Blooms in Winter

It's hard to believe that the mountains were covered in snow three to four weeks ago.

Life has changed drastically since then. Blooms are filling the trees and birds like this House Finch are singing exuberantly every morning.

We have moved into a new home with unfamiliar plants and trees. This week these beautiful buds appeared on some of our trees.

We have learned that they are Plum Trees. Certainly, they aren't native to the mts but we shall enjoy watching them. We may even get lucky and get some fruit.

Their early blooms have given me a chance to practice Ikebana, the Japanese art of flower arranging. I certainly don't have any training but I do appreciate fresh flowers adding color and life to our home. Using fresh flowers which last a short time is a reminder of mono no aware which recognizes the temporary existence of life here on earth.

Appreciating each new day and all it brings is a good reminder for us all.

 

 

Happy Valentine's Day from the Salton Sea

Happy Valentine's Day! Watching over a hundred majestic Sandhill Cranes is just one reason why going to the Salton Sea in the Winter is FANTASTIC!

Snow Goose

 Hundreds and hundreds of Snow Geese gathering for the evening over the field of foraging Sandhill Cranes is spectacular! Along with the deafening calls of the Snow Geese, Sandhill Cranes, and variety of shorebirds, we could hear the distant howling of coyotes. Wow! The richness of sound was amazing!

During the golden hour before sunset, the American Avocets, Marbled Godwits and passing Northern Shoveler matched in color as they tucked in their beaks after a busy day of foraging. 

This fishing spot, a favorite of Great and Snowy Egrets, was dominated by Cattle Egrets today.

Brown Pelican

Marbled Godwit

Willet

Great Egret

Traveling from the north end to the south end takes a full day but it's worth the 70 mile round trip.

We were lucky on this trip to see both the Burrowing Owl and Greater Roadrunner. Yeah!

Lesser Black-backed Gull hanging out with Ring-billed Gull

 Before the wintering birds return north to breed, I highly recommend witnessing this natural treasure! You might even get lucky and see a rare or uncommon bird hanging out along the shore with an abundant bird.

Shaking Snowy Days on the Mountain

Mother Nature showed us both power and beauty all within 24 hours! First, we were startled by an early morning loud, growing rumble that ended with a shaking bed. We instantly woke up! Earthquakes even if they are only 4.3 magnitude are quite an unexpected experience!

The recent rain from El Nino finally switched to snow. Within 24 hours of the earth shaking, the land was covered in a foot of snow. That is quite impressive! Maybe, for someone who lives in Montana that doesn't sound like much but for two people from the southern states, a foot is practically a blizzard!

As much as I like my big yellow shovel acquired a couple of years ago, I wish we had a Bobcat or better yet, a snowplow like our neighbor. He is our hero on days like these since without him, we would be trapped on an unplowed road indefinitely!

 

The best part of a snowy winter land, of course, is tromping in the beautiful powdery snow! Sure is a lot more effort when the snow is up to your knees.

Our backyard feeder has become a "hotspot" especially when everything is covered in white. The tough little Mountain Chickadees are joined by Oregon Juncos, Pine Siskins, Steller's Jays, Northern Flickers, Pygmy Nuthatches, White-breasted Nuthatches, House Finches...

and an uncommon bird for this area, the Pink-sided Junco. Seeing a bird for the very first time is quite exciting. It's even more exciting when it hits the Rare Bird alert on eBird.

Ravens are usually overlooked. These Ravens caught my eye with their obvious attentiveness to each other. Besides holding their heads high neck to neck, one offered a tasty treat to another. Winter lovebirds??

The Western Grey Squirrels are digging impressive holes in the snow trying to find buried acorns. Not a lot of success when the snow is quite deep. The birds that drop seed below from the feeders are much appreciated by them, I'm sure.

Our reward for all the shoveling, cold hands and feet, chopping of wood, and inability to drive came when the clouds departed and the magnificent mountains reappeared. It's humbling to see such beauty! If you don't have any interest in snow or wintry weather, you may want to follow our friends who chose to spend a well deserved vacation from their incredibly busy kayak business in the Florida Keys..Safe journeys!

 

"Though we travel the world over to find the beautiful, we must carry it with us or we find it not."

Ralph Waldo Emerson

   

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!