Finally, I’m on the road. I launched at about 3pm last Monday, driving through Ramona and Santa Ysabel, then dropping into the Borrego Valley down Montezuma Pass. It is one of my favorite routes east from San Diego. The route carries me past a fairly reliable location in the Henshaw Valley to find Tricolored Blackbirds … Read more
Sunday in Fort Saint John, I drove to the local college campus, where there was public parking for a “Community Forest”. Much like Fort Nelson’s Demonstration Forest, this woodland preserve has trails that weave through the trees for the enjoyment of the nature-loving public. I found no shortage of bird-life on my walk, but I … Read more
I reached Watson Lake after spending the night 170 miles away at Teslin Lake. I immediately drove to Wye Lake Park, where I enjoyed my time with birds on my previous visits. I hoped that the Red-Necked Grebe eggs I saw on my last visit might have turned into fuzzy chicks. It had been two … Read more
It’s a long and arduous drive from Fort Nelson to Watson Lake, and I planned on several stops along the way. I found that there was highway construction going on that prevented me from stopping at some of the locations I’d planned to investigate. This part of the Alaska Highway passes through the mountains, and … Read more
I didn’t do much birding after leaving Lewistown Montana on May 20. Any birds I met during this part of the expedition came at 60 mph, and in quick glances. I thought I’d better cover some ground if I wanted to get the Canadian portion of my trip underway. I crossed the Canadian border on … Read more
This is a three day post. With my 2021 visit in south Texas drawing to a close, I’ve been pushing my limits to maximize my opportunities to meet migrating birds. This story is about Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday on South Padre Island. Besides the Convention Centre, I spent most of Thursday at the SPI Birding … Read more
Well friends, I said I would limit my photo shooting time in the field to half days. The strategy would allow me to process my images and tell my stories in time to meet an every-other-day in the field schedule. I also said if a warbler fallout should happen, all bets were off. Well, it … Read more
Mammoth Creek connects a string of high elevation lakes in the Sierra Nevada Mountains. Starting above Skelton Lake (9,920′), it drains into Arrowhead Lake (9,690′), Lake Mary (8,920’), Lake Mamie (8,900’), and finally Twin Lakes (8,540′) which looks to be three bodies of water. I was informed I might find a Pacific Wren along Twin … Read more
Friday morning (7/7) I chased (but missed) my friend Steve Brad’s Indigo Bunting. He’d been visiting the region in the weeks prior to my departure. I’m reasonably certain I was in the correct location, but the bird was not cooperating. There were other birds to entertain me here (American Robin, Lesser Goldfinch, Lawrence’s Goldfinch, Rock … Read more
Early Wednesday morning I set off to visit Mount Lemmon using instructions for locating birds on the mountain, from local birder, Liz Harrison. Her instructions were invaluable and gave me landmarks to look for in finding these birding locations. My first stop was at Molino Basin Campground. I enjoyed some nice birds there, though these … Read more
