Reflections of the Natural World

Travel with me as I explore the wild things and wild places of our planet. – Jim Gain

  • Rosy-Finch Rendezvous: Stop 9 – Cottonwood Canyon

    Rosy-Finch Rendezvous: Stop 9 – Cottonwood Canyon

    A LITTLE MAC AND GEEZ… By Jim GainRosy-Finch Rendezvous Birding Adventure Series 6/15/2022 This morning’s route was going to take us away from the Sierra Nevada landscape and into the Great Basin and Range geography that dominates much of Nevada and Utah. Today’s target birds were species such as Juniper Titmouse, Woodhouse’s Scrub-Jay, Pinyon Jay Read more

  • Rosy-Finch Rendezvous: Stop 8 – Earthquake Fault Trail

    Rosy-Finch Rendezvous: Stop 8 – Earthquake Fault Trail

    The Strange Case of a Solitary Solitaire and a Missing Phone By Jim GainRosy-Finch Rendezvous Birding Adventure Series 6/14/2022 As one strolls through old-growth red fir and Jeffrey pine forest to explore this unique and relatively recent geological feature: a deep fissure in a flow of volcanic rock, in places as narrow as 10 feet Read more

  • Rosy-Finch Rendezvous: Stop 6 – Wildrose Canyon

    Rosy-Finch Rendezvous: Stop 6 – Wildrose Canyon

    By Jim GainRosy-Finch Rendezvous Birding Adventure Series 6/14/2022 We made a brief stop at Convict Lake to show Rich what a beautiful gem of a lake this was. We headed east towards Lake Crowley and the Glass Mountains along Benton Crossing Rd. with beautiful expanses of sage. Knowing that Greater Sage-Grouse was on the top Read more

  • Rosy-Finch Rendezvous: Stop 5 – Sierra Lodge at Mammoth Lakes

    Rosy-Finch Rendezvous: Stop 5 – Sierra Lodge at Mammoth Lakes

    By Jim GainRosy-Finch Rendezvous Birding Adventure Series 6/14/2022 While I was waiting for Rich to fill up the ice chest, I wandered outside of our parking garage to take a photo of our hotel, the Sierra Lodge, with the magnificent backdrop of the Sierra Nevada. I crossed the street to get the best angle and Read more

  • Rosy-Finch Rendezvous: Stops 4 and 7 – Inyo Craters

    Rosy-Finch Rendezvous: Stops 4 and 7 – Inyo Craters

    By Jim GainRosy-Finch Rendezvous Birding Adventure Series 6/13/2022 & 6/14/2022 Rich and I made two stops here, Stop #4 on Monday afternoon and Stop #7 on Tuesday afternoon. The Inyo Craters are three north-south-aligned phreatic (steam) explosion craters on the summit and south flank of Deer Mountain. Six hundred years ago, a massive explosion heated Read more

  • Rosy-Finch Rendezvous: Stop 3 – Mono Lake County Park

    Rosy-Finch Rendezvous: Stop 3 – Mono Lake County Park

    By Jim GainRosy-Finch Rendezvous Birding Adventure Series 6/13/2022 The chorus of wrens and vireos hit us as soon as we stepped out of the car. From every clump of cottonwoods along the creek that winds through the park, came the sounds of House Wrens and Warbling Vireos that competed for the bounty of caterpillars found Read more