From: Kristie Nelson
Email: storm_petrel@hotmail.com
Remote Name: 209.221.192.34
Date: 05/29/02
Time: 01:00:09 PM
Wow! me and a good portion of the Mono lake committe staff just got done watching a beautiful Acorn Woodpecker in Lee Vining. In mid-sentance talking to a friend about childhood rock collections, I saw it sally up into the sky a block away. Me and Justin Hite took off running! It is very bright, and sallying for insects around the telephone poles behind the LV post office. What is especially remarkable, is that it is storing bugs in holes in one of the poles, and a nearby tree. It was catching some kind of large insect every few minutes (or less), couldn't quite tell what they were (bees or moths?). It diligantly pulled off the wings and ate the bug. It also pushed bugs into the small holes. Some are recent looking (we saw it pecking one out), some looked older. Wonder if that has been documented. Got photos. Just got back yesterday from several days down south doing point counts alsong Owen's river. Had the usual species. There are LeConte's thashers on some of the transects. Most interesting was a tiny fluffy Western screech-owl chick, and the parent, in the riparian of Owen's just north of Tinemaha Res. Very cute. Best of all: Bartshe Miller on the 27th saw what he is pretty sure was a MEW GULL at the end of the board walk at county park. Said it looked like a tiny Calif. gull with a small, very thin bill, dark eye, yellow bill with small dark smudge on the end of the lower mandible. A mew gull of course is quite spectacular, especially this time of year. Have not been able to refind it (so far). Can't wait to see what birds will be next. Kristie