Date of sighting: 6/23/10

We were able to capture a photo of this bird just outside the Mono Lake visitors center. Please help us identify him/her. Thank you!

This post was submitted by Gene Addison.

Posting an update from Lisa Fields:

The osprey are doing well. There is one active nest at Navy Beach, one at South Tufa, and possibly 2 at Old Marina. They are mostly 1-2 weeks later in their development than the last couple of years, which is not surprising since they returned from their non-breeding grounds about that much later this year. The Pirate Ship and new nest at the end of the Boardwalk at South Tufa were not successful.

How many nestlings are in the nests, I wasn’t able to tell today. They are still too young, I could only determine that the adults were feeding young. I was able to see 1 nestling in the Old Marina nest though, so head out to the end of the David Gaines boardwalk if you want to see a nestling.

This post was submitted by Greg, Information & Restoration Specialist.

Date of sighting: 6/22/2010

There was a female Hooded Warbler this morning in the aspen grove that straddles the June Lake Loop road just upstream from Grant Lake. She was skulking in the undergrowth, but showing off white outer tail feathers as she fanned her tail. She was about 50m downstream from the main pulloff in the middle of this grove. There was also a singing Western Flycatcher (Cordilleran?) in the same spot and a singing Nashville Warbler a little upstream. A little further upstream, where a green gate on the side of the road indicates the DWP gauging station, there was a second Western Flycatcher singing. I’d be interested to hear if people think these are Cordilleran or Pac-slopes…my ears aren’t really tuned to the difference.  

Yesterday a Goshawk buzzed me up in Rancheria Gultch, the first time i’ve seen them in a Pinyon forest away from the Sierra. Black-throated Gray Warblers, Plumbeous Vireos, and Juniper Titmice all relatively easy to find up there. 

This post was submitted by Justin Hite.

Date of sighting: 6/20/2010

Goshawk within 1/2 mile of the trailhead to Waterwheel Falls (Tuolumne Meadows). Pine grosbeaks right behind Soda Springs.

This post was submitted by Greg Reis on behalf of Sally Miller.

Date of sighting: June 15, 2010

Hooded Oriole in our yard in Mono City!

Adult Bald Eagle circling overhead and vocalizing at Lundy Lake above the resort on the Lake Canyon trail.  Sounds like a high pitched rusty hinge!

This post was submitted by janet carle.

Date of sighting: 12 June 2010

A dapper male Chestnut-sided Warbler sang his way along the southeastern side of the Lee Vining Creek this morning. He was in the vicinity of about 500 – 1000m upstream from where the county road crosses the creek. I saw him at around 8:00 and followed him until around 8:30. Justin Hite saw him again at around 3:30. He put on a show: in plane view he munched on anything he could find from vibrant cottonwood leaves, sang up a storm, and displayed his brilliant plumage for all to see. His song is strikingly similar to that of the Yellow Warbler, and I found their songs quite difficult to distinguish.

Also, likely recovering from the 512 cfs peak of last week, I found a Spotted Sandpiper sneaking away from a new nest with one egg, it was placed among Castilleja and grass stems and debris from the flows, on what little dry(ish) ground is available.

This post was submitted by Sacha Heath.

Date of sighting: June 8 2010

Checkerspot Butterfly below the Big Bend and Black-chinned Hummingbird nest below Mono City about 4m high in Black Cottonwood, Mill Creek.

This post was submitted by Sacha Heath.

Date of sighting: June 6, 2010

This bird was singing and moving and foraging from cottonwood to cottonwood along Mill Creek from just below the last Mono City house on the dowstream end of the creek to about 750 meters upstream. It was singing incessantly and at first I thought it was a Solitary Vireo (unable to differentiate between Plumbeous and Cassin’s song). So I went in for a better look. I had a recording device with me and this is what I recorded as I watched the bird (I also got a good recording of the song): “This bird has a very yellow breast, an incredibly bold eyering, a white vent and around the legs, really bright yellow [breast], a huge bill…, the white and yellow seperation [on the breast and belly] is pretty much half way down the [length of the bird], white wingbars.” And then later, when I had a better view (~5 meters), ” the Vireo has actually a yellow spectacle.”

I’ve attached some o.k. pics. The first is bizarre in that the bill appears warbler-like. It was nothing of the sort. The bill was thick even for vireo standards. Nonetheless, the photo shows the yellow/white brest/belly dividing line very well. The second pic shows the yellow spectacles o.k..

Very cool bird! Enjoy!

This post was submitted by Sacha Heath.

Date of sighting: 5-26-2010

Hi all,

While checking our waterbox yesterday, me and Joel saw a Broad-winged Hawk fly over us! This is at Simis Ranch, on Dechambeau Creek west of county park. I put a description on the ES audubon post. I never saw it land, but it was headed right towards the county park area. I saw it very well – looked like a second year bird. No records in the Gaines book, I have foggy memories of one reported a number of years back my Al DeMartini? I have not yet checked back on that record where/when… I know there are reports for Oasis, so it’s not new for Mono County but perhaps for the Mono Basin.

Keep an eye out on those hawks!!!

This post was submitted by Kristie Nelson.

Date of sighting: May 22

Both birds have been hanging out in the back yard of the El Mono all day today. The Rose-breasted Grosbeak is brightly colored male. The Gray-headed Junco showed up yesterday afternoon. The bird seems as if it might be an integrade between the Red-backed race and the Gray-headed race. The upper mandible is darker on top, but depending on the light is sometimes uniformly light-colored.  The bird rarely remains still and we can’t get a certain look at it’s bill.  My wife spotted both birds.

This post was submitted by Bartshe.