Observers: Gary and Karla Peebles
Email: Captn.peebs@verizon.net
Remote Name: 4.33.108.125
Date: 11/09/2003
Time: 11:01:19 PM
This was our annual trip to canoe the Owen's River. The weather this weekend was ify on Sat. We paddled the section from just outside Bishop to Warmsprings bridge. The water was very high this year and there were very few sand bars. We saw many White Crowned sparrows, one very cooperative swamp sparrow, and three single American Pipits, and a few song sparrows. Sunday it rained early in the Morning so got a chance to do some driving around the fields south of Big Pine. I found a nice Dark morph hawk(red-tailed? it ws a large one) on a road about a Half mile south of Big Pine. Also, a large flock of mountain bluebirds in the field to the south, a beautify Golden Eagle on a Tele-pole,and a family of Northern Harriers buzzing the field to the north. At the end of this road at the blown out bride on the owen's river there were song sparrows , a Bewicks wren,and 20+ Savannah sparrows. Along Fish creek road, there was a Ferrugenous hawk in the field near a wheel line. Also along Fish creek road there was a Prairie Falcon loosing a battle for a perch on the telephone poles with a red-tail hawk. At Tinemaha creek we saw a Road runner. At Tinemaha Res. we saw Loons, buffle heads, and a Western Grebe. The loons were far out and they appeared to have a chin straps, so Pacifics? Below the dam in the River was another Loon with no chinstrap and a huge beak, Common? It had strips on the back. It appeard to have red eyes. No it didn't have white rump patches, darn. We walked along the river south and scared up 6 common Golden eye females. What a great day for birds of prey. I didn't have a scope but there were many many birds in the water in the distance from Tinemaha Dam. I looked for the Tundra swans to no avail. Is it possible to get over to the eastern shore of the lake to get a better look at the birds?