Join ESBA on the 2nd Saturday of every month for our bird walk at the Bishop Paiute Tribe's Conservation Open Space Area - COSA.

Come enjoy this natural area and the birds we find there.

All ages are welcome and no experience is required.

We have binoculars and field guides to share.

LOCATION

Meet us in the large parking lot behind the Bishop DMV, next to the USFS and BLM offices at 351 Pacu Lane.

DMV address: 1115 W Line St, Bishop, CA 93514.

Join our friends at Sierra Forever for a free guided walk with naturalists in the Ancient Bristlecone Pine Forest. Learn about the birds that call this forest home and the unique ecology of the oldest trees in the world.

Walks will be outside at 10,000 feet elevation, on a trail with some elevation gain. Please bring water, sun protection and hiking or walking shoes.

Meet at the Schulman Grove Visitor Center Deck at 9:00am. Walks last about an hour.

For driving directions, see the Ancient Bristlecone Pine Forest Visitor Center page.

Questions: education@sierraforever.org

This walk repeats on Fridays from June 5 to July 10. See more hikes from Sierra Forever.

Love is in the air! Nests are being built and eggs are being laid. On the California Bird Atlas Big Weekend, come check out the romantic ghost town of Bennettville and look for breeding birds.

Likely lovebirds include White-crowned Sparrows, Dark-eyed Juncos, Ruby-crowned Kinglets and Cassin's Finches all engaging in activities from counter-singing and courtship to feeding nestlings and possibly the awkward first flights of fledglings.

We'll also hope to see Grey-crowned Rosy Finches foraging in the receding snowpack, American Pipits on display and be on the lookout for the majestic chicken, the White-tailed Ptarmigan, although they can be pretty shy mid-morning.

Other likely birds include Mountain Bluebird, Hermit Thrush and possibly Bald Eagle.

Meet at the Tioga Rd (Hwy 120) Saddlebag Lake turnoff at 8am.

Map link: https://maps.app.goo.gl/D2SveQ18xuLYNDMK7

Coordinates: 37°56'18.4"N, 119°14'54.6"W

Plan to hike 3-6 miles of rough trail or cross country. Expect to travel on and off snow. Hiking poles recommended. Bring water, sunscreen and snacks. Return by 1 pm. 

For questions or to RSVP (thank you!), email fieldtrips@easternsierrabirds.org.

Join our friends at Sierra Forever for a free guided walk with naturalists in the Ancient Bristlecone Pine Forest. Learn about the birds that call this forest home and the unique ecology of the oldest trees in the world.

Walks will be outside at 10,000 feet elevation, on a trail with some elevation gain. Please bring water, sun protection and hiking or walking shoes.

Meet at the Schulman Grove Visitor Center Deck at 9:00am. Walks last about an hour.

For driving directions, see the Ancient Bristlecone Pine Forest Visitor Center page.

Questions: education@sierraforever.org

This walk repeats on Fridays from June 5 to July 10. See more hikes from Sierra Forever.

Join ESBA on the 2nd Saturday of every month for our bird walk at the Bishop Paiute Tribe's Conservation Open Space Area - COSA.

Our May 9 walk is one of two bird walks we are hosting on Spring Big Day.

Come enjoy this natural area and the birds we find there.

All ages are welcome and no experience is required.

We have binoculars and field guides to share.

LOCATION

Meet us in the large parking lot behind the Bishop DMV, next to the USFS and BLM offices off of Line Street.

DMV address: 1115 W Line St, Bishop, CA 93514.

Join Eastern Sierra Bird Alliance and the Eastern Sierra Land Trust for Spring Big Day.

May 9 is an important day for birds and for birders around the world. Each year, the second Saturday in May is recognized as World Migratory Bird Day for U.S. and Canada, where we are experiencing peak spring migration. A worldwide bird count is held on that day, called Global Big Day. (Fall migrations are celebrated on the second Saturday of October.)

You can contribute to Global Big Day by using eBird to record the birds you see on May 9. Want to go birding with a group? Join our COSA walk or go birding in the Black Lake Preserve.

Your eBird data helps researchers create more accurate and up-to-date maps of bird migration. And thanks to innovations in bird tracking, you can see those migrations in amazing detail:

Enjoy spring migration and the birds it brings to the Eastern Sierra.

For our First Saturday field trip in May, we’re heading to Fish Slough and taking a closer look at…arthropods! Trip leader Ceal Klingler is a biologist, conservationist, and writer who hopes you’ll admire and possibly adore your smaller neighbors. Here’s what Ceal has to say about what you’ll be looking for on May 2:

Arthropods (for example, blister beetles, harvester ants, and jumping spiders) play a starring role in the function of desert ecosystems such as Fish Slough. Not only do they pollinate relatively isolated wildflower species in desert wetlands, but they also:

• Transform plants into biomass that other animals can eat (e.g. when Say’s phoebes eat Pyralid moths or horned lizards eat harvester ants)

• Break flower parts down into soil nutrients (e.g., when blister beetles eat flower petals and transform them into floral packets of fertilizer), and

• Transport nutrients into the soil (e.g., when above-ground honeypot ant workers carry nectar to underground specialized workers who serve as “repletes,” reservoirs for the colony).

Across deep time, these interactions have helped shape the bodies and behavior of small animals like birds and lizards as they co-evolve with host plants, predators, and prey.

Although the timing of Fish Slough’s charismatic minifauna might be off during this year’s chaotic weather extremes, we’ll have a good chance of seeing Inyo tiger beetles, harvester ants and their golden sand scoops, milkweed beetles, migratory painted lady butterflies (and possibly monarchs), and the flying, jumping, and lumbering animals who eat them.

Please come prepared to walk in hot weather and bring close-range binoculars if you have them. Meet at 9:30 AM at the southern turnoff for east Fish Slough from Fish Slough Road (approximately 37.43309, -118.40607; past the private houses and pavement; look for a turnoff and parking area to your right/east). Return by 1PM.

RSVP required due to limited space on this trip: fieldtrips@easternsierrabirds.org.

Join ESBA on the 2nd Saturday of every month for our bird walk at the Bishop Paiute Tribe's Conservation Open Space Area - COSA.

Come enjoy this natural area and the birds we find there.

All ages are welcome and no experience is required.

We have binoculars and field guides to share.

LOCATION

Meet us in the large parking lot behind the Bishop DMV, next to the USFS and BLM offices off of Line Street.

DMV address: 1115 W Line St, Bishop, CA 93514.

Meet EARLY at the Mono Basin Scenic Area Visitor Center just north of Lee Vining to figure out carpooling. Hopefully observe “thunder chickens” in the Bodie Hills and discuss breeding behavior and conservation challenges for the bi-state population of Greater Sage Grouse. Bring a spotting scope if you have one. Specific time and location TBD.

Join ESBA on the 2nd Saturday of every month for our bird walk at the Bishop Paiute Tribe's Conservation Open Space Area - COSA.

Come enjoy this natural area and the birds we find there.

All ages are welcome and no experience is required.

We have binoculars and field guides to share.

LOCATION

Meet us in the large parking lot behind the Bishop DMV, next to the USFS and BLM offices off of Line Street.

DMV address: 1115 W Line St, Bishop, CA 93514.

Join ESBA on the 2nd Saturday of every month for our bird walk at the Bishop Paiute Tribe's Conservation Open Space Area - COSA.

Come enjoy this natural area and the birds we find there.

All ages are welcome and no experience is required.

We have binoculars and field guides to share.

LOCATION

Meet us in the large parking lot behind the Bishop DMV, next to the USFS and BLM offices off of Line Street.

DMV address: 1115 W Line St, Bishop, CA 93514.

Join ESBA on the 2nd Saturday of every month for our bird walk at the Bishop Paiute Tribe's Conservation Open Space Area - COSA.

Come enjoy this natural area and the birds we find there.

All ages are welcome and no experience is required.

We have binoculars and field guides to share.

LOCATION

Meet us in the large parking lot behind the Bishop DMV, next to the USFS and BLM offices off of Line Street.

DMV address: 1115 W Line St, Bishop, CA 93514.