Albee Road
Seasons
Checklists
Location
From Hwy 244 (Main St.) in Ukiah, turn north onto Alba St. At the north edge of town, the road turns to gravel and the name changes to Albee Road. Continue north for about 6.8 miles and turn left (west) to stay on Albee Road. Continue another 4 miles and Albee Road ends at Hwy 395. Going south on Hwy 395 from Pendleton, Albee Road intersects the highway at milepost 42B.
DirectionsHabitat and Birds
Albee Road was named for the former “town” of Albee that was located 6.2 miles north of Ukiah. It passes through pine and mixed conifer forest, grasslands, wet meadows, and ranch lands. There are several stock ponds along the road that attract waterfowl in spring. Watch for Lewis’s Woodpecker near the Ukiah Cemetery that is located just north of town. A few pairs of Sandhill Cranes spend the spring and summer in the Albee/Ukiah area. Western Bluebirds and a few pairs of Mountain Bluebirds nest along this route. When the conifers produce abundant cones, astonishing numbers of Red Crossbills and Evening Grosbeaks can be found in the pine woodlands. This is a good route to find Pygmy Nuthatch, Cassin’s Finch, Chipping Sparrow, Savannah Sparrow, a few Vesper Sparrows, Western Meadowlark and others. About 3 miles north of Ukiah, the road crosses Owens Creek; this is good stop to look for Eastern Kingbird, Willow Flycatcher, blackbirds, and others and listen for Sora in the wet meadow. A migrating Sagebrush Sparrow (very rare) was photographed near here on Mar. 3, 2021. A half mile from Hwy 395, the road crosses Snipe Creek. Willow Flycatcher nests in the alders along the stream, and Lincoln’s Sparrows breed in the vicinity, too. Wilson’s Snipes breed in the wet meadows between Snipe Creek and Albee.
Upland Sandpiper formerly bred in low numbers in the meadows/grasslands in the vicinity of Ukiah and Albee. The last report of this species was on May 24, 2004, when 2 were seen together NW of Albee.
Discussion