cold, usually with little snow except at higher elevations, and summersare hot and The Site Guide dry.

Access Nearest major airport at Reno, 86 miles south of Susanville on U.S. 395. From Susanville, Lassen Nat'l Park is 65 miles Honey and Eagle Lakes, west on State 36 and Chico is 105 miles west on State 36 and 32. U.S. 395 open all year. Location Lassen County, northeastern Cali- fornia Accommodations Hotels, motels and restau- rants at Susanville, one motel at Litchfield; Description Two large lakes in the region groceries and gas at Litchfield, Janesville, where the meets the northern Standish, Milford and Doyle. Fee camp- Sierra Nevadas and the southern Cascades. grounds around south end on Eagle Lake; Eagle Lake is at an elevation of5115 feet and free camping at Honey Lake State W.A. and Honey Lake is at 3949 feet. Transition zone roadside rest near Janesville (all camping coniferousforest, with yellow pine, douglas with facilities). fir and white fir dominant, is present southof Eagle L. and west of Susanville. Junipers Birdwatching Typical western coniferous and yellow pine mix with sagebrushin hilly forest residents found around the south end country east and north of Eagle L. as around of Eagle L. and in the Janesville area in- the Chico State Univ. Field Station. The clude: Goshawk, Mountain Quail, Pygmy larger valleys have been agriculturalized, Owl, White-headed Woodpecker, Steller's with somecattail-tule marshlandstill present Jay, Clark's Nutcracker, Mountain Chick- at the north end of Honey Lake (best visited adee, Pygmy Nuthatch, Townsend's Sol- at the two units, Fleming and Dakin, of the itaire, Mountain Bluebird, Cassin's Finch Honey Lake State Wildlife Area). The rest of and EveningGrosbeak. Bohemian Waxwing the area is dominated by sage-coveredflats and Varied Thrush are occasionallyfound in and rocky hills. Elevations in the region winter flocks of Cedar Waxwing and Ameri- range from about 8000-4000feet. Winters are can Robin in the juniper woodland. Local

Honey Lake from Highway 395.

Volume 29, Number I 19 resident populations of Lewis' and Acorn Junco and White-crowned, Golden-crowned Woodpeckers exist in the pine-oak woods and Song Sparrows, and usually a flock of around Susanville and Janesville. Cation and Horned Larks and Lapland Longspurs in Rock Wrens and Chukar are residents of stubble fields on the Fleming unit, with an rocky areas. The impressivewinter popula- occasional Chestnut-collared or McCown's tion of raptors in the Honey Lake Valley Longspur present. includes Golden Eagle and Prairie Falcon in spring and summer at Eagle Lake (common residents in the area} and good include nesting Bald Eagles, Western and numbers of , Red-tailed, Rough- Eared Grebes and a number of duck species. legged and Marsh Hawks, and lesser num- White Pelicans summer and formerly bred. bers of Ferruginous Hawk, Short-eared The Lassen Nat'l Forest Service has in- Owl, and rarely, Harlan's Hawk, Peregrine itiated a remarkably successfulprogram of Falcon and Pigeon Hawk. Long-eared Owls erecting artificial nest sites (Cedar logs are resident in the thick willows along the topped with wooden platforms) for Ospreys , and nesting birds can occa- along the west shore of Eagle L. Gray, sionally be observed on the Fleming unit Hammond's and Dusky Flycatchersbreed in (inquire at Headquarters there). Wintering appropriate habitat around the lake. landbirds include Northern Shrike, Tree and During migration periods, flocks of Sand- Harris' Sparrows in flocks of "Oregon" hill Cranes, Whistling Swans, geese(includ-

20 AmericanBirds, February, 1975 Osprey at artificial nest.

ing a fair number of Ross' Goose) and many of Honey L. are SageThrasher, Lark. Sage, speciesof ducks and shorebirdsvisit Honey Black-throated and Brewer's Sparrows. Lake, and to a lesser extent, other lakes in SageGrouse boominggrounds are at the fol- the area. Nesting birds in the Honey L. lowing locations: a corral along U.S. 395just marshes include: White-faced Ibis and Least south of a state historical marker; 1.8 miles Bittern (rare, Fleming unit), , east along Smokey Creek Ranch Rd. {dirt, Long-billed Curlew, Willet, Wilson's Phal- unmarked) from U.S. 395; and approx. ¬ arope, American Avocet, Black-necked mile north of the Smokey Creek Ranch Road Stilt, California and Ring-billed Gulls, turn just off of U.S. 395 (along dirt road to Forster's, Black and Caspian Terns, a vari- west). Booming is best observed between ety of ducks and , Black- Feb. and March at dawn. crowned Night Heron, Common and Snowy Egrets, Yellow-headed and, locally, Tricol- Rating Fall *,h-,k* (Sept. - Nov.), Winter ored Blackbirds. Burrowing Owls nest along *** (Dec. - Feb.), Spring ,k,k,k (Mar. - U.S. 395just north of the Fleming unit. The May), Summer ** (June - Aug.). only nestingof Eastern Kingbird in Califor- --Tim Manolis, Grad House West, West nia hasbeen at the Fleming unit H.Q. Among LaFayette, Ind. 47906. the common breeding speciesnorth and east

Sage Grouse booming near Honey Lal[e. Fiehi Trip to Eagle Lake, showinghabitat around lake. Photos / Tbn Manolis.

Volume 29, Number I 21