Kayaking in the Bay

Living in the mountains gives us the chance to hike a lot! We love hiking so we have NO complaints! Kayaking which we also love, on the other hand, has become a rare event. Unfortunately, our kayaks have become wall decorations. This weekend, however, we left our hiking boots behind and headed for some saltwater.

 The beautiful rocky shores and crashing waves of the Pacific Ocean are too intimidating for me since I haven't paddled in over a year.

 

Wildlife along the shore is fun to watch. We saw a momma Sea lion being trailed by a pup interested in nursing. That was a first for me.

 If you ever return to your car and find it has clumps of unexplained greenery on the roof, it may have been the earlier site of one gull trying to "woo" another one. Initially, we saw two gulls with beaks full of greenery strutting on the grass near the parked cars. Then, the one with the fullest beak flew on the roof of a car where an observant female gull was standing. He dropped his offering at her feet and then they proceeded to head bob and go beak to beak. Quite a new one for me! Wish I had recorded it!

Back to kayaking, yes, we put our boats in salt water. We found a sheltered bay where we could paddle and practice the strokes our inspirational kayak friends/instructors taught us back in the southeast on the Atlantic Ocean and beautiful tidal marsh. When you are in a quiet kayak, you can observe all the wildlife along the shore. It's fantastic!

Back at home now, the kayaks are drying in the sun and the lizards are chasing each other around them.

I'm trying to figure out how to prevent the boats from becoming another wall decoration.....

Life on the Rocky Pacific Coast

Laguna Beach like alot of towns along the coast of California has spectacular views of the Pacific Ocean. People come for the beauty,swimming, paddleboarding, kayaking, scuba diving, etc.

Some come to see the Sea Lions and whales. This time of year migration of whales is occurring.

We came, primarily, to see the wintering birds along the coast before they return to the far north for breeding. Migration is filled with danger and uncertainty for all the creatures that attempt it each year. Some are successful, others are not.

Incoming waves forced this Surfbird to perch on a rock close enough for us to get a good look at him. Soon he will begin the 3,720 mile flight which will take him to the high mountains  in Alaska to breed. Quite difficult to fathom the extremely long path before him!

 Whimbrels are shorebirds that also will travel to Alaska.

Interesting to learn that some birds remain residents year round while others choose to migrate. The Allen's Hummingbird with its golden-orange flashes of color is one of those birds.

The last bird that caught my attention as the sun was setting was a single Clark's Grebe. This bird will not be migrating north. As we watched him swim back and forth in a small pond, he sent out a loud call that carried through the refuge. For those of us watching, we hoped the sound could be heard by his future mate.

Soaring Hawks and Fat Caterpillars

Back to the blooming desert....

The flowers are still blooming; the caterpillars are fattening up and the Swainson's Hawks are on the move.

These beautiful hawks winter in South America and travel thousands of miles north in the Spring. Some are dark and others are light. When they fly directly overhead, they are easier to identify.

When they are spots in the sky, it is harder to distinguish them from other birds like this Red-tailed Hawk which sometimes joins the kettle of Swainson's Hawks. However, the official counters at the Hawk Watch don't seem to have any trouble even when they are mere specks.

Hawks aren't the only ones feasting on caterpillars. This Horned Lark enjoyed one before I "caught" him.

It is an exciting time in the desert! Wildflowers and masses of migrating hawks! Tonight I heard over 600 hawks have arrived from the south....Tomorrow will be a great day to be on a hawk watch!

Snowy Mountains

Winter returned this weekend! Snow clouds hid the mountains from sight for three days.

Once the storm had passed, we could see the mountains and trees covered in snow. 

The only way to get up some of the trails now is by snowshoe. No complaints.

Enjoy while it lasts! Spring is coming.

I

Hidden in the Boulders

One of the benefits of camping is having more time to discover the wildlife that does a great job staying hidden.

Our first sight outside of our tent early in the morning was a couple of Jack Rabbits munching under the creosote bush. Great way to start the day!

Verdin

 

 Although we didn't see a lot of birds on this trip, what we did see was pretty special...nest building.

Black-throated Sparrow

Desert birds are great at concealing their nests. The only reason we were able to spot a couple of nests is because the birds were actively building them while we watched. The first one we saw was the Black-throated Sparrow. 

 The male was singing away on various perches while another nearby Black-throated Sparrow, presumably his mate, was in constant motion filling its beak with nesting material and delivering it to its extremely well hidden nest.

We would have never recognized this as a nest site if we hadn't seen the Rock Wrens flying into this "belly button hole" in the boulders.

At the opening of Smuggler's Canyon, we heard the descending song of the Canyon Wren. By perching himself on the highest point above the canyon, his voice was amplified. Absolutely beautiful! 

Fortunately, this was the spot we ate lunch so we were able to seen another Canyon Wren possibly the mate of the singer. She was actively searching the various ledges for a secretive nest site.

Banded Rock Lizard

Chuckwalla

A bonus for us was seing both the Banded Rock lizard and the Chuckwalla lizard while the Canyon Wren's voice filled the canyon. Pretty special encounter since we rarely see them.

Then, there was the blue lizard...

Patience, a pair of binoculars and a dash of good luck help to discover what's hidden in the boulders!

Wildflowers Blooming in the Desert

Colors of purple, yellow, white, orange, blue, red and pink are dotting the desert landscape. The wildflowers have started blooming in Anza-Borrego Desert State Park.

 Desert Lily

Dune Evening Primrose

Sand Verbena

 It is a spectacular sight when these delicate flowers burst through the sand and rocks. There is no guarantee 

of a blooming desert. Sun, wind, rain,and temperature all have to be in just the right amount for the dormant seeds to come alive.

Arizona Lupine and Gold Poppy

Brown-eyed Primrose

Fortunately for us, all those elements came together so we were able to experience a weekend camping in a desert full of color.

   The California Primrose is a favorite flower of the Sphinx Moth caterpillar. We saw LOTS of them munching away. Our friend, Hal, the "Hawk Guy", informed us the caterpillars are a favorite food for the migrating Swainson's Hawks that pass through Borrego Valley in the Spring.

Ocotillo

Yucca

 If you miss the wildflower show, there are desert plants that can be seen blooming at various times through the year like the Ocotillo, Creosote Bush, Yucca and Agave.

Beavertail Cactus

And of course, there are lots of cacti to discover!

To follow the migration of Swainson's Hawks through Anza-Borrego, go to borregohawkwatch.blogspot.com

To follow wildflowers blooming and other great activities in the desert, go to

theabf.org