In the Shadow of Mt Whitney

What a majestic sight! It's been a couple of years since we've been to the Eastern Sierra Mts. The biggest change is seeing beautiful snow covered mountains, abundant flowing rivers and waterfalls.

It's difficult to climb in the higher elevations right now unless you have all the needed snow gear so we opted for a trail that begins/ends at the portal for Mt Whitney and leads down to Lone Pine campground. 

We didn't get many miles in since we were constantly stopping to enjoy the sights and sounds of the rushing streams alongside the trail.

 Our trail was full of reminders from the mountains further south including this cabin which would fit in perfectly in Idyllwild.

  

There were other familiar sights like the bright red Snow Plant peeking through the forest floor and the American Robin boldly feeding near the river.

Seeing the Steller's Jay in this position was a first. It probably was "anting" which is a behavior that involves ants crawling on the bird's feathers where the ants emit a noxious formic acid. In doing so, the ant is more tasty to the jay. Perhaps, it was sunning itself. To learn more about "anting", go to allaboutbirds.org 

The highlight of the hike started at the waterfall! While we were "feasting" our eyes on the spectacular cascading waterfall, a bird on the edge of the water caught our attention.

We recognized this little bird! We saw it for the first and only time on a stream in the Redwood forest last Summer. One unique feature besides its ability to swim underwater is the flash of white that appears when the extra eyelid is revealed.

 We observed it gather up nesting material than it flew with a full beak onto a boulder in the middle of the rushing waterfall.

What happened next was amazing! It flew straight into the waterfall with its nesting material. After a few minutes, it emerged, shook off its feathers and flew off in search of more additions to its hidden nest. Wow! We stared at each other with big eyes and open mouths. 

 To be sure we really witnessed that unique behavior, we continue to watch the waterfall. Sure enough, it returned again and again bravely flying through the pounding water!

Later in the afternoon while getting a snack at a local souvenir shop, I saw lots of "I Climbed Mt Whitney" t-shirts. I longed for a t-shirt celebrate the incredible waterfall bird that we discovered in the shadow of Mt Whitney!

Click on photos to enlarge.

Photos and content by Robin Roberts.

 

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.

"Dinosaur" on the Mountain

What a day! While photographing a blue- throated Western Fence lizard, I turned to get a better photo and discovered this "dinosaur" - The Coast Horned Lizard. Since this is my very first sighting in the mountains of this unique lizard, I was quite excited!

Most lizards take off for safety when I spot them. Not this one! It moved very slowly. Besides being able to disappear into its habitat through camouflage, it is totally covered in spikes. If it is jostled and threatened, it will shoot blood from its eyeballs up to 6 feet. Sounds impressive, doesn't it?

Snakes know better than to get impaled by swallowing one of these lizards.

Don't be intimidated by this fierce looking lizard. It is actually helping us out. It's diet consists mainly of ants. It has more to fear than we do with habitat destruction, off road vehicles and ant killers.

So after posting this blog last night, I discovered another Horned Lizard down in Garner Valley. Two in 24 hours! How lucky is that?

Cheers to the Horned Lizard!

Click on photos to enlarge.

Photos and content by Robin Roberts.

Cheers to the "Hummer Moth"

The White-lined Sphinx Moth, "Hummer Moth", is amazing to watch! It actually hovers over flowers extending its long proboscis. At first glance, you may mistake it for a hummingbird.

I have never noticed them before moving to Idyllwild but I guess I wasn't observant in our previous home. They live across the country so check out your own garden. You may have them, too!

During the Spring migration of the Swainson's Hawks through Borrego Springs, these caterpillars cover the land. Many of them end up as lunch for the hungry hawks but not all of them.

A few days ago, one of these moths found its way inside our porch. Unfortunately, most insects never make it back outside. That wasn't going to happen to this cool moth!

When I tried to place it on its favorite nectar plant in our yard, the Manzanita, it was reluctant to leave my hand. 

Living in the San Bernardino Mts where the Lemon Lily, Lilium parry, was once abundant, I was shocked to read that the White-lined Sphinx Moth is a key pollinator of this rare plant. 

Cheers to the "Hummer Moth"!

"We can only be said to be alive in those moments when our hearts are conscious of our treasures."

Thornton Wilder

Click on photos to enlarge.

Photos and content by Robin Roberts