Observers: Mono Lake Allstars
Email: cmccreedy@prbo.org
Remote Name: 208.201.232.119
Date: 01/08/2004
Time: 11:07:13 AM
Saturday, January third was the (I think) 27th Mono Lake CBC. Several people (15) in hats and capilene underwear wandered around the Mono Basin for several hours counting bemused birds. It was a great count, we matched the highest Mono Lake species total for the second year in a row. The weather was amazing, cold but perfectly clear, mostly calm, and no fog. In all, it was a good year for ducks, a good year for sparrows, and a “no way, man” year for true raptors and owls. Individual tallies were down, but we seemed to see at least one of everything. Jerry and Greg had the big day, sighting the circle’s first AMERICAN CROW since 1980, as well as the group’s only NORTHERN SHOVELER, COMMON MERGANSER, BUFFLEHEAD, AMERICAN DIPPER, and WESTERN MEADOWLARK. Paul and Yvette thoroughly observed the circle’s fourth-ever RED-NAPED SAPSUCKER, and if it wasn’t for them, we would not have found PINYON JAYS. Deanna and Mike spied our only AMERICAN TREE SPARROW and BREWER’S BLACKBIRDS, while Matt radio-tracked a count week SAGE GROUSE into the count circle while working in the snow for the USGS. Bartshe and Kelly skied up Lundy Canyon and saw things like BROWN CREEPERS and a MALLARD, which stupendously, when you (or I) really think about it, are both in the same taxonomic class. They also saw a GREAT BLUE HERON in a tree, the second year in a row this has occurred in Lundy Canyon. Sacha and Lisa B counted our only SAVANNAH SPARROWS and MARSH WREN on the wild and beautiful north shore, while Lisa C saw the only (and slightly larger) SHARP-SHINNED HAWK. Martin and Rita on feeder-watch observed WHITE-CROWNED SPARROWS and a FOX SPARROW in the cookie jars, and Don happened on our only RED-NAPED SAPSUCKER and AMERICAN ROBIN (last year we had nearly 600 robins in comparison). And Chris and Cali saw, well, some KILLDEER and GADWALL on the most groovy Rush Creek.