Brian Smith's Photos

Two days on the road out of the Bay Area, over the Sierra and down into the Great Basin — Nevada City, Donner Lake, Lake Tahoe, and finally Mono Lake, the first stop of a longer trip toward Mammoth Lakes and Yosemite.

Nevada City and Donner Lake

An easy start out through the Gold Country — Hoyt Crossing near Nevada City in the afternoon light, then on toward Donner Lake as evening settled in over the water.

Donner Lake, China Cove Trail, held onto the last of the light well past sunset — worth the wait for the reflections.

Lake Tahoe, Logan Shoals Trail

Back to Donner Lake for a quiet morning look, then on to Lake Tahoe itself and the Logan Shoals Trail on the Nevada side — granite outcrops, clear water, and a resident flock of Pygmy Nuthatches, Sitta pygmaea, working the pines.

Further along the trail, a Snow Plant, Sarcodes sanguinea — leafless, chlorophyll-free, and a startling waxy red against the forest floor — then more views back over the lake before heading down.

Shingle Mill Rest Area

South and east over the state line into Nevada and back, a stop at Shingle Mill on the Walker River to stretch the legs before the climb toward Mono Lake.

Mono Lake, South Tufa

The main event of the day: South Tufa at Mono Lake, its tufa towers rising out of the alkaline water, and easily the birdiest stop of the trip so far.

A California Gull, Larus californicus, patrolling the boardwalk, and American Avocets, Recurvirostra americana, sweeping the shallows for brine flies and shrimp.

Violet-green Swallows, Tachycineta thalassina, worked the air above the tufa in tight, fast circuits, and a Brewer’s Blackbird, Euphagus cyanocephalus, kept watch from a low perch.

And the closing act: an Osprey, Pandion haliaetus, hunting low over the lake and returning again and again to a favorite perch — by far the best light and the best subject of the whole stop.

Two down, three to go — next stop, Mammoth Lakes.