We were a bit remiss in keeping perfect records for our summer trips; that's how it sometimes goes with "volunteer labor"! Our apologies for the cursory nature of the trip reports below. Feel free to come along sometime, and improve the quality of our trip reports!

June 11-13 - Yuba Pass & Sierra Valley - This trip was basically canceled, although 2 Altacalers did head up on Saturday afternoon to see what they could come up with. This area can yield interesting waterfowl in the Sierra Valley area, as well as all the great mountain species that can be seen in the Yuba Pass area. Just over 100 species were seen, with no real rarities.

July 16-18 - Eagle Lake Field Station - Three of us headed up to the Field Station on Friday, and were met by 2 more on Saturday morning. The bird numbers on this trip were a bit disappointing, with only 1 warbler (an odd-looking Yellow) represented. We did come up with a couple of rarities in the Eagle Lake area, a Swainson's Thrush and an Eastern Kingbird. On Sunday, we headed out to Honey Lake for a very warm day of marsh birding, and built our species count up a bit for the trip, although the waterfowl variety didn't seem to be as high as in previous years.

August 20-22 - Lassen Park - Between the Altacal members and out-of-town guests, we had nearly a dozen participants on this trip, with all levels of birders (and one "hammock-sitter") represented. The high point of this trip was actually in our campsite, where we were treated to a show put on by hundreds of Vaux's Swifts, which were roosting in a snag about 50 feet away. In the evening, they would repeatedly circle the roost; occasionally one would break away from the pack to actually enter the roost - quite fascinating to watch! Also in camp was a group of Gray Jays, a species not terribly easy to come by in California (you listers may want to come along next year!). Our usual hike up Mt. Brokeoff was rather disappointing, but Manzanita Lake and other lower areas were quite productive, yielding 8 warbler species (none of which were seen by everyone - they were moving too darned fast, and a brisk breeze kept carrying them off before we could all see them!). Two hearty members hiked up Mt. Lassen on Sunday looking for Gray-Crowned Rosy Finches, which they didn't find, but they did come up with a Prairie Falcon. Around 53 species were seen.