Backyard Surprises

I was planning on writing about the butterflies and wildflowers in bloom but I had to postpone that blog due to some great visitors in our backyard in recent days. First, the White-headed Woodpecker. It is one of the woodpeckers birdwatchers hope to see when visiting our mountains. It's not a frequent visitor to our yard but it has enjoyed foraging for bugs the last few days in our big, old Black Oak Tree.

Another desired bird on the checklist is the beautiful, elusive Mountain Quail. They have been strangely absent from our yard for the last week... We are hoping that the delay is a result of new chicks not the numerous predators that are present on the mountain.

This little Steller's Jay chick did not look happy yesterday. Probably jumped the nest abit too soon...We were worried for its safety since it seemed quite alone and unable to fly very far. It hopped all thru our yard until it rested on this drainage pipe. After about an hour, 4 concerned adult Steller's Jays arrived. Two appeared to be on lookout duty while the other two guided this little one to the safety of underbrush with quiet little calls only a chick could understand.

Since moving to our new home, one of our goals has been to plant native wildflowers for the hummingbirds and butterflies. We have been warned to plant everything in gopher proof wire cages so they don't become lunch for a gopher. Although we have never seen a gopher, we followed that sage advice. Today, we saw our first little gopher emerge from the ground for a snack. Yeah, for gopher cages!

People always give well-meaning advice like check your boots for scorpions or black widow spiders before putting them on ...I have a new one. Check your gardening gloves for lizards before putting them on. We watched a curious lizard escaping the heat by crawling into a pair of our gloves that were removed momentarily..ha

Finally, the most exciting sighting occurred a few hours ago....A San Bernardino Mountain Kingsnake appeared in our yard. This was my very FIRST sighting of one in the wild! This harmless snake is the most colorful snake on the mountain and rarely seen. Wow! Be sure to look for surprises in your own backyard!

Click on photos to enlarge. Photos and content by Robin Roberts.

Happy Mother's Day

We, mothers, all have our own special requests for Mother's Day...breakfast in bed, a special gift or outing, a day of golf, time with family....My request was a day of birding with my family. Nobody was surprised!

Lucky me, I got my breakfast in bed AND a day of birding at San Jacinto Wildlife Refuge.

 A couple of the shorebirds we encountered seemed appropriate to share on Mother's Day - The American Avocet and the Black-necked Stilt

After watching a handful of beautiful American Avocets foraging for food, I noticed that one of them was sitting on a nest! Surprise!

Black-necked Stilts seem to always be close to the American Avocets. On another pond, we saw one sitting on a clump of vegetation with a few sticks on top surrounded by water.

When it hopped off its nest, we saw 4 large, speckled eggs. Wow! BTW, all these photos are taken from a distance with a zoom lens in order not to disturb the nesting birds.

Mourning Cloak

Happy Mother's Day!

 

Click on photos to enlarge.

Photos and Content by Robin Roberts.

Singing in the Snow

Singing in the snow! This cute little Wrentit which lives hidden in chaparral most of the time appeared briefly for me singing at the top of his voice. I'm sure he wasn't the only bird surprised by the arrival of snow today.

We woke up today with 1-2 inches of snow covering the trees and plants. Hard to believe since this past week we had warm temperatures up to 80 degrees. 

 Although I am concerned that the blooming plants that I put in the ground last year are going to survive this late arrival of snow, I am grateful for another blast of snow that has covered our mountains. When the summer arrives, there will be very little rain and the concern over wildfires takes over. Welcome snow!

Keep warm, friends and PCT hikers!

Click on photos to enlarge.

Photos and content by Robin Roberts

A Trip to Big Morongo

Big Morongo Canyon Preserve is a local bird paradise! It's no surprise that it is recognized by American Bird Conservancy as an Important Bird Area. 254 species have been documented here.

Last week, we went to the preserve in hopes of seeing the Summer Tanager and other returning migrant warblers. Luck was on our side for our very first bird sighting turned out to be a brilliant, red, male Summer Tanager singing from a high branch overhead. Wow! They arrive from the south to breed in Big Morongo.

Western Tanager

Vermilion Flycatcher

Yellow-rumped Warbler

Within walking distance of the preserve is Covington Park. Definitely, add this to the walk in the preserve. Western Tanagers and Vermilion Flycatchers are two beauties not to be missed. A water dripper hidden in a boulder makes a great place for spotting birds. 

There are miles of interconnecting trails. The most popular place to bird in the preserve is the Marsh Trail. The boardwalk meanders through a riparian forest of Cottonwoods and Willows all providing fluffy cotton for nest building.

We had many great sightings of migrating warblers as well as this beautiful Blue Grosbeak.

The unique calling of a Yellow-breasted Chat caught our attention. We were in luck once again. It showed itself to us briefly before returning to its hidden home among the tall reeds.

It was a day for a new butterfly discovery - the California Patch

Hooded Oriole

One of the great parts of this preserve is that there is a resident host, Dee, who has been living on the property leading bird walks for years. He has a wealth of knowledge and he is eager to share. To help support the preserve and their work, they have hats, tshirts and pins available for sale at reasonable prices. Enjoy!

Photos and content by Robin Roberts. Click on photos to enlarge.