July 6, 2004
Independence Day weekend Day 3: Shasta Lake area
Today we began the long drive home to Davis, stopping off at the picturesque Mossbrae Falls in Dunsmuir. Amazingly, we spotted our fourth snake species of the trip, this tiny Ring-necked Snake.
The walk along the railroad to the falls was pretty quiet birdwise (probably due to the heat), although I did spot a couple of American Dippers along the river. The falls themselves were wider than they were tall, and cascaded through thick vegetation. They wouldn't have looked out of place in a rainforest!
Our last stop of the day was a short hike at Lake Shasta. By this point it was swelteringly hot - one had to feel sorry for the nesting Ospreys taking the brunt of the midday heat!
However hot I thought it was at Lake Shasta, it had to be cooler than spending the weekend in Davis - as I biked out to get my dinner at 7:30pm it was still 91F! Thanks to Abhi for organising this wonderful weekend - I hope I'll be able to join you, Lisa, Anna and Haining on another walk very soon!
Posted by rjhall at July 6, 2004 8:40 AMRichard: looks like a great weekend. Sorry about the rosy finches, but hey, all the more reason to go back!
Posted by: Pica at July 6, 2004 9:38 PM