Lahontan Audubon Society - Reports of Trips and Events

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Reports of Trips and Events

Paige Meadows and Tahoe City - Saturday, July 7, 2012

I led a bird walk to Page Meadows and the Sherwood Express chairlift of Alpine Meadows near Tahoe City today for the Tahoe Institute for Natural Science, Lahontan Audubon Society, and the Tahoe Rim Trail. We had a beautiful day with EVENING GROSBEAKS appearing to be everywhere. The meadows were a bit drier than usual, but still had a good mixture of birds and wildflowers. A pair of WESTERN WOOD-PEWEES were building a nest in an aspen tree near the old Basque oven. We saw a pair of WILLIAMSON'S SAPSUCKERS and a family of RED-BREASTED SAPSUCKERS. I caught a brief glimpse of an EMPID flycatcher. He didn't stick around long enough for an ID and he didn't vocalize either. I caught a brief glimpse of my first RUFOUS HUMMINGBIRD of the season. Three LAZULI BUNTINGS had us running back and forth trying to get a perched view of them near the stream to the west of the Sherwood Express chairlift. Here's the complete list:

Rufous Hummingbird
Northern Flicker
Hairy Woodpecker
Williamson's Sapsucker
Red-breasted Sapsucker
Western Wood-Pewee
Empidonax Spp
Warbling Vireo
Steller's Jay
Mountain Chickadee
White-breasted Nuthatch - heard
Red-breasted Nuthatch
Brown Creeper - heard
Mountain Bluebird
American Robin
Hermit Thrush - heard
Yellow-rumped Warbler
Wilson's Warbler
Western Tanager
Lazuli Bunting
Chipping Sparrow
Fox Sparrow
Dark-eyed Junco
Brewer's Blackbird
Brown-headed Cowbird
Evening Grosbeak
Cassin's Finch
Pine Siskin

Kirk Hardie
Incline Village, NV

Sunset Stroll and Chiroptera-Cruise - Saturday, July 14, 2012

We met for the annual Sunset Stroll on a beautiful Saturday evening at Rock Park, only to discover the parking lot chalk-full! After playing a bit of musical parking spots we all gathered at the Eastern Pavilion to begin our walk along the Truckee River Trail to McCarran Bridge. Birding started out a bit slow and picked up as we continued. With 18 people (18!), and a mild breeze, we all walked to the bridge for an informative talk by Bob Goodman about the Brazilian Free-tailed bats that roost there. Once we arrived, we sat on the pedestrian path along the bridge to view the thousands of bats that came out just after dusk to head upstream for feeding. During the walk and bat viewing we identified numerous bird and mammal species on our walk, and even encountered a striped skunk who crossed our path and a kestrel who snatched a bat out of mid-air and proceeded to eat it on the telephone pole across from us. We had quite the show!

Bird species we identified include:

Double-crested Cormorant
Cliff Swallow
House Finch
Mourning Dove
American Robin
Western King Bird
Sharp-shinned Hawk, Adult and Juvenile
Song Sparrow
American Kestrel
Canada Goose
Western Wood-Pewee
Turkey Vulture
Mallard
Black-crowned Night Heron

Mammal species we identified include:

Striped Skunk
American Beaver
Mule Deer (8 bucks with velvet, 2 dos)
Brazilian Free-tailed Bats

Galena Falls, Mt. Rose Trail - Saturday, August 18, 2012

Leader: Kirk Hardie
The field trip was jointly sponsored by the Tahoe Institute for Natural Science, Tahoe Rim Trail, and LAS. It was amazing to see the difference between last year and this year in the vegetation. There were a lot more flowers in 2011 and the willows by Galena Falls were quite large making it difficult to see into the rest of the meadow. Fewer flowers this year, and the willows were only three feet tall. We made a loop, first starting up the Forest Service access road and then dropping down to Galena Falls and back to the trailhead. We had a flock of roughly 30 Pine Siskins that kept circling us for the first 30 minutes or so. We also had a male Lazuli Bunting that posed long enough for everyone to get great looks. There were a few Green-tailed Towhees around, with a some juveniles in the mix that didn't have a nice rufous crown. We had several Orange-crowned Warblers everywhere there were willows. We saw 22 species The complete list is on the website.

Swan Lake Nature Study Area Lemmon Valley Wetlands - Saturday, September 15, 2012

Leader: Bob Goodman
Unlike many field trips to Swan Lake, a very nice morning greeted the 12 participants heading to the Lemmon Valley sewer ponds as a first stop. There, we were treated to not only one but two pursuits by a Peregrine Falcon of birds that lifted off the water. It may have been a young falcon, as it missed both attempts, but did provide us with some awesome aerial maneuvers. A few American Avocets in winter plumage were still at the ponds. At the Swan Lake boardwalk, Marsh Wrens sang. A Loggerhead Shrike was working the area at the end of Pompe Lane. Since the playa area was totally dry and some of the participants were new to Swan Lake, we took a trip around the entire nature study area to point out access for later viewing later should they return on their own. Although the morning produced only 19 species, we had quality over quantity.

Virginia Lake - Saturday, January 8, 2011

Leader: Bob Goodman
Seventeen folks braved the extreme cold at Virginia Lake for a look at wintering birds. Many participants were new to birding and joined the group as a result of the joint sponsorship of LAS and the Nevada Museum of Art to celebrate the J.J. Audubon exhibit. The lake was mostly frozen, so the birding was great as the birds were congregated close to shore, providing a good opportunity to discuss field marks. We got good views of upland birds too, because most tree perches were bare of leaves. We saw 27 species, including pairs of Hooded Mergansers, Common Mergansers, Ruddy Ducks and Northern Shovelers. One surprise was a Pygmy Nuthatch by the parking lot. Northern Flickers were seen, along with Northern Mockingbirds and an American Robin. The presence of the Mute Swan gave us a chance to discuss introduced species and their effect on local populations of similar species.

Annual Dipper Day - March 5, 2011

Leader: Jim Eidel
Jim led his annual field trip with 17 intrepid birders who braved the 60 degree (60!) temperatures in search of those beloved little gray bobbing butts. Birders are an odd but loveable lot. Six American Dippers were found through the course of the day. Two pair seemed to be nesting along the Truckee River near Mayberry Park, and one pair was found acting suspiciously like nesters up at Donner Lake State Park. We started our trip at River School where Tom Stille graciously allowed us to search the Truckee River from the deck of his home. Thank you Tom! We had success within minutes of arriving, and enjoyed good looks at our first pair of dippers through scopes. It never gets old watching a relatively small songbird dive into the water and bob back up onto a rock in its search for food—such a unique bird. As we walked the paved trail along Mayberry Park, a number of other local favorites showed their beaks: Dark-eyed Junco, Lesser Goldfinch, Downy Woodpecker, Common Merganser, Common Goldeneye, Red-tailed Hawk, White-crowned Sparrow, and more. At the end of the paved trail we found our second pair of dippers entering and exiting the holes in an abutment at the first bridge west of the Patagonia factory. We watched and enjoyed their busy activity, and then headed to Donner where we went from 60 to 40 in 30. Walking through the snow to Jim’s not-so-secret hot dipper spot wasn’t difficult or far, and the birds were right where he had left them last year. Not sure how he does it, but they were practically waiting for us to show up before they headed back downstream away from all the voyeuristic birders. (Is that redundant?) It was a great day for a dip, and a total of 27 species were found.

Christiane Omer

Santa Rosa Mountains - Sunday, June 12, 2011

Leader: Don Molde
Meg Andrews submitted the following field trip report on behalf of Don Molde for this new LAS field trip, offered for the first time this June.

Nine birders (three from Reno, three from Carson Valley, and three from Winnemucca) joined Don and Jean Molde in Paradise Valley Sunday morning, after having enjoyed a great dinner and breakfast in Winnemucca. The road to the Hinkey Summit in the Santa Rosa Range was good, but due to the snow at the summit, it was not possible to go any further at this time.

The following list is of birds (46 species) seen and heard (although not all were seen by everyone), more or less in the order that the birds were seen.

Common Nighthawk
Western Meadowlark
Red-tailed Hawk
Black-billed Mapgie
Common Raven
American Robin
Bullock's Oriole (many)
Brewer's Blackbird
European Starling
Yellow Warbler (many)
American Kestrel
Turkey Vulture
Swainson's Hawk
Northern Rough-winged Swallow
Tree Swallow
Red-winged Blackbird
Savannah Sparrow
Cliff Swallow
Killdeer (with young)
Horned Lark
Northern Harrier
Brown-headed Cowbird
Lark Sparrow
Burrowing Owl (standing on a rock close to the road)
Lazuli Bunting (many)
Western Tanager
American Goldfinch
Western Wood-pewee
Wilson's Warbler
Fox Sparrow
Spotted Towhee
Dusky Flycatcher
Violet-green Swallow
Rock Wren
California Quail
Lewis's Woodpecker (5)
Black-headed Grosbeak
Green-tailed Towhee
MacGillivray's Warbler
White-crowned Sparrow
Warbling Vireo
Northern Flicker
Wilson's Snipe (sitting on a fence post)
Great Egret
Prairie Falcon
Northern Mockingbird

So, lots of great birds to see, and I'm sure if we could have made it over the summit to the campground we would have seen even more. If you haven't been to the Santa Rosa Range, you might want to take your camera. Great rock formations, spectacular views, and a great variety of wildflowers made for a beautiful day (and for change, the weather was perfect!).

Also as a side note, if you find yourself in Winnemucca around 6 a.m. some summer morning, go down to where Bridge Street crosses the Humboldt River and scan the sky. I particularly enjoyed all of the egrets and herons that were streaming to and from a rookery (heronry?) that is somewhere west of there.

Grover's Hot Springs, Sawmill Creek, and Indian Creek Reservoir - Saturday October 1, 2011

Trip Leader: Jim Woods

Jumping the state line into CA-land, the LAS tour found the migrants holding in the lower canyon at the Hot Springs and there were just so many scattered around we spent most of the time along Sawmill Creek. It is one of the wonders of the migration. We saw a lot of birds during a great day - excellent company make for a big difference

White-headed Woodpeckers
Downey Woodpecker
Hairy Woodpecker
Red-breasted Sapsucker
Northern Flickers
Yellow-rumped Warblers
Steller's Jays
UK Buteo
Sharp-shinned Hawk
Red-tailed Hawk
Prairie Falcons (as I was leaving out toward Diamond Valley)
Pelicans (also when leaving)
Flight of Passerines? (mixed flock of ±70)
White-crowned Sparrows
Red-winged Blackbirds
Savannah Sparrows
Lark Sparrows
Meadow Larks
Brewers Blackbirds
Eared Grebes
Coot
Ruddy Ducks
Gadwall
Bufflehead
Hooded Merganser
Killdeer
Large flight of Crows (± 50)
Raven
California Quail

Lemmon Valley, Swan Lake, and a ‘Girls Morning Out’ - Saturday, October 8, 2011

Meeting on a beautiful Saturday morning in early October, a small group of ladies meandered our way around Lemmon Valley and Swan Lake Nature Study Area just outside of Reno. With a very mild breeze and clear blue skies we started at the Washoe County Waste Water Treatment ponds in Lemmon Valley, later carpooling to Swan Lake and finishing with a quick peek at the pond at Sky Vista Way in Stead. Species we identified include:

Gadwall
Great Egret
Coot
Shoveler duck
Red-wing Blackbird
Mallard
Marsh Wren
Green-winged Teal
House Finch
American Avocet
Red-tailed Hawk
Canada Goose
Greater Yellowlegs
White-crowned Sparrow
Eared Grebe
Ruddy duck
Long-billed Dowitcher
Meadowlark
Harrier (male & female)
Barn Swallow
Killdeer
American Widgeon
Song Sparrow
Ruby-crowned Kinglet
Eurasian Collared Dove
Prairie Falcon
Yellow-rumped Warbler
Ferruginous Hawk?
Red-shouldered Hawk
Kestrel
Northern Ruff-winged Swallow
Golden Eagle juvenile
Blue Heron
Virginia Rail (heard)
Say’s Phoebe
Flicker
Raven
Mourning dove
Orange-crowned Warbler
Pied-billed Grebe

Jasmine Vittori

The Great Reno Caper LAS Field Trip Report, Saturday, Jan. 30, 2010

Trip Leader - Dennis Serdehely:
Fifteen birders joined my wife Becca and me at various times during the day as we explored the various birding spots in the Reno-Sparks Area. The day started out with some light snow flurries at Virginia Lake but turned into a beautiful and for the most part sunny day.

We started out at Virginia Lake at 9:00 a.m. with both the adult Lesser Black-backed and the first year Glaucous-winged Gulls that have been present most of the winter. The other highlight here was a Red-naped Sapsucker in the trees at the north-east corner of the lake. The usual collection of ducks and gulls were also present as well as 3 Black-crowned Night-Herons. The Lesser Scaup and Wood Duck however were not to be found

Our next stop was the Sparks Marina. We arrived there around 11:00 a.m. There were only a couple of dozen Ring-billed and California Gulls present with no Western, Herring or Thayer's. A single cormorant and a single Eared Grebe were also present.

We then went on to the Rosewood Lakes area and hit pay dirt at the pond on Hidden Valley Road. On this pond we had 6 Greater White-fronted Geese, 5 Cackling Geese, and the male Eurasian Wigeon. We then walked the slough behind Mira Loma Park. Highlights here included 4 Greater Yellowlegs and a single Great-tailed Grackle. A return to the Sparks Marina late in the afternoon only added a single Herring Gull to our list for the day.

Our total species count for the day was 52.

Wandering the Carson Valley, Saturday, April 1, 2010

Trip Leader - Jim Woods:
A well chilled group of old pros and beginners hiked the IVGID Wetlands and had an excellent time finding a lot of birds which left all with good memories frozen in their minds. Here are the birds we saw and the number were awesome, will ducks filling the sky.

Canada Goose
Gadwall
American Wigeon
Mallard
Cinnamon Teal
Northern Shoveler
Northern Pintail
Green-winged Teal
Redhead
Ring-necked Duck
Bufflehead
Ruddy Duck
California Quail
Great Blue Heron
Turkey Vulture
Bald Eagle
Northern Harrier, 4
Red-tailed Hawk, 1
Golden Eagle, 1
American Coot
Killdeer,
Black-necked Stilt, 3
Greater Yellowlegs, 3
Long-billed Dowitcher, 35
Wilson's Snipe, 5
California Gull, X
Northern Flicker, 1
Black-billed Magpie, X
American Crow, X
Tree Swallow, X
Cliff Swallow, X
Barn Swallow, X
Marsh Wren, X
American Pipit, X
Spotted Towhee, X
Red-winged Blackbird, X
Western Meadowlark, X
Yellow-headed Blackbird, X
Brewer's Blackbird, X

Raptors of the Nile Valley - February 7, 2010

Trip Leader: Debbie Pontius
Sixteen folks braved the chilly wind to look for raptors in the Nile Valley of Lovelock on Sunday, Feb. 7, 2010. All the wind seemed to have the numbers down, we did see at least one individual of the usual birds of prey in the area. Special treats were a soaring golden eagle and a small flock of bluebirds!

Birds sighted:

Golden Eagle
Red tailed Hawk
Ferruginous Hawk
Rough-Legged Hawk
American Kestral
Northern Harrier
Great Horned Owl
Prairie Falcon
Great Blue Heron
Horned Larks
Common Raven
American Crow
Northern Mockingbird
Loggerhead Shrike
White-crown Sparrow
Rock Pigeon
Great-tailed Grackle
Mourning Dove
Eurasian Collared-Dove
Mountain Bluebird
European Starling
House Sparrow

Riverview Park, Carson City, Field Trip Report, Saturday, Feb. 27, 2010

Trip Leader - Nancy Santos:
I lead a trip to Riverview Park Feb 27 and Meg Andrews was kind enough to keep the records and provide them to me in a timely manner. I on the other hand have been slow in getting them out. It was a great trip with a fun group of participants.

Number of species: 27
Canada Goose 130
Wood Duck 1
Mallard 15
California Quail 2
Bald Eagle 2
Northern Harrier 2
Cooper's Hawk 1
Red-tailed Hawk 2
Killdeer 1
Rock Pigeon 2
Eurasian Collared-Dove 2
Mourning Dove 3
Northern Flicker 6
Western Scrub-Jay 3
Black-billed Magpie 1
Bewick's Wren 1
American Robin 11
European Starling 2
Song Sparrow 1
White-crowned Sparrow 30
Golden-crowned Sparrow 1
Dark-eyed Junco (Oregon) 10
Red-winged Blackbird 30
Western Meadowlark 1
House Finch 24
Lesser Goldfinch 12
House Sparrow 10

Sierra Valley, March 27, 2010

Trip Leader - Alan Gubanich:
Thirteen of us headed to Sierra Valley on a cool morning but a temperate afternoon, characteristic of this time of year. It was the interim period; winter birds were either gone already or leaving soon, while spring migration was just getting underway. We saw only about five or six Red-tailed Hawks and no wintering raptors, with the exception of one of the highlights of the day – a textbook example of an immature Golden Eagle soaring right over our heads on A-24. Then a flock of what we later confirmed to be Long-billed Curlews flew close overhead (the second highlight of the day). They veered to the southwest where we eventually found 45 of them feeding in a flooded field on Poole Street amidst a flock of about 350 to 400 Ring-billed Gulls. Add at least 18 Sandhill Cranes to the total (mostly in pairs, but one group of four) and we all considered it a very nice day. The ponds west of the bridges on Heriot Lane added 14 species to the list including Barn, Cliff and Tree Swallows (sure signs of spring!), seven species of duck, a group of American Avocets, and a Pied-billed Grebe. A walk in the woods on the west side of the valley after lunch netted a pair of American Kestrels (who mated in front of us!) and at least three Pygmy Nuthatches. Add the usual crows, ravens, magpies, singing meadowlarks, etc., and the group totaled 34 species for the day. Other highlights included one Prairie Falcon, a couple Northern Harriers, a Willet, and good looks at Horned Larks and singing Sage Thrashers, a life bird for some.

Damonte Ranch Wetlands - April 10, 2010

Trip Leader: Kathy Oakes
The weather was great, the wind stayed still, and 47 species of birds (listed below) were on hand to greet 13 delighted birders for Saturday’s half-day visit to the Damonte Ranch wetlands. The Marsh Wrens, Red-winged Blackbirds, and Yellow-headed Blackbirds joined in three-part harmony to entertain us all.

The highlight of the trip was a very cooperative American Bittern, which we watched for quite a while, first flying low over the marsh, then standing head up in the classic bittern pose, and then when relaxed walking and hunting. Through the scope we could see white feathers on each “shoulder” of the bird, almost looking like he was wearing a short white cape. None of the many field guides we had among us showed such white feathers. When we got home, one of the participants found mention of such plumage in Ryser’s Birds of the Great Basin, which states: “When defending his territory or advertising, the male may expose two white tufts of feathers, which are ‘attached to the skin on each side of the breast near where the humerus enters the body and beneath the shoulder of the folded wing by which they are ordinarily concealed. These feathers are erected during display; as they rise above the shoulders these ruffs spread toward each other at right angles to the long axis of the bird’s body until, at their bases, they nearly meet in the center of the back.” Wow, although I have gotten good looks at a few American Bitterns, I have never seen these white feathers. This guy (we assume from Ryser that it was a male) was really showing off.

Pied-billed Grebe
American Bittern
Great Blue Heron
Canada Goose
Gadwall
Mallard
Cinnamon Teal
Green-winged Teal
Northern Shoveler
Northern Pintail
Canvasback
Redhead
Ring-necked Duck
Lesser Scaup
Bufflehead
Common Merganser
Ruddy Duck
Northern Harrier
Red-tailed Hawk
Turkey Vulture
California Quail
American Coot
Killdeer
Black-necked Stilt
American Avocet
Willet
Long-billed Dowitcher
Ring-billed Gull
California Gull
Mourning Dove
Rock Dove
Say’s Phoebe
Tree Swallow
Violet-green Swallow
Barn Swallow
Marsh Wren
European Starling
Savannah Sparrow
White-crowned Sparrow
Song Sparrow
Red-winged Blackbird
Brewer’s Blackbird
Yellow-headed Blackbird
Great-tailed Grackle
House Finch
Lesser Goldfinch
House Sparrow

Virginia Lake, May 22, 2010

Field trip leader: Jacque Lowery
On a chilly, blustery morning a group of novice birders set out on a stroll around Virginia Lake. The Mute Swan was present along with untold numbers of gulls. It was a good opportunity to point out differing plumages of immature and adult gulls, along with breeding field marks. Several Common Mergansers brought a discussion about the wide variance of plumage between males and females of many duck species. In the trees along the west side we encountered not one, but four, male Western Tanagers very engrossed in foraging for insects. We had very close looks at these beautiful guys and there were lots of oohs and aahs. Other sightings that produced interest and excitement were all the cormorants, young and adult, on the island; two pair of nesting Snowy Egrets; a pair of Ruddy Ducks; a lone Lesser Scaup; and, to cap off the morning, several good looks at a Western Wood Peewee on the west side

Porter Springs - June 5, 2010

Field Trip leader: Don Molde

A baker's dozen birders traveled to Porter Springs...about 30 miles northwest of Lovelock...for an outing on a beautiful day. A couple of pronghorns and a nice gopher snake that, unfortunately, didn't survive an encounter with a car were seen on the way in and out. We also recorded one flat tire on the return trip.

At the site, there were numerous Western Tanagers, lots of Western Wood- Pewees, a couple of Bullock's orioles, a Sora in the big pond, Brewers and Red-winged blackbirds, and a few other species. Other notable migrants were not present, though the habitat conditions were fairly impressive and water is plentiful.

While birding was the primary focus, several of the group new to the site commented favorably on the vistas, solitude, greenness of the desert vegetation, and the remoteness of the location as additional attractants of note.

Sierra Valley, November 13, 2010. Leader, Alan Gubanich

Twenty-five people braved a chilly November morning but a wonderful birding adventure in Sierra Vally, CA, on a trip co-sponsored by LAS and the Nevada Museum of Art (in conjunction with the JJ Audubon watercolor exhibit at the Museum). At least 10 new faces joined a number of LAS regulars because they heard about the trip through the Museum of Art. And, as the saying goes, a wonderful morning was had by all! The wintering raptors were well on display, as the group saw numerous examples of first-year and adult Red-tailed Hawks, several Ferruginous and Rough-legged Hawks, two Prairie Falcons, three Northern Harriers, two American Kestrels, and one Golden Eagle, which soared tantalizingly close over the group. But even more obliging were the Red-tailed and Ferruginous Hawks sitting so close on the telephone poles and fence posts that photographing them was almost too easy. Then to add to the fun was, first, an actual place for a pit stop (!) at the newly-opened Magdalena Ranch on A-24, then a visit to the Green Gulch Ranch where our host, Kerstin Harrison and her 18-month old daughter Evelyn, greeted us and led us around the grounds. A Great Horned Owl in one barn, and a Barn Owl flying from another, were the highlights of the day for some (along with several llamas, one of which did some spitting -- just ask Christiane). Birding the pond on the ranch added American Coot, Common Merganser, Eared Grebe, Bufflehead, Ring-necked Duck and Lesser Scaup to the day’s total. Include several of the usual songbirds in the Valley, and the group ended with 23 species for the day. About half the people then traveled to Sierraville for a delicious lunch at highly-recommended Los Dos Hermanos. A fine morning indeed! Thanks are due to Jim Woods for arranging the visit to the Ranch, and to the many Musuem of Art members who joined us and gave generous donations to LAS. Welcome to all of them, and we hope to see you at more LAS events

For some photos of the trip please visit this photo gallery.

Sierra Valley Expedition, Saturday, November 21, 2009

Alan Gubanich, Trip Leader
As the song goes during this time of year: "Oh the weather outside is frightful, but inside by the fire it's delightful..." Well, we weren't inside by a fire, but the entire trip to Sierra Valley was definitely delightful, despite the "frightful" weather (snow and rain) the day before. The day dawned clear and cold, and, yes, Sierra Valley was covered in snow (3 to 4 inches?) but the roads were plowed, the driving was easy, and the birding was delightful, at least as far as raptors were concerned. Twenty-two of us caravaned along Dyson Lane, A-24, and Heriot Lane before enjoying a delightful lunch at Los Dos Hermanos in Sierraville (did I say the day was delightful?). In the morning we spotted at least 27 raptors, including 2 adult Bald Eagles, 2 Golden Eagles, 10+ Red-tailed Hawks, 3 Rough-legged Hawks, 2 American Kestrels, 3 Ferruginous Hawks (with great frontal looks at the last one), 1 Northern Harrier and 4 unidentified buteos. Other birds included the usual magpies, meadowlarks, ravens, White-crowned Sparrows, Horned Larks, and so on (22 species total for the day). Noticeably absent were the waterfowl. The ponds and streams were mostly frozen, so we can only assume these birds were elsewhere -- only 8 Canada Goose and 4 American Coots for the day. But perhaps the best part of the day came after lunch. Seven of us continued until around 6:00 pm. After an uneventful walk in the woods on the west side of the valley (garnering only 2 Steller's Jays and 1 American Kestrel, but walking through a winter wonderland) we found at least 3 more Red-tailed Hawks and 1 more American Kestrel along Marble Hot Springs Road, for a total of 32 raptors for the day. But the biggest surprise was discovering 2 Short-eared Owls around 4:30 or 5:00 pm, flying around in a field on the west side of Heriot Lane. One landed on a fencepost so we could get a positive ID (see the photo on the website). All in all, just another example of how the weather should never frighten you off from a birding trip -- it may be frightful, but the birding is more often than not delightful!

To view photos from the trip please visit the Sierra Valley 09 Photo page

October 24, 2009 - Carson Valley Sparrow Walk

Leader: Jim Woods
The Sparrow Walk went off after the migrants had gone. At the end of the day only 19 species were recorded and are listed here: Mallard, Red-tailed Hawk, American Kestrel, Prairie Falcon, Rock Pigeon, Downey Woodpecker, Bewick's Wren, White Crowned Sparrow, Song Sparrow, Savannah Sparrow, Vesper Sparrow, California Quail, European Starling, Black-billed Magpie, Brewer's Blackbird, House Finch, Lesser Goldfinch, Meadow Lark and Great Blue Heron. Eight of us put in an effort to find the many sparrow species that migrate through the area, but apparently, with the light northerly breezes at night, the flocks had flown. In his down home way, Mr. Randy Walstrum, the local Large Animal Vet, provided the true highlight of the day. That being serving coffee to the entire group as we worked our way past his home. He was the best of the valley on a nice fall day.

May 30, 2009 - Virginia Lake for Beginning Birders

A group of 10 including two children took a leisurely stroll around Virginia Lake on Saturday morning. There was quite a variety of birds for this time of year and lots of young ones. Several Canada Geese families showed our group everything from downy to almost fully feathered goslings; there was one Mallard with eight new ducklings. On the island we were able to easily see gull and cormorant babies in various stages of development. Other highlights were a single Cinnamon Teal, Western Grebe, and Common Merganser, a Gadwall pair, California and Ring-billed Gulls in mature and immature plumages. The truly special sighting was not one, not two, but FOUR Snowy Egret nests on the island. Two were sitting on eggs, one pair were fussing with one egg in a nest, and another pair was just completing the construction of their nest. It is interesting how that island is used—the gulls and cormorants are almost ready to leave their breeding ground, and the egrets are just getting started. As one of our group noted “they are taking shifts in using the island”.

THANKS TO OUR WASHOE LAKE VOLUNTEERS

To see the kids' excitement was more than enough reward for the 19 volunteers who helped with the Washoe Lake field trips this season, but I still want to say THANK YOU to all of them. We hosted 6 field trips from late April through May, with almost 250 Washoe County school kids participating from grades 3 through 5 (plus lots of parents!). Two of the 5 schools took advantage of Travel Grants from LAS to help cover transportation costs. Because the lake is low this year and the wetlands where we normally meet are dry, we shifted our focus to the Day Use Area in Washoe Lake State Park. The results were spectacular! Lots of birds and plenty of nests: American Kestrels, Barn Swallows, Tree Swallows, American Robins, Bullock's Orioles, Brewer's Blackbirds, European Starlings, California Quail, and many more. To say the kids enjoyed themselves would be an understatement -- many claimed it was the best field trip they'd ever been on! And all of it was due to the enthusiasm and professionalism of our volunteers, so thanks again to all of you: Sue Stevenson, John Schulte, Linda Badzioch, Ron Conkey, Jacque Lowery, John Ramos, Pat King (our new Plant Lady!), Teresa Gubanich, Margaret Hill, Jackie Spacek, Laura Gibson and her son Nick, Stephanie Sander, Kenn and Georgia Rohrs, Alice Jones, Don Lauer, Dave Carneggie, Diane McAllister, and, or course, Terri Ozawa from the Washoe Lake State Park. All of you deserve a big salute for your donation of time and energy, and we hope to see you back again next year.

Volunteers

Volunteer

Students

To see a larger size photo, click on the photo. Photos by Alan Gubanich.

Strolling the Truckee River - Saturday, June 13, 2009

A group of 16 birders took a tour of the evening birds on the Truckee River at Rock Park. The start of the tour was delayed an hour but it was time well spent listening to the rain on a tin roof while watching the swallows, cormorants and mergansers work the river. The group welcomed a passing Mother, son and their deaf dog to the tour and the birders recruited a new member for LAS before it was all over. For myself, I learned to bark in America Sign Language. The birds cooperated and carried on a lot of nesting and feeding activity as well as singing the evening songs. We had a total of 33 species. One of the highlights being a recently fledged Great Horned Owl being mobbed by robins and blackbirds. My thanks to Janet Helton and the tour members that made this a special evening.

Jim Woods

Paige Meadows - Saturday, June 20, 2009

I lead a group to Paige Meadows, near Tahoe City, CA on Saturday, June 20th for the Lahontan Audubon Society and the Tahoe Rim Trail. We had a great group of 11 people and it was a beautiful morning, albeit with many mosquitoes. The highlights were a DUSKY FLYCATCHER, a singing NASHVILLE WARBLER that was singing in the same spot an hour later, EVENING GRSOBEAKS, and a MACGILLIVRAY'S WARBLER. We also tried to find the Pileated Woodpecker nest that Richard Carlson found on Barker Pass Rd, but it appears the young have fledged and there was no sign of them after 30 minutes. We had 28 species for the day, with four of them only heard.

Kirk Hardy

Porter Springs - Sunday, June 21, 2009

Today was the make-up day for the LAS Porter Springs trip (30 miles northwest of Lovelock) that was cancelled two weeks ago DUE TO RAIN!!! Twelve of us made it out there today, to be greeted by...well, almost nothing. A Peewee, a Kingbird, a few Killdeer, and not much else. However, there was cloudiness, wind, a few raindrops, and a road that had minor washout imperfections but was quite useable. Most of the folks had not been there before, so at least they now know where the place is and what it looks like. We decided to visit S-Line Reservoir in Fallon on the way home, and the species total for the day jumped to the low 40's with several duck species, grebes, Spotted Sandpipers, 2-3 species of swallows, a Swainson's Hawk, etc. After splitting up for the day, part of the group headed for Harmon Reservoir to see what was there. I stopped at Big Soda Lake (just west of Fallon) and added Long-billed Curlew, Wilson's Phalarope, and Black-necked Stilt to the day's list. All in all...it would have been nice if we could have made the trip two weeks ago...but we do love the rain!

Don Molde

Sheldon NWR - June 19-21, 2009

The total number of people was near 60, mostly Friends of Nevada Wilderness members. FONW provided dinner on Saturday and breakfast on Saturday and Sunday. There was much discussion of the new Comprehensive Conservation Planning effort around the campfire. We had 8 work teams out removing fence, posting the refuge boundary, and building fence around springs to keep the wild horses from damaging them. The refuge received a lot of spring rain and looked exceptionally green and lush. The work teams were rained and hailed upon on Saturday but still accomplished all the work that was planned.

Michael Goddard

June, 26-28, 2009 - Unionville Field Trip Report

In 1997 Kenn Kaufmann published his now-famous book "Kingbird Highway." For the 14 of us who traveled to Unionville, NV for a birding weekend in late June, that title would aptly describe our experience along the Unionville road -- Western Kingbirds everywhere! Our group found at least 6 Kingbird nests that weekend, plus a "Kingbird condominium" (3 Kingbird nests in the same tree, but not noticeably active) at the entrance to the office of the Old Pioneer Garden Country Inn. Throw in American Robins, House Sparrows, House Finches, Cassin's Finches, Bullock's Orioles, Brewer's Blackbirds, and a few Lark Sparrows, Mourning Doves and Eurasian Collared Doves, and the road through Unionville was indeed a birdy place. During our walks through Wilson Canyon, Star Canyon and Straight Canyon, Yellow Warblers, Lazuli Buntings, and Warbling Vireos took center stage, along with Spotted Towhees. And an immature Eagle (Golden? -- but look at the photo -- Bald??) being chased by a Northern Harrier and a Cooper's Hawk provided a bit of excitement on Saturday morning. In all, the group saw 39 species and heard a possible 40th (House Wren). And, as usual, the hospitality, accommodations and food provided by the folks at the Old Pioneer Garden Country Inn are unmatched -- if you've never been there, you must go! It's like stepping back in time, and birding is simply icing on the cake. We hope to make this an annual event and hope more of you can join us in future years. -- Alan Gubanich, organizer and trip leader

Unionville Group

To see a larger size photo, click on the photo. To view more photos from the trip please visit the Unionville 09 Photo Gallery - Photos by Alan Gubanich.

Birding and Batting - Saturday, July 11, 2009

Last Saturday a determined group of 12 adventurous folks enjoyed the Nevada weather (by waiting 5 minutes) and had a great time strolling the Truckee. The dust storm at Rock Park literally blew the crowds away and stopped just in time for the tour to start. The weather then treated us all to a fire-fall sunset through the departing rainstorm. The birds were in short supply and consisted mostly of the expected species but nonetheless the birds provided the adventure of seeking them out and identifying them via their calls and songs. The second part of the tour was to meet Bob Goodman at the McCarran Bridge to watch the Brazilian Free-tailed Bats take off for the night's feeding. Bob gave a very good presentation on bats in general and led a fun and informative discussion on everything else about the McCarran bat colony. Under the bridge in the narrow joints, we got to see hundreds of roosting bats. Hard to observe, but we learned that along with the Brazilians there were Small Brown Bats and Large Brown Bats (really). The sight of thousands of bats departing into the fading sunset over the Truckee is a sight we all need to see. Thanks to Bob Goodman and LAS for another great tour.

Jim Woods