As I mentioned last post, I asked my crew to share some memorable moments of the season, and here’s a continuation...
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| Rayann's Warbling Vireo nest, Smith Creek |
My biggest fear of this season was getting bit by a rattlesnake, and when we were camping near Smith Creek, there was a Great Basin rattlesnake. I was pretty paranoid sleeping there that night, and around 3 am I heard rustling in the bushes … but it was only a bunny!”
This past week, Rayann and I also had a really big surprise – up in the Pine Forest Range, foraging next to Onion Valley Reservoir, we saw a Long-tailed Jaeger! Sadly, it is now long gone – we, along with an envious rest of the crew, scanned the area the next couple days without finding it … but wow! My first jaeger. I took a few extraordinarily bad photos – here they are:
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| Dave's area search downstream of Schurz |
Dave: “The Walker River corridor near Schurz is a very birdy place. After visiting an area search site on eight separate occasions, I ended up with nearly 30 confirmed/probable breeding species. But on my last visit to the site on July 7, I was in for a true surprise. On a cottonwood tree no more than 15 meters from me, a perched Yellow-billed Cuckoo began singing. What great luck! After enjoying great views of it for over a minute, lightning struck again. A second cuckoo flew into the tree by the first! To brazenly steal a pun from another birder I know, this was kukukukCool!
I'll be posting the final installment of anecdotes and other tales in a few days. My final surveyors hung up their binoculars today, so the birding portion of Nevada Bird Count is now over until next year. A few veg surveys left, and lots and lots of data! Happy birding,
-- Jen
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