Along the east side of the Sierra Nevada, the mountains drop straight into the Great Basin. In a single day you can bird alpine lakes, aspen-lined creeks, sagebrush flats and a salt lake that hosts some of the biggest bird gatherings in the West. This independent guide covers the region's best-known birding sites in Mono and Inyo counties, when to visit them, and the rules for watching sensitive species. Every fact is drawn from the published sources listed at the bottom of each page.
What was the Eastern Sierra Birding Trail?
The Eastern Sierra Birding Trail was a printed map and guide to birding sites along the US 395 corridor. Eastern Sierra Audubon says the Eastern Sierra Birding Trails Map was produced by the Mono Lake Committee in partnership with Eastern Sierra Audubon and the Owens Valley Committee, and distributed through visitor centers across the region. Mono County's tourism office also describes it as "published by the Mono Lake Committee."
In a 2016 Audubon magazine roundup of western birding trails, field editor Kenn Kaufman pointed to Mono Lake as the trail's centerpiece. He called the lake, which birders helped save, a place that "remains a mecca for birders." An RV travel feature described the route as visiting 40 sites, "with Mono Lake the magic orb." Eastern Sierra Audubon notes that the map was also featured in Audubon's Field Guide to Birding Trails. This website is not that project and has no connection to its publishers. It is a new, independent guide on the same subject. For the official printed map, ask at a local visitor center.
The big birding draws
| Place | Signature birds | Best season |
|---|---|---|
| Mono Lake | ~50,000 nesting California Gulls; Eared Grebes; Wilson's and Red-necked Phalaropes; nesting Ospreys | Late spring to early fall; grebes peak in fall |
| Lee Vining Canyon | American Dipper, warblers, Green-tailed Towhee, MacGillivray's Warbler | Late spring and summer |
| Bodie and Long Valley sagebrush | Greater Sage-Grouse, Sage Thrasher, sage sparrows | Leks: March–May, before sunrise |
| Crowley Lake | Bank Swallows; loons, ducks and shorebirds in fall and winter; wintering Bald Eagles | Fall and winter |
| Bridgeport Reservoir | Western Grebes, American White Pelicans, Bald Eagles, Rough-legged Hawks | Migration and winter |
| Owens Lake | Over 100,000 shorebirds a year, including American Avocet, Least Sandpiper and Snowy Plover | Spring migration |
A landscape built on water
The Eastern Sierra's birdlife is tied to water, and to the long fights over it. The Mono Lake Committee was founded in 1978 by David Gaines, David Winkler, Sally Judy and Mark Ross to reduce Los Angeles' diversions of the streams that feed the lake. In 1994 the State Water Resources Control Board required enough water to reach the lake to raise it 17.4 feet above its level at the time. Farther south, Owens Lake was largely dried after 1913, when an aqueduct began sending its inflow to Los Angeles. Dust-control flooding since the late 1990s has turned parts of the lakebed back into shorebird habitat.
The result is a region where conservation success is visible from the roadside. Kaufman lists foothill thickets with Green-tailed Towhees, Lazuli Buntings and Black-headed Grosbeaks; pinyon groves with Pinyon Jays; high-elevation Townsend's Solitaires and Western Tanagers; and American Dippers in the rushing streams, a bird that once captivated John Muir.
Planning a visit
- Start at Mono Lake. The Mono Lake Committee names Mono Lake County Park its top birding spot because several habitats meet in one place, and it runs free bird walks.
- Use the season. The Committee says late spring through early fall brings the most species, and waterfowl gather from September. In the Owens Valley, the Bishop visitor bureau's hotspot brochure focuses on November through May.
- Respect closures. Sage-grouse lek areas in Long Valley have seasonal closures and strict viewing rules. Read our lek etiquette page before you go.
- Work the route. Our trail sites map page lists birding stops from Antelope Valley in the north to Owens Lake in the south.
Sources
- Publications (Eastern Sierra Birding Trails Map) — Eastern Sierra Audubon
- Bird Watching — Mono County Tourism
- Birding Trails: West — Audubon (Kenn Kaufman, 2016)
- Fowl Play — RV.com
- Birds — Mono Lake Committee
- Mono Lake Committee — Wikipedia
- A California Lake Becomes a Stopover Spot Again — Audubon (2013)
- Owens Lake — Western Hemisphere Shorebird Reserve Network
- Birding — Bishop Visitor Bureau
- Dancers of Spring — All About Birds