Borrego Valley Windstorm 2013

Well, I wish I hadn't mentioned something spectacular happening in my last post! On Sunday, our last evening in Borrego, we noticed a high wind advisory on the NOAA site and decided to stay put until Tuesday morning. About 8 am Monday morning the wind started, blowing dust and debris. The trailer became a roller coaster ride. We've been in a lot of desert wind over the last 30 years, but this was extreme, with gusts over 85 mph!

About 11 a.m. the wind subsided and we went out to survey the damage. At least 6 large trees were felled by the wind. Fortunately, the campground was almost totally empty, so no one was injured. We were camped against a row of Tamarisk trees. One large branch fell right next to our trailer. The passenger window in Wade's truck was blown out and the truck was full of glass, sand and debris. Both of our vehicles were sandblasted on the side facing into the wind. Power was out in all of Borrego Springs for the entire day and most of the evening. Luckily we had battery power for electricity and propane for cooking.

We are home now and dealing with the insurance company. It will take us several days to get all the sand, dust and dirt out of the trailer.

One positive note, the wind must have blown in a few birds...in the afternoon I saw a Western Tanager and several Lazuli buntings!

While this wasn't a fun ending, overall the trip was a lot of fun and we saw over 112 species of birds during the month. We hope to return next spring!

Borrego Valley Hawkwatch 2013 - 3 of 3

This will be my last post for this trip (we leave for home on April 8th), unless something spectacular happens that I want to share! The last week has been pretty uneventful as far as Swainson's Hawks are concerned. Numbers are way down, and the last 2 nights we have seen zero hawks. Still, can't beat sitting out in nature, watching the sun go down and the stars come out over the beautiful Borrego Valley, while chatting with like-minded folks. One evening we saw the moons around Jupiter through a scope.

Still seeing a lot of birds though. On April 1st, I tagged along with Borrego Birders and saw 47 species of birds. New birds for me in that bunch were the Black-chinned Hummingbird, Brewer's Blackbird and Pacific-slope Flycatcher. Later in the week I also saw a Hooded Oriole and a Hammond's Flycatcher.

Grand total of bird species seen in the last month is 105. It's been a very birdy trip! This weekend the San Diego Audubon Society is hosting a field trip here and I hope to attend, so I may be able to see a few more species, hopefully the elusive LeConte's and Crissal Thrashers!




Great Horned Owl on her nest - zoom in, it's windy!

Very unusual clouds

Moon setting