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U.S.A. -- NEVADA
26 - 28 February 2000
by Gavin Edmondstone
A conference took me to Reno (actually Sparks), Nevada.
Afterwards I stayed on for a long weekend of birding. My primary
birding goals were to see White-headed Woodpecker and Mountain
Quail. Ted Floyd gave me helpful suggestions. The Great
Basin Bird Observatory site at www.gbbo.org has useful
information. Directions to the places mentioned here can be found
there. As usual my report is biased towards birds of interest to
this birder from Ontario.
Saturday morning after checking out of the conference hotel I picked up
a rental car at the airport and headed south to Davis Creek County
Park. Clark's Nutcrackers, Stellar's Jays, "Oregon" Juncos,
Black-billed Magpies and Mountain Chickadees were abundant. There
were also a few Spotted Towhees around. Within an hour of birding
around the parking area I found a pair of White-headed
Woodpeckers. The male was very cooperative allowing several
minutes of close observation. The next lifer would not be so
easy. Ted had indicated that I should go to higher elevation to
try for the quail. As I climbed bird activity dropped off quickly
and so I decided to head back down. Another hiker was ahead of me
on the trail and I figured his presence would not enhance my chance of
success.
A juvenile Golden Eagle was the highlight of the many raptors seen on a
drive around Washoe Lake. A variety of ducks were also
seen. A Say's Phoebe was feeding at the NDOT wetland viewing
area. The song of a Bewick's Wren confused me until I tracked
down the source. A California Quail was in a residential
area. After circumnavigating the lake, I decided to have a look
at Galena Creek County Park. Up there I found much snow and few
birds so I decided to go sightseeing at Lake Tahoe. Probably not
the smartest thing I have ever done since I had no chains available but
luckily the weather cooperated with me. After checking into a
Reno Motel I walked around Virginia Lake seeing many California Gulls,
lots of ducks and a Merlin.
Sunday was rainy/snowy depending on elevation. I went to Hunter
Creek on the west side of Reno and found the trails to be rather
muddy. A few Western Bluebirds and Western Scrub-Jays were
seen. A check of the University Farm produced a Prairie
Falcon. At this time I decided I should go east and see some of
the Great Basin. This added a few more birds to my list but
nothing of great interest except a Great Horned Owl in a small roadside
tree.
Monday was a glorious sunny day and decided to try my luck with the
quail again at Davis Creek. Luck was mine as I arrived 7:30 to
find the gate being opened a half hour before the posted time.
The varied vocalizations of the nutcrackers and jays accompanied me as
I climbed higher. After about 50 minutes a Mountain Quail flushed
from cover near the trail. I froze and carefully looked for
others. Seeing none I took a step and two more flushed and then
yet two more. After a while I contented myself with the fleeting
glimpses that I had and gave up trying to get a better look. I
continued upward into a quiet, snow covered valley before heading back
down. After a rest and a snack I birded near the car for finding
a Juniper Titmouse and Pine Siskins besides birds seen
previously. No White-headed Woodpeckers today.
In the afternoon I visited the Lemmon Valley Marsh. I was a bit
surprised to see a Greater Yellowlegs. A large congregation of
sometimes vocal Tundra Swans was good to see as was an adult Bald Eagle
perched on a utility poll. Seeing the eagle caused me to reverse
out of the cul- de-sac so as not to flush the bird. My unusual
behaviour attracted the attention of a local teenager on a dirt bike
who asked if I was a cop as I scoped the many water birds.
The puzzling x-ray image of the scope flagged airport security in Reno
so I demonstrated it to the curious agents. One thought that it
was for hunting. After explaining that I was a bird watcher the
other replied: "I like that better." Tuesday the Reno-San Francisco
route was delayed again. Not only did I not have time to bird
near the San Francisco airport this time but I missed my flight to
Toronto and had to be quick to catch the next one. My luggage was
not so quick and didn't catch up with me until the next day. A
permanent loss would have been very embarrassing since my birding notes
were safe in my carry-on but the conference notes were checked!
Gavin Edmondstone
Oakville, Ontario
sue-gavin@sympatico.ca