There are pumpkins and remnants of Halloween decorations in the yards of Lee Vining. Many businesses have closed for the season, but the Mono Lake Committee continues to greet people daily at our Information Center & Bookstore, which is open 9:00am–5:00pm.

November visitors seem equally interested in fall color information, weather predictions, and learning which roads (more…)

Three dedicated volunteers and two Mono Lake Committee staff members helped clean the Committee’s adopted mile of Highway 395 recently. The crew met on Friday, October 26, donned fluorescent vests and leather gloves, and hit the road under sunny skies.

The Committee adopted a section of  Highway 395 south of Lee Vining in 1997 and leads two to four cleanups annually. A lot more recyclable materials were found this time along with the usual assortment of things that blow out of or fall off moving vehicles. All in all, six bags of litter and one bag of recycling were gathered. It’s nice to leave the road spiffed up before the winter winds blow! A big thanks to volunteers Rich & Cathy Foye and Rebecca Watkins.

On Saturday morning, October 13, a small plane flew over Mono Lake. It banked multiple times, and then flew across the lake over and over. A sightseer? No, this was scientific research in action—the annual Eared Grebe aerial photo survey!

A view over Mono Lake's eastern shore, looking southwest over the Mono Craters to the Sierra Nevada range. Photo by Arya Degenhardt with aerial support provided by LightHawk.

A bit of background: Eared Grebes nest in the northern Rockies and southern Canada, and visit Mono Lake mid-migration. While here in the fall, they undergo molt and gorge themselves on (more…)

A Yellow-headed ... Blackbird! Photo courtesy of Ben Winger.

It’s a beautiful fall morning at Mono Lake County Park. I hear a Killdeer calling overhead from the cottonwood trees. No, wait—that would be a European Starling doing an excellent imitation!

I’m in my final month of leading public bird walks as the Mono Lake Committee Birding Intern. Has it really been five months since I rolled into town, nervous about whether I could sort out the sparrows from the finches, especially when in front of a group? I had a steep learning curve while leading my first-ever bird walks, and maybe I did shout out “Yellow-headed Woodpecker!” to one of my first groups as a vivid bird flew past. (“That would be Yellow-headed BLACKBIRD,” they gently corrected me). (more…)

Erica and Rose at Lundy Lake Reservoir. Photo by Lynette Villagomez.

The sole of a shoe, a child’s rubber ball, and a bait container printed with the phrase “please do not litter”—what do these items have in common?

All were found and picked up by sharp-eyed Mono Lake enthusiasts during the Great Sierra River Cleanup, held on September 15. This was the (more…)

Six of us are packed into a small motor boat, laden with kiddie gates, cardboard boxes, and a crate of old sheets. We are reviewing the strategy of our siege as we cross to Twain Island—move quickly, stay low, don’t stop. We are preparing to band California Gull chicks in several research plots on the small islands east of Negit Island in Mono Lake, a monitoring project that started in 1983.

California Gull chicks in a banding corral with the Krakatoa Island basecamp in the background.

By capturing the chicks in small plots that are surrounded by 2-foot-high chicken wire fences, we can examine the birds and extrapolate information on their health and reproductive success. In addition, hopefully the bands we fasten to the chicks’ legs will be seen in the future, allowing us to learn more about these gulls’ migration and nesting. (more…)

Last week I watched a family share a fish dinner at South Tufa. The mother pulled the flesh from the bones of the fish and then gently gave it to the babies, who not-so-gently shoved each other out of the way. When everyone had eaten, mom tried to get the babes to settle down to sleep. I couldn’t tell if a story was read or a lullaby sung, but the action stilled. When the light faded from the mountains, both parents were sitting with the sleeping young, safe in their nest on the tufa.

These fish-eaters are Osprey, Pandion haliaetus, and we are lucky to have them nesting at Mono Lake where they are easy to see. Osprey catch fish (more…)

It’s that time of year again, when the migratory birds are returning to the Mono Basin. They are singing their hearts out, defending territories, forming pairs, and making nests.

California Gulls build nests on Mono Lake's islands each spring. Photo by Russ Taylor.

We hope that you will be able to join us this season to witness all of this and more on one of our free weekly bird walks. In conjunction with Mono Lake Tufa State Natural Reserve rangers, Mono Lake Committee staff will be leading walks on Friday and Sunday mornings at 8:00am at Mono Lake County Park. Meet us there in the parking lot, and bring your binoculars! You never know what we might see in our leisurely two-hour walk as we explore the willows and poplar trees, and view the lakeshore from the boardwalk. No reservations necessary—come one and all!