Birdwatching in the Winter - A Lake Destination

Western Grebe

Snowy Egret

Winter is a great time to take your binoculars to a lake. Chances are you will discover some returning ducks from Canada or Alaska mixed in with other shorebirds, grebes, herons, etc. The richer the habitat surrounding the lake, the more variety of birds you will encounter. Don't be surprised if the ducks are on the opposite side of the lake and all you see are bobbing, diving balls in the distance. Quite frustrating but a good pair of binoculars or a scope help a lot!

Lesser Scaup

 Sometimes you get really lucky and you don't even need binoculars. Recently, while visiting Lake Miramar, a popular lake for runners and bikers in San Diego, some beautiful Lesser Scaups floated right near shore.

No binoculars needed! Ducks have such a wide variety of colors and patterns in their feathered bodies. This one was really impressive.

 Next to the Lesser Scaups were numerous commonly seen American Coots. Although a coot looks like a duck, it's in a different family. Instead of webbed feet, they are lobed. It was pretty fascinating for me to see these cool looking feet up close.

Lake Miramar is an oasis for wildlife. It is surrounded by a variety of native plants, flowers, cactus, trees, etc. The enormous spiked leaves of this agave were taller than my 5ft 9in head!

 Peering through cattails along the edge of the lake, we spotted a small flock of Scaly-breasted Munias (Nutmeg Mannikins). What a surprise! This is a native bird in Asia. After years of escaping out of captivity from pet owners, this bird now lives in the wild in Southern California and Florida..

With an abundance of food available, lakes also can attract magnificent birds of prey. Nearby, Lake Hemet has a new pair of resident Bald Eagles. While participating in the annual Bald Eagle count this weekend, we observed one of the eagles swoop low over the water scattering all the coots and ducks. One coot wasn't so lucky. It quickly dove under the approaching eagle but it didn't escape the sharp talons. After several minutes, the Bald Eagle made its way to shore with its newly caught prey.

Northern Harrier

Red-shouldered Hawk

 In addition to the Bald Eagles, we saw a pair of Northern Harriers and a pair of Red-shouldered Hawks hunting in their unique styles. Northern Harriers are best recognized by their white rump as they fly low over a meadow. I caught one perched on a post in-between flights. In contrast, the Red-shouldered Hawks hunted motionlessly from a hidden tree branch or stump.

I never get tired of going out exploring! There's always a chance to see something new, unexpected and amazing. Good luck with your own search!

Weekend of Thanksgiving Surprises

Beautiful snow covered the highest mountains overlooking Idyllwild on Thanksgiving this year. It was a welcome sight!

A great way to neutralize the effects of the feast was to go on a hike to see the snowy transformation.

The snow didn't last long. As it melted, puddles were created in depressions in the boulders. Today, a flock of 25 Western Bluebirds found these newly created watering holes.

The biggest surprise was having a gorgeous bobcat peer in our window while we were preparing breakfast! That is a first!

In less than a minute, it was on his way. Whew! I barely caught the moment.

Our friend, Dave, "captured" this magnificent buck as it passed his window this morning. Incredible!

 

Remember to keep your eyes open and pay attention. You never know when something extraordinary is about to happen!

Down by the Trough

Water is vital to us all Summer, Spring, Fall or Winter. Whether we have 2 legs, 4 legs or wings instead, we all need our life sustaining drink. This week, I was drawn to this colorful water trough in a cattle grazing field when a huge flock of Pinyon Jays descended upon it. This noisy group of 20 or more Jays aren't seen often so I stopped what I was doing for a brief appearance. Sadly, they didn't give me much chance to get their photos since it seems they don't enjoy 2 legged company too much.

Fortunately, a few other birds showed up starting with the Hairy Woodpecker.

 

  My favorite visitor was the Northern Flicker. As she drew her beak up from the water, droplets scattered, her beak shimmered and as she held her head back to drink the water, she closed her eyes and looked totally content.

I had another chasing the "Red-footed Booby" experience this week. Instead of chasing the Booby, I was chasing the Evening Grosbeak. It's not as rare a find but it is an unusual bird to show up in Southern California from the more northern Sierra Mts. It took me over a week to finally get a distant photo of this really neat looking bird! Maybe, I'll get lucky and get a closer shot but if not, I'm happy with this one.

The Evening Grosbeaks have been hanging out with the multitude of American Robins at various dripping faucets and puddles. Again, water is important! This is one of the Robins waiting in line for the nearby watering hole.

If you provide a dish of water especially if it is dripping, the wildlife will appreciate it. The Steller's Jay and Ruby-crowned Kinglet were recent visitors to our water dish. I caught a glimpse of the red "crown" on the kinglet that I rarely see. Neat!

One of my favorite birds is not colorful. I admire it for lots of reasons. First, it's a brave little bird that is always first to check out a new birdfeeder or water source while the other birds linger in the trees watching. It is always in motion storing food for the future what it doesn't immediately need. This mighty little bird is the Mountain Chickadee.

As I said in the beginning, we all need water no matter how many legs or feathers we wear. Cheers!

 

An Early Wintry Blast

Winter is coming! Although it doesn't officially begin for another month, we have had 2 wintry blasts in the high country covering the upper most peaks with snow in the last couple of weeks.

 

Last weekend, we hiked to the Fire Lookout Tower dodging snow bombs and ice chunks along the way.

The resilience of the little resident birds always amazes me. It was great to see the little Pygmy nuthatches survive a brutal night of freezing cold temperatures and strong 35 mph winds. I have come to learn that the Limber Pine tree with its nut filled cones provide vital food for lots of birds! Last time I was at the tower, I captured a Clark's Nutcracker eating out of the same tree.

Down in Lake Hemet, the migrating birds have been stopping by for fresh water, seeds, berries or fish.

 The last couple of days, I saw over 40 American Robins hanging out together. They took advantage of fresh water puddles for cleaning their feathers and yummy berries to fill their bellies for the flight ahead. When twenty of these orange puff balls filled a bush, it became an early Christmas tree.

As for us, we have started building fires at night and eating lots of warm soups!

Fireball in the Sky

Twenty-four hours ago, we were high on a mountain over a hundred  miles away from the Pacific Ocean when we saw a fire ball rising up into the sky. By the time I got my camera, the fireball exploded and this is what I first captured.

 As the fireball shrunk in size, a couple of huge white circles with a growing blue center appeared. The photos are blurry but it gives you a sense of the spectacle we witnessed.

Eventually, the blue phase predominated as the fire ball and white circle of light disappeared. We immediately called our friends and family to see who else witnessed this event. Was it a Taurid Meteor show? A friend contemplated some aliens were leaving Earth. Was it a military weapon?

As we all know now, we witnessed a test Trident 11 (D5) missile sent up into the sky from a ballistic missile submarine off the coast of Southern California. I wish it was a fantastic meteor show instead.

Quirky, Unique, Fun and Memorable

Green Anole

Before returning to life in the mountains, I want to linger abit longer on those moments and images that were quirky, unique, fun and beautiful. They were all memorable.

Starting with quirky...Halloween decorations can be found everywhere but I doubt I'll see these on the mountain. Quirky is here, too. Yesterday, I had a chance to dance with a lively pirate skeleton.

Unique...No hurricane signs up here on the mt. When I stood next to this sign, my head went just past Category 1.

It gives you a healthy respect for potential destruction from the surge of water during a hurricane.

For all of our friends who showed up to the Oyster roast, thanks! Although I still don't eat oysters, I now know how they are roasted over an open fire as well as how to use these beautiful tools forged by our talented friend, Tom. Anyone requesting an order, I'll pass it on.

I love to "collect" random signs and artwork along the way.

Fun and beautiful....Paddling along the reflective water of Ebeneezer Creek with my pal, Cathy, was amazing. Since the water level was high, we were able to paddle through the swollen Tupelo and Cypress trees which make this river swamp their home.

Seeing over 40 migrating Monarch butterflies in one area was a first for me. Quite beautiful to see!

Great Blue Heron

Black Skimmer

American Oystercatcher

 These are a few of the magnificent colorful shorebirds with quite impressive beaks!

Great Blue Heron Tracks

 

To all our friends and family on the east coast, thanks for making our vacation special and memorable! To our friends on the west coast, thanks for welcoming us to our new home!