Sign up for our WAVE Newsletter

Here are the field trips scheduled through the summer. For possible changes, please check the field trips website page: www.wmrs.edu/birds/2002_field_trips.htm or contact Field Trips Chair Chris Howard at 873-7422.

CALENDAR

Saturday May 4th - Spring Migration at Baker Meadow - Join Earl Gann to witness spring migration in all its splendor. Meet at 7:00AM at the Glacier View Campground in Big Pine. We'll walk around Baker Meadow until noon. The meadows are frequently wet or muddy, so wear appropriate shoes. This is a great trip for beginning birders. Call Chris at 873-7422 with questions.

Saturday May 11th - International Migratory Bird Day

Saturday, May 18th - River Springs Field Trip - This is a magical area of vast grasslands and marshes. Many uncommon Eastern Sierra breeders, such as American Bittern and Wilson's Phalarope breed here. Meet in Bishop behind the Wye Shell gas station at 8:00AM. The trip will last until mid-afternoon. Wear irrigation boots or other mud-worthy shoes. Bring lunch, binoculars, insect repellent, and sun protection. Call Chris at 873-7422 for more information.

Saturday, June 15th - Highway 120 Birding Tour - Join Eliot Gann on a drive through one of the most scenic areas of the Eastern Sierra. This tour winds its way through Benton, across highway 120 and ends at Mono Lake. Meet in Bishop behind the Wye Shell gas station at 8:00AM. The trip will last until mid-afternoon. Call Chris at 873-7422 for more information.

Friday, July 12th through July 14th - Big Pine Basin Overnight - Jerry Zatorski and Kathy Duvall will lead this joint backpack with the California Native Plant Society up into the North Fork of Big Pine Creek. Excellent summer montane birds in full breeding plumage and prolific breath-taking wildflower displays. We'll bird and botanize the scenic Lakes Loop and visit Sixth Lake's yellow-legged frog population with biologist Phill Kiddoo. All participants are responsible for their own backpacking needs including a wilderness permit. From the trailhead, expect a steep climb (2000) for 3.5 miles to the base camp below Third Falls. Saturday's hike will include additional elevation gain to Sixth Lake at 11,100. Please, no beginning backpackers. Limit to 10 people. Call Jerry Zatorski at 872-3818 or Kathy Duvall at 872-1466 by July 7th.

Saturday, July 20th - Sierran Hike - Join John and Dorothy Burnstrom on a birding hike to Mary Louise Lake. Meet for car-pooling in Bishop behind the Wye Shell gas station at 8:30AM. Bring water, bug repellent, lunch, and sun lotion. As with all Audubon field trips, no dogs please. This 5 mile trip should take between 3 and 4 hours round-trip. Call John at 873-3091 with questions.

Saturday, August 10th - Crowley Reservoir Shorebirds - Mid-August is the peak of fall shorebird migration and Crowley Reservoir is an exceptional place to find them. Join leader Jon Dunn at the Green Church at 9:00AM. Bring mud-worthy shoes, water, hat, sun and insect protection, and binoculars. Call Chris at 873-7422 for more information. Friday, August 23rd through August 25th - Hunter Mountain Banding Overnight - Tom and Jo Heindel have operated a bird banding station on Hunter Mountain for several years. This is a good chance to observe fall warbler migration. Car camping at a primitive, 'dry' campground. For more information, call Tom and Jo Heindel at 938-2764.

Saturday, September 14th - Fall Shorebird Migration on Owens Lake - Mike Prather - The fall shorebird spectacle at Owens Lake can be truly amazing. Mike will show us the best spots on the lake for birds. Meet at 8:00AM at the Diaz Lake parking lot 3 miles south of Lone Pine. Bring a lunch, binoculars, scope, hat, sunscreen etc. Call Mike at 876-5807 for more info.

Eastern Sierra Wildlife Care admitted 235 wild animals last year and another twenty-seven since the first of the year. Wed like to share some of their stories with you. Horned Lark: This nestling was rescued by Lone Pine residents and cared for by them for 2 weeks until they learned about ESWC. The lark stayed with us for several weeks for weaning and flight training. Debbie Parker helped out, finding a horned lark flock and releasing him there.

Clarks Grebe: On Labor Day weekend, Jennifer Allred (Pet Friendzy) saw a tiny, velvet-gray bird swimming toward her boat. Fortunately, she rescued it and got it to ESWC. The 2-day old bird was identified as a Clarks Grebe, a rarely seen baby in rehab circles. Alternating between an incubator with a feather duster taking moms place and a pan of water for short baths, the grebe ate tiny live fish and mealworms, grew quickly, and nearly doubled its weight in just a few days. After about 2 weeks, ESWC volunteer Carmen Van Noy drove the bird to International Bird Rescue, experts in waterbird rehabilitation, where the grebe would have access to deep-water pools and, possibly, the company of other grebes. It was ultimately released.

Cinnamon Teal: Found lying on the snowy Mammoth slopes in March, this lovely bird was rescued and taken to ESWC volunteer Donna Shelley. A few days of rest, warmth and food, and the teal was ready for release.

Gopher Snake: This foot-long, pencil-thin baby was rescued from an inappropriate place-The Highlands-probably brought in from the fields by a cat. Rescuers provided heat and food. Unfortunately, the snake slithered out of its cage and became imbedded in duct tape. Upon its arrival at ESWC, Cindy Kamler began research into removing duct tape from snakeskin. Vegetable oil and patience were the solution. After a few days of recovery, and aided by advice from local snake experts, an appropriate release site was found. It was November and time for the little guy to hibernate.

Hoary Bat: On April 18, ESWC received a call from Fish Lake Valley, where the rescuer found a bat lying on the ground outside her door. She had the bat for two days, while seeking help, and the bat had not flown or eaten. At ESWC, the bat was identified as a hoary bat; large, solitary and migratory, this species is rarely sighted. Warmth, hydration, and lots of mealworms soon revived this pregnant female. Local bat experts provided helpful information; these bats are found locally and may even remain in the area all year. Return and release will take place soon.

SIXTH GRADE CAMP
By Troy D. Kelly
Wildlife Biologist, retired from the CA Department of Fish and Game

Recently, I had the pleasure to participate in the Scientist in the Classroom, Students in the Field docent program*. My assignment was to lead a bird walk for the Home Street Schools Sixth Grade Camp. I had never led a bird-walk for kids before, but I have led tours for the public at large and for state senators and Undersecretaries of Interior. How hard could it be to lead a dozen or so sixth graders at a time on an hour and a half walk to look at birds? Well, 14 bird-walks and 180 kids later, I am a humble man. I no longer question the patience and dedication of every sixth grade teacher in the country! I think it was the most challenging week Ive had in many years, yet one of the most rewarding. There is nothing more exciting than to see the look in a kids eye when you play a Bewicks Wren song and have one respond live, up close and personal, to defend its territory! I dont make a habit of challenging male Bewicks Wrens, but it made for a powerful learning tool for these kids. That little wren helped to teach those kids about bird topography, songs and calls, breeding behavior and territoriality, and little bit of birding ethics (of which we were fudging on in the name of education).

We made our way around the Bernasconi Camp (just west of Big Pine) hunting for as many birds as we could find. Obviously, we werent going to set any records in late winter, but I had the kids competitive juices flowing nonetheless. We started slow on a very cold Monday morning with seven birds and picked up steam as the weather improved, and by Thursday observed 19. Not bad considering I had compiled a cursory list of 32 for the kids to shoot for. I had more fun walking through riparian forest, sage scrub, deciduous woodland, and grassland than I ever had as a graduate student. I tried to point out everything that I could to reinforce ecological concepts to the kids-habitat, habitat, habitat! We observed cavity nesters, seed-eaters, insect-eaters, birds-of-prey (raptors, not the velociraptors of Jurassic Park fame), scavengers, carrion, and even four-legged predators, as evidenced by their scat (fancy word for poop). Its not easy holding a sixth-graders attention for 90 minutes, but I found it hard to make it back to camp by our assigned time. How can you urge the kids to move on when two Red-tailed Hawks display for you and then mate just yards from their future nest! Ah, the giggles and laughter when adolescence witnesses nature at its very essence. And to think, I had no idea what I was going to tell those kids on Monday morning.

Special thanks to the Eastern Sierra Audubon Society for loaning us the binoculars. Congratulations, you just turned 180 kids onto birding!

*Scientist in the Classroom, Students in the Field is a science education program run cooperatively by Eastern Sierra Institute for Collaborative Education, Inyo County Office of Education, White Mountain Research Station, and Inyo County Schools.

CHOOSING A FAVORITE BIRD
By Tom and Jo Heindel

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 fascinating it becomes, and the more questions arise resulting in a deeper appreciation of the uniqueness of that bird.

Most birders have had an exciting bird encounter that directed them to books to find an explanation or description that further enriched the experience. Without exception, this is true of all species, making the selection of a favorite just about impossible. The greater your experience with birds the greater your difficulty in selecting just one favorite.

Many birders prefer certain groups or families of birds. Some love warblers because of their bright colors while others prefer raptors with their dashing attacks on mammals, birds, or other prey. Some even prefer the more difficult groups such as gulls, shorebirds, or sparrows for the identification challenges they offer.

While it is not uncommon for a professional ornithologist to concentrate on one group of birds such as swifts, hummingbirds, or gulls, it is very uncommon to find a birder who is only interested in a single group of birds. Those who do, tend to concentrate on the more scientific aspects of their choice. Concentrating on one group allows the non-professionally trained individual to make valuable contributions to the scientific community. However, the vast majority of birders enjoy most groups of birds with as many reasons as there are individuals.

Who cannot marvel at hundreds of American White Pelicans circling low overhead while listening to the swooshing of their fixed, unmoving wings, slicing the air? Who can fail to get excited listening to a flock of bugling, rattling Sandhill Cranes lifting off a field on a crisp November morning? Who cannot be impressed by the fine feather detail and intricate pattern on a closely observed Townsends Warbler in early May? Who can remain calm and collected when viewing a Red-faced Warbler or Cerulean Warbler in Inyo knowing they are not supposed to occur here?

While it may be impossible for most birders to list one favorite bird, they will have no trouble answering the question What are your favorite birding experiences? Be ready for a lengthy response!

CHILDRENS CORNER

POOF! By John OBrien. Boyds Mills Press, Inc., PA, 1999.

Wizards, babies, cats, dogs, and ducks! This story looks at laziness and habitats appropriate for the above-mentioned characters! It is actually more fun than instructive, but kids with duck experience will relate to conditions that ducks can tolerate. So as not to spoil the ending, I wont say any more, but read it for yourself to find out how they live happily ever after!

You can find this book at the Public Library, or ask for it at your independent bookstore. If you go to Spellbinder Books, dont forget to check out the Audubon T-shirts. We will have more summer short sleeve shirts in more colors available soon, and the proceeds to toward our local bird education program.
Sara Steck

Edward Abbey on the Great-horned Owl

From the vicinity of Balanced Rock comes the cry of the great horned owl. Suppertime, for the owl. The mice, squirrels, gophers, rabbits know what I mean. What is he up to? Rather than hunt for his supper the owl seems to be calling his supper to come to him. He calls again and again, always from the same place, not moving, in a voice which seems to come from not one spot alone but--anywhere. A war of nerves. His nervous, timorous prey, terribly insecure, hear that cry and tremble. Where exactly is the owl? Perhaps the next shrub, the next rock, would offer better concealment than this. They hesitate. The great horned owl cries again and a rabbit breaks, dashes for what might be a better place, revealing his position. Quiet as a moth the owl swoops down. (from Desert Solitaire, 1968)