Observers: Tom & Jo Heindel
Email: tjheindelataoldotcom
Verification: MONO
Remote Name: 207.200.116.69
Date: 04/17/2008
Time: 06:00 PM -0400
On 17 April we had a number of First of Spring, for us, species as well as other goodies. A Common Loon in basic plumage was at Klondike Lake. An American Bittern was singing his "Plum-pudden" song at Klondike Lake which impressed us but not the 14 Black-crowned Night-Herons sharing the reeds with him. We had an Osprey at Tinemaha Reservoir and another one at Fish Springs Hatchery where we saw it take a fish (shhhhhh). Swainson's Hawks were paired up and we saw four pairs: one dark bird and the other a light one at Tinemaha Reservoir, and light pairs at Fish Springs, Big Pine Canal, and Steward Lane. A Spotted Sandpiper in alternate plumage was bobbing along the edge of Tinemaha Reservoir. A female Red-necked Phalarope was at Klondike Lake; 3rd earliest ever record with a two-way tie for earliest on 15 April on two different years. A Gray Flycatcher was dipping its tail down at Steward Lane and the Owens River. Two Bank Swallows were at Tinemaha Reservoir and two more at Fish Springs Hatchery. And lastly, but not leastly, was an hour long aria by a Sage Thrasher who has set up a territory at Klondike Lake.