Salton
Sea & Imperial Valley
Mar 18,
2002
Bob
Miller
A weekend of no pressure, no target, go where you find 'em
birding....for my birthday!
90 or
so! species
(list follows at end
of page)
Click on
thumbnail pictures for full-sized shots.
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Linda, Pete, Bob,
Kathie
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On day one we set the pace. Our first destination
was Finney Lake and the birding was so good it took an hour to get
there! We had several Greater Roadrunners calling and displaying
along the Alamo River. I probably heard a few more than were
really there! Aging ears... |
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The Lesser Nighthawk (top) at Finney Lake was right where it has
been for four winters in a row. East of Calipatria we came across
this flooded field, a scene that was repeated many times.
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Insect control
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Brewer's Sparrow
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We looped backed into town to rendezvous with Kathie
and then headed for the Highline Canal and sparrows. We had great
looks at a pair of Black-tailed Gnatcatchers building a nest.
Phainopepla, Cactus Wren, Vesper Sparrow and lots of Brewer's
Sparrows.
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Back to Calipatria for a late
lunch then Kathie was headed back up the mountain and we were headed
for the New River Wetlands project.
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Scoping another
field
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Burrowing Owl
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The wind, that had been
extreme all morning, became EXTREME and the dust storm was coming
on. The Barn Owl was in the "condo" and this Burrowing Owl
was next door.
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A few Ring-billed Gulls
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We saw
a few RBGUs on the way and this Yellow-headed Blackbird was
holding nothing back at the wetlands.
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Day two started at Johnny's, of course, and then
we were looking at an unexpected Green-tailed Towhee at Carter and
Fites which also had Abert's and Spotted for an uncommon Towhee
day.
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Yellow-headed Blackbird
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Lark Sparrow |
Along the New River we had a good look at a
Rock Wren and Lark Sparrows. This Ground Squirrel got a good look
at us. There was a ten% chance of rain and we had all 10 drops of
it here. Linda had a seat and enjoyed the view. |
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Round-tailed
Ground Squirrel
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Soaking up the sun and the scenery
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We hit the jackpot with about 60 Mountain Plover
which might well have been the only ones left in the valley for
this season. It also turned out to be our most remarkable find
because they were foraging in running water and we watched this
one take a serious bath!!
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Bathing Mountain Plover
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Spot-Winged
Glider dragonfly
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We also had a few dragons but no damsels on the
trip. Variegated Meadowhawk and Spot-Winged Gliders that is!
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My cake was two pink cupcakes! I probably should
have eaten them for the preservatives in them but... ..hhmm...
..they might still be in my pickup.....I think I better get around
to cleaning out that back seat as there is a little more than a
library piling up back there! Pete, Linda, Kathie, thanks for a
great weekend!
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