There is a small corner of Torrey Pines State Park in Del Mar that does not get the attention that the bluffs get. It is understandable though, the bluffs above the beach are breathtaking. However, on the north side of the Penasquitos Valley, between residential developments, is a 200 acre reserve annexed to the state … Read more
About a mile east of my house, along Poway Creek there is a hotspot for birds in winter. As a flood control measure, the City of Poway mows the creek bottom late in the fall. Cattails, bulrushes, willow, mulefat and other plants will reach 10-12 feet high after one year of unfettered growth. It is … Read more
One Wednesday morning I spotted an Osprey perched on the utility pole in my yard. It was dining on a fish caught at my neighbor’s nearby ponds by Beeler Creek. Raptors often use this pole to survey the western slope of the small hillside west of my house. Red-Shouldered Hawks are the most common occupants, … Read more
If one reads my blog and scans for “Santa Rosa Mountain” they might get the idea I love going there … and they’d be right. I’ve been visiting this place since the early 1970s, long before my interest in birds and photography. The contrast between the deserts below and the pine forests atop this sky … Read more
I headed south on a Saturday morning to the beach at Border Field. One cannot go further south along the Pacific Coast unless one wants to go into Mexico. When I reached the beach, I took a left turn and rode south to the border fence and visited the terns, gulls and shorebirds loafing on … Read more
It was a Wednesday near the end of August and I took a mid-morning trip to Lake Hodges, not knowing what birds I might meet. I rode my bike out a point on the shore where I could sit elevated over the water and enjoyed the comings-and-goings of creatures in the area. Although I was … Read more
I took a lot of images of Lesser Goldfinches the month of August 2012. I used them as subjects to experiment with different photo techniques. These birds are my most numerous avian guests, so why not exploit the resource? At the time I was still feeding seeds to my bird neighbors, but I’d scaled back … Read more
Juvenile Western Bluebirds were fun to watch on this Thursday in late August while I visited Santa Rosa Mountain. I find these birds are at their most attractive as juveniles. Feathers are fresh, colors are crisp, and the birds are a little less shy. I found them downslope where the road crosses the Garnet Queen … Read more
I’m always late to chase. I’d heard a Solitary Sandpiper was present at Lindo Lake, and though the reports were merely days old, it was clear to all present the bird had ‘flown the coop’. Guy McCaskie even showed up this Wednesday and made it official … announcing the bird was gone. Yet again this … Read more
A pelagic bird is a specialist of the deep ocean. These birds rarely approach shorelines, and when they do, it is only for nesting. Remote rocky islands are the usual places these birds nest, so the only way to meet these birds is from a boat capable of navigating 20 or more miles out to … Read more