Epic Summer Trip Part I: Conboy Lake NWR
No one warned me about summer birding. Okay, someone warned me, but I didn’t think it could be this bad. Okay, it’s not “bad” exactly, but it’s pretty challenging. In the morning, there’s approximately one minute to find active birds before it becomes too damn blazing hot outside. And that one minute is around 5:00 am.…
Larch Mountain Part II
Larch Mountain was so much fun the first time, I made a return visit the following day. Round two proved worthwhile just from the drive up. Elk! It’s been years since I’ve seen elk in the wild, and I’m not sure I’ve ever seen them this far from the coast. There were others with this one,…
Larch Mountain Part I
I hadn’t given up hope on finding a Hermit Warbler after my Johnson Road trip. The following weekend, I conferred with BirdsEye and decided to try my luck at Larch Mountain. Funny thing about Larch Mountain, larch trees don’t actually grow there. Noble fir is the dominant species that was once marketed and sold by early…