Audubon California sponsored a survey of Mountain Plovers throughout California over the last few days. We're still gathering the data and will have the final report in a few weeks. Early impressions were that the bird lived up to its reputation as being very rare. Many surveyors didn't see a single one, and some super heavy fog in the Central Valley didn't help matters. That said, we hear that decent-sized groups were spotted in the Antelope Valley, Panoche Valley and the Imperial Valley. In all, it looks as though about 80 to 100 volunteers participated. Our thanks go out to the them all -- we'll get the final results to you as soon as possible. (photo by Glen Tepke)