Prosser Reservoir

Today Don and I drove to Prosser Creek Reservoir, arriving around 8 am.  First we checked out the Prosser Creek outflow area at the east end of Prosser Reservoir, where we had visited a couple weeks back.  We parked at the other side of the creek, hoping again to see an American Dipper or a Kingfisher.  We did not see those, but we did see a number of Song Sparrows, and a Brewer’s Sparrow.   We also encountered a friendly and curious Orange-crowned Warbler who hopped around in the willow bushes near us and seemed quite unperturbed by our presence. After about an hour, we returned to the car; while driving out we saw a number of Turkey Vultures perched on the power poles.  They were eying us in a creepy manner, so I stayed closed to the car when taking photos.

We then headed to the west side of the reservoir, gaining access via some gnarly dirt roads (challenging Don’s mini-SUV).  We explored on foot the area where Prosser Creek flows into the reservoir.  There is a wide, flat marshy area, and the creek still had moderate flow.  We first followed the trail where pine trees edged the marsh.  In that area we saw Song Sparrows, a House Wren, and several Western Wood Pewees. Walking closer to the creek, there were flocks of small birds up in some dead trees; we later identified these as Pine Siskins. Close to the lake, the marsh turned to a wide flat area, where we saw several small birds, including Killdeer, Mountain Bluebirds, a Spotted Sandpiper, and tiny (4 inch long) Least Sandpipers. Additionally there were ducks and Canadian geese on the lake.  We also saw a Western Osprey (see photo above) wheeling about and diving for fish in the lake.

I added 4 new species to my Tahoe Big Year list!