[et_pb_section bb_built=”1″ _builder_version=”3.0.105″ custom_margin=”|0px||0px” custom_padding=”|0px||0px”][et_pb_row admin_label=”row” parallax_method_1=”off” _builder_version=”3.0.105″ background_size=”initial” background_position=”top_left” background_repeat=”repeat” custom_padding=”0px|0px|0px|0px” custom_margin=”0px|||”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″][et_pb_text admin_label=”Outing Description” _builder_version=”3.5.1″ text_font=”||||” background_size=”initial” background_position=”top_left” background_repeat=”repeat” custom_margin=”10px||10px|” custom_padding=”0px||0px|” use_border_color=”off”]<\/p>\n
Don and I got out early to drive to South Lake Tahoe and meet the TINS group for the Naturalist-led tour of the Angora Burn Area.\u00a0 This locale abuts the west end of the town of South Lake Tahoe.\u00a0 It is an area on the slope of Tahoe Mountain (just east of Fallen Leaf Lake), which was burned severely by a fire several years ago, and is just recovering.\u00a0 The burned out trees and low-growing shrubs are a great ecosystem for woodpeckers, hummingbirds, flycatchers, warblers, and many others.\u00a0 The lack of foliage on the dead trees made it easier to see perching birds, though the bright sunlight against black trunks made for challenging photographic lighting conditions.<\/p>\n
We were a group of 8 plus the naturalist.\u00a0 In the group we had the couple who is leading the pack of the TBY “leaderbird”, so we had present great expertise in spotting birds. (They had over180 species, while I had 74 at that point!)\u00a0 Sarah the naturalist asked each of us what bird we hoped to see that day – I said the sooty grouse, as that had been advertised, and I didn’t really have any idea what one looked like or where to look for it. Well, rIght away on the walk we heard bird songs.\u00a0 First some hummingbirds – rufous hummingbirds which I already had on my list.\u00a0 \u00a0Soon Lewis’s Woodpeckers<\/strong> were spotted – a beautiful woodpecker with pink on it – I had never seen one, and it’s supposed to be rare.\u00a0 We spotted several including young ones.\u00a0 Several American Kestrels<\/strong> were in evidence, apparently monitoring their babies as they were learning how to fly.\u00a0 We saw some warblers in the low bushes, which I was unable to get a good shot of.\u00a0 I should mention that I’m still breaking in my new Tamron 100-400mm zoom lens.\u00a0 Since my other lens only went out to 300mm, this new one is harder to swing the lens up to quickly get it onto the bird’s location, once someone points out a bird.\u00a0 Also, the camera settings needed to be a bit different than I was used to, for the lengthier lens, as somewhat less light can enter the lens and reach the camera sensor.\u00a0 OK, so that’s my excuse for the very abstract Western Bluebird<\/strong> in Flight photo you will see below.<\/p>\n In addition to the Lewis’s Woodpeckers, we also saw both Downy Woodpeckers<\/strong> and Hairy Woodpeckers.\u00a0 These two species are very similar, the main difference being the bill of the Hairy is a bit longer, almost the same width as the woodpecker’s head.\u00a0 For both these species, the males have a bit of red on the head while the females are lacking that – just black and white.\u00a0 The highlight of the day was the Sooty Grouse<\/strong>.\u00a0 As I was lagging behind, Don was gesturing wildly to catch up.\u00a0 Thank goodness I wasn’t too late.\u00a0 The Sooty Grouse was shuffling awkwardly about in the lower branches of a pine tree. It seemed a bit confused, but not that alarmed at the 9 birders checking it out.\u00a0 It looked rather like a wild turkey, but smaller and having short legs and not much tail.\u00a0 A funny bird.\u00a0 We also saw a number of sparrows, including Chipping Sparrows with the orangey head and a Fox Sparrow<\/strong>, which is a new TBY Bird for me.\u00a0 All in all it was a fantastic TBY day; we saw a lot, and discovered a new trail that is barely on any hiking trail maps or websites that I can find!\u00a0 We’ll definitely be visited this area again!<\/p>\n Today I added 6 species to my Tahoe Big Year\u00a0list.<\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][et_pb_image src=”https:\/\/www.judyduffyphotography.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/JDP-TBY-20180725-110954.jpg” title_text=”Click to zoom in.” show_in_lightbox=”on” _builder_version=”3.5.1″ module_alignment=”center” custom_margin=”0px||0px|” custom_padding=”0px||10px|” box_shadow_style=”preset1″ align=”center” max_width=”70%” \/][et_pb_text admin_label=”Image Caption” _builder_version=”3.5.1″ text_font=”||||” background_size=”initial” background_position=”top_left” background_repeat=”repeat” text_orientation=”center” custom_margin=”0px||0px|” custom_padding=”0px||0px|” use_border_color=”off”]<\/p>\n Don the Birder and Judy the Birder\/Photographer<\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][et_pb_row admin_label=”row” make_fullwidth=”on” background_color=”#ffffff” parallax_method_1=”off” _builder_version=”3.0.105″ background_size=”initial” background_position=”top_left” background_repeat=”repeat”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″][et_pb_text admin_label=”Gallery Container” _builder_version=”3.5.1″ text_font_size=”20″ link_text_color=”#000000″ background_color=”#ffffff” background_size=”initial” background_position=”top_left” background_repeat=”repeat” use_border_color=”off”]<\/p>\n