California Seagull and Mono Lake

This California Seagull was photographed in Lee Vining, CA. He isn't far from his probable birthplace, Mono Lake. About 85% of California Gulls come from the rookeries located on the islands of Mono Lake in the Eastern Sierra. My first (childhood) glimpse of the lake was in 1964 from Conway Summit to the north. Even as a nine-year-old, I was in awe of the beauty of the area, desolate and lunar-esque. Though still very large in the 1960's, the lake had already begun to shrink due to the diversion of water (via the Los Angeles Aqueduct) from feeder streams. Many years later after the completion of the second LA Aqueduct (adding transport capacity) the lake's water level dropped so low that the islands became peninsulas and coyotes were able to access seagull nests. Through the efforts of the Save Mono Lake movement (in the 1970's), DWP allocates water to the lake so Negit and Paoho are islands again and seagull rookeries are safe from coyotes. The lake also serves a wide variety of migratory birds.

As a side note, the water issues of the Eastern Sierra were dramatized in the 1974 movie, Chinatown, with Jack Nicholson. The movie was based on William Mulholland's attempt to gain control of water rights in the Owens Valley and the resulting construction of the original LA Aqueduct. Cadillac Desert is a documentary fim, portions of which chronicle the fight over water in the Eastern Sierra.