December 1-3, 2024: Lone Pine, Bishop and June Lake – Inyo and Mono County, CA Bird Surveys (45 Species) Callyn Yorke
Weather: Overcast to partly cloudy with a light mist during the afternoon of December 1; otherwise, without significant precipitation. 30°F to 55°F; wind, variable, NW, NE, 0 – 10 mph. residual snow level at about 7,000 ft. asl..
Time: 0700-1445 hrs.
Observers: Dạ Thảo Lê Nguyễn and I.
Areas Covered:
Lone Pine, Inyo County, CA (LP: 1 December 2024, 1305-1445 hrs.) Elevation 3,444 ft. asl.. We walked from the central town area on US 395, northward, surveying Lone Pine City Park, then southward and westward through a residential-rural area on Whitney Portal Road. Except for a few visitors with dogs (leashed and unleashed) in the city park and a nearby tree removal crew, the survey area was quiet and little disturbed by human activities.
Deciduous shrubs and trees (e.g. willow and cottonwood) had lost all or most of their live foliage. Abundant understory cover was available in drainages and vacant lots; such places attracted the greatest variety of bird species that we observed in Lone Pine.
Bishop, Inyo County CA (BSH: 2 December 2024, 0700-0845 hrs.). Elevation 3,887 ft. asl.. From our hotel on the north side of town, located on US 395, we walked southward and eastward to Bishop City Park (BCP), including surrounding vacant lots and suburbs.
Most of the birdlife we encountered was in and immediately adjacent to the city park, which had an abundance of mature cottonwoods, a small, artificial lake and a narrow, swift stream on the northern park border. A community garden and adjacent residence, located at the southeast corner of the city park, produced additional species for our local bird list.
June Lake and Gull Lake, Mono County, CA, (JLK; GLK: 2 December 2024, 1345-1445 hrs.) Elevation 7,332 ft. asl). Following a lunch break at the Tiger Bar & Restaurant, located on the main road in central June Lake, we walked on multiple residential streets bordering the west end of the lake, to their terminus at the east shore of Gull Lake (photos).
The June Lake area is a transitional Great Basin Sage – coniferous forest. Patches of birch, willow and tule-marsh border the shorelines. Six to eight inches of melting snow was on the ground and roof tops. Exposed pavement was icy and required care when walking over it. Both lakes had clear, open water throughout.
The surveyed area was quiet and little disturbed by human activities during our visit. An adult coyote, wearing its winter coat, was also patrolling the residential streets and, though aware of our presence, seemed reluctant to leave the neighborhood.
The residential area appeared to have very little birdlife; songbird vocalizations were few and almost all coming from Steller’s Jay; most of them keeping to high positions in conifers. By contrast, waterbirds were conspicuous and fairly active along the margins and in the shallow backwaters of the two lakes.
US 395, between Lone Pine and June Lake (US 395, 1-3 December, 2024). Elevation 3,444 to 7,332 ft. asl.. Birds noted while driving and when making three roadside stops along this route.
We also made a brief visit (2 December 2024, 1000-1115 hrs.) to Mammoth Lakes Village (MAM), including a gondola ride from the main lodge to the summit of Mammoth Mt. (Elevation 11,053 ft. asl.). Feral Rock Pigeon and vocalizations (calls) of an unseen finch, were the only signs of birdlife we observed in the busy Mammoth ski areas.
Diaz Lake, Inyo County CA (DLK, 3 December 2024, 0850-1030 hrs.) Elevation 3,674 ft. asl.. This was our final birding stop on the drive back to the Antelope Valley. From the main entrance (no fees or facilities for day use), on the west side of US 395, about two miles south of Lone Pine, we walked along the accessible sections of the eastern shoreline, then on the perimeter road, completing about 3/4 of the circumference of the 80-acre lake. Access at that point is blocked by fencing adjacent to the camping-picnic area on the northwest shore. We returned to our vehicle using the same, outbound route.
Soils near the lake were spongy with a saline crust. Much of the vegetation was in a dormant, winter state. Deciduous trees and shrubs within the riparian patches had shed most of their live foliage. Birdlife was scarce, except for a fringe marsh near the main entrance, where a few songbirds were observed to be intermittently vocal and active. A fairly well developed riparian border, consisting mostly of mature cottonwood, occurred on the southern border of the lake, adjacent to a large pasture. But even where there was abundant arboreal microhabitat and a dense brush understory, few birds were found. Our final tally for the survey of DLK was eighteen bird species, including, Western Grebe, Bewick’s Wren, Mountain Bluebird and Song Sparrow — all additions to our trip list.
BIRDS NOTED
- American Wigeon 30 (m,f) gregarious, foraging very actively on lawns; resting in ponds and stream, BCP (photo).
- Mallard 120 (m,f) greg., wild-typed and about 20 domestic and hybrids, BCP; 20 (m,f) wild-type JLK; 30 (m,f) wild-type, GLK.
- Ring-necked Duck 10 (m,f) greg., wary, swimming to center of lake, BCP (photo – see Bishop Area description).
- Common Merganser 1 (m) swimming near the nw shore and marsh, JLK.
- Ruddy Duck 6 (m, f; bsc. plmg.) loosely greg. resting in open water near marsh, GL; 1 resting on the lake near the marsh northeast corner, DLK.
- California Quail 30 (m,f) vocal; four separate coveys of 5 -16 birds on the ground in pasture and edge of riparian patches, LP; 14 (m,f) greg. on ground in rabbit brush scrub, DLK.
- Pied-billed Grebe 1 swimming near the marsh, GLK; 2 swimming near the marsh, DLK.
- Western Grebe 3 greg., vocal, a pair swimming near the marsh and a separate individual in open water, DLK.
- Clark’s Grebe 1 in open water in east-central section of the lake, JLK.
- Feral Rock Pigeon 1 under the eaves of a ski lodge, ML.
- Eurasian Collared Dove 16 greg. most in trees adjacent to community garden, BCP; 5 greg., vocal, JLK.
- Mourning Dove 6 greg. on ground in pasture with nearby flock of BRBL and BHCO, BSH.
- Greater Roadrunner 1 running on the shoulder of the highway, about three miles north of Lone Pine, US 395.
- American Coot 50 greg. in and around the lake, BCP; 15, loosely greg. swimming near the marsh around the lake, DLK.
- Greater Yellowlegs 1 vocal, brief, low flight, repositioning in shallows between patches of marsh on the west side of the lake, DLK (photo).
- Northern Harrier 1 (f) in flight, low over field on east side of town, BSH.
- Cooper’s Hawk 1 (imm) apparently following and diving on an exposed CAQU covey at the edge of a pasture and roadway, LP.
- Red-tailed Hawk 2 (ad., imm.) individuals perched in leafless willows in a southern field and in the northeast corner of the lake, DLK.
- Downy Woodpecker 3 (m,f) greg. a pair foraging separately in the same and adjacent trees; mostly on small diameter limbs of cottonwoods and willows; another individual doing the same in a mature cottonwood canopy, BCP.
- Nuttall’s Woodpecker 1 (f) foraging on the main trunk, middle level, of a mature cottonwood; two DOWO in adjacent trees, BCP.
- Northern Red-shafted Flicker 5, loosely greg. pairs foraging on ground at base of cottonwood, then flying to lower limb of adjacent trees, BCP; 2 in flight over city park and adjacent, tree-lined pasture, LP.
- Black Phoebe 1 sallying from fence to ground, DLK.
- Loggerhead Shrike 1, flew to utility line perch, LP. 2 individuals in open fields, perched in isolated trees, DLK (photo).
- Steller’s Jay 8 loosely greg., vocal flying between mature pines and firs, JLK.
- California Scrub Jay 1 vocal (unseen) in riparian patch behind city park, LP.
- American Crow 5 greg., vocal, in flight over town and fields, BSH.
- Common (Northern) Raven 14 greg. vocal, pairs on ground and in trees in the city park; in flight throughout, LP; 6 greg. in and around mature trees, BSH, BCP; 3, greg. DLK.
- Mountain Chickadee 1 vocal (unseen) in conifers, JLK.
- Ruby-crowned Kinglet 4 individuals foraging in dry leaf clusters of cottonwoods, often in msf with YRWA, BCP; 1 in roadside willow, DLK.
- Bewick’s Wren 1 foraging in dry leaf clusters and understory of cottonwoods and willows, DLK.
- European Starling 10 greg. foraging on ground in field with BRBL, BHCO, BSH; 5 on ground, utility lines and in conifers, JLK; 2 in flight over riparian patch, DLK.
- Northern Mockingbird 1 vocal (calls, unseen), riparian patch bordering the city park, LP; 1 vocal (calls, unseen) in yard adjacent to park, BCP.
- Mountain Bluebird 5 (m,f) greg. an itinerant, cohesive flock sallying from fence posts to saline grass patch and roadside bare ground; mostly confiding and approachable for photos, DLK (photo).
- Townsend’s Solitaire 1 alighted briefly atop a leafless willow at the lake margin, JLK.
- House Sparrow 2 vocal, in msf with WCSP, roadside ruderal patch, LP; 20 (m,f) greg., vocal in gardens and on buildings, BSH.
- House Finch 2 (f) with WCSP and HOSP in roadside ruderal patch, LP. 4 (m,f) in overgrown pasture and community garden, BSH, BCP; 2 (m,f) greg., a pair in a leafless tree and on the ground at edge of lake and marsh, DLK.
- White-crowned Sparrow (Gambell’s) 10, (ad., imm) greg. foraging on ground in ruderal patches LP. 25 (ad., imm) greg. vocal (calls and brief song), brushy areas throughout, LP; 12 foraging in a rabbitbrush (Chrysothamnus sp.) field east of the park, BSH (photo).
- Savannah Sparrow 4 greg. foraging in gopher-hole fleld of grass, LP (photo).
- Song Sparrow 2 vocal (calls) individuals active but secretive in dry marsh, east and west sides of the lake, DLK.
- Spotted Towhee 2 staying fairly well concealed in brushy margin of riparian patch, LP; 1 in brushy yard adjacent to community garden, BCP.
- Red-winged Blackbird 1 (m) foraging in a vacant corral with BRBL and BHCO, BSH.
- Brown-headed Cowbird 20 (m,f) a cohesive flock foraging on ground in a vacant corral BSH.
- Brewer’s Blackbird 100 (conserv. est.) (m,f) at least two, large, itinerant, cohesive flocks in the city park and farm yard with a bird bath, LP; 80 (m,f) cohesive, itinerant flocks foraging on ground in corrals, park lawns and pasture, BSH, BCP.
- Common Yellowthroat 1 vocal (calls) active, though secretive in dry marsh, DLK.
- Yellow-rumped (A) Warbler 3 (m,f) vocal (calls) greg., foraging in a wide variety of shrubs and trees, at all height levels, ground to canopy, LP. 2 in roadside cottonwood canopy and subcanopy; riparian patch, BSH, BCP.