Early on the first day of October, accompanied by a gorgeous sunrise, I ventured east of Parker in search of the old Planet Mine and town site. A stop at the Bill Williams NWR turned up a few swallows and sparrows, and in the nearby canyons both Canyon and Rock Wrens were calling. Later that afternoon I stopped at the Bill Williams River delta and the shoreline of the Lake Havasu, adding many common birds, but none of the jaegers or rare gulls spotted several weeks earlier.
   Saturday morning started off with another beautiful sunrise over the Mohave Desert. As I drove into the old mining town of Randsburg,

Chukar

I was greeted by several flocks of portly Chukars--probably one of the easiest spots in California to see these naturalized gamebirds.

   A run past Swansea and up to the ghost town of Cerro Gordo in the mist and rain was exciting, and a Red-naped Sapsucker up at the top was a nice find. I camped in the foothills of these mountains that night, hearing the screech of a Barn Owl as the myriad stars blinked on.

   On Sunday morning Western Scrub-Jays, White-crowned Sparrows, Spotted Towhees, and Gambel's Quail were all singing or calling in the sagebrush around Independence, once more against the backdrop of an absolutely spectacular sunrise. I visited the geothermal activity at Hot Creek in the afternoon, but didn't do any birding for the rest of the day. By the time I reached Bridgeport that evening, some serious rains had set it in for the duration.
   On Monday morning I paid my first visit to Topaz Lake, where several

Hot Creek

waterfowl and shorebird species added to the trip list. Monitor Pass (CA 89) provided striking winter scenery and glowing amber aspens.

   At the ski resort of Kirkwood, I did some wintry birding in the chilly intermittent rains. But the birds didn't mind, and chickadees, nuthatches, sparrows, and others came quite readily to my pishing and owl imitations.

Chipping Sparrow

   I spent the next few days with Nick and his family in the western foothills of the Sierras, visiting, relic hunting, and fishing. Good birds spotted here included the comical Acorn Woodpecker, flashy Yellow-billed Magpies, and the secretive California Quail.

Kettling Turkey Vultures

Henry at Carson Pass

   Tuesday afternoon found us up at Kit Carson Pass, enjoying a wild blizzard which soon shut down the highway. Late Wednesday and again early on Thursday morning hundreds of Turkey Vultures were kettling over Nick's place and moving south.

Sabine's Gull


Sabine's Gull

Northern Harrier

   By noon on Thursday I was back at Topaz Lake, where I found the bad weather had held up all manner of bird life. The best finds were a pair of juvenile Sabine's Gulls and a single Baird's Sandpiper. Farther south, the big lake close to Bridgeport was packed to the gills with pelicans, waterfowl, waders, and shorebirds. A Peregrine Falcon and several Northern Harriers would flush and scatter small flocks of birds as they made their rounds.

   Mono Lake was gorgeous in the setting sun, but I'd left the large flocks of birds behind me at Bridgeport. Some pishing did produce this pretty Sage Sparrow, though.

Black-billed Magpie

Sage Sparrow

American White Pelican

   My final day on the road was Saturday, and I spent most of it along the east side of the Salton Sea. At Bombay Beach the receding sea had left lots of exposed shoreline and pilings--excellent habitat for American and Brown Pelicans, gulls, shorebirds, and both Caspian and Black Terns.

Brown Pelicans at Bombay Bay

Barn Owl

   At the Sonny Bono Salton Sea National Wildlife Refuge headquarters the Barn Owl was in his customary palm roost, directly in front of the office. The Sea wall at the end of Young Road still had a few remaining Brant, and farther north at Lack & Lindsey one of the few Yellow-footed Gulls was hanging out with it brethren. This time of year it can be hard to find flooded fields on any given day, so I was happy to find a sizable collection of Cattle Egrets and White-faced Ibis putting on an aerial show for me as I drove home by way of CA 115.

Brant

Yellow-footed Gull

I made it back to Yuma by suppertime, with great memories of beautiful scenery, spectacular sunrises, wild and woolly weather, catching up with friends, and fine birding.