[Posted by Chuck Almdale]

The Heindel name has frequently appeared on Los Angeles and Californian birding chat lines and local publications with sightings reports, comments, and tips on finding birds, especially in Inyo County. Sons Matt and Mitch were frequent commenters about SoCal birds, while parents Tom and Joanne, would post about birds of Inyo County, especially around Bishop, Big Pine and Lone Pine. I believe Matt and Mitch moved away (correct me if I’m wrong) some years back, but Tom and Joanne still study the birds of Inyo County and collect every bit of information they can. They are about to put out a book, gathering their decades of research, 500,000 data entries and 150 years of sightings and research into 500 pages, titled The Birds of Inyo County, California, Including Death Valley National Park. Their daughter Kelli helped with the production and artwork, and an old friend of theirs, Jon Dunn, native of Los Angeles, professional international bird tour guide and co-author of National Geographic’s Field Guide to the Birds of North America shared his field notes with the authors.

Added 11 Jul 2023: The book may be out by the end of summer 2023.

If there’s anything ever recorded about the 441 species of Inyo County birds, it will be in this book. Today’s Los Angeles Times (Saturday, 8 July 2023) has a very nice article about the Heindels.

These retired teachers started with a little bird guide, and ended with a magnum opus
Los Angeles Times | Louis Sahagún | 8 July 2023

There is also an older article in the L.A. Times about them, but it was hiding behind a paywall.

Really, truly for the birds
Los Angeles Times | Louis Sahagún | 3 Nov 2009
[The initial date of 8 July 2023 was a typo.]

Here are some articles they’ve written for Eastern Sierra Audubon Society.

2010 Birding Articles by Tom and Jo Heindel