The Owens Basin lies just south of Lake Tahoe below the eastern Sierra. The Owens River has fed Mono Lake for a very long time. Mono Lake is a terminal lake meaning it has no outlet. Over the years it has become saturated with salts and minerals. Still, there are algae, brine shrimp and a variety of insects that thrive here.

And that's just fine for the gulls and other birds who nest here.

Mono Lake is a resting and eating stop for a lot of migratory shorebirds. Nearly 2,000,000 waterbirds, including 35 species of shorebirds, use Mono Lake to rest and eat for part of the year. Some shorebirds that depend on the resources of Mono Lake include American Avocets, Killdeer and sandpipers. Over 1.5 million Eared Grebes and phalaropes use Mono Lake during their long migrations.