Registration is required for this trip and will be limited to 8 participants.
Please email Craig to register. 

Field Trip Leader:  Craig Swolgaard

This trip will explore a little birded part of the Sierra Nevada off Ice House Road at over 6000 feet elevation. Tells Creek flows through Van Vleck meadow just west of the Desolation Wilderness. A trailhead for equestrians and hikers begins at the parking lot but we will follow a road that circles the meadow itself. This is a good spot to see a variety of Sierra Nevada birds including Lazuli Bunting, MacGillivray’s Warbler, Purple and Cassin’s Finch, Green-tailed Towhee, Red-breasted Sapsucker, Lincoln’s Sparrow, Brown Creeper, and others. A pair of Williamson’s Sapsuckers have been breeding there the past several years.

This trip will last into the early afternoon, so bring a lunch and water. Hiking is easy and fairly level. The meadow can be wet so wear hiking boots if possible. 

Field Trip Registration: Registration is required for this trip and will be limited to 8 participants. Please email Craig to register. 

Meeting Location and Directions: Directions and confirmation of exact meeting location and time will be provided upon registration. (We will be meeting at my house at 7:30 AM. It will be about a 50 minute drive to the trailhead.)

Lazuli Bunting, Image by Mary Forrestal