Flight – Birds of Bishop

Coastal Birds – Mendocino/Bolsa Chica

In February 2025 I posted a blog about coastal birds near Fort Bragg, on California’s north coast. This new blog shows birds from a recent (Oct, 2025) Fort Bragg trip, plus a trip this winter (Jan, 2026) to the Bolsa Chica Ecological Reserve in Huntington Beach, south of Los Angeles.

Mendocino

Brown Pelicans

Mendocino is a small town a few miles south of Fort Bragg. In October 2025 Roberta and I parked at the Mendocino Headlands State Park. Walking paths on the bluffs are 100 feet above the ocean. Tall rock towers are a short distance offshore. A thousand Brown Pelicans were roosting on these towers. I set my camera on a tripod and took over 2000 pictures.

Brown Pelicans hatch their young on secluded islands off of southern California (Anacapa and Santa Barbara) and Baja. In early summer they move north to feed on fish. After October they head back south. These birds stick to the coast; there are only three records of a Brown Pelican in Inyo County.

A Brown Pelican weighs 8 pounds and has a wingspan of 6.5 feet. Young birds are, well… brown. By age 3 years they have white heads, a yellow forehead, the bodies are a mix of grey and white, and the bills are partly red. They are lovely in the air, flying in lines of 5 to 25 birds, often skimming just above the waves.

Below is a Brown Pelican; this all-brown bird is a juvenile, about one year old.

The next photo shows an adult, with a white/yellow head, partly red bill, and body of grey and white streaks. A few birds, including this one, had a lot of red color in their bill pouch, which is part of their breeding outfit. They will soon move south to nest.

On land, the Pelicans preen their feathers frequently, to get them into shape for flying and swimming. As the morning went on, the birds took off in small groups to find fish.

In the next photo, a bird near the center has turned its lower bill pouch inside-out. Bad table manners.

The remaining images all show Pelicans in flight. They are easy to photograph in the air, as they are big and they fly in straight, predictable fashion.

Bolsa Chica

In January, 2026, we visited the Bolsa Chica preserve south of LA. This wetland hosts many species of coastal birds. There are a couple of miles of dirt road on embankments, so it is easy to walk about and find birds. The birds are protected and many of them know this; they allowed me to get surprisingly close. I sometimes had to back up to get the birds in focus with my telephoto lens. Snowy Egrets were so numerous and tame that I had to kick them out of the way. (Ok, full disclosure: I did not actually kick any birds.)

Pelicans

The American White Pelican is an enormous bird: 16 pounds, wingspan 9 feet. They are mostly an inland bird, fairly common near Bishop. There was a group of 7 birds feeding at Bolsa Chica and they did not seem to mind as people walked past.

One Brown Pelican cruised past.

Ducks

There were several duck species, including a Bufflehead:

Ruddy Ducks, which I always describe as a bowl of noodles with chopsticks sticking out:

A few Lesser Scaups:

Surf Scoters were cruising about. Males have a bill colored black, white, orange, red, and yellow. The female has a black bill.

Several American Wigeons appeared:

Northern Pintails are common migrants in Inyo County, but I have had poor luck finding them. Some birders have reported as many as 800 of these ducks at Owens Lake. At Bolsa Chica, I had the opportunity to collect images of this elegant duck; the males have striking colors. The reason for the name is obvious.

Grebes

Several species of Grebe were present. A Pied-billed Grebe was very close:

Horned Grebes were further away:

A Western Grebe was far off:

Double-crested Cormorants

These birds are common at the Pleasant Valley Reservoir near Bishop. They also show up at the Buckley Ponds. At Bolsa Chica, they were remarkably tame, allowing me to get detailed close-ups.

Great Blue Heron

The photos below show preening behaviors.

Egrets

There were a few Great Egrets, such as the one below:

One birder pointed out a single Reddish Egret. This was a new bird for me. This Egret has only been reported once in Inyo County. Sibley’s guide says there are only 5000 of these birds in North America. A lucky find.

The next 13 images show Snowy Egrets. I have photographed these birds near Bishop, but they are not terribly common. At Bolsa Chica there were a hundred along part of the walk. I selected a few images that show a lot of detail and interesting preening behavior.

I particularly liked the details of the eyelids in the next three pictures.

Curlew

Here is a Long-billed Curlew. The absurd bill seems like a joke.

A final comment:

A place like Bolsa Chica is special: 1) you can see many birds of several species in a short time and 2) you can get closer to the birds than in most other places. It functions as an open-air aviary. It might be nice if every region had a place like this where people could enjoy birds so easily in an outdoor setting. But doing this is expensive. It would be costly to provide the habitat and protection that the birds need; fencing, gates, water supply, nesting areas, vegetation, and so on. When we were at the Bolsa Chica, two young rangers were patrolling the walks, greeting visitors and making sure that people followed the rules. It would be costly to provide that level of security in many places. Many wildlife refuges do provide habitat for birds and are patrolled by rangers. But they are usually set up so that people can shoot birds; a different experience.

Osprey – the Fish Hawk

The Osprey is ubiquitous. They aren’t particularly common, but they are found on 6 continents. There are Ospreys in every state. If there is a pond, ocean, lake, stream, or river, an Osprey may be nearby.

An Osprey Family

Let’s meet a typical Osprey family in their rural home, a nest on a tufa tower in Mono Lake. The nest is a large pile of wood, about 6 feet across, constructed over many years. In the first photo, Dad is on the left; his chest is white, his eye yellow, and his feathers are brown. Mom is on the right. She wears a necklace of brown feathers on her chest and she is a bit bigger than Dad. Junior, about three months old, has black feathers outlined with white, giving him a scaly look. His eye is red/orange. All three birds have a chest and belly that is mostly bright white and a band of dark feathers that runs across the eye and down the neck to the back. Adults weigh 3.5 lb. Their 63” wingspan approaches the 80” of a Bald Eagle, but the Eagle weighs 3 times as much; a thuggish brute compared with the slender Osprey.

This cooperative family posed for more images. The next shot shows the size of the nest.

Mom flies off, leaving Dad and Junior to bond.

But after a minute, Dad departs with his lunch. Junior is left alone, a latchkey bird.

What Does “Osprey” Mean?

Most birds have a species label made from two or three words: Great Blue Heron, Say’s Phoebe, Yellow-headed Blackbird. A select few have a single moniker: Mallard, Killdeer, Merlin. The Osprey is one of these, but the name is a mystery. One theory is that the Latin “avis praedae” (bird of prey) became the French “ospreit” which evolved into the English “osprei” in 1460 — maybe, but why was this the “bird of prey” any more than some other Eagle, Hawk or Falcon? A second theory notes that the Lammergeier, an old world vulture, was called the “ossifragus” in Latin, which means bone-breaker. “Os” means bone (ossify, etc.) and fragus means break (or fragment). This bird likes to eat bones and breaks its preferred food items by dropping them from a height. Somehow “ossifragus” migrated to a different bird of prey, the Osprey, although Ospreys are not bone-eaters. Neither theory seems terribly satisfying.

What do Ospreys Eat?

There are reports of Ospreys eating mice, rabbits, ducks, even a baby alligator. These are exceptions. This bird prefers fish for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Each meal has a fish appetizer, a main course with gills, fins, and tail, and a desert fish. If you ask an Osprey to eat out, they will suggest a Sushi bar or Legal Sea Food. Ospreys generally avoid carrion, even dead fish. They always ask, “Is the fish fresh?”

Ospreys at Mono Lake

Mono Lake is three times saltier than the ocean; consequently, it has no fish. So why are Ospreys nesting on the tufa towers that rise up above the water? The answer is safety. Tufa is calcium carbonate, or limestone. Tufa towers form below the lake surface, where freshwater springs emerge and mix their load of calcium with carbonate in the water. When Los Angeles Department of Water and Power diverted water from the Mono Basin, the lake level fell, exposing these offshore tufa platforms. After World War II, the towers rose above the falling lake waters and Ospreys built their nests on these protected spots. To get fish, the Ospreys commute to nearby Rush Creek or a bit further to Grant Lake.

In August of 2025, Roberta and I visited Mono’s South Tufa area. We counted 10 Ospreys, adults and juveniles. Here are photos of these birds:

Below an Osprey lands on a nest. Note the bands on both legs. In the third photo, the wings bend at the wrist, a common sight with these birds.

Below is the mother with one of the fledglings we saw in the first photo of this blog. This picture was taken July 14, while the first photo was taken Aug 6.

The next few photos show these birds on nests. They often make a racket — high-pitched cries of “PIERP! PIERP!”

The next photo shows a juvenile having a meal.

Canada Geese sometimes use Osprey nests:

A Taxi for Fish

After catching a fish, Ospreys usually point the fish head-first and zoom off to find a safe dining location. The fish has a final aerial ride, but gets little joy. It isn’t easy to hold a cold, wet, slippery, wriggling trout. To hang on, Ospreys can rotate one toe so that two talons are on one side of the fish, two on the other side. The talons are strong and have tiny barbs that help grip the fish. The pads of the toes and feet have sharp spikes. Below are photos showing this transport. The first picture shows an Osprey landing at a Mono Lake nest with a fish.

The following pictures are from the Pleasant Valley Reservoir in 2025. In the first and last photo, the Osprey uses only 1 foot to hold on. Rarely an Osprey will catch two fish at once, one with each foot.

The Catch

Ospreys cruise 20 to 100 feet over the Pleasant Valley Reservoir, looking for fish within four feet of the surface. When the dive starts, they use a head-first position, but in the last tenth of a second, the feet come forward with talons open for the catch. The splash is impressively noisy. The bird may submerge entirely. Then powerful wingbeats lift it, with a squirming burden, back up into the air. Observers have reported that 20 to 80% of dives are successful. Success depends on type of fish, water conditions, lighting, and so on.

The next three pictures show a dive that failed. The bird came up empty.

The next series of pictures shows a successful dive. First the bird spots a target.

Then the dive starts.

Head first now

Feet drop down and talons open.

Feet thrust forward in last split-second

Wham. Impact speeds up to 40 mph have been reported. The bird vanished right after the impact.

Head appears

Wings appear

The struggle to get into the air, using powerful wing muscles.

Success!

One footed hold

In the next shot, the bird throws its tail to the left, to shake out water. More about this shaking later.

The bird continues to use just one foot to hold the fish

On September 21, 2025, I filmed another dive. The first photo shows the start, with the bird well lit by the sun.

The next photo shows the bird lower down, wings in a “W” formation. This dive came to an end before the bird hit the water; evidently the fish moved.

Shake it Baby!

After diving for a fish, the osprey will often be soaked. Its feathers are oily and dense, to resist getting totally soggy. But the bird still needs to shed water to save weight, to allow the feathers to work properly, and to avoid losing heat. Getting dry makes flight faster and easier. Wet feathers waste energy and make the bird vulnerable. In one earlier photo, I commented that the bird was shaking its tail to get rid of water. Next I’ll show two sequences of this shaking behavior, both taken at the Pleasant Valley Reservoir.

Series A. A juvenile bird failed to get a fish. Three photos show water dripping behind and below the flying bird.

In the next picture the bird starts to swivel its head to shake it

Then the bird acts as if it is in the Exorcist. Fierce shaking throws off a cloud of water

Shaking stops, but feathers are disheveled

Just three seconds later, the bird looks smooth and orderly, as if it dried off with a little towel.

Series B. The bird below plunged into the water a little behind me. I heard the splash and started taking pictures as it rose up without a fish. Water drips from the feathers and the belly looks like a wet rag.

First the head starts shaking, followed by spasms of the body, tail, and even wings. A cloud of water flies off the bird. By the last photo the bird is so bedraggled that it is actually falling out of the air. This was all over in one second.

This shaking behavior of Ospreys is well-described in books. I’ve photographed other birds that shake themselves dry in the air: Belted Kingfisher, Double-crested Cormorant, Green-winged Teal.

Portraits

The next photos are Osprey portraits from several Bishop locations. First an Osprey takes off along Bishop Creek Canal.

Then two pictures from the Buckley Ponds. Ospreys in the air often bend their wings at the wrist, so they form a W (or M) shape.

Osprey at the Conservation Open Space Area (COSA)

The remaining portraits are from the Pleasant Valley Reservoir.

The Competition

Humans fish at the Pleasant Valley Reservoir. When we walk there, it is common to meet a half-dozen fishermen with gear that may include small rafts and up to five rods per person. Osprey are competing for fish with these humans. They are also competing with other birds, including the ones below, all photographed at the Reservoir:

Bald Eagles have been known to attack Ospreys in the air and steal their fish.

Double-crested Cormorants. Some cormorants are reported to be the most efficient fish-catchers of all birds; more ounces of fish per calorie of effort.

Common Loon

Common Merganser

Great Egret in the process of catching a small fish

Belted Kingfisher

Great Blue Herons, a group of three

Great Blue Heron with a large fish. These birds do not spear fish; they catch them between their mandibles. The heron had a lot of trouble choking down this fish.

The poor fish; everyone wants a piece of them.

White-faced Ibis

Did a child invent this bird? The birds below were circling the Buckley Ponds on June 29, 2025. The iridescent green feathers, maroon body, decurved bill, red eye, and pink legs are suitable for Alice in Wonderland. Or a Florida theme park.

The name “white-faced” refers to the rim of white feathers that surrounds the eyes and base of the bill. This area is white in breeding season. After molting in the fall, the white border disappears and the bird looks grayer. Strange that the name describes a feature that is usually absent.

This bird is found throughout the US, except for a few regions in the east. I was clueless about its existence until Aug 13, 2022. An Ibis flock passed over the Buckley Ponds and I captured the three images below.

The three pictures above illustrate the difficulties of photographing this bird. They appear mostly as black silhouettes or blurry shapes. They move fast, they are far away, and they appear without warning (unlike Canada Geese and some ducks, who announce their approach with honking or quacking). The distinctive beaks give away their identity; I was able to search my bird guides and quickly figure out what I had photographed.

August, 2022

During August, 2022, I collected more Ibis photos as they migrated through the Owens Valley. The flocks often made large circles, so in some images the birds are moving south, but in others they are moving north. All these pictures were taken at the Buckley Ponds.

In the next two photos, the birds are flying south with the White Mountains in the background.

In the next two images, they are flying north. The first photo shows Mt Humphreys in the background.

In the next photo, part of Mt Tom and the Wheeler Crest are in the background.

Ibis weigh 1.3 lb, have a 3-foot wingspan, and the bills are five inches long. They winter in Mexico. They migrate north to breed in marshy areas of California, Nevada, and elsewhere. They like shallow fresh water, including wet agricultural fields, such as alfalfa fields and rice paddies.

To forage, they wade about, using their long bills to sweep the water or probe muck for insects, crayfish, and worms. In videos, their heads rapidly bob up and down like a feathered sewing machine, while their beaks probe for chow in muddy gunk. Imagine that you put on a blindfold, then stuck your head into a dumpster and tried to locate edible treats with your lips. Fortunately, for Ibis, my dumpster analogy is not quite right. The tips of Ibis bills have sensitive nerves and they have a reflex that makes the bill snap shut on food. So they are not wasting much thought about their culinary choices. Whereas you, in a dumpster, might pause before swallowing what might, or might not, be a hot-dog bun.

Spring 2023

The winter of 2022-23 brought record snow to the Sierra, so many Bishop fields were water-logged in spring. Ponds and marshes sprang up in the sagebrush. Ibis appeared along Airport Road in March. The birds were in breeding plumage, with maroon coloring, white faces, and pink lores. (The lore is the area between the eye and the base on the bill.)

In April, Ibis were in a field bordering Line Street in Bishop, along with a Great Egret and a Mallard.

Fall 2023

In the fall of 2023, large Ibis flocks passed overhead at the Buckley Ponds. Without a camera, or binoculars, I would mistake them for geese or ducks.

Owens Lake

On November 29, 2023, Roberta and I were prowling Owens Lake for birds. Where the Owens River joins Owens Lake, we found Ibis having lunch in casual non-breeding outfits; white faces absent, color grayer, green feathers, less maroon, legs now black. An annoying fence made it hard for me to get clear photos of the birds on the ground. Then the birds took off and circled; the Inyo Range and the Sierra appear in the backgrounds:

Summer 2024

In summer of 2024, a flock of Ibis flew over Airport Road. Some were still in breeding colors:

Spring 2025

In April and May of 2025, Ibis were at the Buckley Ponds. I now had a full-frame camera (Nikon Z8) and the quality of these images is better than the previous ones.

Summer 2025

On June 29, at 7am, Ibis circled us at the Ponds. Thanks to their flight path, I was able to shoot with the sun behind me. I had my Nikon Z8 with a Nikkor Z 600mm f4 lens, gear that proved itself that morning. Images are sharp and well-lit. The garish colors are obvious. In the future, I hope to get better photos of this bird on the ground.

Death Comes for the Agave

This little story has nothing to do with birds. It describes, with photos, the spectacular death of a Harvard agave in my backyard.

Valery Harvard (1846 to 1927) was born in France. He emigrated to the US as a young man and finished medical school at NYU in Manhattan in 1869. He served for decades in the US military, mostly in the American West, but also in Cuba and Manchuria. In 1906 he became faculty President of the Army Medical School. In addition, he was a botanist and studied plants in western Texas. In the 1880s he described the agaves in the Chisos Mountains along the Rio Grande. This plant was later named for him. The beautiful leaves and spines of a Harvard Agave appear in the two photos below, taken in the Chisos Range of what is now Big Bend National Park.

Mexican Jays, a gaudy bird, are common in Big Bend. Below, one perches on sharp agave spines.

I bought a Harvard Agave from the Bishop Nursery and planted it in our raised backyard beds in April of 2014. It survived summer heat and winter snow for years.

On May 5, of 2025, I noticed my Agave was putting out a new central stalk.

In less than 3 weeks the stalk looked like a ten foot spear of asparagus. Below, I posed a professional model in front of the plant, so you can judge the height. The model is 5’2”. She looks worried, probably thinking the stalk will topple over and clobber her.

During June and July, the stalk grew to over 15 feet and put out masses of flowers that were visited by bees.

The last photo, taken July 28, shows that the plant is dying at its base; all the nutrition in the big leaves was used to grow the stalk. The stalk was now between our power line and cable line. It weighed about 40 pounds.

With help from a friend I finally cut it down. I will miss that plant; it was a privilege to watch its spectacular death. I have seen thousands of dead, desiccated agave stalks on hikes in the Southwest. But I’ve never seen the entire cycle from robust health, to sudden growth, and suicidal blooming.

Spring Birds, 2025

Sixty-five photos of birds taken near Bishop in April-May of 2025. Organized by location and species.

Buckley Ponds

A flock of White-faced Ibis flies north. The name refers to the white rim around their eyes and base of their beaks; this appears during breeding season. Their glossy feathers seem to change colors with the lighting.

Male Bufflehead flies over the Ponds.

The Red-winged Blackbirds are everywhere in the reeds in late winter and spring. A female is shown below.

Great Blue Herons were common in May.

Conservation Open Space Area (COSA)

A male Mallard looks outraged.

A Red-tailed Hawk landed on a post with a freshly caught rodent. Carnivorous birds have no teeth, so eating consists of tearing apart and choking down their prey. I used to think that if I died and could come back as another creature, I would want to be a bird. Eating like this make me reconsider that choice.

A female Wood Duck is not as gaudy as her male partner, but still a lovely bird.

Male and female Wood Ducks.

European Starlings are famous for their murmurations in large flocks. I also enjoy the colors of the individual birds. In winter they are covered in bright spots. In breeding season the spots fade, the bird develops glossy feathers, and the bill becomes yellow.

Western Bluebirds were often on a fence line in Spring.

Brewer’s Blackbirds lined up on a dead branch. The males, with their yellow eyes, bracket a female. These birds like to hang out in the Vons parking lot and near the tables at the Great Basin Bakery.

Below is a female House Finch. Her eye is swollen, red, and bulging. Her conjunctivitis is likely due to Mycoplasma gallisepticum, a bacteria that often infects poultry. This disease first appeared among House Finches in the mid-Atlantic states in 1994 and killed off about half of the House Finches in the area. The illness moved west, reaching California House Finches in 2006. Birds die due to lose of vision; they cannot feed themselves and are killed by predators. Will this bird survive her illness?

Airport Road

Northern Mockingbirds are common along the fence line of Gus Cashbaugh Lane. The second photo shows a bird with nest-building material in its beak.

A Savannah Sparrow perches on a reed. As a photographer, I am particularly fond of this photo, showing this tiny bird posed against a green background of new reeds.

The male Ring-necked Pheasant shown below was walking on Airport Road near the sewage ponds. I was excited to see this bird, a new species for me. This bird comes from Asia and was introduced to California around 1855. It was introduced to the Owens Valley for hunting in the early 1900s. The Fish and Game Department continued to spread these birds until 1977.

Ravens and Crows often harass other birds. Below a Common Raven torments a Turkey Vulture with the Sierra in the background.

I have many photos of Great Egrets in flight, but the pictures below were unusual. The sky was a bit overcast and the bird flew in front of darker clouds; this lighting made the wing feathers unusually translucent. Near the leading edge of each wing you can see some of the bone structure.

A male American Kestrel flies past.

A Bullock’s Oriole does a balancing act on some vegetation.

Pleasant Valley Reservoir

A Common Loon floats alone.

A male Common Merganser streaks over the water. In the second photo, the bird is moving away from us and the water looks green due to reflections from trees. I liked the reflections of the bird in both photos.

Rock Wrens are common along the Reservoir road. In the second picture, the Wren picks up a fly.

Two pictures of a Mallard and her family.

Owens Lake

For the third year in a row, Roberta and I attended the Owens Lake Bird Festival, sponsored by Friends of the Inyo. Each year we sign up for a photo shoot with Martin Powell; he grew up near the lake and has photographed birds there for many years. We cruise a network of gravel roads to get close to some birds. Drive and shoot, drive and shoot.

California Gulls are plentiful in the Spring and it is fun to see them flying and and feeding on the alkali flies.

In the image below, you can see the bird’s iris.

The black specks are alkali flies.

Waterbirds will often dip a wingtip into the water as they fly close to the surface. I used to think this was a minor flight error, like a car dragging its muffler. But I’ve seen this often with many bird species. My thought now is that the bird is tapping the water to assess or maintain its altitude, just as you might rest your hand lightly on a railing on a flight of stairs.

A long-billed curlew contorts itself to get food into its beak tip.

American Avocets.

Long-billed Dowitcher.

Green Gate road off of Dixon Lane

Two Great Horned Owls have been hanging out here. But no babies this year.

European Starlings showing their breeding plumage, particularly in the third picture.

Eurasian Collared Dove.

Bishop Creek Canal

Prairie Falcons are not common here and I had no good pictures of them in flight. This changed on April 8, when the bird below shot past me. The falcon headed north and then turned east. Flight was so smooth and predictable that I captured over 100 images with the bird in perfect focus.

The Falcon has fine white dots on the wings, something that was not known to me.

Western Meadowlark. The song of this bird is just as lovely as its feathers.

Red-tailed Hawks have a nest on Warm Springs Road. I managed to find two babies for pictures. They have already been banded.

Two photos of a young Red-tail near the canal. Note damage to feathers in both wings.

Loggerhead Shrike.

Roberta and I spotted 4 hawks that were flying close to each other near Warm Springs Road. They had white rumps and at first we thought they were Northern Harriers. But as we got closer, we realized these were something else. Later, looking at the photos, I decided they were Swainson’s Hawks. The first two photos below show a juvenile Swainson’s; the third photo shows a mature bird. These pictures were taken from the car. These hawks winter in locations from Mexico to Argentina. They come here to breed. They are not common here and I was happy to get photos with so much detail.

A Turkey Vulture was perched near the road. A bug (fly?) passed over the Vulture’s head and the Vulture turned to look at the bug; you can see this flying bug in the picture. The Vulture rolled its blue nictitating membrane over its eye, possibly for protection.

Miscellaneous

Chukars were introduced from areas that are now part of Pakistan. Like the Ring-necked Pheasant shown earlier, they were brought from Asia and turned loose to be hunted. The Pheasants like the habitat of agricultural fields. Chukars prefer dry rocky slopes. This bird was in Mazourka Canyon in the White Mountains. I got out of the car to get this picture. The Chukar did what they usually do. It ran off uphill.

The male House Finch shown below was singing like mad in my neighbor’s front yard. But his color is wrong; he should have bright red feathers on head and upper body. Instead he is yellow. Apparently this Finch cannot produce red feathers because his diet is deficient in certain chemicals that are needed.

Roberta spotted a Western Kingbird in a tree next to Ed Powers Road. The bird kept flying out to grab something in the air, then perching again.

A short comment

In this collection I showed two birds that were introduced from Asia so that people could shoot them in North America. This introduction of species for hunting is common. If you visit White Sands National Monument in New Mexico, you can also visit the nearby White Sands Proving Grounds. The Army tests missiles here. The visitor’s center has a missile museum, but surprisingly has heads of Oryx, a large African antelope, mounted on the wall. The State Fish and Game Department introduced 95 of these animals into the missile range between 1969 and 1977. Now the population numbers around 5000 and they are hunted as big game. They have also become a road hazard for motorists. On another trip, we were in the Davis Mountains of west Texas and saw a herd of what we initially thought were deer; but these were Barbary Sheep, imported from North Africa to be shot by hunters in Texas. These are all small, quirky examples of how humans have manipulated nature. For a more sweeping discussion, see Beth Shapiro: Life as We Made It: How 50,000 Years of Human Innovation Refined — and Redefined — Nature.

Winter birds: 2024-25

I selected bird pictures from the 2024-25 winter. All were shot in the Eastern Sierra, most close to Bishop. All were taken with my new full-frame camera, the Nikon Z8. I picked 60 photos that had some special appeal to me.

The Buckley Ponds

Horned Larks hang out in flocks of 30-40 birds. They hop about on the ground, scratch for food, and then take-off in unison to zoom about. They seem skittish, nervous, and hyperactive.

The Song Sparrow below was trying to find food on the ice. In the second image, the bird is executing a Hamill camel. If this term is not familiar, look up Dorothy Hamill.

A mature Cooper’s Hawk was in the trees on the Rawson Canal.

A Bewick’s Wren weighs 1/3 of an oz, but can bellow out over a dozen melodies. I often hear this bird, but cannot find it in thickets. Sometimes it poses politely, as shown below.

This Cinnamon Teal looks a little comical with his beak open.

The Ruddy Duck below looks calm and relaxed. I like the way his paddling churns up the water in his wake.

This Pied-billed Grebe also seemed tranquil, but then suddenly spit out water.

A male Redhead cruised by and then turned to fly over me.

The Eared Grebe below does not have the characteristic “ears” (tufts of feathers) that appear in mating season. It dives for food in the second shot.

Most of my flight photos of Red-tailed Hawks show the underside of this bird. But this hawk banked so that I captured a good view of its back and the red tail feathers. Note the messy white feather in the middle of the tail. Blackbirds will often chase and attack these hawks. Was the white feather partly pulled out by a Red-winged Blackbird?

Northern Harriers patrol low over open areas. I usually identify them by this flight pattern and the prominent band of white feathers where the tail meets the body. The white rump is easy to spot as the birds twist and turn over the sagebrush.

A Harrier couple was hunting at the ponds and in the surrounding desert. Back and forth, back and forth, over the brush. The female, seen below, wears a brown outfit.

The male sports a conservative gray suit, a dignified look.

I parked along the Rawson Canal, a little north of the ponds, and walked about, hoping to get more shots of the Harriers. I was tracking the brown female when the gray male came close, as seen below. I was pumped when I saw the encounter in the viewfinder. The camera was shooting 12 frames per second with a shutter speed of 1/2000. I wasn’t initially sure if I captured the action, or if the image was well focused. Later, when I saw the images on my computer, I was pleased. The camera caught sharp pictures of this split-second meeting.

In the next two pictures, the female hovered while the male plunges toward earth. But no bird hit the ground. These superb fliers were in control.

The next photo shows the female continuing her patrol of the desert.

The COSA

The COSA (Conservation Open Space Area) is a 25-acre plot of land right in Bishop, managed by the Bishop Paiute Tribe. It is just north of the Forest Service Office Building and the Hospital. On the east is a school and to the west is a health clinic. There are 1.2 miles of popular trails. Birds of all kinds frequent this area.

This winter a pair of Wood Ducks were often here. The colors of the male are so gaudy that they seem comical.

A Ring-necked Duck, below, was bathing itself in the pond.

Female Mallards have lovely feather patterns. I like the first Mallard photo for the reflection.

As we were leaving the COSA, we surprised two Mallards in a small drainage ditch. The ditch behind the female was in shadow, creating a portrait that reveals detail against a black background. A Mallard counterpart to Vermeer’s Girl with a Pearl Earring.

A Sharp-shinned Hawk yielded two photos that I liked.

A Great Egret lands, using wings to brake and legs to reach out for a perch.

A Red-shouldered Hawk.

European Starlings have intricate patterns.

A Song Sparrow.

A Ruby-crowned Kinglet weighs ¼ of an ounce. Hard to photograph because they won’t hold still. It is wearing spectacles.

A male House Finch looks as if it was dipped head-first in red powder.

I liked the feather detail in this image of a Eurasian-Collared Dove. This bird species originated in India, spread throughout Asia and Europe around 1600, arrived in North America about 50 years ago. They are now the most common dove in the Bishop area.

A Northern Mockingbird peeks around a branch.

Airport Road

The intersection of South Airport Road and Gus Cashbaugh Lane is a good place to find birds.

A flock of Canada Geese is heading south in March. The wrong direction!

Another flock of Geese heads north, with the Sierra in the background.

This Mountain Bluebird appeared in early March.

A male Northern Flicker.

Western Meadowlarks perch on the fences along the road. Their loud and lovely song is often heard here. In the first photo you can see the bird’s tongue. I managed to catch the bird in the air.

Pleasant Valley Reservoir

In winter the reservoir is used by all sorts of water birds, plus others.

The image below shows four Double-crested Cormorants. One thinks it is performing on Dancing with the Stars. The nearest bird is trying to ignore this display, while two other birds look on in shock.

A group of Ring-necked Ducks tries to take-off in a panic.

A Yellow-rumped Warbler displays the reason for its name.

A male Bufflehead tries to get airborne by pushing off the water with its pink feet.

The American Dipper (previously the Water Ouzel) was John Muir’s favorite bird. If you hike in the Sierra and take a break near a forested stream, you can watch this bird as it flies upstream and downstream near the water surface. It may dive into the water and re-emerge in another spot. When it lands on a rock, it bobs up and down as if it was doing squats. My favorite Dipper encounter was in Shinumo Creek in the Grand Canyon. I was wading down the creek bed; the clear water was about a foot deep, placidly flowing over a bottom of rock and sand. I watched a dipper that was walking about underwater searching for bugs. In the photo below, the Dipper was looking for food where the Owens River flows into the reservoir.

Miscellaneous places

Across the street from my house, a flock of male Brewer’s Blackbirds mingled with female Red-winged Blackbirds.

On Brockman Lane, a Red-shouldered Hawk was sounding off.

On Warm Springs Road, a Red-tailed Hawk was yelling.

A quartet of European Starlings rehearses with their conductor along the Bishop Creek Canal.

In January a couple of Sandhill Cranes spent three days feeding in a mowed alfalfa field north of the Bishop-Sunland Landfill. These Cranes are common on the West side of the Sierra. These two must have made a wrong turn.

A male American Kestrel perches on a power line near the Bishop Landfill.

A Great Blue Heron in a tree near Dixon Lane.

Another Great Blue Heron flies away from me at Klondike Lake, south of Bishop. Note missing feathers on right wing.

A male Bufflehead tries to take off from a pond near Klondike Lake.

Three Ruddy Ducks launching at Owens Lake.

Finally one of the Ruddy Ducks is in the air, its wing-tip dipping into the smooth water.

Bald Eagles

The Bald Eagle is low-hanging fruit for a photographer. These big birds (10 pounds, wingspan 6.5 feet) often perch on a bare limb. With just a smartphone you can capture a classic pose: the fierce bird surveying its realm. The distinct white head makes it simple for the casual observer to spot and identify this bird. Even when flying, getting a photo is not hard due to the bird’s large size and straight path.

Bald Eagles show up at the Buckley Ponds near Bishop in November and depart in February. People get excited if they spot an eagle. When they see me walking with my camera, they love to tell me about this bird. I try to cheerfully thank them, suppressing a grumpy urge to say that I’ve been photographing the bird for weeks. Eagles so excite the public that I own five guidebooks that feature a Bald or Golden Eagle on the cover: The Audubon Society Encyclopedia of North American Birds, Smithsonian Birds of North America, National Geographic Complete Birds of North America, The Crossley ID Guide Raptors, and Birds of the Great Basin: A Natural History. Publishers know that eagles sell.

In winter, Bald Eagles can be found in several areas close to Bishop: Airport Road, Warm Springs Road, north of Dixon Lane, the alfalfa fields near the dump. I’ve seen them year-round at the Pleasant Valley Reservoir. They show up near Big Pine, Tinemaha Reservoir, and Mono Lake. In summer they can be found at Sabrina Lake (9200 feet) and Convict Lake (7900 feet).

Classic Poses of Mature Eagles

I’ll start with photos that show mature Bald Eagles in a classic perched pose. These birds are impressive. They look muscular and fierce. You can think of them as gangsters of the avian world. The first eight photos were taken at the Buckley Ponds and were selected because they also show some of the surrounding landscape.

Take another look at the last two photos. They show the same bird. Did you notice the scattered white blotches on the back of the bird? This bird has excrement on its back, undoubtedly from another Eagle that was flying above it. This majestic bird needs a bath.

The next 6 photos show Eagles at the Pleasant Valley Reservoir. They dine on fish and sometimes other birds. The first photo, showing an eagle surrounded by tree branches, is one of my favorites.

The Eagle below is at Sabrina Lake in August. A nice fishing spot for Eagles and people.

Eagle below checks out the electrical grid north of Bishop.

The next five photos are all Eagle portraits taken at the Buckley Ponds. It is often possible to get fairly close to these birds. Of course a telephoto lens helps.

Bald Eagles Have White Heads, Right?

In February of 2022, I saw a mature Bald Eagle near the Bishop Creek Canal. Then Roberta spotted a dark-colored eagle nearby. I examined my photos and realized that the second bird was a juvenile Bald Eagle, with a pale belly and scattered white feathers on the neck. Until that encounter, I thought all Bald Eagles had white heads.

Bald Eagles take about 5 years to develop their dramatic white head and tail. In their first year, they have dark brown heads and bills that are black. This change with age was worked out by bird artist Charles Wilson Peale in 1797; by the 1820s this was well-known to bird experts. Two centuries passed before I got the message. I lived in Seattle for over a decade and saw many Bald Eagles. Not once did I notice a juvenile Bald Eagle; this shows that you see only what you look for. Young Bald Eagles can be distinguished from Golden Eagles by several features; a pale belly, no golden feathers on the neck, white wing pits, lots of white color under the wings, a tail with messy-white feathers, lower legs free of feathers, brown eyes that become yellow with age, dark beaks that become bicolored and then yellow, massive beaks with a sharp hook at the end. Bald Eagles hang out with other Bald Eagles. Bald Eagles favor water and prefer to eat fish. Golden Eagles like cliffs and rabbits. In 2022, looked through my photo library and realized every “Golden” eagle in my collection was a young Bald Eagle.

Below I show photos of Bald Eagles ordered, approximately, from age one year to age 4 years. If you are a birding expert and think my age estimates are off, let me know.

One year old

The massive, hooked beak, below, tells you this is a Bald Eagle.

Alfalfa fields near the Bishop dump, below.

Age two years

Age 3 years

Age 4 years. By now the head is almost white, the eyes yellow, the beak nearly all yellow.

Flight

Below, an Eagle over Convict Lake, October, looking for fish. This was one of my first eagle photos: 2018. I did not even need a telephoto lens.

White Mountain in the background below:

Below, a young eagle hunting at the Buckley Ponds. When the Eagle takes off, dozens of American Coots go wild trying to fly or swim away from the Eagle’s path.

In December of 2022, I was walking on Warm Springs Road. I saw two birds flying toward me and I started shooting. These were two young Eagles. As they flew past, one Eagle braked and slowed, while the other bird did a barrel-role and displayed its talons. This behavior is sometimes described as a mating ritual. Or were they were just having fun? These are some of my favorite photos. How I wish I could see something like this again.

Below are 4 photos that show a young Eagle landing in a Cottonwood at the Buckely Ponds. It overshoots a bit, failing to stick the landing; then it balances properly. In the last photo you can see the bird’s tongue.

A young Bald Eagle takes off at the Buckley Ponds and swoops low over the ground.

A young Bald Eagle soars above the Pleasant Valley Reservoir.

In January of 2025, a 4-year old Eagle takes off at the Buckley Ponds. One of my favorite Eagle photos.

Eating

Double-crested Cormorants catch fish at the Pleasant Valley Reservoir. The Eagle below caught a Cormorant. You can see the Eagle is tearing apart its prey.

The Eagle below was perched at the Buckley Ponds on Dec 18, 2021:

A few days later, on Dec 22, I walked alone at the Ponds. It was 26 degrees and the Ponds were mostly frozen. I rounded a corner and found a Snow Goose on the road. I was surprised and so was the Goose; it flew off before I could get a photo. An hour later I came back to my car and saw an Eagle eating on the frozen lake; the fluffy stuff on the ice is white down, the remains of the Snow Goose. Blood, flesh, and bones were mixed with the down.

The Eagle flew off. You can see it below and even make out blood on the beak and feet. Some snow is on the ground.

The next photo, below, shows the Eagle perched, with blood on beak and toes. Compare with the picture shown above for Dec 18. This is the same perch and probably the same Eagle.

A Northern Harrier then arrived and tried to steal some of the remaining flesh; the Eagle chased the Harrier off. Later in the day, I came back to the Ponds and found a Red-tailed Hawk had managed to get some of the Goose meat. So three raptors dined on Goose that day. I wondered if my sudden appearance caused the Goose to carelessly fly into the path of the Eagle?

Below are 2 photos of the Red-tail, with Goose feathers on its beak:

The next picture shows a young Eagle flying near the Buckley Ponds. The bird is clutching something and seems to be pecking or biting whatever was in its talons.

Miscellaneous

The photo below shows a group of Crows harassing a Bald Eagle near Airport Road. The Eagle looks downcast.

The next two photos show a Crow chasing a Bald Eagle.

The next 4 photos show a Bald Eagle cleaning its beak on a branch near the Buckley Ponds. The bird cries out in the last two pictures.

The final photo shows the talons of a young Eagle.

A Fictional Eagle

Kenn Kaufman’s new (2024) book, The Birds that Audubon Missed: Discovery and Desire in the American Wilderness, describes how John James Audubon created a fictitious bird which he called the “Bird of Washington, Falco washingtonii.” Audubon claimed that this was a newly discovered species of eagle, 25% larger than a Bald Eagle, with a wingspan over ten feet. He did this to sell subscriptions for his expensive book series, Birds of America, which was printed in Britain starting in 1827. Audubon knew that Eagles sell. Recently, historians discovered that Audubon’s painting of this counterfeit bird was plagiarized from an illustration of a generic raptor in a book by Abraham Rees.

Coastal Birds – Fort Bragg

My blog is focused on birds of the Eastern Sierra, from Owens Lake to Mono Lake. But this post focuses on the coast near Fort Bragg, about half-way between San Francisco and Oregon. The geography here is simple: from west to east is the Pacific ocean, then a shallow shore with rocky islands, sometimes a strip of beach, followed by cliffs topped by flat headlands. Then the earth rises into low coastal mountains that are covered by wet forests. Fort Bragg lies on a narrow stretch of flat land between the ocean and the forests.

Roberta and I walk paths on the coastal bluffs. To the north of town is an old logging haul road that leads to Mackerricher State Park. To the south is Mendocino Headlands State Park. A timber mill used to occupy the scenic land between Fort Bragg and the ocean. The mill closed in 2002, leaving the bluffs with rusted buildings, waste, and weeds. In the last few years the town cleaned up some of this land and built the Noyo Headlands Park, which provides gorgeous walks overlooking the Pacific. The new trails have benches and signs that describe the area’s history and wildlife. The coast is alive with wildlife; birds, deer, rodents, seals, Grey whales, shellfish, etc.

These photos were taken on trips we made from 2021 through 2025; a cumulative period of about 20 days. I’ll periodically comment about whether a bird can be found in the Eastern Sierra.

Brown Pelicans in Flight

Decimated by DDT in the 60’s, populations have recovered. Weight 8 lb, wingspan 6.5 feet. Awkward on land, but graceful aeronauts. When they plunge-dive for fish, their beaks can fill with 10 quarts of sea-water. Easy to identify; no other creature looks like this. Easy to photograph in the air because of they are so big and they have a predictable flight path; a few wing-beats lift them up, then they glide down, then up again, with little change in direction. The Brown Pelicans are birds of the coast and the Mississippi River valley. (In the Owens Valley, we have the much bigger American White Pelican; weight 16 lb, wingspan 9 feet.)

The young pelicans are browner, with a brown and grey head. The mature pelicans have white heads and necks.

Below two Pelicans look ghostly as they fly over the forest.

Large number of Pelicans flying south in a V-formation.

Pelicans on Land

On land, Pelicans obsessively preen their feathers. Occasionally one takes off, flies over the waves, and lands again in a different spot. Are they just visiting other Pelicans? Are they testing their feathers, checking if the preening is satisfactory? There are hundreds of them in the area in fall, but they vanish in winter. These photos were taken at the Mendocino Headlands in the fall.

There were probably 100 Pelicans in the scene below and maybe 1000 more on nearby bluffs. The black birds on the right are Pelagic Cormorants. A few Western Gulls, very white, are scattered about.

A close-up of preening behavior.

Brown pelicans and Pelagic Cormorants.

Everyone is busy.

Cormorants

The Double-crested Cormorant has yellow-orange color around the bill. This bird lives on the coast and is the only cormorant found inland. Near Bishop, this bird hangs out above the dam of the Pleasant Valley Reservoir. They also appear at the Buckley Ponds.

The Pelagic Cormorant swims on the water, then dives up to 120 feet for fish.

Brandt’s Cormorant has a blue patch under the bill when in breeding plumage.

White plumes on the neck are part of the breeding wardrobe of Brandt’s Cormorants.

Western Gulls

Western Gulls are common here. Immature birds are dark, adults white and grey with pink legs. (A warning: gull identification can be difficult. The species often look similar. And these birds change their look as they grow older. I have met birders who say: “I don’t do gulls.” If you think some of these are not Western Gulls, let me know.)

Young gull.

Northern Harrier

This raptor hunts rodents by cruising low and slow over the ground. It often flies looking straight down, sort of like a person who is looking at their phone instead of watching where they are going. While it appears they might run into a tree, they are agile flyers, able to navigate confined areas and turn on a dime. I once saw a Harrier fly at speed under a low strand of barbed wire. When they spot a rodent, they drop quickly. They sometimes hunt in pairs. At the coast, they cruise the coastal bluffs. This bird is common over the fields near Bishop.

The Harrier below is looking down.

Note the white rump in the image below. The Harrier is the only raptor with this distinctive butt.

Another feature is the ruff of feathers around the face.

The view below may be the last thing a mouse sees.

Black Oystercatchers

Clownish in appearance, with yellow eye, red eye-ring and bill, dark feathers, and pink legs. Toes seem to have toenails. A bird created by a comedian. They can chisel mollusks off rocks and then pry the shells open.

White-tailed Kite

White-tailed Kites live on the West Coast, in the Southwest, and along the Gulf of Mexico. They rarely visit the Owens Valley; I have never seen one near Bishop. They hunt by hovering, ready to drop and grab small rodents. The white wings look angelic, but the red eyes look devilish. For the last 3 years I’ve seen these birds at the coast.

Hovering, ready to grab a vole. A mixture of angel and devil.

Other seabirds

Snowy Plovers, shown flying below, appear sometimes in the Owens Valley. I resent these birds. Humans are banned from many California beaches, to protect the eggs that stupid plovers lay on the sand. If you leave your iPhone on a beach and someone steps on it, I feel that is on you. I feel the same way about plover eggs. (Ok, I agree we should protect the Snowy Plover. But still…)

The Black-bellied Plover, seen below, breeds in the Arctic. In non-breeding plumage, the black-belly is absent.

Black Turnstone below. Breeds in Alaska, winters on the coast.

A colony of Common Murees.

Pigeon Guillemots, below.

Surf Scoter is a sea duck. The male is very colorful.

Other Water Birds

The next 3 birds are common both on the coast and in the Eastern Sierra.

Western Grebes are famous for doing a water dance. A mating pair will join each other in “walking” on the water surface. The bird below was single, but practicing this dance in the surf.

Canada Goose posing with ice plants.

A Great Egret at a pond in Mackerricher State Park.

Other Land Birds

The next group of “land” bird photos shows birds that are common to both the Coast and the Eastern Sierra.

The Turkey Vulture is a bird that only a mother could love. But they are terrific flyers who sail gracefully on the wind. The bird below was with a vulture group on the beach.

A White-crowned Sparrow eating vegetation.

A Song Sparrow doing its thing. You can see the bird’s tiny tongue.

The Savannah Sparrow has a yellow eyebrow.

A Western Meadowlark.

California Quail (male).

Black Phoebe.

Female House Finch.

Red-tailed Hawk amid ice plant.

Common Raven. They are big on the coast. People feed them and this makes it easy to get close for a portrait.

The coastal ravens remind me to the large and aggressive ravens in Death Valley, particularly at the Stovepipe Wells Campground. Those birds will hop about on the picnic tables, trying to eat your food. Years ago I composed a limerick about Death Valley Ravens:

There once was a Raven named Bruce

Who was almost as big as a goose.

He would knock over campers

To steal food from their hampers.

And I’m afraid he is still on the loose.

Animals

Mule deer on the headlands.

California Ground Squirrel. They dig thousands of holes on the headlands and beg for food.

California Ground Squirrel eating ice plant.

Black-tailed Jackrabbit. Note tattered ears.

Brown Garden Snail.

Northern Sea-lions.

Harbor Seals. Why do they have mustache whiskers and eyebrows?

Miscellaneous sights

The Mendocino Coast Botanical Gardens always have something interesting. Below is an Opuntia – prickly pear cactus.

Rhododendron.

Point Cabrillo Light Station.

When you visit the coast, it is good to have a guide. Especially someone with sharp eyes who can find birds and other wildlife. I highly recommend the guide below. Her vast knowledge and cheerful attitude will make your walk more enjoyable.

A Little History

Fort Bragg (pop 7000) was founded in 1857 as a military post to oversee the Mendocino Indian Reservation. The government later opened the area to settlers, forcing the Indians to abandon their coastal property for a smaller area in the forests. The officer who set up the new camp named it for another officer that he knew from the Mexican-American War: Braxton Bragg, a man from North Carolina who never saw the California town that bears his name. Bragg enslaved people on his Louisiana sugar plantation and was later a Confederate General. Wikipedia says he was “generally considered among the worst generals of the Civil War.” He was hated by many troops because of his rigid discipline and disliked by many superior officers for his bad temper and quarrelsome habits. Bragg lost nearly all of his battles. The better-known Fort Bragg, the U.S. Army base in North Carolina with 50,000 troops, was renamed Fort Liberty in 2022. There has been some effort to change the name of Fort Bragg, California, but Braxton Bragg continues to be memorialized here. Signs saying “Fort Bragg Forever” can be seen in some yards around the town.

On February 10, 2025, at about the time I published this post, the name of Fort Liberty in North Carolina was changed to Fort Bragg by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth. The Secretary says the new name is to honor Roland L. Bragg, a private who was awarded a Silver Star in World War II.

Wilson’s Phalarope

These shorebirds birds are 9 inches long, have a wingspan of 17 inches, and weigh 2 oz. They mate in the Dakotas and Saskatchewan in May. The females lay eggs and promptly leave, heading south to the saline lakes of the Great Basin: Great Salt Lake, Abert’s Lake in Oregon, and Mono Lake north of Bishop. The males look after the eggs, but once the chicks are hatched, the males also head south. The chicks are born with feathers and find their own food; soon they also go south. The birds show up at Mono Lake from mid-June to August. Surveys at Mono Lake done 35 years ago estimated up to 80,000 phalaropes in a year, but survey methods then and now are pretty crude. The females arrive first, then males, then juveniles. They hang out for a month doubling their weight on brine shrimp and alkali flies — an unlimited, but monotonous, buffet. They use the time and food energy to molt, discarding their old feathers and growing new ones. Then they fly south – a 3-day non-stop to South America, about 3000-4000 miles. They spend the Boreal winter at inland saline lakes near the Andes Mountains of Argentina, Bolivia, and Chile. In spring of the next year, they fly north and do this all over again.

Below are photos of Mono Lake, where thousands of Phalaropes gather every summer. The first photo was taken from the Mono Craters, a group of volcanos south of the lake. In the foreground is volcanic ash and rubble. In the middle distance on the right is an island called Paoha. Most California Gulls migrate from the coast to this island in the summer, nest, and raise their chicks. In the far distance are the snowy summits of the Sweetwater Mountains, which straddle the California-Nevada border.

Mono Lake from Mono Craters. Looking north.

The winter view below, looking south, shows the Lake from near Conway Summit. The large road is Highway 395. The town of Lee Vining is in the distance on the right. Rain and snow are coming down from the clouds.

Sunrise from the Lake’s south shore.

Lightning started a fire just a few years ago. It burned off sagebrush and rabbitbrush from a large area on the Lake’s south shore.

Mono Lake south shore. South Tufa area on left, Navy Beach on right. Burned from lighting fire.

Another view of the burned area.

Below are pictures of Wilson’s Phalaropes floating, preening, and feeding. These images were taken from the South Tufa area of Mono Lake, which has easy road access and a boardwalk that leads to the water. The female birds have a black facial stripe that morphs into a cinnamon color on the back of the neck; very elegant. Colors for the males and juveniles are muted; a blah look.

Wilson’s Phalaropes. Mono Lake. Two bird on the right are females in breeding plumage.

Wilson’s Phalaropes are wading birds, but also happy swimming about.

Lots of preening here. These birds are molting, getting entirely new outfits.

The image above shows some birds feeding. All they have to eat here are brine shrimp, which are less than a half-inch long, and small alkali flies. They grasp brine shrimp or flies with the tip of their bills, then open the bill so that a water droplet containing the food moves up to the mouth using surface-tension. Two California biologists studied this with high-speed cameras and their article shows photos of water droplets moving up a bird’s bill from tip to mouth in 0.01 seconds. (Rubega MA, Obst BS. Surface Tension Feeding in Phalaropes: Discovery of a Novel Feeding Mechanism. The Auk: A Quarterly Journal of Ornithology. 1993;110(2):169-173.)

Until 2021, I knew nothing about this bird. Roberta and I visited Mono Lake’s South Tufa beach early on July 2 and found thousands of them at the shore, floating on the water, and flying about in flocks of hundreds, even thousands. We came back on July 6 and 13 to get more photos. The birds made little noise; just faint gurgling sounds. At the shore they seemed restless, either eating or preening themselves. The scene was one of the most exciting wildlife events I’ve ever seen, comparable to seeing animal herds on the Serengeti.

Below are two images of Phalaropes landing.

This is a different bird, also landing. As they come down, they take a few steps on the water.

Every few minutes a flock of hundreds or thousands took off, zoomed about (at speeds up to 50 mph) near the water surface or high above the water, and then landed on the water. Large flocks made a “whooshing” sound as they went past. The landings looked like a controlled crash; the birds spread their wings, put out their feet, and take several steps on the water before flopping down. Their bellies are white, backs are a mix of browns. So depending on their angle in flight, they make look white, brown, grey, or black. As they change direction, the color of the flock changes — a fast moving plume of black smoke seems to turn white. Sometimes a dark-appearing flock crosses the path of another flock that looks white.

We see the bellies, so these birds look white.

In some photos, individual birds are upside down! Does air turbulence from the flock tip them over? Or are they just banking a turn very hard? How do they avoid crashing into each other? As they land, they seem to touch at times.

At the top of this group, right of center, one bird is upside down. Feet point into the air.

The more you magnify this photo, the more birds you can see. Could there be a thousand birds in this picture?

Why do they fly about so much? I assume they are getting their muscles in shape for the 3000-mile trip to South America. They are training, just as a human trains for a marathon. Are they also practicing how to fly as a group? When they head south, they usually lift off at night, head for the coast, and fly over the ocean. I wonder what it would look like to see a flock pass overhead against the stars or the moon?

Who was Wilson?

Alexander Wilson (1766 to 1813) was born in Scotland. He moved to America in 1794 (age 27) in the hope of escaping poverty. He lived in Pennsylvania. Before his death at age 47, he published 9 books of bird illustrations; American Ornithology (1808-1814). His name is attached to Wilson’s Storm-Petrel, Wilson’s Plover, Wilson’s Snipe, Wilson’s Phalarope, and Wilson’s Warbler.

In 2023, the American Ornithological Society announced a plan to revise North American bird names. Instead of naming birds for people (all white males of European heritage), names will be revised to describe the birds. They plan to revise 10 names in 2024, including Wilson’s Warbler and Snipe. Europeans did not discover these birds; they were known to indigenous people for thousands of years.

A couple of additional photos remind us that Phalaropes are not the only creatures at Mono Lake. Roberta spotted this Desert Cottontail on April 2, 2024.

Takeoff

Gravity binds humans to the earth. We travel freely in two dimensions: back and forth, side to side. But our ability to move up and down is limited. We can climb a cliff or descend a cavern, but we must cling to a surface or tether ourselves with rope. Without equipment, our muscles can only lift us into the air for a moment. The ballerina, high-jumper, or gymnast is focused on landing even before they take off. Balloons, wingsuits, hang-gliders, Piper Cubs, jets, and rockets let us stay aloft longer. With a boarding pass, any human can fly faster and higher than a falcon. Yet clever engineering provides only temporary and complicated release from the ground. Our usual lives are earthbound.

Birds, however, live in three dimensions. Hundreds of times a day, herons and hummingbirds take to the air using only muscles and feathers. They make this transition as easily as we step off a curb. Some can fly for days without landing. Some sleep in the air, fight in the air, and eat in the air. Not all birds fly. Some birds near Bishop prefer the ground; Roadrunners and California Quail. But the essence of most birds is flight.

To photograph a flying bird, I often start with a non-flying bird on a branch, on the ground, or floating on a pond. I aim the camera and let it automatically focus and set the lens aperture. I take pictures of the perched bird. Then I wait.

If nothing happens in a minute, I continue my walk. But if the bird takes off, or seems likely to do that, I depress the shutter button and keep it down while panning the camera to follow the bird. This method sometimes captures the moment of takeoff, when a bird transitions from earth to air. This blog article displays photos of bird launches.

Bald Eagles appear at the Buckley Ponds from November to February. They come to eat fish and American Coots. Below are images of a juvenile Bald Eagle at the Buckley Ponds in January of 2024. The bird used a common liftoff routine: leap and flap. First the legs crouch and the wings start to rise. The wings unfurl as high as possible. Then the legs push off the branch as the wings come down to push on the air. If the bird starts high enough, it may dive to increase speed. Faster airflow over the wings produces lift, so the bird stays aloft using less energy. In this sequence of photos, the time from first movement to leaving the branch was one second. The time from the first photo to the last was 4 seconds.

By pushing off with its legs, the bird gains airspeed to produce lift. There is another advantage to a push; it lets the bird get clear of branches or wires before using the wings. This may prevent injuries.

Juvenile Bald Eagle takes off. Buckley Ponds. January 2024.

A Great Egret uses a similar leap and flap technique, pushing off the bottom of the Bishop Creek Canal with its long legs.

Another Great Egret crouches to start flight from the shore of the Buckley Ponds. The area between the eye and bill, the “lore,” is green. This color appears during mating season. The filamentous feathers (plumes) that trail behind are also part of mating plumage.

Belted Kingfishers are common along the Bishop Creek Canal. They don’t like my approach and the photo below shows a typical response. The bird always flies off away from me. For a moment it seems suicidal, plunging down. Then a burst of flapping lifts it up.

Red-tailed hawks push off hard with their feet, then a couple of wing flaps gets them into forward flight and the feet retract up.

Below are several photos that show songbirds blasting off from brush near the Bishop Creek Canal.

Northern Mockingbird. Gus Cashbaugh Lane, near Bishop Creek Canal.

Yellow-rumped Warbler. Bishop Creek Canal.

White-crowned Sparrow. Bishop Creek Canal.

The Osprey below did not push off. It daintily stepped into space, like a person stepping into a jacuzzi. It fell for a moment and then the wings grabbed the air.

In the morning shade, a Ferruginous Hawk launches.

Ferruginous Hawk. Gus Cashbaugh Lane, near Bishop Creek Canal.

The next two photos show a Red-shouldered Hawk leaping from a tree. In the second photo you can see a feature of this bird; “windows” in the wings. The wings have long primary feathers near the tips. In the near wing there is a band of white color several inches from the tips of the feathers. This colored band is somewhat translucent; in the far wing, light shines through this “window.” Also note the landing gear retracting upward to streamline the bird.

Red-shouldered Hawk. Warm Springs Road near Bishop Creek Canal.

Great Blue Herons crouch, then jump up, as shown in the next three photos. For a moment it looks as if the Heron will crash, but powerful wing beats keep them aloft. In the third photo there are white specks in the air; those are mosquitos in the morning light.

A female American Kestrel has just left her perch. Her wings are rusty-brown. In the second photo, a male Kestrel has started to crouch and spread his wings. His wings are blue-grey.

American Kestrel (female). Bishop Creek Canal.

Lots of birds are at the Buckley Ponds. A Red-winged Blackbird uses the leap and flap method. These birds gather in the hundreds in spring and stay for months, raising their young.

Red-winged Blackbird leaps from Rabbitbrush. Buckley Ponds.

The Common Raven does not like to be photographed. They depart when I point the lens at them. This one springs from a wooden barrier.

A Wood Duck uses webbed feet to shove off the water at the Buckley Ponds.

Double-Crested Cormorants are the only cormorant species in the Eastern Sierra. This one vaults over the water and then shoves on the water with its webbed feet. Each push is synchronized with a wing downbeat. The second photo shows preparation for a push; I think the bird looks like a dragon from Game of Thrones.

Double-crested Cormorant. Buckley Ponds.

About three hundred American Coots winter at the Buckley Ponds. Their green feet propel them on the surface, splashing like mad to climb into the air. The whole operation is noisy and graceless. When a Bald Eagle swoops over the Ponds, dozens of panicked Coots try to slosh their way to safety.

American Coot. Rawson Canal next to Buckley Ponds.

The House Finch below leaves the fence that surrounds the Bishop Sewage Ponds.

A male Northern Flicker blasts off on South Airport Road.

Many birds, such as Kestrels, Kingfishers, and Harriers, can fly in place for a while, but they need some wind to do this. According to Sibley, only hummingbirds can truly hover. The hummingbird can flap its wings so fast that it just rises up, as demonstrated by a Black-chinned Hummingbird.

Black-chinned Hummingbird. Green Gate road off Dixon Lane.

A Steller’s Jay on McGee Creek starts to fly.

This Violet-Green Swallow is cleared for takeoff from a tufa tower at Mono Lake. These pocket-rockets are hard to photograph when flying, so I try to focus when they land on the tufa. Their rest breaks are short and they soon rocket off to hunt bugs in the air.