Transcribing the field notes of the Museum of Vertebrate Zoology

Collector: Grinnell - 1925 Location: Lassen Section Date: June 12-13, 1925 Page Number: 2461

Left our Payne Creek P.O. camp about 8 a.m. and proceeded on up the "Lassen Volcanic Highway", now in excellent shape. Arrived at Mineral about 10 a.m., and made our permanent camp, inside the fence which protects the "National Forest Camp-ground" from cattle. This is about 1/2 mile above (northeast of) the present postoffice and store called Mineral, and that far off the new thorough highway, which goes east to Morgan, Westwood, Susanville, etc. Our campsite is ideal - wonderful dryish slope beneath silver and red firs, ceanothus chaparral adjacent, a spring of cold clean water handy, and the edge of the Battle Creek Meadows within a few minutes' walk. The water in the various streams which meander thru the pastures is not safely drinkable. The abundance of birds in full song is bewildering. First impression is that never in any locality (unless the Colorado River bottom in May) have I encountered more plentiful bird life. Saw a family of bob-tailed young Juncos already out, despite the tardiness of the season (it snowed here a week ago according to the people at the store). Splendidly clean and warm here now, though. June 13, 1925. Joseph Dixon and family came up yesterday, too, and are camped close by. Spent the

Collector: Grinnell - 1925 Location: Mineral Date: June 22 Page Number: 2492

Mr. Hoffmann shot an adult male, with a bob-tailed young one, of Golden-crowned Kinglet, in a dense group of small fir here on the Forest Service camp ground this afternoon. I saw a Red-shafted Flicker in flight over the tree-tops - not a common species here - in fact, far less seen than the Pileated Woodpecker.

June 23 10:00 a.m. - we have come 2 1/2 miles airline west of camp along side of Battle Creek Meadows, following the old road (see U.S.G.S quadrangle) to a little beyond the old bridge across Battle Creek. Big forest trees, yellow pines, fir, cedars, and sometimes sugar pines, extend down to the edge of the "meadows"; the latter consist of open pasture and also tracts of willows and lodgepole pines. The present highway pretty much parallels the old road to this point but thence goes down the canyon on the north side, to cross it several hundred feet, altitude, lower. At this end of the Meadows, the mountains pinch together, and the creek bottom ^^soon becomes a narrow canyon. Here are aspens, and a few alders. The Meadows are the property of one W. L. Gerber (?), and are fenced; everywhere astride the fences the vegetation is grazed down by the cattle and sheep which go thru [sic] the country or are seen at large over the forest lands; but inside the fences, the vegetation looks fine - not overgrazed - some of the enclosures not yet grazed at all, possibly reserved for hay. Took a 1 1/2 hour census of birds notes from the road near camp to here, as follows: