The Mono Basin is a great place to explore. There are paved and unpaved roads to drive, trails to hike, volcanic features to scramble upon, shore line to visit, and scenery that is breathtaking. Do you have just a few hours to see the highlights, or perhaps a day or two?

The next time you visit the Mono Lake area, think about going someplace new. Have you been (more…)

I didn’t mean to disturb that family of Killdeer while I was walking one afternoon near some freshwater ponds on the north side of Mono Lake, but disturb them I did. Killdeer parents get quite vocal during nesting season, and begin squawking and acting distressed if one ventures within a hundred feet or so of their nest. Some birds throw a fit from a greater distance, and since their nests are in open places but blend in with the sand and gravel so nicely, one can literally be standing two feet from the eggs and not even see them.

On this particular afternoon, both parents were together (more…)

A male Violet-green Swallow. Photo courtesy of Nora Livingston.

I had no idea that nesting Violet-green Swallows would snatch feathers tossed into the air. During June, I went for a walk with Birding Intern Erica, and she suggested we pick up little feathers for the swallows to catch. I watched her hold a feather above her head, and wave it around a bit. The swallows soon came close and she let that feather go. The breeze wafted it about a bit and a fast swallow caught it with her beak. Additional feathers were tossed into the air and other female swallows caught them. (more…)

Hearing rocks fall while standing at the bottom of a mountain cliff with lots of talus immediately below the cliff makes a person look up. Hearing more rocks fall thirty seconds after the first gets the adrenaline going. Falling rocks can turn into a dramatic rock slide, or they can amount to nothing much at all. When I heard the sounds of moving rocks a third time, I could tell the noises were closer to me so I pulled out my binoculars and began scanning the slope above. It was either (more…)