by Tom & Jo Heindel | Jan 7, 2006 | Blog, Heindel, Sierra Wave
[Originally appeared in the Sierra Wave newsletter, Vol. 24, No. 3, Jan-Feb 2006 – click here for original with photos] Broad-billed Hummingbirds (Cynanthus latirostris) are common throughout much of their Mexican range with the northern populations being...
by Tom & Jo Heindel | Nov 2, 2005 | Blog, Heindel, Sierra Wave
About three years ago we began to get calls from people in the Owens Valley who recognized that they had a bird species in their yard that they had never seen before. One even began the conversation with, “I have not been drinking but I have a bird at my feeder...
by Tom & Jo Heindel | Sep 4, 2005 | Blog, Heindel, Sierra Wave
The summer of 2005 has come and gone leaving only memories of the coolest June most locals can ever remember. July, with temperatures in excess of 100F, quickly brought us back to the reality of an Eastern Sierra summer followed by the hot muggy days during the...
by Tom & Jo Heindel | May 23, 2005 | Blog, Christmas Bird Count, Heindel, Sierra Wave
One of the wettest winters on record brought three times as much rainfall to Death Valley National Park and almost two times the expected snowfall to the Sierra. It was an interesting winter for birds as well. Many species who regularly winter in the Sierra moved to...
by Tom & Jo Heindel | Mar 9, 2005 | Blog, Heindel, Sierra Wave
It is always exciting to see a bird with a USF&WS aluminum band on a leg in Inyo County. If the nine-digit number can be read it means it can be determined where and when the bird was banded as well as the age and sometimes the sex. But it is usually very...
by Tom & Jo Heindel | Jan 1, 2005 | Blog, Heindel, Sierra Wave
Birdwatchers always look forward to migration when birds move north in spring to their breeding areas and south in fall to wintering grounds. Each migration brings the unexpected. This fall was an exceptionally exciting one. Four species found in Inyo this fall are so...
by Tom & Jo Heindel | Nov 1, 2004 | Blog
This past summer has been a banner year for finding Brown Pelicans in the interior of the southwest U.S. Unlike American White Pelican, a common migrant through Inyo in spring and fall, the Brown Pelican prefers the coast and is very rare inland except at the Salton...
by Tom & Jo Heindel | Sep 18, 2004 | Blog, Heindel, Sierra Wave
On May 8th thirty-five participants joined the international celebration of migratory birds and scoured hills and dales, valleys and mountains, lakes, streams, and the Owens River from Round Valley south to Little Lake, east to China Ranch, and north to Deep Springs,...
by Tom & Jo Heindel | May 12, 2004 | Blog, Heindel, Sierra Wave
Until 1997, the Solitary Vireo in the United States consisted of four subspecies. Since then, based on additional research, the Solitary Vireo has been split into three full species. The eastern and northern races were merged as the Blue-headed Vireo, the Pacific...
by Tom & Jo Heindel | Mar 5, 2004 | Blog, Heindel, Sierra Wave
Many visitors arrive in the eastern Sierra from southern California and are thrilled to see the flashy Black-billed Magpie (Pica hudsonia) as it crosses the road in front of them or flies alongside their car as if in welcome. They are not used to seeing this large,...
