I’ve been dying to get out and actually photograph something and fortunately this past weekend took us to Mammoth Lakes for their annual Jazz Jubilee. And…being in the Sierras meant I had to take advantage of some of the great birding areas!
On the way up, we took a quick detour to the Ancient Bristlecone Pine Forest in the White Mountains. Got some dynamite photos of Mountain Bluebird. I wasn’t so fortunate with my Clark’s Nutcracker photos though and along the way we found a Violet-green Swallow nest. On the way out of the park I managed to spot a male and female American Kestrel perching next to each other.
Mountain Bluebird
Mountain Bluebird
Violet-green Swallow
Clark’s Nutcracker
American Kestrel
Ancient Bristlecone Pine Forest
Ancient Bristlecone Pine Forest
The following morning I birded nearby Sherwin Creek of Mammoth Lakes, CA. Highlight of the day was definitely a Western Tanager family. I first found the female that was clearly not happy with my presence and continually made an alarm call as I photographed her. The male flew in from time to time and after I photographed them for 10-15 minutes I finally found the young Western Tanager that had just fledged. You can still see some down feathers and the tail feather had not grown in yet.
Western Tanager (m)
Western Tanager (f)
Western Tanager (i)
Golden-mantled Ground Squirrel
The rest of Saturday was speant enjoying the jazz and piano music at the Mammoth Jazz Jubilee. We woke up early Sunday morning and headed to South Mono Lake where I photographed Violet-green Swallows and California Gulls. I had hoped for Wilson’s Phalarope but no such luck this time.
Violet-green Swallow
Violet-green Swallow
California Gull
California Ground Squirrel
Mono Lake Tufas
Mono Lake Tufas
Mono Lake Tufas
After our quick little jaunt out to Mono Lake we sprinted up to the Bodie Ghost Town north of Lee Vining to look for Sage Grouse and ended up being quite fortunate to find a group of 7.
Greater Sage-grouse
Greater Sage-grouse
Greater Sage-grouse
Bodie Ghost Town
Bodie Ghost Town
Bodie Ghost Town
After Bodie we headed into Yosemite Natl Park via Tioga Pass in hopes of Great Gray Owl and Black-backed Woodpecker. Although we didn’t find either I did manage to get better shots of Lincoln’s Sparrow.
Lincoln’s Sparrow
Belding’s Ground Squirrel
Yosemite Natl Park
Yosemite Natl Park
Yosemite Natl Park
Yosemite Natl Park
Michael Cleaver
March 5, 2014 at 10:09 pm
These are some beautiful pictures of the Eastern Sierra Wildlife! I love the Belding’s ground squirrel shot in the flowering meadow. Keep up the great photography!