Eastern
Imperial Valley and Ramer Lake
Feb.
16,
2002
Bob
Miller
An afternoon of birding and exploring.
66
species (list follows at end
of page)
Click on
thumbnail pictures for full-sized shots.
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Zipping down
the highway headed for Brawley bright and early, I come across this
Western Grebe sitting on the shoulder preening like it has no care
in the world! It must have landed on the pavement during the
night thinking it was water. Uninjured, I gathered it up and slipped
it into a nearby canal.
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Rescued Western
Grebe
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Dark morph
Red-tailed Hawk |
Waiting till
their was a break in the traffic, I moved in on it fast. The sharp
bill I was expecting so I kept my face back and let it clamp onto
my hand as my hand clamped onto its bill. It was content with that
standoff. What I did not expect was the ear splitting screeches!!!
This Red-tailed Hawk was interested in the commotion too! |
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With
business in Brawley taken care of by noon, I headed out to Ramer
Lake to see if the Eastern Phoebe was still hanging around. I was
delighted to see a caravan of birders pulling into the lake. My
friend Vic Leipzig leading the Sea and Sage Audubon's Salton Sea
field trip! |
Green Heron
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Red-winged
Blackbirds
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With a bit of searching we found the Eastern Phoebe and a nice
Vermilion Flycatcher. They told me of a large eagle they had seen to
the east so I headed out that way to look for it and scout for
Mountain Plover.
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I found it just a few miles down the road and grabbed my camera and
scope. This picture, as are most all of the bird pics on our
website, was taken through a spotting scope with a digital camera.
Digiscoping! Holding the camera still is the hardest part. I use a
Nikon Coolpix 995 through my Kowa scope.
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Juvenile Bald Eagle
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Digiscoping!
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I made a handy little device for centering the lens of the camera
onto the scope by simply cutting a circle in the bottom of a pill
bottle and slipping it over the eye piece of the scope. Looks kind
of silly but it works! This keeps the scope free to be a scope and
not just a big camera! Notice the eagle in the tree.
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Henry has been using several cameras to find the
one that works best for him. Moving on, I spent the rest of the
afternoon just exploring the ag fields and canals. Most birders
have limited time when they visit the Imperial Valley so they tend
to hit the "hot spots".
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Burrowing Owl........s.
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Mountain Plover
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Some of my best birding experiences here in the
valley came in places most birders would not think to try.
Examples? This comical pair of Burrowing Owls on a ditch bank or
large numbers of Mountain Plover in out of the way places.
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This dark morph Red-tailed Hawk at sunset was one
of several very dark birds seen this day. Exploring the eastern
parts of the valley can be especially rewarding for winter
sparrows and longspurs! A day of birding along the East Highline
Canal in late April or early May can be the best for spring
migrants.
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Red-tailed Hawk
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