Just after the beginning of the last century, water was taken from the Owens River south of Tinemaha Reservoir and channeled into the aqueduct for transport to Los Angeles. For all practical purposes this destroyed the thriving riparian habitat that had existed for...
As happens every season, some birds arrive exactly as expected and, happily, some very unexpected birds arrive to add warmth and excitement to our cool months. The only Pacific Loon of the fall was at Owens Lake 22 Oct while Common Loon was scarce although one at...
It is November now, and as we look at the east slope of the Sierra we cannot help but notice that the green riparian in the canyon bottoms is now gold and crimson with touches of maroon. Winter is just around the corner, but what kind will we have this year and what...
Again this years IMBD was outstanding and the best ever in a couple of categories. Twenty six birders began before dawn and continued through dusk covering the Owens Valley, White & Inyo Mountains, eastern Sierra canyons, Deep Springs, and Death Valley. The goal,...
Do you have a favorite bird? Countless times that question has been posed to birders, usually by non-birders or relative newcomers to birdwatching. This innocuous inquiry is an almost impossible question to answer. The more one learns about any species the more...
The Bells Vireo, the smallest vireo found in Inyo County, usually returns in late March with an outlier arriving 17 Mar. Each year we wonder if any will return to spend spring and summer with us before retreating to a warmer and more hospitable climate in Mexico in...
At the beginning of every field guide is an illustration of a bird with all the parts named. Some such as the Peterson guide limit this to a single bird, while others, such as the Sibley Guide to Birds, devote seven pages to show bird parts of different groups of...
Eleven species of gulls have been reliably documented as having occurred in Inyo County. This group of birds typically stirs strong feelings of love or hate among birders. Those who love them not always began that way, and, in fact, appreciation of the group is gained...
One of the great things about birding is that wherever you travel there is an excellent chance that you will run into old friendsand some of them may have feathers! You probably expect to see new birds as that may well be one of the reasons you travel. But seeing...
The Orioles are arguably one of the most beautiful groups of birds in the world. Those found in the US are members of the blackbird family Icteridae. They are not closely related to the orioles of the old world, which are in the family Oriolidae and also brightly...
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