From May 4th to May 8th, Hal Benham will be facilitating a field trip to view Sierra Nevada bird life featuring the Sage Grouse mating ritual at their lek near Crowley lake.  May 4th is a travel day to Lone Pine.  On May 5th we will travel north to Bishop, birding along the way.  Important stops will be at Glacier Lodge for Sooty Grouse and Aspendell for gray-crowned rosy finch, mountain bluebird, Cassin’s finch, Clark’s Nutcracker and other high altitude specialties.   We will stay in Bishop 2 nights.  On the evening of May 5th we will attend a talk on the Greater Sage Grouse by biologist Sherri Lissius.  May 6th will find us at the Lake Crowley grouse lek at 5:30 AM, which means leaving Bishop no later than 4:45 AM.  We will spend ample time at the lek, then bird in a long loop for the rest of the day, stopping along the way for a picnic lunch, and finally arriving back at Bishop in the afternoon.  On May 7th we will bird our way back to Lone Pine with several stops planned.   We will spend the night of the 7th in Lone Pine or you can forge on home if you have the energy.

The trip will be limited to 20 participants.  All meals and lodging will be at the participants own expense.  The cost is $50 per person for members of Palomar Audubon Society and $75 per person for non-members.  Checks should be made payable to Palomar Audubon Society.  The application must be postmarked no sooner than March 15th, and participants will be selected on a first come-first served basis.   Send application and check to Dianne Benham, 15946 Cumberland Dr., Poway, CA  92064.  Call 858 679 7904 for questions.  Participants will receive a full itinerary plus lodging and restaurant details via email when selected.

Click Here for Application