Southern California: Laguna Mts. & Imperial Valley

Winter in Southern California is a wonderful time to look for birds. The Imperial Valley plays host to inumerable waterfowl, raptors, shorebirds, and sparrows. It is justifiably famous for its flocks of Mountain Plovers, Snow & Ross's Geese, and Sandhill Cranes. In one field we found many of the Mountain Plovers exhibiting unusual behavior; they ran around fanning and pumping their tails. I still haven't found an explanation for it. Up in the Laguna Mts. we regularly found Tricolored Blackbird and California Thrasher in Jacumba, and a good array of woodpeckers in Live Oak Springs--both sites less than an hour's drive from the Imperial Valley. Look at some of the birds that we saw here and here.
 

 

Point Counts in the Dunes

Twice a year Bob Miller does bird counts for the Bureau of Land Management (BLM). On Dec 12 he reported " Found a pair of Burrowing Owls at an active den which was a first for the counts I think. The entire front of the den was covered with little black slivers looking like black ash from a fire. Flipped my bins for a close up to discover it was all bug legs from the darkling beetles!! No other body parts just the legs but they were all regurgitated as pellets that were mostly broken up. LeConte’s Thrasher are in the usual places and have seen them frequently. Today was a walk of 7.5 miles. Was amazed to have seven individual Crissal Thrasher and two LeConte’s Thrasher for the day! Actually had four Crissals singing at the same time just after sunrise! Also had two Gray Flycatchers in this pocket today that were the first that I have seen out there this season." Read more of Bob's treks here.
 

Yuma County Raptors

During the Arizona Field Ornithologists November expedition to Yuma County, twelve of us found an excellent selection of raptors during the weekend of 17-18 November. The rarest of them was a handsome dark morph Rough-legged Hawk flying next to Mittry Lake on Sunday. The most beautiful was this White-tailed Kite pictured here, seen at Quigley Wildlife Management Area. South of town a large concentration of Ferruginous and Red-tailed Hawks worked the alfalfa fields for gophers, joined by a Golden Eagle. The entire list for the weekend was: Northern Harrier, White-tailed Kite, Cooper's Hawk, Red-shouldered Hawk, Red-tailed Hawk, Ferruginous Hawk, Rough-legged Hawk, Golden Eagle, Osprey, American Kestrel, Prarie Falcon, and Peregrine Falcon. On 20 Nov we went back south of town and in the course of an hour counted 29 Ferruginous and 28 Red-tailed Hawks in just two large circular alfalfa fields. And on Dec 4, Al and I re-located the immature Golden Eagle west of Ave B, just south County 19th Street. The bird-finding guide is here.
 

Chiricahua Mountains in September

Jim Rorabaugh and I made a four-day trip to the Chiricahua and Huachuca Mts of southeast Arizona late in September. In addition to many great birds, we found lots of snakes, lizards, damselflies, and butterflies. A Mohave rattlesnake with a belly full of white-throated wood rat and a crab spider devouring a leaf-cutter bee were just two of our interesting finds. Read the story and look at the many photos here. Early in September Suzanne, the girls, and I spent a long birthday weekend at Cave Creek Ranch. We had a great time watching long-nosed bats, javalinas, and of course birds. Photos and this story are here.
 

Yuma County Big Day - 22 Sep 2007

Richard Lasky, Bob Miller, Jeff Coker, and I set off at 0430 to see as many birds in Yuma County as we could in a day. We started with the huge Great Horned Owl and ended with the tiny Rufous Hummingbird. In between we got many fine birds and some great mammals, too. Read about the trip and see some here.

Wood Storks Return

At one time Wood Storks were common to abundant in the Lower Colorado River Valley. In 1910, a dozen were reported from Laguna Dam by J. Grinnel. But since moving here in 1991, I haven't heard of one report. Then, when taking some South African friends birding, we found these!    More...

The Boa & the Motmot

Suzanne, the girls, and I just recently returned from a five-day adventure to the Yucatan Peninsula. In addition to awe-inspiring Mayan Ruins, scenic and refreshing cenotes (water-filled sinkholes), and fine cuisine, we saw quite a few birds. The most memorable birding experience was watching a Turquoise-browed Motmot being suffocated by a boa constrictor.  More...

 

Kofa Queen Canyon

North of Yuma is the wild and scenic Kofa National Wildlife Refuge. An inhospitable place much of the year, it comes alive with bird song and color in the springtime--and especially after a wet winter. Here is the best spot in Yuma County to find Elf Owl, Curve-billed Thrasher, Rufous-crowned & Black-chinned Sparrows, and Canyon Towhee. You'll find a bird-finding guide here, and find a host of bird, flower, and scenic photos here.

My on-line article in Birder's World is here.          

 

 

AZ Birds

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