A Brand New Food Chain

Black-billed Magpie. It's a great looking bird. Admit it.

It's Memorial Day Weekend. Even I, a lowly biotech, have a 3 day weekend. It's pretty sweet. This North Dakotan weather has got to quit though. It's not good for anyone, least of all the Piping Plovers. The last thing they need is more wind and rain. I'm in the same boat as the plovers. How am I supposed to bird in this weather? It is crucial that I bird. There's nothing else to do here!!!

In more positive news, the Human Birdwatcher Project will bring you another riveting/repulsive interview next week. It will open your eyes and make you hold your nose.

Grub's wetlands. The weird phantasm thing above the stream is steam.

Beware the bellowed "whit" of the Gray Flycatcher.

A couple clues as to the interview subject. He is incredibly narcissistic, has a mouth that can only be described as "reckless", and has an indelible reputation as one of the finest birders of our time. I think that's enough for now...I'm not exactly being cryptic here.

I got a little bit of birding in this morning. Not too much in the way of migrants...Tennessee Warbler, Blackpoll Warbler, redstarts, Traill's Flycatcher, Swainson's Thrushes. A pale Northern Waterthrush was nice, and Chimney Swift was a year bird. I also bought beer and ice cream. Why not?

Today's photos are all, as you can tell, from Mono Lake. I've talked enough about it already so I will leave it at that....except those Sage Grouse below were life birds for me and it was a powerful experience. Go there. Bird it. Take the Grub tour. Go swim naked in the lake with the locals...if that's what you think is best.

Greater Sage Grouse. Obviously this is not a good picture but I was stoked. Thanks again Joel.

Mono Lake. Tufa. Eastern Sierras. You can't go wrong.

Since I've had almost no diurnal entertainment for the past 3 months, I've been birding a lot. Taking a lot of pictures. The backlog of bloggable photos is getting too much for me to handle...what do you want to see next? Idaho? North Dakota? Mexico? California? The BB&B photostock is anything but depleted.

I'll post another blog on...Monday. Rage!

The Empire's Death Stars didn't work out for them so they started building Deeth Starrs instead. In Nevada.