Borrego Valley Hawkwatch 2012 - Part I

Swainson's Hawk
 (photo taken through scope)

We've been camping at Palm Canyon Resort since Saturday. We "survived" the huge storm that passed through over the weekend. Lots of rain and wind, plus COLD temperatures. The storm left a lot of snow on the surrounding mountains and made for beautiful vistas.

Despite the weather, I've been out at the Hawkwatch, morning and evening. It's so great to be here. Also my long-time friend Jane is visiting us from Alaska and has joined us out here in Borrego. Yesterday her sister Janice also joined us. We have all been friends since Jr. High so it is very special to be together again and share this experience.

I will list Swainson's totals below, but want to specifically talk about Monday morning. It was Jane's first day here and we headed out to the morning site. Along the way we saw a group of parked cars so we stopped to see what was going on. There were 200+ Swainson's in the trees very near the road. In the bare branches they were very easy to observe. Over the next couple of hours we saw nearly 300 SWs. Overall the count for the day was over 550! The birds rose up and kettled right overhead and we were treated to spectacular views of the hawks. Jane and I were overwhelmed; it was amazing. I had to give Jane a hard time about her beginner's luck and explained how I had paid my dues over the last 5 years!

Below are the birds I've seen, not overall totals. If you are interested there is now a blog at borregohawkwatch.blogspot.com that lists all the totals and gives lots of detailed information about the Swainson's and the Hawkwatch.

3/16 - 4 SWs, 12 TVs, Anna's, White Crown Sparrow, Ravens, Flicker and Kestrel
3/17 - 0 SWs, Kingbird, Kestrel, Raven
3/18 - 250 SWs, Red Tail Hawk, Raven
3/19 - 300 SWs, 35 TVs.
3/20 - 115 SWs, Kestrel, Raven, Wilson's Warbler, Cactus Wren, White Crown Sparrow, Anna's and
Costa's, Say's Phoebe
3/21 - In campground, saw a YELLOW house finch. A first for me. Evidently it is a dietary issue that causes the birds to be yellow.

Stormy weather

Beautiful Mountains

Snow the day after the storm.

 

Swainson's in trees!







Anza Borrego - and SNOW - February 2012

Wade spent a week in Blair Valley and I joined him for a long weekend. In addition to Keeva, my mom's dog Lilly went with us, as we are currently dog sitting her. It was Lilly's first camping trip and she seemed to enjoy the trip. It as kind of a kick back weekend, very relaxing. The first few days I was there were warm and very pleasant. On Monday it started clouding up and sprinkling and by evening it was REALLY raining. It rained all night and on Tuesday morning we were surprised to see a LOT of snow on the mountains surrounding the valley. I drove home on Tuesday and was enthralled by the snow covered vistas. The snow was down to at least the 2500 foot level. I had never seen snow at Dudley's bakery! On this trip I saw Red Tail Hawks, Meadowlark, Shrike, Roadrunner, Phainopepla, Thrashers, House Finch, and Ravens. See photos below.


Lilly's first camping trip



Evening at our Campsite

Approaching Scissor's Crossing

Eastern Sierras 2011 - Part IV of IV

Fall color on the way to Bridgeport

Today was a great day mostly due to the spectacular fall colors. I wish I could tell you what kind of trees we've been appreciating, but I am not good at identifying trees...yet. We drove up to Bodie, a really interesting ghost town. We saw flocks of sheep on the way up, which is always a treat for us city folks.  The last few miles of the road are dirt and pretty rough, which isn't such a treat (except for Wade!). We've been to Bodie many times before, but today we went to some parts that we hadn't checked out in the past. It involved quite a bit of walking (a big deal only because we were at 8000' + feet altitude. But good exercise!). We also had a nice picnic. The weather was clear and cool.

After leaving Bodie, we drove north to Bridgeport and checked out some campgrounds for next year. We stopped along 395 and took a lot of pictures of all the beautiful trees and vistas. Yes, Wade actually stopped the truck so I could take photos! Later we visited our favorite Mexican Restaurant for a delicious dinner. Driving back to our campground, we watched a beautiful sunset over Mono Lake as we descended from the Bridgeport area. The colors were indescribable. They are NOT in the PMS book! Those of you of the Graphics persuasion will know what I mean.

Tomorrow we are headed south, back to Tuttle Creek Campground outside Lone Pine and then home on October 28th. It's been a memorable trip; we've enjoyed camping in our new rig and we've seen so many beautiful vistas, birds, sunsets and other aspects of nature. Oh, and add the very recognizable Magpie to the bird list.

Thanks for checking out my blog. See below for photos.....




 

Bodie Ghost Town





Resting in front of the Bodie Museum



Fall color



This photo doesn't do the sunset justice - but you get the idea.



This says it all!

Eastern Sierras - Part III

Fall color along Hwy. 395



Left Grandview on the 20th and drove to Mono Lake, marveling at the fall colors all way up 395. We drove past a fairly large fire, that turned out to be a controlled burn (that looked like maybe it became uncontrolled) which unfortunately marred the usually incredible views of Mono Lake. But by the next day, most of the smoke and haze had dissipated. We are camping in luxury again at Mono Vista RV park.

Yesterday we went to the Visitor Center (highly recommended if you are ever in the area) and then took a drive to the south end of the lake, stopping at Panum Crater, the area's youngest volcanic crater. It's about 1 mile off of 120. From the parking lot, it didn't look like much, but we took a trail up to the top and were rewarded with fabulous views of Mono Lake and the snow dusted Sierras. Keeva liked the hike also, well, actually the ground squirrels. It was interesting to see all the formations of volcanic rock, pumice, obsidian, etc. Very impressive.

Then on to the South Tufa area where we again had beautiful views of the lake and surrounding area. Lots of Eared Grebes are here now, stopping to feed and gain strength for the rest of their migration, eating enough insects to add 15% of their body weight. The ranger said there are now 500,000+ Grebes here and I believe it. I looked through my binoculars and was amazed at the sight. I have never seen so many birds of one species!

Today I did some birding in several spots around the lake. So far the Mono Lake list includes: Ruddy Duck, White Pelican, Woodpecker (Downey I think), Song Sparrow, Brewer's Blackbird, Coot, Gull, Western Grebe, Eared Grebe, Audubon's Warbler, Avocets, and Stellar's Jay. The ranger told me I just missed seeing 200+ Pinyon Jays at the County Park.

Sadly, I just discovered that Mono Lake South Tufa Area (and perhaps the Visitor Center) is on the State closure list. This would be a tragedy. PLEASE write your elected officials to protest.

Tomorrow we are going up to Bridgeport and Bodie (ghost town) for a day trip. Weather and fall colors have been spectacular.

See photos below.



Controlled burn



Our Campground

Panum Crater

South Tufa Reserve



View from Panum Crater trail.



Wetlands surrounding Mono Lake





Eastern Sierras 2011 - Part II

View from Tuttle Creek Camp - Mount Whitney Vicinity

Our next stop was the Visitor Center at the Bristlecone Pines in the White Mountains at about 9000 ft. elevation! There was still snow on the ground. We camped at Grandview Campground about 3 miles down the mountain, elevation 8600 ft. It was a primitive campground with breathtaking views. Very few people. Again, we were dry camping and this time we were also "off the grid" - no cell phone coverage. A very unique experience, but kinda liberating!

The habitat was oak/conifer/juniper/sage. We saw Mountain Bluebird, Mountain Chickadee, Scrub Jay, Clarks Nutcracker, Titmouse, White Breasted Nuthatch, Red-Tail Hawk, and an unidentified Falcon type bird. The first night we were sitting outside enjoying a glass of Zinfandel and a Nuthatch flew right down on the table to investigate Wade's wine; not timid at all. It was amazing!

We spent the next few days just relaxing, walking, birdwatching and enjoying ourselves. The weather was very clear and cool in the daytime - in the 60's, but REALLY cold at night, in the 20's. Our heater worked great and kept us comfy. Love those solar panels! We stayed there through October 20th and are now camping near Mono Lake in a private campground with hookups! Living large! Will write again in a few days. See pictures below.




We are happy campers!

  



Why the Campground is named Grandview!




Solar Panels which allow us to dry camp longer -
much better than a generator!

 









Our campsite

 

A beautiful sunset for our last night at Grandview.



 



Keeva is a happy camper too!



Eastern Sierras - October 10-16, 2011

Space #48 at Tuttle Creek Campground

We arrived in Lone Pine on October 10, 2011 at about 3:30 p.m. The weather was clear and warm. We stayed at Boulder Creek RV Park for the first 2 nights while we scouted the area for our next campsite. We chose to stay at Tuttle Creek Campground a few miles outside of  Lone Pine, in the foothills of Mount Whitney. There is a creek (surprisingly enough called Tuttle Creek) that runs right through the campground, which should also be good for birding.This is our first attempt at dry camping (no hookups) with our trailer, so should be interesting. We will stay here until Oct. 15 or we run out of water and/or battery power. It is also very uncrowded which is nice! Stay tuned.


Oct. 14th. Dry camping has been successful. My high tech husband is feeling very proud of himself! Haven't seen as many birds as I had hoped, but the list includes: Red Tail Hawk, Goldfinch, (unidentified) Wren, Roadrunner, Shrike, White Crowned Sparrow, (unidentified) Warblers, Say's Phoebe (?) and Raven. I can hear a lot more birds than I can see in the dense riparian habitat!

View from Camp

Another highlight of the time here was watching the full moon rise every night and cast its light on the snow-capped peak of Mt. Whitney. Tomorrow we head back to Boulder Creek to prepare for our next campsite which will be up in the White Mountains near the Bristlecone Pines.

Oct. 15. Add to bird list: Bewick's Wren, Ash-throated Flycatcher, Northern Flicker and Quail. We like it here so much we've decided to stay here one more day.

Will post again from our next campground!

Russian River Family Trip

In mid-June we went on a family trip to the Russian River. My sister and brother-in-law have friends who share their cabin with them every summer and this summer we went along. My mom and her dog Lilly also were able to go, which made the trip very special. And of course we took our dog Keeva with us. And our trailer, which we parked on the grounds of the cabin. The cabin is situated right on the Russian River, near Guerneville. It is a beautiful, remote area.

We had a great, relaxing time. We did a little wine tasting, antiquing, beach combing etc. We also visited the redwoods, which are awe-inspiring Wade and I also had a great dinner for our 31st anniversary at a restaurant called River's End in Jenner, which is on the coast. We had some family friends visit during the week, and spent a lot of time just hanging out on the deck of the cabin. All in all a great time.

We saw lots of Ospreys. Also Stellar Jays, Northern Flickers, Red Tail Hawks, Pelicans, Seals and Sea Lions.

We also did a lot of driving up and back and stayed 1/2 way at a KOA campground in Visalia. Since this was our first "long" trip, we learned some valuable lessons about towing, driving, and planning  for future trips! Mainly, that driving 10 hours in one day is TOO MUCH! :)

 I'm including a few photos to illustrate the beauty of northern California.




Relaxing on the deck - Russian River in background



Armstrong Redwood Grove State Park

Bodega Bay

Larry, Vicki, Mom and Lilly

Ospreys flew over the deck every day!