Thief Valley Reservoir and Life Bird 440!

 This morning I decided to visit Thief Valley in search of a Grasshopper Sparrow. I was a bit hesitant as it was almost a 100 mile round trip and there was no guarantee I would even see this bird. As it turned out the third bird I spotted entering the campground was my target bird! 

 I stopped the truck, grabbed my binoculars and confirmed the species. I then snapped a couple pics before it took wing and disappeared! I went ahead and parked in the campground and walked the entire loop documenting all the species I could ID. The campground is a bit remote with the last 7.5 miles being gravel road. It was easy to travel with just a few mild wash board sections. 

There were 11 sites and only 2 campers. The sites are well spaced and level. The campground has 2 pit toilets and at least 1 pump with potable water.

Yes, I tried the pump and it worked great! The lake has a nice boat ramp and there were several boats out on the lake that appeared to be fishing.

This appears to be a free campground as I could not find any pay stations or signage saying otherwise anywhere in the campground. I had 1 bar of connectivity with Verizon so I could submit my eBird list. I am confident I could get several more with my booster if I camped here. Only 1 site has shade so lots of sunshine everywhere! It was very quiet and peaceful with the only sounds being birds and cattle that grazed outside the campground. I did hear a train in the distance at one point but otherwise you would not know there was civilization anywhere near. It would be a nice place to camp for  few days, especially it you wanted to save a few bucks!