Tahoe Meadows is located along Mt. Rose Highway about 1.3 km (.8 mi) from the 2,716 m (8,911 ft) Mt. Rose summit on the way from Reno to Incline Village at Lake Tahoe. The Meadow is about 20 minutes from my home and has become one of my favorite birding hotspot and an added bonus it is about 10 deg-F cooler. On AUG 2nd I headed out in search of a Pacific-slope Flycatcher, although I didn't find it I did find numerous juvenile bird with one being a recently fledged Wilson's Warbler.
Photo of the Week 36: Wilson's Warbler, juvenile (Cardellina pusilla) Tahoe Meadows, WAS (NV)
EQ: D7200, 300mm f/2.8 Taken: 8-2-2016 at 10:06a
Settings: 450 mm (35mm eqiv), 1/1000s, f/2.8, ISO640, +1/3EV Conditions: Sunny
Mountain Chickadee, juvenile (Poecile gambeli)
Dark-eyed Junco, oregon (Junco hyemalis oreganus)
I also saw a juvenile Green-tail Towhee and a pair of juvenile Western Wood-Pewee perched right next to each other. The juvenile Mountain Chickadee above was one of about 6 darting around the pines and near the end of the walk a relatively large flock of 8 Brown Creepers flew into the tree I was standing next to 2 to 3 at a time.
Wilson's Warbler, juvenile (Cardellina pusilla)
Brown Creeper, juvenile (Certhia americana)
MacGillivray's Warbler (Geothlypis tolmiei)
Wilson's Warbler (Cardellina pusilla)
White-breasted Nuthatch (Sitta carolinensis)
Bumblebee on Sierra Saxifrage (Saxifraga aprica)
A Hermit Warbler was a treat since it has been over a year since I have seen one. The wildflowers were in full bloom with butterflies visiting them. An interesting fact about the Brewer's Lupine is that this low growing Lupine will raise and lower the flowers and leaves to regulate their temperature. If you are driving along Mt Rose Highway it's worth a stop. The short hike around the meadow is about 2 km (1.2 mi) and takes about a 1/2 hour but when I go its take me a bit longer with this trip taking 3 hr and 15 min, but that is the nature of birding and photography.
Hermit Warbler (Setophaga occidentalis)
Greenish Blue Butterfly (Plebejus saepiolus) on Oxeye Daisy (Chrysanthemum leucanthemum)
Green-veined White Butterfly (Pieris napi)
Brewer's Lupine (Lupinus breweri)
Your comments are welcomed and if you have any questions about the photo or any other leave me a message.