Mono Lake with Shuf and The Vagrants - Day 3

Driving north from Mono Lake we crossed Conway Summit and drove down to Bridgeport, turning right to the Bridgeport Reservoir. Highlight of the drive were the Black-billed Magpies near the turnoff. The cool morning air and absence of wind allowed for good photos.

After scoping the thousands of birds on the lake from a roadside pullout we continued to the Bridgeport RV Park and Boat Launch, where the genial manager allowed us to walk down to the now-diminished lakeshore. As we started down we saw a Cooper's Hawk resting on the concrete boat ramp only 20' away. The hawk lifted off but landed on a table at eye level, seemingly unconcerned by our murmuring and gawking. The spangled brown back denotes a juvenile (thanks, Dave) and the large size suggests a female. Rounded tail, of course.

Nearby we spotted a lone White-faced Ibis foraging in a shallow waste area, ignoring our contingent as well as the hawk. Each step and movement of the ibis reflected a rainbow of color. All credit here to the morning light and a cooperative bird. Apologies for the oil container.

The chestnut color is from a brown form of melanin known as eumelanin. The rainbow of other colors is produced when the microstructure of the feathers refracts the white light and preferentially reinforces certain wavelengths, as we see in thin oil films and hummingbird gorgets.

The Glossy Ibis is quite similar, especially in non-breeding plumage, but the red iris and bare skin are seen only on the White-faced Ibis.

One last shot - choose your favorite.

Below the dam at the north end the group saw a limited variety of birds, highlighted by a few Blue-gray Gnatcatchers. I contented myself with photographing a pretty little green skipper butterfly, which Leslie identified as the Juba Skipper.

After lunch we drove back on 395, turning right at Conway Summit to drive up to the Virginia Lakes area. The Virginia Lakes Resort is welcoming to birders, and their feeders reliably attract Cassin's Finches, members of the Carpodacus finches, commonly called Rosefinches (not Rosy-finches). Note the reddish cap and gray auricular area. The top (culmen) of the upper mandible is almost straight, whereas the culmen on the Purple Finch is convex, and even more so on the House Finch.

Nearby a Thick-billed Fox Sparrow refused to pose in good light:

Seeds on the ground attracted several bright Pine Siskins. Note the sharply pointed bill, a helpful fieldmark when the yellow color is lacking.

We saw lots more of course, including many species of waterfowl. Check it out some day!