Fall Color Hanging in There...

...though perhaps not for long with our incoming weather. We took a quick drive up to North Lake, west of town, and found some impressive stands still showing off. I didn't have my camera, but snapped a couple shots with my iPhone.

In the left photo, the ducks on the lake are northern shovelers (Anas clypeata). The males are in their winter eclipse plumage. Never having seen that before, I actually wasn't able to identify them, especially without binoculars. Fortunately, I came home to a posting on the Eastern Sierra Birds message list talking about them. I love it when the internet is helpful!