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Bird Sightings

Click here to see a list of bird species reportedly sighted in the Mono Basin
March 7 - December 20, 1997

1997

June 29 Yellow-billed Cuckoo (unconfirmed) Lee Vining Canyon
August 3 2 immature Bald Eagles Saddlebag Lake
August 11 5 Virginia Rails, 2 Soras County Park
August 13 Ancient Murrelet between Navy Beach and South Tufa
August 19 250 Northern Shovelers south shore
August 23 450 Northern Shovelers, 100 Northern Pintails lagoon on the south shore
August 23 Parasitic Jaeger harassing phalaropes near Black Point
August 24 Mountain Plover northeast shore
August 24 adult and immature Bald Eagles Roosevelt Lake/Mt. Conness
Sept. 1 2 Double-crested Cormorants Navy Beach
Sept. 1 40 Marbled Godwits south shore
Sept. 7 Western Grebe, 2 Greater Yellowlegs Navy Beach
Sept. 12 31 Caspian Terns east of Navy Beach
Sept. 13 2 Bald Eagles Lundy Canyon
Sept. 13 3 Sabine's Gulls, one immature, two mature various locations on south shore
Sept. 14 immature Franklin's Gull Ellery Lake
Sept. 16 recently dead Barn Owl (rare for the Basin) north shore
Oct. 3 Sora (late sighting of this rare Mono Basin visitor) County Park
Oct. 6 2 Forster's Terns South Tufa
Oct. 19 Bald Eagle Crestview
Oct. 25 Short-eared Owl between South Tufa and Navy Beach
Nov. 4 Snow Goose South Tufa
Nov. 5 31 Snow Geese County Park (B. Miller, Lee Vining)
Nov. 22 Bald Eagle Silver Lake (G. Reis, Lee Vining)
Dec. 20 Common Snipes, Bewick's Wren, Ruby-crowned Kinglet, Northern Harrier, Ruddy Ducks, American Robin, Killdeer County Park (B. Miller, Lee Vining)
Late Dec. Flock of 50 Tundra Swans near County Park (L. Ford, Lee Vining and X-mas Bird Count)
Dec. 26 Pied-billed Grebe stranded in Nicely's lot! (S. Nelson, Lee Vining)
Dec. 29 Kingfisher Mill Creek (B. Miller, Lee Vining)

Complete list of reported birds sightings in the Mono Basin
March 7-December 20, 1997

Compiled from bird census, naturalist log entries, and miscellaneous reports from staff and visitors.
This list is not intended to be comprehensive. It lists 148 species.

Common Loon Wilson’s Phalarope Scrub Jay
Pied-billed Grebe Red-necked Phalarope Stellar’s Jay
Eared Grebe Common Snipe Pinyon Jay
Western Grebe Long-billed Dowitcher Clark’s Nutcracker
Double-crested Cormorant Short-billed Dowitcher. Black-billed Magpie
Ancient Murrelet Spotted Sandpiper Mountain Chickadee
Canada Goose Sanderling Plain Titmouse
Snow Goose Ruddy Turnstone Bushtit
Gadwall Baird’s Sandpiper White-breasted Nuthatch
Mallard Least Sandpiper Brown Creeper
Northern Pintail Western Sandpiper House Wren
Northern Shoveler Sage Grouse Bewick’s Wren
Green-winged Teal Blue Grouse Marsh Wren
Cinammon Teal Northern Harrier Canyon Wren
Canvasback Sharp-Shinned Hawk Rock Wren
Redhead Cooper’s Hawk American Dipper
Bufflehead Northern Goshawk Ruby-crowned Kinglet
Ruddy Duck Red-tail Hawk Blue-gray Gnatcatcher
Common Merganser Bald Eagle Sage Thrasher
American Coot Golden Eagle American Robin
Parasitic Jaeger Turkey Vulture Townsend’s Solitaire
California Gull Osprey Hermit Thrush
Ring-billed Gull American Kestrel Mountain Bluebird
Franklin’s Gull Peregrine Falcon Loggerhead Shrike
Sabine’s Gull Praire Falcon European Starling
Bonaparte’s Gull Barn Owl Yellow-rumped Warbler
Caspian Tern Long-eared Owl Macgillivray’s Warbler
Forster’s Tern Great Horned Owl Yellow Warbler
Black Tern Belted Kingfisher Brewer’s Blackbird
Great Blue Heron Mourning Dove Red-winged Blackbird
Green-backed Heron (name?) Rock Dove Yellow-headed Blackbird
Great Egret Common Nighthawk Western Meadowlark
Snowy Egret Common Poorwill Brown-headed Cowbird
Black-crowned Night-Heron Anna’s Hummingbird Western Tanager
White-faced Ibis Downy Woodpecker White-crowned Sparrow
Sora Hairy Woodpecker Golden-crowned Sparrow
Virginia Rail Northern Flicker Sage Sparrow
Black-necked Stilt Williamson’s Sapsucker Song Sparrow
American Avocet Red-breasted Sapsucker Lincoln’s Sparrow
Black-bellied Plover Western Kingbird Savannah Sparrow
Semipalmated Plover Western Wood Pewee Spotted Towhee
Snowy Plover Black Phoebe Green-tailed Towhee
Killdeer Say’s Phoebe Dark-eyed Junco
Mountain Plover Gray Flycatcher Rosy Finch
Marbled Godwit Horned Lark House Finch
Long-billed Curlew American Pipit Cassin’s Finch
Whimbrel Tree Swallow American Goldfinch
Willet Violet-green Swallow House Sparrow
Greater Yellowlegs Cliff Swallow  
Lesser Yellowlegs Common Raven