Lincoln's Sparrows are secretive and have a wren like song. They can be found in wet mountainous meadows from May through July in the West and into Canada through Alaska. They move to lower elevations in the Winter and I found this one along the Truckee River at McCarran Ranch, which is a few miles east of the Reno/Sparks area.
Since moving to the Reno, NV area in 2016, I’ve been searching for the Black-backed Woodpecker. I first saw one in the northern part of the Idaho panhandle but no photos. I have heard then 2-3 times in the eastern Sierras west of Reno and Carson City but no photos.
I planned a trip through the Smoke Creek Desert in the hopes of photographing a Yellow-breasted Chat. The Yellow-breasted Chat has always been a mystery to taxonomists: it looks similar to Warblers but is larger, has a more varied songs and calls, and has different behavior and anatomy compared to warblers. For decades the Chat was place in the warbler family, but in the late 2010s this Chat was given its own family (Icteriidae), noting the differences from a Warbler.
There are about 15 different Dark-eyed Junco subspecies in North America and I have had 5 subspecies in my yard, which is located SW of Reno NV. The most common Junco, in my area, are the Oregon subspecies and they are more common in the winter but being altitudinal migrants here you can find them breeding above 6000ft.
Looking back over the years of photographing birds, I have noticed a continuous improvement in my image composition and quality. If I had to pick my favorite image for 2022 it would be an encounter with a Pacific Wren. I have seen them in the Chimney Beach area, which is about 6 mi south of Incline Village on the north shore of Lake Tahoe in the eastern Sierra Nevada Range of Washoe County NV. It would be easier to look that up.
