A tour of Mines Road (south of Livermore) is a trip into the nearly forgotten 19th-century world of the Bay Area. Mines Road begins near Murrieta’s Well winery, where we hope to find Great Horned owls, White-tailed kites, Yellow-billed magpies and Acorn woodpeckers. And it wanders for many miles past cattle ranches, creeks with great twisted sycamores, grazing horses, pine and oak woodlands and chaparral-covered hillsides. It is wild and beautiful country, with a legendary assortment of birds. Among the 50 or so species we usually see are Golden Eagles, Phainopeplas, Red-shouldered Hawks, Cliff swallows, Roadrunners, orioles and Lewis’ woodpeckers. We’ll navigate the serpentine road 30 miles through the hills to the Junction Café, delighting in the ever-changing landscape. Joining our function at the Junction will be bikers, birders, wrens, hummingbirds and goldfinches (Lawrence’s!) Bring drinks and lunch, or buy one there. This is an all-day tour, primarily roadside birding, with little walking, although we will make many stops. Make sure you have a full tank of gas for the roundtrip journey!