Meet trip leaders Debbie House and Jon Dunn at the Green Church on Benton Crossing Road. Meet at 8am and expect a full day.
Bring binoculars, spotting scopes, at least a light jacket for the morning and all of the food and water you want for a day in the field. Carpooling in a vehicle with higher clearance is recommended. 4WD is probably not needed but AWD will make some areas more comfortable. We recommend checking the weather forecast for Crowley Lake in particular ahead of time (not just Bishop), as the weather in Mono County can be quite different than in Owens Valley. The sun can be intense at this elevation (~7,000 feet), so a hat and sunscreen will also important.
Depending on conditions and access, we will visit several places along the shoreline looking for fall migrant waterbirds, in particular waterfowl and shorebirds. Most of the birding will be done close to the vehicles, but we may take short walks on shore to improve our viewing.
A September visit to Crowley Lake can be very rewarding, not only for the variety of birds present, but as an opportunity to learn about how the various waterbirds use Crowley in their annual life cycle. Crowley supports several species of breeding waterbirds and we will encounter lingering broods of waterfowl and grebes, and be able to see young birds of various ages, which can be tricky to identify. Alongside the lingering breeders, large numbers of migrating waterfowl in various states of plumages should be present. While some individuals may already have completed molt by early September, this is the dreaded “brown duck” season. If you find yourself ignoring ducks this time of year, then this is the trip for you! By paying attention to shape and subtle plumage characteristics, we will work on demystifying the brown ducks of early fall, to provide you with more confidence in identification.
Not only will we have baby ducks and brown ducks to enjoy, but migrating shorebirds as well! Although many adult shorebirds will have passed through already, the shorebirds will also present us with various ages and stages of molt including lingering adults in various stages of molt, juveniles in fresh plumage, and birds in their non breeding plumage. As with the ducks, we will look for patterns in shape and subtle plumage characteristics to help provide you with an approach to shorebird identification that will allow you to recognize the same species in their various plumages and life stages. More uncommon species we might see include Common Tern and Sabine's Gull, both of which are regular fall migrants in the eastern Sierra.
We hope that by taking the time to pay attention to the species present, their relative age and stage of molt, that we will have a better appreciation and understanding of how waterbirds use this eastern Sierra lake in early fall.
Contact fieldtrips@easternsierrabirds.org with any questions.