (give or take). We'll be looking for all the area specialties, especially Ferruginous Hawk, Prairie Falcon, Phainopepla, Mountain Bluebird, Bell's Sparrows (and maybe even a Sagebrush Sparrow), Sage Thrasher, and of course, Mountain Plovers. Bring a lunch and plenty of water, as there is no place to buy food on the route. Heavy rain will cancel the trip. There's a port-a-potty at Little Panoche Reservoir, and a couple other spots on our route, but services are very limited. A little walking may be involved, but nothing difficult, and no serious hiking. Directions: From Castro Valley, head east on I-580, then south on I-5, where you'll continue past Los Banos to Exit 379 (Shields Avenue/Mendota). From there, turn right onto Little Panoche Road and drive west about 4 1/2 miles to Little Panoche Reservoir.