Imperial
Valley with Robert Weiner
Jan 06,
2004
Guide - Bob Miller
A day of birding in
perfect weather!
83 species (list follows at end
of page)
Click on
thumbnail pictures for full-sized shots.
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Burrowing Owls
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Robert made the drive out from San Diego early and we hit the
road looking for lifers! First treat was the male Costa's Hummingbird
that owns our backyard. These Burrowing Owls in downtown
Calipatria were a treat as well.
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| At Sperry Road we got into the doves! At one
point we had Ruddy Ground-Doves calling all around us and had
several doing display behavior. Looks like they will nest
here again this year! |
Verdin
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Cattle Egret
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With a lot of walking and a bit of patience, we had fantastic
looks at Sprague's Pipit! We had Mountain Plover,
Long-billed Curlew and Cattle Egrets up close but no longspurs
near the prison. Wildest thing we saw there was ranger
Bob... :-)
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| At Obsidian Butte we had great looks at an adult and
this first year Yellow-footed Gull. The Reddish Egret was
near them in a spot that I had not seen it in before. At
Cattle Call Park, in Brawley, we saw the Gray Flycatcher and this
stunning, sunning Western Meadowlark! |
Yellow-footed Gull
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Western Meadowlark
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As we were pulling out, we stopped to glass for the Zone-tailed
Hawk once more and darned if it did not fly right into our
binoculars!! At the New River Wetlands Brawley site we had
Least Bittern Calling all around us but none visible.
Calling Great Horned Owls and a pair of Lesser Nighthawks were a
great ending to a great day, although Robert had a good drive
ahead of him to get back to San Diego.
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