Fall Feathers of 1998

Fall begins early in the bird world. While the non-birder may think fall begins in late September, the birder recognizes fall not as a particular month but the period of time when birds start to leave their breeding grounds and move to their winter grounds. These wintering areas may be here in the Owens Valley, nearby in southern CA or Mexico, or further in Central or South America.

Our earliest fall migrants are shorebirds, and they begin passing south in late June. Wilson’s Phalaropes, Greater Yellowlegs, Western and Least Sandpipers were headed for their wintering grounds before July. But what about our more exotic, unpredictable visitors? It has been an exciting fall. Space constraints allow only a listing of the most unusual.

A RED-THROATED LOON was at Tinemaha Reservoir 30 Nov. This species has been found in seven of the last nine falls after first being recorded in the county in 1990. Two SURF SCOTERS, a marine duck that is not found in Inyo every year, were found , one at Klondike Lake 11 Oct and one north of Bishop 3-17 Nov by John Finkbeiner. An ARCTIC TERN, only the fifth county record, was at Tinemaha Reservoir 9 Oct. A COMMON GROUND-DOVE was at Cartago 10 Sep and was only the second ever for the Owens Valley. Two RUDDY GROUND-DOVES were found, 1 at Furnace Creek Ranch 7 Oct and one at Independence. Bob Hudson found the Independence bird which was the first ever recorded in Owens Valley! An unprecedented three YELLOW-BELLIED SAPSUCKERS were reported during Oct and Nov. A very rare EASTERN PHOEBE, the 14th county record, was at Scotty’s Castle 7-10 Oct. A PURPLE MARTIN, not seen every year, was at Cottonwood Marsh 17 Sep. An excellent photo was received by a visiting Canadian birder, Jerry Pilny, who captured a pure albino COMMON BUSHTIT in flight at Whitney Portal campground in Aug. Most spectacular find all fall was a BLUE-WINGED WARBLER, only the 3rd for Inyo, at Birchim Canyon found by Debby Parker on 6 Sep while looking for the CHESTNUT-SIDED WARBLER she had found the previous day. A MAGNOLIA WARBLER, found 30 Sep, could not be refound by others searching later that day. A PROTHONOTARY WARBLER, found by Jim Parker, was at North Haiwee Reservoir 19-24 Sep and a different one was there 10 Oct found by Rosie Beach. Furnace Creek Ranch had an OVENBIRD on 17 Oct and two McCOWN’S LONGSPURS were seen at Independence 24-28 Oct. The Longspurs were found by Andrew & Leah Kirk – only the 6th county record, and first for Owens Valley. A CHESTNUT-COLLARED LONGSPUR was at Furnace Creek Ranch 17 Oct and a female PAINTED BUNTING was there 21 Sep. A record tying eight BOBOLINKS were photographed by Andrew Kirk at Independence during their brief stay 16-19 Sep. Two COMMON GRACKLES were found, one at Bishop 13 Sep by the Parkers and one at Panamint Springs 17 Oct by Tom Wurster. A female ORCHARD ORIOLE was at Furnace Creek Ranch 6 Oct.

This is only half of the four dozen excellent finds that the birders of the Owens Valley found this fall. Now we await the winter invasion of species such as Northern Shrike, Rough-legged Hawk, and who knows what else. Your guess is as good as ours. If you find one of the winter’s bonus birds, remember the procedure for turning a sighting into a scientific record: take notes immediately, photograph if possible, and call the nearest good birder you know to confirm. May your holiday season and new year be filled with beautiful feathers.