Northstar continues to make snow every night to make up for what Nature is not providing. California's governor declared an emergency because of the drought. Fortunately the machine-made snow is making enough skiers happy that guests are still coming to stay in the condos. I am still making reservations for future guests.
Yesterday I drove up to Mt Rose, along Nevada highway 431. The summit pass is nearly 9000 ft and supports an alpine forest of Fir and Spruce trees. I parked Silver truck along a paved forest road and walked into the forest. It was quiet for awhile, then I started hearing Chickadees closer to the road. A feeding flock of Mountain Chickadees had brought all their friends and relatives. I saw 2 Brown Creepers on different trees, heard Red-breasted Nuthatches calling, and a group of Pine Siskins announced their arrival "shreeeeeeeeep." I was watching little ones flitting when something else moved in to the top of a Fir. Red Crossbills !! Eventually I found 3 pairs feeding in that tree. Steller's Jays and 2 Clark's Nutcrackers came for lunch as well. All very exciting.
Later in the afternoon I stopped by Donner Lake and saw a group of Eared Grebes.Top photo: Donner Lake State Park.
to the right, a Red Crossbill feeding on a Fir cone. Image from the Allaboutbirds.com website.
Funny thing happened this morning, I walked out the door with my directions to Tahoe Meadows, which I did not find a sign for. I had only my binoculars and my fanny pack with me. Totally forgot the camera, I could have taken some photos of these birds myself.
No comments:
Post a Comment