Big bird saves the day

A half-hour into the Saturday adventure, the day looked to be for the birds — in every way.

When we walked in earlier to the Lone Pine State Park visitors’ center, AmeriCorps program specialist Eryn O’Brien greeted us with a hearty, “Are you guys big birders?” She took our “no” in stride, and provided the ground rules for the Great Backyard Bird Count. 

There was just one: Spend at least 15 minutes this day in mid-February counting birds.