Nevada Bird Count 2015, The Wrap-Up, Part 3

I wrote up some of the crews’ highlights in Part 1 and Part 2 – here’s the final installment!

Ned wrote:

I had an amazing time this summer doing the NBC.  My first impression was great; it was awesome to have a solid crew of smart, friendly birders.  All season long I felt that there was great comradery and we all had a great time sharing adventure stories.  It still feels like just a few days ago when we first pulled up to the Mormon Mesa and Moapa.  That place was unlike anything I had seen before and really struck me. All season long I was seeing new places and being blown away by the variety of landscapes Nevada has to offer.  Time flew by and I was a little sad when it was over.  My favorite moments were definitely during our group camp in the Toiyabe.  There was just something intangible and incredibly special about that place. Having everyone together for a campfire really brought everything in.  Then in the morning when we all set off on our birding missions, I felt like we were a birding army, taking the Toiyabe by force, each with our own personal mission.  

Jeff wrote:

Anaho Island National Wildlife Refuge on Pyramid Lake stands out as one of my favorite places visited on the Nevada Bird Count this season.   Approaching the lake provides a view of the conspicuous, pointed cone or pyramid shaped tufa mound, for which the lake is named.  Anaho Island and much of the surrounding landscape is composed of these tufa formations, a type of limestone that was created underwater over thousands of years.  Due to permit regulations, few people are allowed to set foot on the island in an attempt to protect colonies of breeding birds that call this place home.  Without a fear of humans or predators, many of the birds are extremely inquisitive hopping within a few feet for a closer look at the intruders.  Access is possible only by boat and conducting surveys while hiking across the island yielded a variety of grebes, terns, herons, wrens, and one of the two largest America white pelicans colonies in the west.  Large numbers of spiders litter the rocks and due to the remote habitat and lack of predators a high concentration of rattlesnakes slither about.  Exploring Anaho Island and observing its inhabitants was only one of many unique and memorable experiences this summer.

And Bobby’s highlight was one of mine as well – but his take is much more fun!

Four Birds in a Hollow House

When camping in the Toiyabes

I came across a single tree.

All bark of white and spindled stem

An aspen quaking in the wind.

Upon first glance 

It did withhold

A secret which would soon unfold.

Creeping closer, what caught my eye

A cavity not six feet high. 

And from within the tireless bleet

Of nestlings with a need to eat.

Then from behind as I did gape, 

A sapsucker with bright red nape,

Alit upon the holed trunk,

And filled their gullets up with gunk.

Looking down and to the right

My eyes met with a troglodyte,

A brown and striped little wren

Conveying bugs into its den.

Two birds, one tree

How could it be?!

Surely there cannot be three!

But as I swiveled round the side,

Into a cleft a bird did glide!

What graceful flyer had I seen?

A swallow cast in violet green!

I stood in wonder marveling

At all the birds within the rings,

That this one tree of frosty white

Could be the home to so much life.

And as my mind began to drift,

I noticed yet another rift,

A largish hole at height of chest, 

Yet seemingly an empty nest.

Ah! But of course a head did rise 

To my now dwindling surprise,

All grayish brown and pink gaped frown

A baby Flicker stared me down.

All this action certainly 

Had roused its curiosity. 

Its showing made a full account 

Of four birds in a hollow house. 

So if you're tromping through the trees 

By foot, by bike or even skis,  

Be mindful of each darkened niche  

And what its tenant has to teach.

Thanks again to all of my crew this year – I so appreciate all your hard work and great attitudes!

Jen