Truckee

     Back in December I drove to Pyramid Lake for the first time.  This lake is an hour east of Reno and is surrounded by the Paiute tribe's reservation.  A remnant of ancient Lake Lahontan, Pyramid Lake is fed by Truckee River. Limestone tufa towers similar to those at Mono Lake dominate the landscape.  There are few trees.  I had the good fortune to meet some nice birders who invited me to participate in their Christmas Bird Count.  I was glad to not be missing this annual event. Count day was January 1, 2014, a good way to start the year.  Three of us were assigned to Area 2 in the southeastern portion of the lake.  We found 28 species for the day.  My favorites were the group of Sage Sparrows, a female Hooded Merganser, and the Western Bluebirds.  Overall the Pyramid Lake count totaled 70 species.
     Schedules at Northstar resort have settled down to four 10-hour days with 3 days off.  Yesterday I drove to Reno to retrieve Dolphin (the kayak) from my friend's house.  They have just bought a house and are moving soon.  The house I am living in has a 2 car garage occupied by 2 larger vehicles (a Pathfinder, and a Jeep), bicycles, skis, equipment, and now Dolphin has joined everything in the garage.
     Donner Lake State Park is very close.  This morning I walked in the forest near the lake to listen for birds.  Mountain Chickadees, a Brown Creeper, White-breasted Nuthatches, an un-seen Woodpecker, and Steller's Jays.  On Donner Lake 4 Common Goldeneyes, and a male Common Merganser were diving and looking for breakfast.

photos from Donner Lake and marsh.