When Winter arrives, it's time to experience the Salton Sea. Last January, we came for the first time and learned that over 400 bird species migrate and winter at this amazing place.
It's hard to describe a sky filled with hundreds and hundreds of birds in flight...
or fields filled with thousands more.
It's also hard to envision the journey that many of the birds travel each year between the Salton Sea and their breeding grounds in Canada or the Arctic tundra.
Nearby ponds as well as the sea are filled temporarily with ducks I've never seen before like these Northern Shovelers. Perfect name! Look at their beaks.
Without a breeze, the water was still and reflective as these shorebirds fished.
We all have our own encounters with wildlife that hold a special place in our memories. For me, migrating Sandhill Cranes flying overhead calling to each other is totally inspiring. In some Asian cultures, they symbolize long life and good fortune.
A new memory was created when this Burrowing Owl stood prominently outside his burrow while I captured the moment.
Numerous agricultural fields including one full of sheep surround the land near the sea.
Between the north and south end of the sea is a totally unique place to visit - the mudpots and volcanoes.
Basically, the earth's crust is thin along this section of the San Andreas fault resulting in carbon dioxide and hot water bubbling out of the surface creating these mudpots and volcanoes.
Here is a short clip of the mudpots in action.
Geothermal plants harness the energy from the naturally occurring hot water/steam deep in the ground.
When you reach the south end of the lake, you enter Sonny Bono National Wildlife Refuge where numerous fields are protected for the migrating and wintering birds that land here. If you hike along the path near the water, these are some of the views you will see.
The Salton Sea is an extraordinary place to visit and to protect!
