I want to thank all the Obolers and Tweeters that sent me
information and suggestions on searching for the HIMALAYAN SNOWCOCK in
the Ruby Mountains of Nevada. And a special thanks goes to Bob Morse who
wrote the great and detailed article on searching for these birds that
was published by ABA, in their "Winging It" magazine.
We arrived at the parking lot for the hike into Island Lake at
about 8:30 a.m. on the morning of August 24, Lamoille Canyon was already
basking in warm sunlight. A friend of thirty years was with me just for
the adventure as he is not a birder, I had to loan him a pair of
binoculars to help search for the birds. Our aging lowland bodies were
not delighted to be carrying sixty pound packs and sucking the rarified
air at eight thousand feet above sea level. We wheezed and shuffled the
two miles and nearly two thousand foot elevation gain to the lake and
made our way to the campsite on the bench above the lake in about three
hours. After setting up the tents in this lovely setting we walked to the
overlook and glassed the cliffs and grassy areas of the southeast cirque
for four hours. I spotted a bird shaped rock high on a cliff above some
Mountain Goats, even through the scope it was difficult to make a call.
The shape was right and the buffy pattern of the chest and head matched a
snowcock, we left the scope on the bird and returned to camp for dinner.
Upon returning to the scope and checking it again the rock was no longer
there. As I headed back to camp in the pink glow of sunset a sound like
the clucking of a chukar came from the mountain above me. Flying high
across the cliff face was a single bird that I was able to see clearly
through my binoculars, unfortunately my friend Craig Rundell was already
back at camp.
Early the next morning we sat on the rocks drinking coffee and
waiting for the morning sun, the Snowcocks were giving their elk-like
calls from several spots above us but it took nearly and hour until we
found a flock of six working a grassy cleft in the rocky mountainside. We
had great scope views for over ten minutes before they worked their way
out of sight. The rest of the day was spent climbing the goat trails
along the base of the mountain, here we encountered several flocks of
BLACK ROSY FINCHES. The lack of fear shown by these birds as they feed
on the rocky hillside and perched on the cliffs above us was in stark
contrast to the wariness of the snowcocks.
The following morning there was a single Snowcock perched on the
top of the cliff calling and visible through the scope as we broke camp.
I took a copy of the article from "WINGING IT" by Bob Morse with us, from
what I saw in this write-up and at the site, my recommendation would be
to scan the cliffs and search high for this bird. When we climbed the
scrabble hillsides we found more sign of goats in the grassy meadows than
of birds.
Other birds seen here included GOLDEN EAGLE, SPOTTED SANDPIPER,
BLACK-CHINNED HUMMINGBIRD, RUFOUS HUMMINGBIRD, CLARK'S NUTCRACKER,
MOUNTAIN CHICKADEE, MOUNTAIN BLUEBIRD, YELLOW-RUMPED WARBLER, BREWER'S
SPARROW, WHITE-CROWNED SPARROW, and PINE SISKIN.
The scenery here is fantastic and the trip well worth the effort,
by the time we headed down the trail we had adjusted to the altitude and
found it an easy stroll back to the parking lot. I would gladly return to
this setting even without the prospect of a life bird.

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