Yosemite & Mono Basin
September 25-27, 2006
We arrived in Yosemite Valley on Monday around 1:00 PM so the lighting was not the best nor the birding. We looked at the valley from the Wawona Tunnel View and my sister was not duly impressed. We walked up to Bridalviel Falls which just had a trickle of water flowing. Yosemite Falls was completely dry. We took a short walk to Mirror Lake which was also dry, while Daddy slept in the car. There were some Red-breasted Nuthatches, White-breasted Nuthatches, and Pygmy Nuthatches, Brown Creeper, and Mountain Chickadees. Then it was time to check into our cabin at the Sunset Cabins just outside the Big Oak Flat entrance. After dinner we enjoyed seeing the full Milky Way in all its glory away from the nuisance of city lights.
Tuesday morning we started early down Tioga Road. Our first stop was Olmstead Point. As we were enjoying the view a Townsend’s Solitaire gave its whistle and then flew into a tree just a few feet away. I had not even had time to take my best camera out of the car and only got some shaky footage on my little camera that I think I will toss out. About six more flew in just below the view point but I never could get a good shot of one. As I was trying to lock my camera on a Solitaire a Williamson’s Sapsucker flew into a tree right in front of us but flew before I could videotape it either. We walked the short distance out to the look-out and Daddy nearly couldn’t make it back to the car. Next we drove on to Tuolumne Meadows. While Sharon and I walked to Soda Springs and two miles on the Glen Aulin Trail, Daddy slept in the car. After our short walk we continued down the long grade into Mono Basin and to South Tufa Reserve where we had our lunch at the picnic tables there. Then we took the little walk around the amazing tufa formations. The only birds in there were Blackbirds and a few California Gulls and White-crowned Sparrows. After our nice walk around the Tufa Reserve we then drove to the Mono Basin Visitor Center. I’m not sure what Daddy and Sharon were doing but I walked around the little self guided nature walk. I saw only one Brewer’s Sparrow.
Our next stop was the Mono County Park. Daddy said it looked real inviting but he was too tired to walk out to the boardwalk. It was unfortunate he couldn't muster the energy to take the boardwalk because Sharon and I saw hundreds of Eared Grebes and many other birds in the lake. Mono Lake holds the largest number of migrating Eared Grebes in the world. We also had close up looks at several Yellow-headed Blackbirds some of which had orange heads and four Blue-winged Teal which was a big surprise for me. There was also one Cinnamon Teal in the lake. Back down the boardwalk we saw two Yellow Warblers and a Black-billed Magpie was on the lawn as well as a Northern Flicker.
Even though it was getting late we decided to continue down Highway 395 to Bodie State Historic Park. It is a long drive down a partially dirt road but well worth it. Everyone really enjoyed this part of the trip including me! Bodie is an old historic mining town that was once home to about 5000 residents. The state has kept it intact in a state of “restored decay.” You can walk around the old buildings and envison what life must have been like in this wind swept desert gold mining town where the summers are blistering and the winters are harsh. There were about a dozen Mountain Bluebirds flying around that I enjoyed while walking around the old Bodie Hotel, saloons, old mining equipment, etc. As I was looking in the old town store my sister called my name franticly. I went over and she had located a Greater Sage Grouse! My god I thought we had no chance at this late hour as the bird book says you have to arrive at dawn. I’ve seen Sage Grouse displaying before. This one was just walking around eating sage but still it was exciting to see another one of these elusive birds. Soon it was time to go and make the long, long drive back to our cabin all the way at the opposite entrance to Yosemite. We arrived back at the cabin very late and too late for me to stop at Crane Flat to look for the Great Gray Owl.
Wednesday we got up early and drove into the valley again. Daddy dropped Sharon and me off at the Happy Isles Nature Center and we arranged to meet him again at 1:00 PM at Glacier Point. Meanwhile Sharon and I hiked up the Mist Trail to Vernal Falls and then the top of Nevada Falls. At Vernal Falls we saw about three Canyon Wrens. Then at Nevada Falls we saw an American Dipper in the fast moving water. After enjoying the falls we crossed over the Merced River on a bridge and got on the Panoramic Trail. All told these two trails combined climb 3200 feet in eight miles and end at Glacier Point. Before the final push we passed our last waterfall, Illiloutte Falls. About a mile from the trailhead we saw some Mountain Quail scurrying into the scrub and near the top we saw two lingering Yellow Warblers. Most people go the other way and end the one way hike at Happy Isles, which is all downhill, but I enjoyed the challenge of going up and it’s less stressful on your knees than going downhill. On the way up you begin to round Half Dome and get unusual perspectives of this looming granite dome until finally you crest the hill and can see both waterfalls and Half Dome before you get to the trailhead at Glacier Point where many people who drove to the point are milling about eating ice cream. After enjoying the fabulous view one last time then it was time to head back to the nasty filthy Bay Area. I drove us out of the mountains and then at San Pedro Reservoir I made Sharon take over. Her driving was horrible and I couldn’t read my book. I even wrote the directions down on a piece of paper and they both still acted like they couldn’t figure it out even though huge signs say, “SAN FRANCISCO THIS WAY.” At the Bay Bridge I hid my Fasttrak and told Sharon to drive fast through the commuter lane so I wouldn’t get charged the $3.00 toll. She stopped! Stopped in the commuter lane! and the sensor found my fasttrak and charged me anyway. I was mad and yelling at Sharon to drive. Daddy started saying I held my fasttrak up and that’s why I was charged. Ludicrous. Back home Susan had dinner waiting for us.
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