Salton
Sea
Apr 11, 2003
- narrated
by Henry Detwiler
Along with 26 participants from the Yuma Birding & Nature Festival,
Bob Miller and I toured the Imperial Valley & the Salton Sea in
search of birds.
86
species total (see list below)
Click on
thumbnail pictures for full-sized shots.
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Anhinga at Ramer Lake
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Our first stop was at Ramer Lake, to look for the
newly discovered Anhinga. We found it as advertised, roosting
in the egret colony on the south side of the lake! After
watching it for half an hour, it flew directly over us to the north
part of the lake. What a gorgeous bird! |
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Directions: You can reach Ramer Lake from Calipatria by
driving south on CA Hwy 111 for 2.8 miles to Quay Road. Turn
left (east) on to Quay Road and follow it about .8 miles to the
hunter's kiosk/management office. Turn right here and travel
south around the chain link fence to the edge of the lake;
continue south to an east-west road that divides the lake.
Proceed to the middle of this road, and then look to your south
(or southeast) for the anhinga perching up on a snag. |
Anhinga at Ramer Lake
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Ramer Lake
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Bob's in the
middle, showing folks the Anhinga and other fine feathered friends
nesting in the egret & heron colony.
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| From this vantage point, it's easy to see nesting
Cattle & Great Egrets, Black-crowned Night Herons, and
Double-crested Cormorants. Swimming about on the water we
had Common Moorhen, American Coot, and Ruddy Duck. |
Cattle Egret at Ramer Lake
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Clark's Grebe at Ramer Lake
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In the more open areas of Ramer Lake are both
Clark's and Western Grebes. |
| After lunch and a visit to Red Hill Marina (where we
saw the 1st-year Yellow-footed Gull), we gave everyone a tour of
the bubbling mud pots! |
Mud Pots |
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