An unexpected bird haven — an extended stay hotel’s garden in Napa Valley
It was my first trip to the West Coast since the pandemic to attend a wedding in Napa Valley. I had previously visited Napa decades ago in early spring when the hillsides were lush green. Now, it was in the middle of a massive heatwave with the temperature in the scorching nineties and the same hillsides were dry and yellow. Before the pandemic, I used to look out for the landscapes and flowers in a new city; now, I look out for birds. It was exciting when Cornell’s Merlin app identified a new lifer ‘American Wigeon duck’ that I spotted swimming with Mallard ducks in the Napa riverfront.
I was staying in an extended stay hotel whose nondescript interiors held no clue to the wonders just a few doors away in the back. I noticed the flowers in the garden from the lobby and walked outside to a new world.
What a beautiful garden, full of exquisite roses in different colors and the entrancing lilac colored Lily of the Nile flowers.
I heard a mockingbird singing and went and got my camera. And, to my surprise, a sighting of another new lifer — a baby California Scrub Jay sitting in a tree in the back of the hotel, near the parking lot. The adult Scrub Jay looks quite similar to the Blue Jay. I was hoping to see a lot more birds later that week when I visited Half Moon Bay and it was such a delight to start seeing new birds in the most unexpected of places — this extended stay hotel’s garden in the back.
As I was walking around the garden admiring the flowers, I heard a buzzing sound. It was a humming bird who even hovered in mid-air! The hummingbird was darting in and out of the Lily of the Nile flowers so fast that it was very difficult to film. It was extra special to see the hummingbird visit the garden on the morning I was leaving too.
I sat down in the hotel patio deck to watch the sunset. And that is when the most amazing thing happened — a continuous serenade of birdsong by multiple birds who came and perched on the palm tree and sang. When I got up and went into the garden to get a closer look, they would fly away. Hence, I discreetly remained in the hotel patio listening to them sing; it was the most magical experience. And amidst the many birds that came, there was a rare sighting too — a Hooded Oriole.
And even more special, a sighting of the female hooded oriole too.
And since I was sitting in the hotel patio, you can also hear the piped in music along with bird song in some of the videos.
The bird that can fool the Merlin Bird Id app
In this Bird Id Trivia — Merlin app vs an expert birder, Merlin Sound Id gets fooled by the Mocking Bird since it imitates the bird song of other birds and Merlin uses just 10–15 seconds of the audio to make its guess.
I had previously seen and heard a MockingBird at the Cape May Point State Park. So, I recognized the Mockingbird perched in the tree in the hotel’s parking lot. The mockingbird also joined the evening concert on the palm trees and sometimes, would also push the other birds off the perch to take center stage.
An amazing Sunset Sonata by the Mockingbird who expertly weaves other birdsongs into his own repertoire. And, yes it is accompanied by the piped in hotel patio music too.
Every sighting of a bird is a moment of gratitude since one has to be at the right place at the right time for that amazing encounter to occur.
This unexpected bird haven in an extended stay hotel’s garden in Napa Valley was indeed memorable. And the birdwatching platform was none other then the hotel patio!
