Observers: Justin Hite, Chris McCreedy, Kathy Kelley, Liza
Email: justinhiteatgmaildotcom
Date: 09/30/2007
Time: 10:53 PM -0400
Cold and lovely morning at Mono County's northern fake lake. A Merlin and Peregrine were taking turns scaring up the birds and then sitting on stumps and tires on the mudflats. The 2 Pectoral Sandpipers were in the mudflats nearest the highway with large numbers of Dowitchers, Killdeer and small Calidris sandpipers. There were a handful of Greater Yellowlegs dancing around loafing live Pelicans and quacking White-faced Ibis. On the shore further out there was a group of loafing Larids, Sternids and Phalacrocoracids that included Ring-billed Gulls, Bonaparte's Gulls, an adult Sabine's Gull, an immature Sabine's Gull, three Common Terns, and Double-crested Cormorants. Disturbingly, we spotted at least 10 dead White Pelicans (there are probably more). Two or three were in the mudflats at the southeast corner of the lake, and at least seven others were along the rocky northwestern shore at scattered intervals. Does anybody know what could be happening to them?