Hidden Gems off El Camino Sierra

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Our long awaited camping trip to this beautiful part of the state, the Eastern Sierra Mts, was cut short. When we watched our tents collapsing under the strong winds and learned that an unexpected drop in temperatures with rain/snow was approaching for the upcoming days, we opted to bail out early.

Sometimes, unexpected welcome surprises come when you have to go to Plan B or C. We didn't have a Plan B until we watched our tents collapsing but finally, we decided to head south to avoid the early snow. When we arrived in Independence, we had the great fortune to see at least 150 White Pelicans heading south against the back drop of these beautiful mountains.

 I've written about our friends at Winnedumah Hotel many times. Once again, they didn't let us down! This time, Frank, one of the owners, knowing of our disappointment at canceling our camping trip, generously volunteered to show us a local fishing hole since he knew we were birders.

Billy's Pond is one of the kazillian hidden gems off of El Camino Sierra, Hwy 395.

There weren't a lot of birds but we did see a couple of Pied-billed Grebes. One of which wrestled a red crustacean successfully.

The dirt road leading to the pond was an adventure itself. Evidently, mining was big in Mazourka Canyon in the past so there are lots of abandoned mines. Exploring this endless road will be an adventure for another trip.

Not a lot of birds on this road, however, we found this Sage Thrasher. It took a lot of patience and perseverance to get this shot!

As we were leaving this special spot, a lizard ran at top speed across the road. Being in a new territory, odds are it was a new lizard for us. We stopped the car and started searching for the mystery reptile. 

Luck was once again on our side. I spotted this perfectly camouflaged lizard as it lay motionless in the sand.

With the help of our friend who is a lizard expert, this is a Long-nosed Leopard Lizard. When breeding, the females get impressive orange spots on their bodies! Wow!

Like lots of journeys in life, our trip wasn't what we planned but it was filled with unexpected welcome surprises.

"Climb the mountains and get their good tidings. Nature's peace will flow into you as sunshine flows into trees." John Muir

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Photos and content by Robin Roberts

 

Searching for a Black-backed Woodpecker

It's not often that I go birding in search of a specific species of birds. However, when we discovered that a Black-backed Woodpecker had been seen numerous times this summer within a short driving distance of our campsite at Silver Lake, we headed off with binoculars and high hopes. BTW, this was our long awaited final camping trip of the year in the Eastern Sierra Mts.

This is a crater at Inyo Craters, a fascinating place near Mammoth. A path through a forest of Jeffrey Pine trees leads to the craters. This is also where the woodpecker had been spotted. Imagine searching for 1 or 2 black woodpeckers in a forest...It is NOT easy!!!

Initially, we got excited when we spotted this woodpecker but it is a Williamson's Sapsucker. This is also an uncommon bird but it wasn't the bird we were seeking.

With the unexpected change of weather approaching, we were going to cut our trip short. How could we go home without giving it one more try? We returned the next day. As we walked along the trail, we searched in the big, dead trees for signs of woodpeckers. No luck!

We decided to go off trail a bit to some trees that looked inviting. After wandering about a bit, a black woodpecker flew over my head and landed in a nearby tree.

Wow! We couldn't believe our luck! This rarely seen woodpecker that races to post burned forests looking for woodboring beetles landed within our sight! We were shocked! We watched it chisel off bark looking for grub. It was a "Big Year" moment for my birding friends. We stood here motionless for as long as this bird stayed on this tree. This sighting will be with us forever! It's simple moments like this that are reminders of the importance of honoring and protecting wildlife and wilderness across this beautiful planet!

 

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Photos and content by Robin Roberts

 

Last Days of Summer

It's mid-September and the oppressive Summer heat is beginning to wane. We had a weekend of rain and our temperatures dropped into the 40's today. Yahoo! I love the shifting of seasons. It happens so gradually that it is easy to overlook the subtle changes.

 On a recent visit to Lake Hemet, I recognized big changes from a month ago. Berries are now on the bushes. Coffee Berry, California Honeysuckle, Rose and Toyon are covered in blue, red and orange.
With this plentiful fruit, lots of birds are enjoying the feast!

The arrival of Spring flowers was so spectacular due to our wet Winter that it's easy to overlook late Summer/early Fall blooms. Insects and butterflies don't miss them though.

Painted Ladies and green-eyed Orange Sulfur butterflies covered this Rabbit Brush yesterday. 

 Another abundant butterfly can be found in the Oak trees - the California Sister

It's really easy to overlook camouflaged moths. Since arriving here, I discovered that there are some really spectacular moths that live in these mts including the White-lined Sphinx Moth, Bumblebee Moth and One-eyed Spinx Moth. My newest discovery last week is the Pandora Moth.

This photo is pretty bad so close your eyes and imagine a moth that at first glance is a moth with grey coloring. When it opens its wings, you see white hind wings with a tinge of pink exposing an abdomen with yellow stripes and bright yellow antennae! Stunning, indeed!

I was reminded about paying attention this weekend while looking for a bird in a grove of trees. I totally missed this nearby Southern Pacific Rattlesnake that was a foot off the trail. He let me know that he was nearby with his loud rattle. The lesson was a good one. Later in the day, I didn't miss the juvenile Golden Eagle fly overhead. I enjoyed the playful Ravens soaring in the sky and I saw a brief rainbow that lasted just a few minutes.

Hairy Woodpecker

There's a lot to discover where ever you are but the challenge is being able to pay attention and see what surrounds you. It's worth the effort!!!

If you are wondering what is going on with the hummingbirds in our backyard, take a look. They are still around. Every afternoon, 20 or more of Anna's Hummingbirds with a couple of Black-chinned and Rufous Hummers show up. Some of them are starting to look like feathered ping-pong balls. My reward is having one land on my finger while it drinks from the feeder. There's nothing like it!

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Photos and content by Robin Roberts

Thanks Bruce and Kurt for some tricky ID's

Hummingbirds Galore!

The hummingbirds have arrived! All Summer, we have had a handful of beautiful Anna's Hummingbirds guarding our 2 feeders and visiting our flowers. This past week, our population has grown to about 30!! Also, we now have 5 feeders to accommodate our growing visitors.

 Besides the common Anna's hummers, we have a couple of migrating Black-chinned and Rufous Hummingbirds that are quite determined to be "top dog" while they are in town.

Our neighbor gave us a hand held feeder to try out. What an amazing experience to feel the delicate feet on your finger and to feel the strong wind current from their mighty wingbeats!! Before landing, they come right up to your face with their impressive beaks deciding if they want to accept your offering. It's quite intimidating when these long pointed beaks are within inches of your eyes!!!

Our friend, Kurt, in Palm Desert still tops this with the 50 plus Costa's Hummingbirds that hung out at his house but it sure is the most hummers that we have ever had visiting us! With this many birds, the feeders get washed and refilled a couple of times a day! I assume they are all fattening up getting ready for their journey south within the next week or so. It's an honor to have them take residence with us for a short time before their big journey.

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Photos and content by Robin Roberts.

Hawks in Garner Valley

In the Spring, someone asked me where all the Red-tailed Hawks had gone to. They are still around. In fact, we've seen quite a few of them the last few days down in Garner Valley.

 We saw 2 Red-shouldered, 4 Red-tailed and a Cooper's Hawk all in one day on Apple Canyon Road.

By far, the most memorable is this Red-tailed Hawk. We found it perched on a boulder with lunch secured between its talons.

We had hoped to identify what kind of snake it was devouring. Perhaps, it would leave a morsel behind for identification. Wrong! It ate every bit of the snake. The last piece was swallowed like a piece of spaghetti.

Besides the impressive hawks, we found some other neat birds. Three young Western Kingbirds were huddled together on a branch quietly awaiting the return of one of their parents with tasty morsels to share. Perhaps, they sensed danger was lurking in the skies nearby.

It's always fun when you can actually see a bird catch an insect. This is one of my favorite Summer birds - the Ash-throated Flycatcher. It won't be around much longer either.

Cool insect of the day goes to this Tarantula Hawk Wasp. Most species of hawk wasps have black antennae but as you can see, this one has orange antennae. The females are quite scary if you happen to be a spider. After paralyzing her victim, she drags it into a hole in the ground. When her eggs become larvae, they have a meal to consume. Yikes!

Finally, all of us who inhabit the mountains are grateful for 3 days of drizzle this past week. This is something to celebrate since our previous precipitation was 3 months ago. If you get rain regularly, enjoy it! It is a rarity in many parts of the world.

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Photos and content by Robin Roberts

Mini Mountain Oasis

A desert oasis with palm trees and water is a  magnet for migrating birds. During migration, you never know who may show up....

I'm hoping my new cobalt blue bird bath and dripper will become a mini mountain oasis for the migrants this year. After placing this inviting dish in our yard, birds eyed it suspiciously. Some did "flybys" but no one partaked. We had a bet which brave bird would be the first to actually drink. I thought it would be the Mountain Chickadee.

The Steller's Jay was the first to drink the water but it gathered drops that fell UNDER the dish from the safety of the ground.

The Lesser Goldfinch was the first to actually land on the dish and drink.

One preferred going straight to the source.

While those birds drank, others were enjoying the seeds from a White Sage that had stopped blooming. Sure is great to see birds go to native plants that you put into the ground!

Our mini mountain oasis is becoming a reality. A pair of beautiful Bulloch's Orioles showed up quite unexpectedly.They have never visited our yard ! They are in our mountains for summer breeding and then, they head south for the winter. I wonder what other winged visitors will be passing through....I'll let you know! Migration will be starting soon.

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Photos and content by Robin Roberts.