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Evening Presentations |
Mono Basin Bird Chautauqua Welcome Reception FULL
Join us Friday afternoon at the Mono Inn as we kick-off our first annual Mono Basin Bird Chautauqua! Representatives from all the partners – Mono Lake Committee, United States Forest Service, California State Parks, Eastern Sierra Audubon, and Point Reyes Bird Observatory – will be there as well as representatives from the American Bird Conservancy and the Audubon Society. Of particular importance will be the official announcement of the Mono Basin as a globally significant Important Bird Area, as recognized recently by both the American Bird Conservancy and Audubon Society.
Friday 4:00-6:00 p.m. Maximum number: 25 FULL
Join us Sunday afternoon for a picnic in the park complete with live music! Feel free to bring your own lunch or delicious Indian Tacos will be on sale. There will be live bluegrass music courtesy of the Hot Buttered Rum String Band. What a great way to end the Chautauqua! Good food, music, and conversation with new and old friends as we recap the weekend’s bird sightings or steal away down the boardwalk for a last minute glimpse at the birds before ending our birding weekend.
Sunday Starting at 11:30 a.m.
Held at Mono Lake County Park. From Lee Vining, head north on Hwy 395 approximately 5 miles and turn right on Cemetery Road. Go down the hill and look for parking directions.
Book Signing by Genny Smith – Sierra East: Edge of the Great Basin
Genny Smith will be available to sign her most recent book Sierra East: Edge of the Great Basin at the Mono Lake Committee Bookstore and Information Center in the heart of Lee Vining. Sally Gaines, co-founder of the Mono Lake Committee remarks “It is a real guidebook covering all the natural and unnatural history as well as geology, weather, and water. There are thorough descriptions of plants and animals you may wander across plus information on how they cope with the extreme rigors of the high mountains and harsh deserts.” Genny has several other books that will be available as well – Deepest Valley, Mammoth Lakes Sierra and Mammoth Gold.
Presenter: Genny Smith is editor and publisher of Genny Smith Books has a B.A. degree from Reed College and now lives in Cupertino. She first met the Eastern Sierra in the late 1940s on ski trips. Owning a cabin at Mammoth Lakes since 1957, she has edited and published several books on the Eastern Sierra. Genny is also a Mono Lake Committee Board of Director Emeritus.
Saturday 4:00-6:00 p.m. No registration is required.
Held in Scenic Area Visitor Center lobby.
Evening Presentations
Warblers of the Eastern Sierra - Evening Presentation by Jon Dunn FULL
Join Jon Dunn for an evening of wonderful slides, descriptions, identification tips and funny tales as he presents information on the warblers of the Eastern Sierra and Great Basin. Jon will also discuss warblers' wintering grounds, migration patterns, and vagrant records.
Presenter: Jon Dunn was chief consultant to the National Geographic Society's Field Guide to the Birds of North America, the 3rd edition of which was published in 1999. He has extensive knowledge of the identification and distribution of North American birds and has written on these subjects that have appeared in a wide variety of journals. He was co-author and the host of the two-video set Large and Small Gulls of North America in the Advanced Birding Video Series as well as co-author with Kimball Garrett of Birds of Southern California: Status and Distribution and Warblers. Jon is currently a member of the American Birding Association's Board of Directors as well as a consultant for their magazine, Birding. Jon also serves as Chair of the ABA Checklist Committee and is a member of both the California Bird Records Committee and the American Ornithologist's Union Checklist Committee.
Saturday 8:00-9:30 p.m. Maximum number: 75 FULL
Meet in Scenic Area Visitor Center theater
Mono Lake's California Gulls - Evening Presentation by David Winkler and Peter Wrege FULL
Cornell University biologists Dr. David Winkler and Dr. Peter Wrege will discuss the biology and natural history of Mono Lake's most conspicuous summer resident, the California Gull. Drawing upon the results of 25 years of monitoring, Dr. Winkler will trace the history of the gull colony at Mono Lake from earliest gold rush and settler accounts, the research he conducted in the 1970s, the crisis the gull colony faced with declining lake levels in the 1980s and '90s, to the important role the California gulls played in the Mono Lake water litigation. Dr. Wrege will continue the presentation discussing current research and new implications of rising lake levels on California Gull feeding and breeding ecology.
Presenters: David W. Winkler, Ph.D. is a professor of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology and faculty curator of birds at Cornell University. A California native, he received his Ph.D. from the University of California at Berkeley with the majority of his work centered on studying breeding California gulls at Mono Lake. He has published regularly in "The Auk", "Condor", and other scientific journals. His current research focuses on the life histories of "Tachycineta" swallows from Alaska to Argentina and he has helped organize the Golondrinas De Las Americas Swallow Project. Dr. Winkler continues to maintain an active role in the ongoing California gull research at Mono Lake.
Peter H. Wrege, Ph.D. is a Senior Research Associate at Cornell University. Traveling widely, he has studied White-fronted Bee-eaters in Kenya, Wattled Jacanas in Panama, and Galapagos marine iguanas. His current research includes the Tree Swallow Dispersal Project in New York State and Golondrinas De Las Americas. Dr. Wrege spent the last two summers studying the feeding and breeding ecology of California Gulls at Mono Lake.
Friday 7:30-9:00 p.m. Maximum number: 75 FULL
Meet in Scenic Area Visitor Center theater
Eastern Sierra Riparian Songbird Conservation Project - Evening Presentation by Sacha Heath
Point Reyes Bird Observatory biologist Sacha Heath will present slides, anecdotes and results on the Eastern Sierra Riparian Songbird Conservation Project - a five year project focusing on songbird use of Mono Basin's recovering streams and other eastern Sierra riparian bird haunts. Learn how songbird monitoring data can enhance restoration efforts and provide useful and timely information for bird conservation and management efforts.
Presenter: Sacha Heath has directed the Eastern Sierra Riparian Songbird Conservation Project since its inception in 1998 and has participated in several avian research projects ranging from Alaska to Antarctica. She has participated in statewide bird conservation efforts, co-authoring California bird conservation plans and species accounts for riparian, coniferous forest and oak woodland habitats.
Saturday 7:00-7:45 p.m. Maximum number: 75
Meet in Scenic Area Visitor Center theater
Imagine a map that covers the Eastern Sierra from Owens Lake to Bridgeport Reservoir and highlights all the best birding places. It will tell you how to get there, what birds you can expect to see, the best time of year to view birds in that location, and the facilities that are available at the site. The Mono Lake Committee, Eastern Sierra Audubon Society, and Owens Valley Committee are currently finalizing the production of such a map. And Mike Prather will tell you all about it!
Presenter: Mike Prather is a past president of the Eastern Sierra Audubon Society and is the current president of the Owens Valley Committee. He actively works on Owens Valley and Owens Lake water and wildlife issues and has been a resident of Inyo County (Lone Pine) for 30 years. He's also a long time Monophile.
Intermission between Saturday evening programs – No registration required.
Meet in Scenic Area Visitor Center theater
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