Herring Gull

   
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Desert Southwest with Ken & Carmen
Feb 25-26, 2005
Guide- Bob Miller

Two days of fun in the sun.  Salton Sea, Imperial Valley, Imperial Sand Dunes and a trek in the Algodones Dunes Wilderness Area.
101 species total -- bird list at bottom of page

Click on thumbnail pictures for full-sized shots.

Day 1 - Friday


Black Phoebe

At Unit One we saw the white geese and Sandhill Cranes.  We also had nice looks at the blue morph Ross's Goose and a Greater White-fronted Goose.

 We started our day in Brawley at Cattle Call Park where this Black Phoebe posed nicely for us.  Had to stop at the flower fields of course!


Stock


Salton Sea

We really picked up a lot of waterfowl along the sea wall.

Ramer Lake was loaded with good birds as well 


Burrowing Owls?


Ramer Lake

Between Ramer and Finney Lakes I introduced them to Kilroy and his family.  They can be tough to spot in the pic so I put in a little insert to help you find them. See why I call him Kilroy?!


Gas Hawk over Finney Lake

Day 2 - Saturday

Saturday morning we were out in the dunes bright and early.  The carpet of Sand Verbena, Bird-cage & Brown-eyed Primrose and Desert Lilly on the dunes was awesome. 


Flower Carpeted Dunes

 


LeConte's Thrasher nest site

This adult was busy singing and bringing in more material for the nest in the Palo Verde left of center.  The ground is covered with Bird-cage Primrose.


Fringe-toed Lizard

On our trek through the Algodones Dunes Wilderness Area we found that a pair of LeConte's Thrasher were nesting in the same tree as last year.


LeConte's Thrasher

Fringe-toed Lizards were zipping across the slip faces of the dunes with little effort.

This one slid to a stop and watched us go by.  It never even flinched when this ambitious ant tried to carry it off! 


Fringe-toed Lizard


Bird-cage Primrose

Bird-cage Primrose got it's common name from the little bird cages it forms when it dries out.  This is a very small one but some can be quit spectacular. Creosote flats carpeted with Apricot Mallow are quite spectacular too!


Apricot Mallow on Creosote Flats

On to Page Two

Southern California, 25-26 Feb 2005

  1. Pied-billed Grebe

  2. Eared Grebe

  3. Western Grebe

  4. Clark's Grebe

  5. American White Pelican

  6. Double-crested Cormorant

  7. Great Blue Heron

  8. Great Egret

  9. Snowy Egret

  10. Cattle Egret

  11. Green Heron

  12. Black-crowned Night Heron

  13. White-faced Ibis

  14. Turkey Vulture

  15. Greater White-fronted Goose

  16. Snow Goose

  17. Ross's Goose (+ blue morph)

  18. American Wigeon

  19. Mallard

  20. Blue-winged Teal

  21. Cinnamon Teal

  22. Northern Shoveler

  23. Northern Pintail

  24. Green-winged Teal

  25. Greater Scaup

  26. Lesser Scaup

  27. Common Goldeneye

  28. Ruddy Duck

  29. Northern Harrier

  30. Sharp-shinned Hawk

  31. Red-tailed Hawk

  32. American Kestrel

  33. Peregrine Falcon

  34. Gambel's Quail

  35. Common Moorhen

  36. American Coot

  37. Sandhill Crane

  38. Killdeer

  39. Black-necked Stilt

  40. American Avocet

  41. Greater Yellowlegs

  42. Lesser Yellowlegs

  43. Willet

  44. Spotted Sandpiper

  45. Long-billed Curlew

  46. Marbled Godwit

  47. Western Sandpiper

  48. Least Sandpiper

  49. Long-billed Dowitcher

  50. Wilson's Snipe

  51. Ring-billed Gull

  1. California Gull

  2. Herring Gull

  3. Rock Pigeon

  4. Eurasian Collared-Dove

  5. Mourning Dove

  6. Inca Dove

  7. Common Ground-Dove

  8. Ruddy Ground-Dove

  9. Greater Roadrunner

  10. Burrowing owl

  11. Lesser Nighthawk

  12. Anna's Hummingbird

  13. Belted Kingfisher

  14. Gila Woodpecker

  15. Ladder-backed Woodpecker

  16. Northern Flicker

  17. Gray Flycatcher

  18. Black Phoebe

  19. Say's Phoebe

  20. Vermilion Flycatcher

  21. Ash-throated Flycatcher (1st of season)

  22. Loggerhead Shrike

  23. Tree Swallow

  24. Northern Rough-winged Swallow

  25. Cliff Swallow

  26. Verdin

  27. Cactus Wren

  28. Marsh Wren

  29. Ruby-crowned Kinglet

  30. Black-tailed Gnatcatcher

  31. Northern Mockingbird

  32. LeConte's Thrasher

  33. European Starling

  34. Cedar Waxwing

  35. Orange-crowned Warbler

  36. Yellow-rumped Warbler

  37. Common Yellowthroat

  38. Abert's Towhee

  39. Chipping Sparrow

  40. Brewer's Sparrow

  41. Vesper Sparrow

  42. Savannah Sparrow

  43. Song Sparrow

  44. White-crowned Sparrow

  45. Red-winged Blackbird

  46. Western Meadowlark

  47. Yellow-headed Blackbird

  48. Great-tailed Grackle

  49. House Finch

  50. House Sparrow

Photos © Bob Miller