Sunrise light on a grove of tufa towers emerging from the water of Mono Lake with soft green and dusty-red wild grasses in the foreground, Canada geese in the shallow water with reflections of the rocky towers, and desert hills in the distance.

Cleaning up Lundy Canyon at the Mono Basin Bird Chautauqua

Sunrise light on a grove of tufa towers emerging from the water of Mono Lake with soft green and dusty-red wild grasses in the foreground, Canada geese in the shallow water with reflections of the rocky towers, and desert hills in the distance.

This post was written by Erv Nichols, Birding Intern in 2014, 2015, & 2016.

The sun was shining, the sky was blue, temperatures were warm, and 23 people got up early to drive to Lundy Canyon for the first event of the 2014 Mono Basin Bird Chautauqua, a cleanup of the area around the Lundy Lake dam led by Paul McFarland of Friends of the Inyo.

Friends of the Inyo’s Paul McFarland readies the cleanup group at Lundy Lake Reservoir. Photo by Erv Nichols.

Three young, intrepid volunteers ready to help clean up Lundy Canyon! Photo by Erv Nichols.

Armed with clippers and trash bags, we set out to remove trash (very little, thank you visitors!), and things like fishing line entangled in trees and along the shore. Paul informed the group of the dangers of discarded fishing line to nesting birds and their young. While fishing line seems like the ideal material to cushion a nest, especially orioles who build hanging nests with the line woven into it,when the time comes for the chicks to fledge they sometimes become entangled in it and can’t break their way out like they could if the nest was made of natural materials such as sticks and grass. Entangled chicks usually die.

I have seen nests made entirely of monofilament line in other places. It’s beautiful to see the intricacy, but dangerous to the birds. Fortunately, very little fishing line was found today in the canyon. Good for the birds, good for the cleanup crews, and good for the anglers who clean up discarded line.