September in Mono County

The Grub directed us to camp at the Lundy Canyon Campground, operated by Mono County. We had a great site and it was nice and quiet EXCEPT for the first night, when some woman at the edge of the campground made terrifying shrieks and screams at the top of her lungs...she sounded like she had just come upon a grisly murder scene, or was getting stabbed over and over again. It really sounded animalistic and was very unnerving. Grub and I investigated but did not actually go knock on her camper as things still seemed very weird, but at least we discerned that no one had been stabbed to death (or stabbed at all). I think she was having a bad trip on something - Grub pointed out it was Burning Man season, and this location was in the post-burn dispersal path - but who knows what the truth is? Anyways, lots of Mountain Chickadees at the campsite...unlike hallucinogens, Mountain Chickadees are always pleasant.

How is that for an opening caption? Some more explanation is required...in September we took a family trip to the east side of the Sierras to hang out in one of my favorite parts of the state, Mono County. It's a weird place (see above, for example). There is good birding, facemelting scenery, and aside from a few places, not a whole lot of people. We met up with a couple friends of the blog: Alexis (Arexis), who is responsible for entirely shaping my fate, and famed east side financer, The Grub, who BB&B has spoken with at length (most recently here). Mono County is the part time home of The Grub, everyone's favorite venture capitalist and bitcoin miner, who lives in a junkyard there during the warm months. I don't mean to say he has a shitty house there (his house is in Nevada), I mean he lives in an actual junkyard. The Grub is, of course, the richest person you and I know, but he shuns the mansion and the Mercedes for a tent and Pinyon Jays. He is, after all, an artist, and that just complicates things further.

Despite all of The Grub's financial success, he would be nowhere without The Great Ornithologist Felonious Jive, which at least he readily acknowledges. Knowing how close I am with Felonious, Grub was more than happy to help us track down a Black-backed Woodpecker, so he took us to Inyo Craters, where they have reliably seen most of the year. It was my first time there, and was a fruitful stop.

The White-breasted Nuthatches at Inyo Craters are the interior subspecies (Sitta carolinensis tenuissima), which sound very different from my backyard birds here in San Jose (S. c. aculeata). You may recall that it wasn't long ago when the AOS considered splitting WBNU three different ways, these two subspecies and the eastern birds...I suspect that this potential split may be revisited at some point. In the meantime, for a nice breakdown of the distribution of S. c. tenuissima and S. c. aculeata in California, look here.

Here in California, it's a Red-breasted Nuthatch invasion year! What a relief, it has been a while. I've only had a few in my 5MR but they were very common at many sites in Mono County during our visit.

Williamson's Sapsuckers are a true high elevation specialty bird and just too great to ever really get accustomed to. They are more distinct than the other sapsuckers in plumage, genetics (they don't hybridize willy-nilly), and habitat preferences. This one was more cooperative than most.

After not seeing one in about a decade, it was relief to not wait very long to find a Black-backed Woodpecker near the parking lot. We would go on to see a total of three, and heard two more! My personal Black-backed dam that has been building for the last decade has finally burst. I thought it was interesting that this area has so many Black-backeds, as there is no sign of any fire, and these birds are known fire followers. Other birds of note here included Red Crossbills and a Band-tailed Pigeon.

See? Scenic. Not that phone photos really do the place justice. This is Minaret Vista, just outside the entrance to Devil's Postpile National Monument.

Green-tailed Towhees were abundant...which is ideal, considering they are the best towhee and one of the few green birds in the west. Still hoping to get the ultimate crush of one of these, maybe next time.

We were too late for most wildflower species, although rabbitbrush was blooming all over the place. Here is one of the year's last blazing star blossoms, somewhere in the sage flats near Mono Lake.

This aquatic thing was blooming mightily up in a few patches at the Lundy Canyon beaver ponds. Nerds, tell me what this is please.

Annie had her Mono Lake baptism, which she really enjoyed. Once she realized all the black stuff was a mass of flies she was slightly put off but was happy to wade around nonetheless. She did appreciate the brine shrimp.

Other than Black-backed Woodpecker, this is the bird I had my heart set on seeing. Like the woodpecker, I had only seen Greater Sage-Grouse once before, about a decade ago. After dipping hard on Gunnison Sage-Grouse earlier this year, I had a serious grouse itch (grouse-itch) that just had to be scratched. Luckily, Arexis found a flock for us at Bodie, which allowed for great looks.

So, so sick. Behold the majestic grouse surveying its domain. A supremely satisfying birdwatching experience.

Bodie State Park is an isolated ghost town, way out in the sagebrush north of Mono Lake and not far from Nevada. It was my first time there, and pretty fun to walk around in despite all the tourists. We also saw another distant group of grouse.

The cloudscapes were brilliant during out shortish visit.

It was pretty windy too, but some birds were still out making the best of it. The "town" was littered with not only Europeans, but also Mountain Bluebirds.

Brewer's Sparrows were the most abundant Bodie bird other than Mountain Bluebirds. I assume this very fresh looking, warmly colored individual is a Hotel Yankee.

Other birding highlights included Pinyon Jay flocks, a Mountain Quail loitering in the road, and a huge crossbill flock at June Lake. The water level of Mono Lake was extremely high at the time, which is generally a good thing except it made for poor conditions for shorebirds and the such - consequently, the number of species we actually saw using Mono Lake was pretty pathetic.

But with GRSG and BBWO in the proverbial bag, the trip was Great Success! Hopefully we will go back next year, maybe getting into the White Mountains...who doesn't want to camp in the bristlecones?

Return to Blogorado: Gunnison

Samantha found this Horned Lark. It's a good thing she did, because it was a TRIP BIRD.

Colorado is home to a few species I've still never seen, the most notable and arguably best of which is Gunnison Sage-Grouse, almost endemic to the state. Dipper Dan, Sultry Sam and myself had a wedding to attend in Denver, but after raging with many old friends, the old tribes of Sunnybrae and San Francisco disbanded and the three of us made the trip out to Gunnison, which if you are unfamiliar is actually a good area to see Gunnison Sage-Grouse. We knew we would require some luck and there was a decent chance we would dip on them...and we did! No need to build up any suspense over our fail, or go into excruciating detail about hours and hours of driving through sagebrush really slowly and constantly stopping to look at grouse-shaped rocks or grouseless patches of habitat...it was shitty. Fortunately, it was a pretty sweet area to explore so it was still a good time - here's a few photos.

We did a whole lot of not seeing grouse in very scenic places. Here is Danmantha not seeing grouse near Tomichi Dome.

Brewer's Sparrow was one of the most abundant birds in the area, though that didn't prevent me from failing to crush, as you can see. This is as good a place as any to confess that we didn't even see Sagebrush Sparrow, which mystifies me considering the habitat we were birding in.

Our Airbnb on the west edge of town was Great Success, as it turned out to be a serious geri birding situation - feeders galore! Here is a Sage Thrasher on a yard bench as geri birding evidence. Other feeder birds included Vesper Sparrow, Green-tailed Towhee, and Cassin's Finch. A side benefit of staying here was finding a male Lark Bunting on the road into town one morning (a flagged rarity in eBird), while on our way to toil in the grouse fields.

One of the Airbnb Vesper Sparrows chants a dawn curse, making grouse completely invisible to us despite our efforts. By this point in the trip, Dan and Sam's marriage had come under incredible strain, partially due to some lingering angst from partner-swapping with other wedding guests back in Denver (hey, it's 2019) and partially because we hadn't seen any grouse. Luckily, they had me to help keep the ship afloat. If anyone needs a marriage counselor or some couples therapy, hit me up, I'm cheap...and a great listener.

Empidonax for the trip were represented by a modest number of Dusky Flycatchers (above) and a Willow Flycatcher at the McCabe Lane Wetlands.

We here at BB&B have a long and storied tradition of taking meh/mediocre (mehdiocre????) photos of Townsend's Solitaires. I admittedly am ready to move on to straight crushing, but the solitaires are not.

The photog opportunities were not many, but I did manage a Mountain Bluebird crush, which I had been hoping for. This crush came at the cost of some fresh facemelt, which will only add to the disfigurement I have previously endured from seeing other Mountain Bluebirds.

Another view of the big sage basin near Tomichi Dome. There must be many grouse here. So close, yet so far...

I did not expect the wildflower scene to be so good...really should have brought my macro lens, but here are a few token shots. Here is some kind of penstemony/beardtonguey thing.

This white phlox was everywhere. Mellowing.

There were some great patches of larkspur (Delphinium nuttallianum) around. These were a bit too stunning to be mellowing.

This part of the continent is laden with mammals. Well, almost every part is, but it seems like you see a lot more of them in places like Colorado and Wyoming. We got elked on the reg.

I guess this is a Wyoming ground squirrel? It may have been a lifer squirrel. They were very, very common. They look like several other ground squirrel species I've seen before, so I only now realized they were something else.

If I got the species right, apparently these have had quite the range expansion in recent years and pretty much no one is excited about it...not people, not golden-mantled ground squirrels.

One of the most beloved squirrels in all the land, the one and only quasi chipmunk, the golden-mantled ground squirrel.

Least (?) chipmunks were enthusiastic attendees of the geri birding scene at the Airbnb. Mammals we saw that are not pictured include coyote, pronghorn, mule deer, white-tailed jackrabbit, marmots, and prairie dogs (east of the Rockies).

Needing a little break from driving around the sage in a futile grouse search, we decided to do a short hike and not see grouse while walking. This is the view looking north into the Gunnison Basin/the town of Gunnison from Hartman Rocks. Hecka scenic here...saw some more new plants and some trip birds, including Ash-throated Flycatcher, another eBird rarity.

Well, we failed, but the fail was more fun than not. Since I need to see the grouse someday, there is a good chance this wasn't my last visit to Gunnison.

Felonious Jive's Introduction to Unlocking Birds

Once upon a time, in a galaxy far, far away, I was not the Number 7 birder in the nation. Unlike The Great Ornithologist Felonious Jive, I was not born with an unnatural ability to correctly identify and locate a huge variety of birds. I still remember what it was like to see a bird and not know what it was, although those memories are getting quite fuzzy now. But lets face it...the world needs more good birders (or perhaps more birders that are good?), so we at BB&B are going to endeavor to make you, the reader, a better birder.

As everyone knows, some birds are easier to tell apart than others. Jays are simple. Drake ducks are a cinch. Spring warblers are no problem, and neither are male hummingbirds. Owls? If you are lucky enough to see them, its usually no sweat to know what you are looking at. But many up-and-coming birders cower at other birds. Like the professional drinker who loves all booze except for that ONE kind of liquor (most people say its tequila), many developing birdwatchers can't bear the thought of dealing with a certain group of birds, be it gulls, sparrows, shorebirds, flycatchers, shearwaters....you get the picture. They are all so similar that budding birders often don't even know where to start. So we at BB&B are going to make it happen for you...for absolutely free! Sure you could (and should) buy Kenn Kaufman's advanced birding guides, but consider BB&B to be at your service.

Brewer's Sparrows are one of my favorite sparrows, although more for their amazing vocal abilities than their good looks. Some birders would be offended that I have good things to say about such a bird, since so many are incapable of even identifying one. Can we do something about that? YES WE CAN. Agua Caliente County Park, CA.

Before we delve into these specific bird groups, I'm going to ask The Great Ornithologist Felonious Jive to reiterate some crucial birding points to keep in mind. This is important, basic shit, that people forget over and over again, so it bears repeating. Apologies if anyone is offended, but my colleague is a crude man. Take it away Felonious...

#1) Use a good field guide. For Christ's sake don't depend on Google Images or some internet group to identify birds for you. I endorse Sibley and National Geographic Guides only. They're not perfect, but they do come close. Even better, get more than one guide.

#2) Use a field guide...correctly. Look at the range maps. Look at a bird's size. Read about its habits and habitat preferences. IT IS ALL INCREDIBLY HELPFUL. Sure it takes more effort than glancing at a pretty picture, but the payoff is that you might end up identifying birds correctly.

Look at Gray Flycatcher in any field guide and it will appear depressingly similar to other Empidonax flycatchers. But if you read about its habitat preferences and tail-bobbing obsession, you will learn about what makes this sage-baron unique. Photographed at Mono Lake, CA.

#3) Never assume you found a rare bird unless you know exactly what you are doing. Rare birds are to be treated like huge scientific discoveries...you should not be announcing them unless you are completely confident in your own abilities. Inexperienced and experienced birders alike are always turning common birds into rare birds, much to the chagrin of everyone. This is a terrible habit, kind of like picking scabs or popping zits...on strangers you don't even know. It's just a poor idea, plain and simple, doomed to failure. I fiend for rarities as much as the next birder but its important to be accurate.

#4) Go birding with people better than you. Listen to other birders. If you point out a Slaty-backed Gull to your local birding guru and he/she politely says it is a Western Gull, said guru is worth listening to and is likely correct. Of course, if your local guru impolitely says its a Western Gull, you are free to tell them to fuck off.

#5) Beware the internet...it is filled with lies. It can give you the answers you seek, but sometimes at great cost. Once you enter the world of cyber-birding, don't expect to get treated like a prince or princess. People in email groups, messageboards, forums and facebook groups are painfully anal and occasionally straight-up dickish, and its easy to take things out of context. This isn't because birders are bad people, its because the internet is a cruel place.

Black Turnstones love a good pile of rocks, although they will settle on sand if they have to. This one seems to be pretty enthusiastic about rope as well. Point Reyes, CA.

#6) Be aware of a bird's surroundings, not just how a bird looks. What habitat is it in? Pine trees or willows? Rocky shore or sand? How high was it foraging? Was it in freshwater or saltwater? Was this blackbird in a MacDonald's or Burger King lot? The more you notice, the easier a difficult identification can be rendered.

#7) Birding by camera makes sense at times, but I guarantee you you can see so much more without one. Keep in mind each and every birder who occupies the high realms of the Global Birder Ranking Scale learned to bird before the advent of the digital camera. We didn't identify birds by chimping, we did it by looking at them and listening to them. When you do use a photo to help identify birds, be very aware that poor lighting can transmogrify one bird into another.

This dude was desperately crashing through the underbrush, trying to catch a glimpse of a Common Cuckoo perched somewhere above him. Other birders watched his reckless actions in wonder from across the pond. This is exactly how you don't look for rare birds.

#8) Whether you are a photographer or not, don't do dumb shit like scare birds off, trample habitat, lurk next to active nests, use recordings excessively...its just bad news, and will earn you an interesting reputation very quickly. This kind of behavior will lead to both birds and birders avoiding you, which isn't very good for building your bird skills.

#9) Learn bird anatomy. Learn the terminology. Many bird field marks don't have anything to do with recognizable human body parts....lores, tertials, undertail coverts, scapulars, and supercilium are all words that make no sense to nonbirders, and can all be very important in bird identification. Get to know the lingo quickly and you will have a great head start, it will help you learn what to key in on when looking at a confusing bird.

If you knew what the "nail" on a scaup's bill was, we would have a much easier time communicating about what this bird could be. This slim-nailed Lesser Scaup was at Lake Merritt, Oakland, CA.

#10) There are some fucked up birders out there. Seagull Steve and I have been forced to say it time and time again, but birders are strange. If you haven't run into these people yet, it is either A) just a matter of time or B) because you are actually one of the bizarros, so everyone else seems pretty normal in comparison. The lesson here is to not let a negative exposure to a couple of poorly-socialized bird freaks dissuade you from an unabashed lust for birds.

Well, I guess that last one isn't related to bird ID, but Felonious is a bit of a loose cannon. That's all for now everyone...see you after Thanksgiving!

Desert Solitaire Is Not A Real Species

Greater Roadrunner. As if I've seen any other kind. She was scurrying to and fro, inside the campground.

The title of this post is some advice for The Jen, who famously used to hate birds. She has not seen desert birds, and must be thoroughly educated before embarking on her imminent southwestern road trip.

Edward Abbey once wrote something along the lines of "There is no shortage of water in the desert, but exactly the right amount." This is true. Any more water, and the desert would no longer be the desert. Have you seen what has happened to our more watered lands? The last thing the world needs is more stripmalls, and their overwhelmingly horrible occupants.What would become of the roadrunners and Cactus Wrens? The Zebra-tailed Lizards and rattlesnakes? The peace and quiet?

As much as I love the desert, my last trip into cactus country was meant to focus on an oasis...Agua Caliente County Park, which floats within the arid ocean that is the Anza Borrego Wilderness. This park, due to its natural springs, is quite verdant compared to the surrounding patches of cholla and ocotillo. Migrant birds love it. Therefore, I had to go. I have fond memories of skulking around famous birding oases from my more awkward years...Butterbredt Springs, Galileo Hill, Deep Springs, Furnace Creek Ranch. I was really impressed with the volume of birds moving through Agua Caliente, it must get it's share of rarer birds later in the northern diaspora...seekers beware.

Here's the first cluster of pictures, I think there's a few species that have never been on BB&B before....stoked? Yeah, me too.

I'm still working on getting the correct Costa's Hummingbird picture. This one is an improvement. How would you describe those colors on it's mustache? It's so refreshing to have things other than Anna's Hummingbirds to look at again.

Brewer's Sparrows love deserts so much, they spend the year touring them. Their summers are spent in the high deserts (Great Basin scrub), and winters are spent in Mexico and the desert southwest.

Brewer's Sparrows assert their dominance. They're proclivity for unique song-writing and energetic performance is unparalleled in the sparrow realms.

Luckily for me, this Wilson's Warbler chose a color-matching place to grab a drink of water. It's one of the most common western migrants in spring, but always leads to dilated pupils.

Don't look too hard, you're not going to find a bird in this photograph. Sorry. It's just a hedgehog cactus. I really like cactus....er, cacti. Me like bird too.

A female Black-throated Gray Warbler lashes a mesquite for insects. In other news, goddamn it is hard to get good warbler pictures.

White-winged Dove. It's a looker. Not quite a facemelter, but it could make you a bit weak in the knees.

This is a young White-winged Dove...it's got a dark eye and grayer facial skin than the more vivid bird above.

This female Black-tailed Gnatcatcher found a nugget of goodness amid the desert duff. If you ever are feeling sadistic, start teaching yourself how to identify silent female gnatcatchers without looking at the undertail. Hellish stuff.

This is the young male Costa's Hummingbird you met earlier in the week. Apparently his tongue is almost as long as his body. Showoff.

I have better Phainopepla pictures, but this is the only one that documents their ability to transform into an umbrella. Desert birds need to be able to handle anything, including rain.

Agave bloom! A wellspring of life in a sea of death. Bats and moths get off on this stuff.