Sunrise light on a grove of tufa towers emerging from the water of Mono Lake with soft green and dusty-red wild grasses in the foreground, Canada geese in the shallow water with reflections of the rocky towers, and desert hills in the distance.

Free bird walks at Mono Lake County Park begin this weekend

Sunrise light on a grove of tufa towers emerging from the water of Mono Lake with soft green and dusty-red wild grasses in the foreground, Canada geese in the shallow water with reflections of the rocky towers, and desert hills in the distance.

This post was written by Sandra Noll, Birding Intern in 2014, 2015, & 2016.

Several events mark the beginning of the Mono Lake Committee’s summer season. One of them is the start of weekend bird-walks at Mono Lake County Park, a joint program with California State Parks.

A Western Tanager in its brilliant breeding plumage. Photo by Sandra Noll.
A Western Tanager in its brilliant breeding plumage. Photo by Sandra Noll.

You are invited to join experienced guides every Friday and Sunday at 8:00am (meet at the County Park parking lot) for a two-hour guided walk through a variety of habitats including an aging woodland with dead snags, sagebrush scrub, grassland, riparian oasis, and the shore of Mono Lake. As you can imagine, this variety of habitats supports a wide variety of birds.

These following photos of a few of the species seen on a preview walk earlier this week are designed to entice you…. Do join us, it’s relaxing, it’s fun and it’s free!

House Wren. Photo by Erv Nichols.
House Wren. Photo by Erv Nichols.
Great Horned Owl with two owlets, aka "hoppers," since they have outgrown their nest and move about the trees but are not yet able to fly. Photo by Sandra Noll.
Great Horned Owl with two owlets, aka “hoppers,” since they have outgrown their nest and move about the trees but are not yet able to fly. Photo by Sandra Noll.
Mountain Bluebird. Photo by Sandra Noll.
Mountain Bluebird. Photo by Sandra Noll.

 

All these, plus Osprey nesting on a tufa platform in Mono Lake can be observed from the end of the boardwalk. We hope to see you this weekend, or any Friday or Sunday throughout the summer!