This summer Libby and I saw a local community college version of the Les Miserables musical. It was quite good, and the story is compelling and Chrisitan. Intrigued, we biked over to Barnes and Nobles (a quick five mile jaunt) and picked up an unabridged English translation of the novel one day. We got the new Julie Rose translation because, of the two available unabridged translations, its presentation was the most readable (the other version available was a cramped little paper back with no margins).
Anyway, I finally finished Victor Hugo's mammoth book last weekend. It was not as enjoyable as the musical. The musical highlights the best plot points of the book and therefore that compelling and Christian narrative. The book's narrative is also quite gripping and fun to read, but it's interspersed with long-winded digressions that break up and diminish the narrative's power. Since the digressions are generally French Romantic Enlightenment screeds against anything impeding Mankind's Progress - a thing I doubt exists at all in the first place - they especially dim the Christian element to the plot. Hugo ended his life a deist, anyway.
Still, the novel serves as a reminder of the importance of loving and caring for the poor. This is always valuable (though I'd prefer Dickens). Also, his digression on Waterloo is very interesting and well written. It's good to read books by people with whom you disagree, and I've rarely encountered someone as enamored of the French Revolution and Napoleon Bonaparte as Hugo sometimes appears to be. After reading Tolstoy (of whom Hugo reminds me quite strongly - especially, ironically, of War and Peace) this summer and hearing how bad, bad, and hubristic the mighty Napoleon's invasion of Russia was, it was quite a shock.
Anyway, I won't read it again, I don't think, but I am glad that I read it this one time. I can understand the abridgement, too, though I'm glad the one time I read the book I did it unabridged.
Thursday, September 18, 2008
Friday, September 05, 2008
Fannnntastic!
Fantastic Contraption is the most entertaining in-browser (Flash) game that I've ever played. Now that I've beaten it, I'm sharing it with you.
Have fun!
Have fun!
Wednesday, September 03, 2008
Farewell to Summer
Today's Libby's first day of school at Calvary. Yesterday was her first day of school at Biola. So, summer is over.
I guess it was a pretty good summer. We spent a lot of time hiking. Oregon was a blast. So was Libby's first pack trip. Speaking of which, Dad's pictures are now on-line. You can access those here: http://picasaweb.google.com/Davendebr/BackpackTrip.
I know the weather won't change all of a sudden, and the equinox isn't for a couple of more weeks, but I will miss the longer days. It was so pleasantly temperate here this summer, too, so I'll miss the perfect weather. Most days it was 85 or lower in La Mirada. We had a couple of really hot spells last Spring, but I only remember one big heat wave this summer, and that was around the beginning of July. We'll see what happens this September, though. It was 90 yesterday, and it's supposed to be around there today, too, so it's a little warmer than it has generally been.
Still, Fall brings migrants. I took my first post-summer walk to school yesterday morning, and the trees were full of Orange-crowned Warblers. There were also a few Wilson's Warblers mixed in here and there. Black Phoebes were incredibly vocal, perhaps sorting out winter territory boundaries after fledging their young. A few House Wrens were still singing, too, as well as a very loud Bewick's Wren - the first time I've ever had one in Creek Park. I'm not sure what he's doing there, as I've always thought of our local Bewick's Wrens as essentially sedentary birds. Maybe he lost his territory in the nearby Whittier Hills and wandered until he found a dense patch of shrubs in Creek Park?
Birds were mostly quiet, though. Besides the wrens, the only bird I heard sing was a single Lesser Goldfinch. It's a stark contrast from the Spring. Then, Warblers, Orioles, Towhees, and Finches all fill the air with their music.
Wednesday, August 13, 2008
Register Wedding
I went to a friend's wedding on the first Saturday of August. Jonathan couldn't make it because he had to work, so I went by myself knowing that I could easily find people that I know: my parents would be there, my brother was a groomsman, and there would be old AWANA friends, too. What I didn't expect was seeing one of my former students and her mother (who played the piano during the ceremony!) and grandmother. That was a pleasant surprise. Anyway, I took a few pictures and put them up on Flickr. Here's one of my beautiful mom and handsome brother. You can see the rest of them here.
Thursday, August 07, 2008
Virginia Lake to Lake Mary and Home
Everything comes to an end.
We got our earliest start of the trip on our last day, leaving camp before the sun hit it. The trail from Virginia drops pretty quickly to Purple Lake, and we arrived while it was still early. We paused for some photo ops and to admire a small family group of American Dippers (videos on Flickr) in the outlet stream before pressing on toward Duck Pass.
Libby and Jonathan at Purple Lake.
http://flickr.com/photos/rowleypics/2738767670/in/set-72157606574038434/
The trail to the pass climbs up above a thumb on the flank of the mountain between Duck and Purple Lakes before dropping again into some meadows along Duck's outlet stream. There it starts to climb again. Ascending through meadows and forests, you soon reach Duck Lake at the outlet end. We took off our packs at that point, had a snack and caught our breaths. We'd already traveled about half-way, about six miles. The last Wilson's Warblers of the trip foraged in the dwarfed Whitebark Pines and willows along the lake shore, and a beautifully white lone California Gull sailed down the canyon from Duck Lake.
From the outlet of Duck Lake, you climb up and follow the lake's shore about a mile to the pass. From there it's only 5+ miles downhill, and you're home. We pressed on through lunch and arrived at the cabin - where the Profitas were staying for the weekend, but they were out - around 1:15, packed up, and headed for home (with a pit stop at the Ranger Station to change, use toilets(!), wash our faces, and return the bear cans).
We're happy to be able to stop walking for awhile.
http://flickr.com/photos/rowleypics/2737967527/in/set-72157606574038434/
The trip home was pretty uneventful. We listened to one of the Harry Potter novels on CD, and stopped for dinner at Rubio's in Adelanto. I remember when you had to eat at the Astro Burger in Kramer's Junction! Lots of people live in the high desert, now, though. On Monday, I went back to work. And that's the whole story.
The pictures from our last day can be found here: http://flickr.com/photos/rowleypics/sets/72157606574038434/
You can view all of the published pictures from our trip by clicking here: http://flickr.com/photos/rowleypics/collections/72157606431454213/
We got our earliest start of the trip on our last day, leaving camp before the sun hit it. The trail from Virginia drops pretty quickly to Purple Lake, and we arrived while it was still early. We paused for some photo ops and to admire a small family group of American Dippers (videos on Flickr) in the outlet stream before pressing on toward Duck Pass.
Libby and Jonathan at Purple Lake.http://flickr.com/photos/rowleypics/2738767670/in/set-72157606574038434/
The trail to the pass climbs up above a thumb on the flank of the mountain between Duck and Purple Lakes before dropping again into some meadows along Duck's outlet stream. There it starts to climb again. Ascending through meadows and forests, you soon reach Duck Lake at the outlet end. We took off our packs at that point, had a snack and caught our breaths. We'd already traveled about half-way, about six miles. The last Wilson's Warblers of the trip foraged in the dwarfed Whitebark Pines and willows along the lake shore, and a beautifully white lone California Gull sailed down the canyon from Duck Lake.
From the outlet of Duck Lake, you climb up and follow the lake's shore about a mile to the pass. From there it's only 5+ miles downhill, and you're home. We pressed on through lunch and arrived at the cabin - where the Profitas were staying for the weekend, but they were out - around 1:15, packed up, and headed for home (with a pit stop at the Ranger Station to change, use toilets(!), wash our faces, and return the bear cans).
We're happy to be able to stop walking for awhile.http://flickr.com/photos/rowleypics/2737967527/in/set-72157606574038434/
The trip home was pretty uneventful. We listened to one of the Harry Potter novels on CD, and stopped for dinner at Rubio's in Adelanto. I remember when you had to eat at the Astro Burger in Kramer's Junction! Lots of people live in the high desert, now, though. On Monday, I went back to work. And that's the whole story.
The pictures from our last day can be found here: http://flickr.com/photos/rowleypics/sets/72157606574038434/
You can view all of the published pictures from our trip by clicking here: http://flickr.com/photos/rowleypics/collections/72157606431454213/
Tuesday, August 05, 2008
Tully Lake to Virginia Lake
Though, naturally, new for Libby, the last two days of our backpack trip were covering familiar ground for Dad and me. In fact, part of my first multi-day backpack trip traveled the trail from Tully Hole to Tully Lake. We'd now be retracing those steps in reverse.
The first half of the morning was easy hiking. The trail drops downhill parallel with Fish Creek - a rushing stream that drops precipitously down a narrow gorge of dark meta-sedimentary rock. Unlike the hard granite of most of the Sierras, this rock is softer, and the creek, earthquakes, and weather has ground it and blasted it into sharp spires and slabs.
Dad and Libby in front of Fish Creek.
http://flickr.com/photos/rowleypics/2734573234/in/set-72157606548076630/
The trail eventually reaches Horse Heaven meadow. Here, the trail flattens out a bit, and you and the creek descend at a more gentle pace down into Tully Hole. Tully Hole is a meadow in a deep depression between forested hills. It features large in our family lore because of its central location in the back country behind my grandparents' cabin. So it's sort of an iconic place, and its lush green fields are beautiful enough to warrant the attention paid it. Many travelers pass through it because the Muir Trail passes through it as it comes down from Virginia Lake and turns down Fish Creek a little bit before climbing over Silver Pass.
Tully Hole from the trail up to Virginia Lake.
http://flickr.com/photos/rowleypics/2734578600/in/set-72157606548076630/
From Tully Hole, there's a steep climb that takes you up about 1,000 vertical feet of switchbacks on a hot and open hillside covered in sage and only the occasional stand of pines - welcome islands of shade, and an opportune place to catch your breath and a drink before pressing onward. Anyway, we grunted our way up and finished the hike before lunch, which we had on the shore of Virginia Lake before hunting out a campsite. We found a spot near a stock camp in the dry subalpine forests that surround Virginia Lake. We had lots of time, so we set up camp and relaxed. We soaked our feet in the lake, took naps, read books, and generally enjoyed a warm afternoon in the Sierras - with blessed few mosquitoes compared to Tully Lake!
Libby's happy to take a moment to relax!
http://flickr.com/photos/rowleypics/2733753639/in/set-72157606548076630/
That night was our last away from home, and Dad and I sat by the shore of Virginia Lake waiting for it to get dark. As the stars came out and the opposite side of the lake became shrouded with gloom, we sat silently, listening to the bats flicking about our heads. The wind died and the lake became totally calm; the reflecting stars on its glassy surface were a welcome last taste of serenity before returning to the bustle of regular life.
Pictures from the day (including a nice one of a Clark's Nutcracker) can be found by clicking here: Backpack Day 5.
The first half of the morning was easy hiking. The trail drops downhill parallel with Fish Creek - a rushing stream that drops precipitously down a narrow gorge of dark meta-sedimentary rock. Unlike the hard granite of most of the Sierras, this rock is softer, and the creek, earthquakes, and weather has ground it and blasted it into sharp spires and slabs.
Dad and Libby in front of Fish Creek.http://flickr.com/photos/rowleypics/2734573234/in/set-72157606548076630/
The trail eventually reaches Horse Heaven meadow. Here, the trail flattens out a bit, and you and the creek descend at a more gentle pace down into Tully Hole. Tully Hole is a meadow in a deep depression between forested hills. It features large in our family lore because of its central location in the back country behind my grandparents' cabin. So it's sort of an iconic place, and its lush green fields are beautiful enough to warrant the attention paid it. Many travelers pass through it because the Muir Trail passes through it as it comes down from Virginia Lake and turns down Fish Creek a little bit before climbing over Silver Pass.
Tully Hole from the trail up to Virginia Lake.http://flickr.com/photos/rowleypics/2734578600/in/set-72157606548076630/
From Tully Hole, there's a steep climb that takes you up about 1,000 vertical feet of switchbacks on a hot and open hillside covered in sage and only the occasional stand of pines - welcome islands of shade, and an opportune place to catch your breath and a drink before pressing onward. Anyway, we grunted our way up and finished the hike before lunch, which we had on the shore of Virginia Lake before hunting out a campsite. We found a spot near a stock camp in the dry subalpine forests that surround Virginia Lake. We had lots of time, so we set up camp and relaxed. We soaked our feet in the lake, took naps, read books, and generally enjoyed a warm afternoon in the Sierras - with blessed few mosquitoes compared to Tully Lake!
Libby's happy to take a moment to relax!http://flickr.com/photos/rowleypics/2733753639/in/set-72157606548076630/
That night was our last away from home, and Dad and I sat by the shore of Virginia Lake waiting for it to get dark. As the stars came out and the opposite side of the lake became shrouded with gloom, we sat silently, listening to the bats flicking about our heads. The wind died and the lake became totally calm; the reflecting stars on its glassy surface were a welcome last taste of serenity before returning to the bustle of regular life.
Pictures from the day (including a nice one of a Clark's Nutcracker) can be found by clicking here: Backpack Day 5.
Sunday, August 03, 2008
Bighorn Lake to Tully Lake
Our fourth day was the shortest backpacking day of the trip. Joe had to leave as early as he could to make the long hike from Bighorn Lake to the McGee Creek trailhead. The remaining three of us were going to climb a knapsack pass above nearby Rosy Finch Lake to look back into the Laurel Creek drainage - a different Laurel Creek than the one above Convict Lake near Mammoth.
The morning was warm and calm, like all of our mornings. The weather on the trip was perfect. There were almost no clouds the entire trip, and the rains preceding our trip had scrubbed the skies clean of the smoke from all California's wildfires this year. It made for perfect reflections in the water.
Cliffs reflected in Bighorn Lake.
http://flickr.com/photos/rowleypics/2726493863/in/set-72157606520422797/
The hike from Bighorn to Rosy Finch Lake is an easy gambol through grassy faults criss-crossing the glaciated granite bedrock. Rosy Finch Lake, just like Bighorn Lake, fills a granitic glacial bowl with little room to spare; its outlet stream spills right over the granite dam that creates the lake. This is really beautiful country, a melting pot of brilliant blues, whites and greens.
The pass we checked out that day is a potential backpacking route from Grinnell Lake to Rosy Finch Lake. It was one of the possible routes we could have taken on our trip, but we decided not to because the ascent from the Grinnell Lake side looked steep on the topo maps. It turned out that it was very steep, and it's a much easier ascent from Rosy Finch, but it was still too far for us to make it to Grinnell Lake and back, and then over Bighorn Pass to Tully Lake all in the same day.
Libby sitting on top of a rock on the pass we dayhiked.
http://flickr.com/photos/rowleypics/2727327408/in/set-72157606520422797/
So, we enjoyed the view from the pass and then went back, put on our packs, and headed to Tully Lake. The descent was a talus scramble that we alleviated by striking out across a snow field that allowed us to skip about half of the talus. At the bottom of the snow field we had our only lifer of the trip - a White-tailed Ptarmigan. A little baby grouse scurried by our feet, and after some patient searching Dad found the mother hiding in plain sight.
The mother White-tailed Ptarmigan using its cryptic coloration to blend in to its surroundings.
http://flickr.com/photos/rowleypics/2727913215/in/set-72157606520422797/
At the time I thought it was an out-of-habitat Sooty (Blue) Grouse, a bird that specializes in high mountain forest edges, and is the only native grouse in the higher altitudes of the Sierras. We were, however, miles from the nearest true forest, and it nagged a bit on my mind while we were up there. As soon as I had time at home, I started doing some research on Ptarmigans. Back in the early '70s, the Department of Fish and Game released about 70 White-tailed Ptarmigans into upper montane forests around Sonora Pass. The birds found their way up into the alpine meadows around Yosemite, where they are still apparently the most heavily concentrated. From there they've spread south, occupying suitable habitat - high alpine meadows - where ever they can find it. The Sierras offer a challenge to their survival, however, with heavier snow packs that last longer than the other mountain ranges they inhabit (the Rockies and north) and thus inhibit breeding, and dryer summers, that limit the kind of forage they require. As a result, they exist in the Sierras in the sparsest population density of any population, and during the summer they're most common around melting snow-packs; just the place we found one.
Anyway, we found a great campsite at Tully Lake. It was a horse camp in between the lake and the waterfall that comes down from Red and White into Tully's outlet - young Fish Creek. The only real drawback at Tully Lake was that there were swarms of mosquitoes. As the sun set, they came out in force, with clouds hovering around each of us looking for any chink the mosquito nets offered or for some spot where the DEET would rub off. We probably got the majority of our mosquito bites here. Still, it's hard to complain about mosquitoes when you're surrounded by such wonderful beauty.
Pictures on Flickr, as always. Click here: http://flickr.com/photos/rowleypics/sets/72157606520422797/
The morning was warm and calm, like all of our mornings. The weather on the trip was perfect. There were almost no clouds the entire trip, and the rains preceding our trip had scrubbed the skies clean of the smoke from all California's wildfires this year. It made for perfect reflections in the water.
Cliffs reflected in Bighorn Lake.http://flickr.com/photos/rowleypics/2726493863/in/set-72157606520422797/
The hike from Bighorn to Rosy Finch Lake is an easy gambol through grassy faults criss-crossing the glaciated granite bedrock. Rosy Finch Lake, just like Bighorn Lake, fills a granitic glacial bowl with little room to spare; its outlet stream spills right over the granite dam that creates the lake. This is really beautiful country, a melting pot of brilliant blues, whites and greens.
The pass we checked out that day is a potential backpacking route from Grinnell Lake to Rosy Finch Lake. It was one of the possible routes we could have taken on our trip, but we decided not to because the ascent from the Grinnell Lake side looked steep on the topo maps. It turned out that it was very steep, and it's a much easier ascent from Rosy Finch, but it was still too far for us to make it to Grinnell Lake and back, and then over Bighorn Pass to Tully Lake all in the same day.
Libby sitting on top of a rock on the pass we dayhiked.http://flickr.com/photos/rowleypics/2727327408/in/set-72157606520422797/
So, we enjoyed the view from the pass and then went back, put on our packs, and headed to Tully Lake. The descent was a talus scramble that we alleviated by striking out across a snow field that allowed us to skip about half of the talus. At the bottom of the snow field we had our only lifer of the trip - a White-tailed Ptarmigan. A little baby grouse scurried by our feet, and after some patient searching Dad found the mother hiding in plain sight.
The mother White-tailed Ptarmigan using its cryptic coloration to blend in to its surroundings.http://flickr.com/photos/rowleypics/2727913215/in/set-72157606520422797/
At the time I thought it was an out-of-habitat Sooty (Blue) Grouse, a bird that specializes in high mountain forest edges, and is the only native grouse in the higher altitudes of the Sierras. We were, however, miles from the nearest true forest, and it nagged a bit on my mind while we were up there. As soon as I had time at home, I started doing some research on Ptarmigans. Back in the early '70s, the Department of Fish and Game released about 70 White-tailed Ptarmigans into upper montane forests around Sonora Pass. The birds found their way up into the alpine meadows around Yosemite, where they are still apparently the most heavily concentrated. From there they've spread south, occupying suitable habitat - high alpine meadows - where ever they can find it. The Sierras offer a challenge to their survival, however, with heavier snow packs that last longer than the other mountain ranges they inhabit (the Rockies and north) and thus inhibit breeding, and dryer summers, that limit the kind of forage they require. As a result, they exist in the Sierras in the sparsest population density of any population, and during the summer they're most common around melting snow-packs; just the place we found one.
Anyway, we found a great campsite at Tully Lake. It was a horse camp in between the lake and the waterfall that comes down from Red and White into Tully's outlet - young Fish Creek. The only real drawback at Tully Lake was that there were swarms of mosquitoes. As the sun set, they came out in force, with clouds hovering around each of us looking for any chink the mosquito nets offered or for some spot where the DEET would rub off. We probably got the majority of our mosquito bites here. Still, it's hard to complain about mosquitoes when you're surrounded by such wonderful beauty.
Pictures on Flickr, as always. Click here: http://flickr.com/photos/rowleypics/sets/72157606520422797/
Saturday, August 02, 2008
Mott Lake to Bighorn Lake
Our second night out I learned that Pikas may be somewhat nocturnal. One had a territory in a talus pile near our tent, and I heard its loud persistent call multiple times after the half-moon had risen. Sleeping isn't always easy on a backpacking trip. The morning bird song was restricted to some local White-crowned Sparrows, though the area was hopping with Wilson's Warblers, Gray-crowned Rosy Finches and a couple of Empidonax Flycatchers, too. Mott Lake was completely still that morning; it was beautiful.
As I mentioned, this was the first day we went off-trail. There's a faint use trail in a few places to Bighorn, but not at the points when it counts, and not very often. It was a beautiful hike, though, up through cool mountain meadows right at the base of some towering peaks. You have to climb a little to get out of Mott Lake's basin, but the hike along the meadows is through a generally flat glacial valley towards the outlets of Bighorn and Rosy Finch Lakes. From there, you cut back and the left up towards a large tarn before traversing over some faulted glacial boulders to get to the actual lake.
We had lunch at the tarn, and it wasn't very far from there to Bighorn, though it wasn't possible to just walk straight there. We did get a little off-target in our original attempt to reach the tarn, but it all worked out OK in the end.
Once we got to Bighorn Lake we did a dayhike up to the pass - Bighorn Pass - we were going to take the next day (Joe in the morning, us in the afternoon). It provided a great view of the backcountry behind Mammoth, an area that the Rowleys have been spending time in ever since Grandpa was a boy.
Red Slate and the Tully Lake area.
http://flickr.com/photos/rowleypics/2722705268/in/set-72157606488398330/
Then Libby, Dad, and I all hiked down a little and around and up to another little pass on the flank of Mount Izaak Walton. From there you can see Lake Izaak Walton, and more of the same backcountry as from Bighorn Pass. That was our last night with Joe, who had to get out of the backcountry earlier than us. Pictures of the day can be found at: Backpack Day 3.
As I mentioned, this was the first day we went off-trail. There's a faint use trail in a few places to Bighorn, but not at the points when it counts, and not very often. It was a beautiful hike, though, up through cool mountain meadows right at the base of some towering peaks. You have to climb a little to get out of Mott Lake's basin, but the hike along the meadows is through a generally flat glacial valley towards the outlets of Bighorn and Rosy Finch Lakes. From there, you cut back and the left up towards a large tarn before traversing over some faulted glacial boulders to get to the actual lake.
We had lunch at the tarn, and it wasn't very far from there to Bighorn, though it wasn't possible to just walk straight there. We did get a little off-target in our original attempt to reach the tarn, but it all worked out OK in the end.
Once we got to Bighorn Lake we did a dayhike up to the pass - Bighorn Pass - we were going to take the next day (Joe in the morning, us in the afternoon). It provided a great view of the backcountry behind Mammoth, an area that the Rowleys have been spending time in ever since Grandpa was a boy.
Red Slate and the Tully Lake area.http://flickr.com/photos/rowleypics/2722705268/in/set-72157606488398330/
Then Libby, Dad, and I all hiked down a little and around and up to another little pass on the flank of Mount Izaak Walton. From there you can see Lake Izaak Walton, and more of the same backcountry as from Bighorn Pass. That was our last night with Joe, who had to get out of the backcountry earlier than us. Pictures of the day can be found at: Backpack Day 3.
Thursday, July 31, 2008
Mono Creek to Mott Lake
No jolting alarm sounded with the sun on the first morning of our backpack trip - just a clear dawn and the faint sound of singing birds above the nearby rushing creek. We got up and going, enjoying the first of our many hot and slimy instant oatmeal breakfasts as we packed up our things and got ready to hike. On the positive side, the instant hot chocolate we had every morning never got old.
Wednesday was the longest of our hiking days. While we found a great campsite on Tuesday night, it wasn't as far as we had intended to have traveled. Nevertheless, we decided to stay on the trails and take the easy - though long - route to Mott Lake instead of a much steeper cross-country shortcut up to Grinnell via Laurel Lake. The developed trail took us down to nearly 8,000' before we gained back all of the elevation we'd lost in the day - and more - in climbing back up to Mott Lake.
It was neat to hike down Mono Canyon, though. The trail descended through many different types of forest - depending not only on elevation, but on the amount of water available. We passed from Lodgepole forests, through sage brush covered hillsides, grassy meadows fading into tall and stately aspen groves, and we even saw some of the biggest Red Firs I've ever seen in my life - probably nearly 10' in diameter!
We finally had to climb up and over a hill to meet up with the Muir Trail where it comes down from Silver Pass. That's where we had lunch - far from where we had begun the day. By that time my feet, hips and back were all in agony (and I don't think I was the only one hurting), but it's a wonder what a little rest will do! After lunch, we felt refreshed, which was good since we had to go up another series of switchbacks before getting into the relatively flat bottom of the canyon holding Pocket Meadow.
Libby and Fireweed around Pocket Meadow.
http://flickr.com/photos/rowleypics/2718683216/in/set-72157606467826844/
The Mott Lake trail from Pocket Meadow turned out to be in poor repair. It's basically a steep, deep and rock-filled gully that goes straight up the side of a forested hill. There are a few switchbacks and then it topps out in the glacial valley containing Mott Lake. There it winds through meadows and willows (overgrowing the trail) as it goes up several hundred-foot granite steps to the lake. Half-an-hour or so into our hike we found a fun rock-slide where Mott's outlet stream ran over perfect glaciated granite. We took the opportunity to clean some clothes and take a bath - spending hours in the warm sun and warmer than average (for the Sierras) water. Dad took the opportunity to go water sliding; you can see the videos in the Flickr set for the day. Click here: http://flickr.com/photos/rowleypics/sets/72157606467826844/
Mott Lake in the late afternoon.
http://flickr.com/photos/rowleypics/2717875723/in/set-72157606467826844/
As the sun started to get a little lower, we thought maybe we should finish the hike. It turned out to be quite a long one still, at least two miles from where we had taken a bath (which we thought was maybe almost half-way of the projected two miles from Pocket Meadow to Mott Lake). As a result, we didn't arrive at camp until the dusk was lowering over the foothills in the distance. Such a short evening meant we didn't have time to do much between set up camp, make dinner, eat, clean and go to bed. But it was such a beautiful place that all the long effort of getting there was more than amply repaid, and Libby and my spirits were high as we climbed into our tent for the night. The next day would be our first day of off-trail hiking.
Wednesday was the longest of our hiking days. While we found a great campsite on Tuesday night, it wasn't as far as we had intended to have traveled. Nevertheless, we decided to stay on the trails and take the easy - though long - route to Mott Lake instead of a much steeper cross-country shortcut up to Grinnell via Laurel Lake. The developed trail took us down to nearly 8,000' before we gained back all of the elevation we'd lost in the day - and more - in climbing back up to Mott Lake.
It was neat to hike down Mono Canyon, though. The trail descended through many different types of forest - depending not only on elevation, but on the amount of water available. We passed from Lodgepole forests, through sage brush covered hillsides, grassy meadows fading into tall and stately aspen groves, and we even saw some of the biggest Red Firs I've ever seen in my life - probably nearly 10' in diameter!
We finally had to climb up and over a hill to meet up with the Muir Trail where it comes down from Silver Pass. That's where we had lunch - far from where we had begun the day. By that time my feet, hips and back were all in agony (and I don't think I was the only one hurting), but it's a wonder what a little rest will do! After lunch, we felt refreshed, which was good since we had to go up another series of switchbacks before getting into the relatively flat bottom of the canyon holding Pocket Meadow.
Libby and Fireweed around Pocket Meadow.http://flickr.com/photos/rowleypics/2718683216/in/set-72157606467826844/
The Mott Lake trail from Pocket Meadow turned out to be in poor repair. It's basically a steep, deep and rock-filled gully that goes straight up the side of a forested hill. There are a few switchbacks and then it topps out in the glacial valley containing Mott Lake. There it winds through meadows and willows (overgrowing the trail) as it goes up several hundred-foot granite steps to the lake. Half-an-hour or so into our hike we found a fun rock-slide where Mott's outlet stream ran over perfect glaciated granite. We took the opportunity to clean some clothes and take a bath - spending hours in the warm sun and warmer than average (for the Sierras) water. Dad took the opportunity to go water sliding; you can see the videos in the Flickr set for the day. Click here: http://flickr.com/photos/rowleypics/sets/72157606467826844/
Mott Lake in the late afternoon.http://flickr.com/photos/rowleypics/2717875723/in/set-72157606467826844/
Wednesday, July 30, 2008
Mosquito Flat to Mono Creek
The first sound of the first day of our backpack trip was the trilling of our travel alarm. Little light was trickling in through our bedroom's western window, though a clear day was dawning outside, and it was a little difficult to roll out of our warm bed, fully aware this was the last time we'd be enjoy such a luxury for the next five nights. Nevertheless, we wrenched ourselves up and hurriedly got dressed and ready. Soon we were out the door with Grandpa (who generously provided us a lift) to pick up my Dad's old backpacking friend Joe Profita at the McGee Creek trailhead. Joe was going to have to leave the back country earlier than us, so he was going to leave his truck at McGee and hike to it on his last day. We'd keep going for two more days than him and end up at the cabin, again.
Libby at the McGee Creek parking lot. McGee Pass is about 8 miles from here, and around 12,000'.
http://flickr.com/photos/rowleypics/2712139821/in/set-72157606436811560/
We picked him up without any trouble, and the sticky breakfast he provided from a Bishop bakery, and headed off to Rock Creek's canyon. We arrived at Mosquito Flat Campground - Mono Pass's trailhead - around 8:00, used the bathroom and tightened our hip belts. Snap! My belt's clip went flying through the air onto the parking lot's pavement.
OK, we wondered, what do we do, now? Joe had an extra clip in his truck, but that was an hour's round trip. None of us were carrying any extra hip belt clips, either. We spent half-an-hour trying different solutions until we set on a strap of Joe's that I could use to strap shut my clip. It took a lot longer to get my pack on and off every stop, but it worked perfectly in keeping my hip belt tight - which is the most important part of your backpack.
Grandpa took an obligatory pre-trip happy photo at Mosquito Flat.
http://flickr.com/photos/rowleypics/2712140831/in/set-72157606436811560/
Finally, after the fuss, we set off for Mono Pass. We climbed up and out of the trees, through a few last tall Lodgepoles before entering the world of stunted Whitebark Pines. Amazing vistas opened up before us as we climbed slowly but steadily higher, providing needed consolation for our already sore shoulders, hips, and lungs. It took us about 3 hours to do 3 miles and more than 2,000' of elevation gain. About two miles in, we figured out Libby was carrying too much weight, so Dad graciously took her bear can for the rest of the trip, and we spread out a few of her other things to get her up the pass more comfortably. As we climbed, Clark's Nutcrackers became more common, and as we climbed into the pass's lower opening we saw the first of the many, many Gray-crowned Rosy Finches that populate the higher elevation areas of the Sierras.
One of the amazing vistas from above Ruby Lake, below Mono Pass.
http://flickr.com/photos/rowleypics/2712146339/in/set-72157606436811560/
Mono Pass is basically a desert, a flat low point on the crest filled with crushed granite gravel (the result of many harsh freezes and thaws over the years) and scarce scattered grasses and flowers - none of which reach higher than a few inches. We had lunch overlooking Summit Lake, and then began the long descent - equal in length and elevation to our morning's ascent - to Mono Creek. The long downward slog is hard on your feet, but easy on your lungs, and we eventually found a campsite down under the shadow of Mono Rock.
It was the only night we spent under 10,000', which meant that we could have a fire. It was relaxing to soak our feet in the creek and sit next to the fire, watching the light dim on Mono Rock while bats flicked around the sky. That night, Libby and I slept well. We knew we had a long way to go the next day.
I've put all the pictures from the first day up onto Flickr, and you can access them by clicking here: Backpack Day 1.
Libby at the McGee Creek parking lot. McGee Pass is about 8 miles from here, and around 12,000'.http://flickr.com/photos/rowleypics/2712139821/in/set-72157606436811560/
We picked him up without any trouble, and the sticky breakfast he provided from a Bishop bakery, and headed off to Rock Creek's canyon. We arrived at Mosquito Flat Campground - Mono Pass's trailhead - around 8:00, used the bathroom and tightened our hip belts. Snap! My belt's clip went flying through the air onto the parking lot's pavement.
OK, we wondered, what do we do, now? Joe had an extra clip in his truck, but that was an hour's round trip. None of us were carrying any extra hip belt clips, either. We spent half-an-hour trying different solutions until we set on a strap of Joe's that I could use to strap shut my clip. It took a lot longer to get my pack on and off every stop, but it worked perfectly in keeping my hip belt tight - which is the most important part of your backpack.
Grandpa took an obligatory pre-trip happy photo at Mosquito Flat.http://flickr.com/photos/rowleypics/2712140831/in/set-72157606436811560/
Finally, after the fuss, we set off for Mono Pass. We climbed up and out of the trees, through a few last tall Lodgepoles before entering the world of stunted Whitebark Pines. Amazing vistas opened up before us as we climbed slowly but steadily higher, providing needed consolation for our already sore shoulders, hips, and lungs. It took us about 3 hours to do 3 miles and more than 2,000' of elevation gain. About two miles in, we figured out Libby was carrying too much weight, so Dad graciously took her bear can for the rest of the trip, and we spread out a few of her other things to get her up the pass more comfortably. As we climbed, Clark's Nutcrackers became more common, and as we climbed into the pass's lower opening we saw the first of the many, many Gray-crowned Rosy Finches that populate the higher elevation areas of the Sierras.
One of the amazing vistas from above Ruby Lake, below Mono Pass.http://flickr.com/photos/rowleypics/2712146339/in/set-72157606436811560/
Mono Pass is basically a desert, a flat low point on the crest filled with crushed granite gravel (the result of many harsh freezes and thaws over the years) and scarce scattered grasses and flowers - none of which reach higher than a few inches. We had lunch overlooking Summit Lake, and then began the long descent - equal in length and elevation to our morning's ascent - to Mono Creek. The long downward slog is hard on your feet, but easy on your lungs, and we eventually found a campsite down under the shadow of Mono Rock.
It was the only night we spent under 10,000', which meant that we could have a fire. It was relaxing to soak our feet in the creek and sit next to the fire, watching the light dim on Mono Rock while bats flicked around the sky. That night, Libby and I slept well. We knew we had a long way to go the next day.
I've put all the pictures from the first day up onto Flickr, and you can access them by clicking here: Backpack Day 1.
Tuesday, July 29, 2008
Pre-Trip Mammoth Time
We actually drove up to Mammoth on Sunday morning. An early start got us there by lunch, and the trip seemed quicker partly because we were listening to The New Treasure Seekers, by E. Nesbit. Ever since Gabe gave us his old iPod, we've been enjoying free audio books via LibriVox. Nesbit's book was good, if typical of her rather unvarying style.
Our activities over the day and the half we spent at the cabin were pretty simple. Libby and I took a walk with Grandpa up Mammoth Creek looking for American Dippers, admiring flowers and checking out old prospects. We didn't find any Dippers, but we saw some other neat birds, including a Kingfisher, a possible MacGillivray's Warbler and a male Lazuli Bunting - by far the highest I've ever seen one. The flower display was spectacular, with dozens of Tiger Lilies growing along the creek.
We made it all the way to a waterfall that cascades down some old broken rock, and we got to see some old mine shafts dug into the rock that Grandpa remembered visiting while they were in operation and he was a boy. I took some pictures on our walk, which you can see here: Pre-backpack Set.
Old Mammoth Consolidated Mine compressor on Red Mountain
http://flickr.com/photos/rowleypics/2712530922/in/set-72157606427461016/
That night we sorted and packed all of our food, and the next day we went with Grandpa to gather wood, checked out some fumaroles bought some last minute supplies at the town's Rite Aid, and got our wilderness permit and bear cans from the Forest Service in town. I also picked up a neat book on the natural history of the Sierras that has distribution information on almost every type of critter that you can find in them there hills.
The rest of Monday we spent relaxing. I took a nap and read, and Libby took a nap and read. Oh, and I went to Emerald Lake early in the morning to look at birds. Lots of Wilson's Warblers, American Robins and Dark-eyed Juncos, but there were also a few Yellow-rumped Warblers, Orange-crowned Warblers, Thick-billed Fox Sparrows, and Pine Siskins around, too. Libby and I later found some Hairy Woodpeckers and a Williamson's Sapsucker just up the mine road in a stand of dead trees. The Sapsuckers that nested in front of the cabin for the last two years have unfortunately moved on.
Our activities over the day and the half we spent at the cabin were pretty simple. Libby and I took a walk with Grandpa up Mammoth Creek looking for American Dippers, admiring flowers and checking out old prospects. We didn't find any Dippers, but we saw some other neat birds, including a Kingfisher, a possible MacGillivray's Warbler and a male Lazuli Bunting - by far the highest I've ever seen one. The flower display was spectacular, with dozens of Tiger Lilies growing along the creek.
We made it all the way to a waterfall that cascades down some old broken rock, and we got to see some old mine shafts dug into the rock that Grandpa remembered visiting while they were in operation and he was a boy. I took some pictures on our walk, which you can see here: Pre-backpack Set.
Old Mammoth Consolidated Mine compressor on Red Mountainhttp://flickr.com/photos/rowleypics/2712530922/in/set-72157606427461016/
That night we sorted and packed all of our food, and the next day we went with Grandpa to gather wood, checked out some fumaroles bought some last minute supplies at the town's Rite Aid, and got our wilderness permit and bear cans from the Forest Service in town. I also picked up a neat book on the natural history of the Sierras that has distribution information on almost every type of critter that you can find in them there hills.
The rest of Monday we spent relaxing. I took a nap and read, and Libby took a nap and read. Oh, and I went to Emerald Lake early in the morning to look at birds. Lots of Wilson's Warblers, American Robins and Dark-eyed Juncos, but there were also a few Yellow-rumped Warblers, Orange-crowned Warblers, Thick-billed Fox Sparrows, and Pine Siskins around, too. Libby and I later found some Hairy Woodpeckers and a Williamson's Sapsucker just up the mine road in a stand of dead trees. The Sapsuckers that nested in front of the cabin for the last two years have unfortunately moved on.
Monday, July 28, 2008
Backpack Trip
We're back from our trip! We were gone from Sunday to Sunday, entering the back country via the Rock Creek Mono Pass on Tuesday, and re-crossing the crest yesterday (Sunday) through Duck Pass. We had a great time, and saw a lot of really beautiful things.
Here's a Google Map of our approximate route. There are a few funny things about Google's Map - in Terrain view it moves the Recesses into Mono Creek, and it misnames Rosy Finch Lake as Ross Finch Lake. If you click on the little tabs it'll give you information on some highlights of the trip - I've labeled all of our campsites and all of the passes we climbed.
View Larger Map
When I get the photos all uploaded to Flickr I'll post links and a little more information about the trip - maybe a short blurb on each day.
Here's a Google Map of our approximate route. There are a few funny things about Google's Map - in Terrain view it moves the Recesses into Mono Creek, and it misnames Rosy Finch Lake as Ross Finch Lake. If you click on the little tabs it'll give you information on some highlights of the trip - I've labeled all of our campsites and all of the passes we climbed.
View Larger Map
When I get the photos all uploaded to Flickr I'll post links and a little more information about the trip - maybe a short blurb on each day.
Monday, July 14, 2008
Adventure Pass, Indeed!
Items that are not waterproof:
1. Backpacks: zippers and seams.
2. Camera bag: not at all, but especially zippers.
3. Books: Hiking Guide, National Geographic Field Guide
4. Cardboard: MSR stove boxes become pulp in the rain.
5. Floppy-brimmed hats: they become sodden, droopy drips when drowned.
Items that are waterproof:
1. Backpacks: Pockets without zippers.
2. Raincoats.
3. MSR stove.
4. Our spirits!
Clouds below Dollar Lake (probably a little above 9,000')
http://flickr.com/photos/rowleypics/2665147114/
Libby and I are going backpacking in a little more than a week. To prepare ourselves, we've been going hiking every weekend, running in the mornings, and going for long walks around La Mirada. But, how can you be ready to go backpacking if you haven't practiced carrying your pack?
This last weekend we resolved to put our gear, our hips, feet and shoulders to the test. We stuffed our backpacks full of whatever was at hand, threw them in the car and drove off to the local mountains. Our destination was Dollar Lake, a little puddle advertised in glowing terms by our hiking guide -- a sparkling glacial tarn in the local mountains -- the kind of lake that would be comfortable in the Sierras themselves. We got our wilderness permit, and we got our adventure pass, and, having been admitted by these sacred documents into the government's forests and wildernesses, we set out. Little did we know just what sort of adventure we were being admitted to!
Libby's loaded and ready to go.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/rowleypics/2665111742/in/set-72157606147182459/
The lake is 6.3 miles from and 2700' above the trailhead, between 9200 and 9300 feet. The plan was to take it slow, hike to the lake, where we could drop our packs, relax, read, make some hot lunch (we were bringing our new stove to give it a field test), and then head for home.
I knew there was a chance of rain. The weather forecast put the chance at 30%. 30% didn't sound so bad. I figured, if it did rain, it would be a sporadic and light thunderstorm. With that low of a probability it couldn't do more than get the trail dust damp, then evaporate, right? Wrong. It started raining at about 1:30, about a mile below the lake on our way up. It stopped raining about 7:00, as we got into the car. There were occasional breaks in between, but on the whole, it rained. It basically rained the whole time we were at Dollar Lake. It rained on us all 6 miles down the mountain. There was no lounging about in the mountain sun reading. We stopped, set up the stove, ate some much appreciated hot soup, packed back up, and hit the trail. We might have taken it slow going up, but we were in a fine hurry on the way down. Low on the mountain the trail dust had become slick, inch-deep mud. The last mile or so, we were wading through little streams of running water as they joined us in their bubbling haste to get down the mountain.
The lake itself? If it was in the Sierras, I'd pass by without giving much of a glance. It was a little mud puddle in a shallow glaciated depression (this is one of the rare instances of historic glaciation in the local mountains).
The shore of Dollar Lake.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/rowleypics/2664317679/in/set-72157606147182459/
Overall, though, the trip was a success. We had a good time. The pine forests were beautiful, the air was sweet and clean, and we made it. We're a bit stiff and sore, now, and we were in pain, then, but in all we decided that the five dollars we spent on our Adventure Pass was a steal. That much adventure for five bucks? Shoot, that was easily worth twenty or thirty dollars!
Pictures from our adventure are at Flickr: Dollar Lake Hike.
1. Backpacks: zippers and seams.
2. Camera bag: not at all, but especially zippers.
3. Books: Hiking Guide, National Geographic Field Guide
4. Cardboard: MSR stove boxes become pulp in the rain.
5. Floppy-brimmed hats: they become sodden, droopy drips when drowned.
Items that are waterproof:
1. Backpacks: Pockets without zippers.
2. Raincoats.
3. MSR stove.
4. Our spirits!
Clouds below Dollar Lake (probably a little above 9,000')http://flickr.com/photos/rowleypics/2665147114/
Libby and I are going backpacking in a little more than a week. To prepare ourselves, we've been going hiking every weekend, running in the mornings, and going for long walks around La Mirada. But, how can you be ready to go backpacking if you haven't practiced carrying your pack?
This last weekend we resolved to put our gear, our hips, feet and shoulders to the test. We stuffed our backpacks full of whatever was at hand, threw them in the car and drove off to the local mountains. Our destination was Dollar Lake, a little puddle advertised in glowing terms by our hiking guide -- a sparkling glacial tarn in the local mountains -- the kind of lake that would be comfortable in the Sierras themselves. We got our wilderness permit, and we got our adventure pass, and, having been admitted by these sacred documents into the government's forests and wildernesses, we set out. Little did we know just what sort of adventure we were being admitted to!
Libby's loaded and ready to go.http://www.flickr.com/photos/rowleypics/2665111742/in/set-72157606147182459/
The lake is 6.3 miles from and 2700' above the trailhead, between 9200 and 9300 feet. The plan was to take it slow, hike to the lake, where we could drop our packs, relax, read, make some hot lunch (we were bringing our new stove to give it a field test), and then head for home.
I knew there was a chance of rain. The weather forecast put the chance at 30%. 30% didn't sound so bad. I figured, if it did rain, it would be a sporadic and light thunderstorm. With that low of a probability it couldn't do more than get the trail dust damp, then evaporate, right? Wrong. It started raining at about 1:30, about a mile below the lake on our way up. It stopped raining about 7:00, as we got into the car. There were occasional breaks in between, but on the whole, it rained. It basically rained the whole time we were at Dollar Lake. It rained on us all 6 miles down the mountain. There was no lounging about in the mountain sun reading. We stopped, set up the stove, ate some much appreciated hot soup, packed back up, and hit the trail. We might have taken it slow going up, but we were in a fine hurry on the way down. Low on the mountain the trail dust had become slick, inch-deep mud. The last mile or so, we were wading through little streams of running water as they joined us in their bubbling haste to get down the mountain.
The lake itself? If it was in the Sierras, I'd pass by without giving much of a glance. It was a little mud puddle in a shallow glaciated depression (this is one of the rare instances of historic glaciation in the local mountains).
The shore of Dollar Lake.http://www.flickr.com/photos/rowleypics/2664317679/in/set-72157606147182459/
Overall, though, the trip was a success. We had a good time. The pine forests were beautiful, the air was sweet and clean, and we made it. We're a bit stiff and sore, now, and we were in pain, then, but in all we decided that the five dollars we spent on our Adventure Pass was a steal. That much adventure for five bucks? Shoot, that was easily worth twenty or thirty dollars!
Pictures from our adventure are at Flickr: Dollar Lake Hike.
Thursday, July 10, 2008
Fun with Words
Have you seen this before? I hadn't until today. This is a complete sentence:
Buffalo buffalo Buffalo buffalo buffalo buffalo Buffalo buffalo.
This is way awesome, especially considering buffalo is such a fun word to say.
Here is Wikipedia's explanation.
Buffalo buffalo Buffalo buffalo buffalo buffalo Buffalo buffalo.
This is way awesome, especially considering buffalo is such a fun word to say.
Here is Wikipedia's explanation.
Tuesday, July 08, 2008
Jury Duty
I'm spending this week performing my civic duty. It's very important. I am very important. The system would not work without me. I am Alternate Juror #2. Do you know what that means? Let me break it down for you. Think about it: what if something happens to one of the Jurors, an emergency of some kind? Who would step in and take his place? Well, Alternate Juror #1, of course. But then what if something happens to another Juror? Or, God forbid, to Alternate Juror #1? That's where I come in. I hope you see the import of this position.
It's actually all very interesting, when we're not just sitting on the benches outside the courtroom waiting to be called in (which, I think, has taken up about half of the total time so far). I'm glad to be a part of it. And I've met a nice, Christian home-schooling mom who has Peach Iced Tea flavored mints that she shares.
But don't ask me about the case. I can't talk about it! I've been sworn to secrecy!
It's actually all very interesting, when we're not just sitting on the benches outside the courtroom waiting to be called in (which, I think, has taken up about half of the total time so far). I'm glad to be a part of it. And I've met a nice, Christian home-schooling mom who has Peach Iced Tea flavored mints that she shares.
But don't ask me about the case. I can't talk about it! I've been sworn to secrecy!
Sunday, July 06, 2008
Fourth of July Travelling
Well, Libby and I have just got to wander. You can't nail our feet to the floor! We won't stay put! We've got to go places and see things and do things!
Actually, I imagine we could live a sedentary life, but we do choose not to. So on the fourth of July this year we drove off to do some hiking in Idyllwild and then down low and southeast to do some birding at the Salton Sea. Pictures (and videos) of the whole experience can be found here: http://flickr.com/photos/rowleypics/sets/72157606014338686/.
We were going to do the South Ridge Trail to Tahquitz Peak in Idyllwild, but the road our trail guide called pot-holed turned out to be a roller-coaster-style-four-wheel drive-holed. Subsequently we chose to hike up to Suicide Rock instead to ameliorate our anguish in a final act of defiance to the world. Fortunately, we took the wrong turn and ended up a little bit short of Strawberry Junction on the Deer Springs Trail. That meant we gained quite a bit more elevation and went about a mile further than we expected, but it's good practice for our upcoming backpack trip.
We carried our binoculars, of course, but didn't use them a whole lot. The most exciting bird of the trip was a Mountain Quail family. Not only was this a totally new bird to us, but the babies were really cute. They were only about two inches tall, and scurried after their mother with astonishing rapidity. They were all very furtive, dodging in and out of Manzanita thickets and behind rocks, but it was loads of fun to watch the little striped babies, smaller than a mouse, dashing to and fro on the side of the trail. We also saw some neat mountain birds, like Pygmy Nuthatches, Oak Titmice, Violet-green Swallows, a Green-tailed Towhee, and a White-headed Woodpecker.
After our hike, we ate a late lunch and jumped into the car to drive to Brawley. Brawley is a small town in the middle of the Imperial Valley south of the Salton Sea. That means it's a hot place. We took Route 74, which is the Pines to Palms Highway (or is it Palms to Pines?) down from behind San Jacinto to Palm Springs, and then went over and drove way south past the Salton Sea to Brawley. It was hot. The high in Brawley that day had been 110, and it doesn't cool off all that much at night (the low was in the 80s).
The next day we birded our way along the southern end of the Salton Sea and then hit the road by about 10:00 am. We wanted to get out of there before it got too hot. The Salton Sea is a great place to go birding due to the diversity of wintering birds in the cool seasons, but it hosts rarer birds in the summer. It's the only place in the Western U.S. to host Laughing Gulls, Gull-billed Terns, Wood Storks and (only occasionally, now) Fulvous Whistling-Ducks. There is also a bird that comes there in the summer that you can find nowhere else in the United States at all - the Yellow-footed Gull, a very large dark mantled gull previously thought con-specific with our local Western Gull. The Yellow-footed Gull only breeds in the Gulf of California, but every summer since the 50s, an increasing number of them have been flying north to the Salton Sea during the summer.
We were fairly successful in our trip. We saw Laughing Gulls in breeding plumage - not a lifer, but the first time we'd ever seen a hooded gull with a hood. We saw Gull-billed Terns, which were lifers; Black Terns, another lifer that breeds fairly commonly in the inland parts of North America; and our Yellow-footed Gulls. There had been three Fulvous Whistling-Ducks reported this year, but we didn't see them, and eight Wood Storks had been reported two days before we birded the area. No luck on that front either, despite checking the spot they were reported twice and giving every distant American White Pelican a double look.
Fledgling Burrowing Owl
http://flickr.com/photos/rowleypics/2640728978/in/set-72157606014338686/
Actually, I imagine we could live a sedentary life, but we do choose not to. So on the fourth of July this year we drove off to do some hiking in Idyllwild and then down low and southeast to do some birding at the Salton Sea. Pictures (and videos) of the whole experience can be found here: http://flickr.com/photos/rowleypics/sets/72157606014338686/.
We were going to do the South Ridge Trail to Tahquitz Peak in Idyllwild, but the road our trail guide called pot-holed turned out to be a roller-coaster-style-four-wheel drive-holed. Subsequently we chose to hike up to Suicide Rock instead to ameliorate our anguish in a final act of defiance to the world. Fortunately, we took the wrong turn and ended up a little bit short of Strawberry Junction on the Deer Springs Trail. That meant we gained quite a bit more elevation and went about a mile further than we expected, but it's good practice for our upcoming backpack trip.
We carried our binoculars, of course, but didn't use them a whole lot. The most exciting bird of the trip was a Mountain Quail family. Not only was this a totally new bird to us, but the babies were really cute. They were only about two inches tall, and scurried after their mother with astonishing rapidity. They were all very furtive, dodging in and out of Manzanita thickets and behind rocks, but it was loads of fun to watch the little striped babies, smaller than a mouse, dashing to and fro on the side of the trail. We also saw some neat mountain birds, like Pygmy Nuthatches, Oak Titmice, Violet-green Swallows, a Green-tailed Towhee, and a White-headed Woodpecker.
After our hike, we ate a late lunch and jumped into the car to drive to Brawley. Brawley is a small town in the middle of the Imperial Valley south of the Salton Sea. That means it's a hot place. We took Route 74, which is the Pines to Palms Highway (or is it Palms to Pines?) down from behind San Jacinto to Palm Springs, and then went over and drove way south past the Salton Sea to Brawley. It was hot. The high in Brawley that day had been 110, and it doesn't cool off all that much at night (the low was in the 80s).
The next day we birded our way along the southern end of the Salton Sea and then hit the road by about 10:00 am. We wanted to get out of there before it got too hot. The Salton Sea is a great place to go birding due to the diversity of wintering birds in the cool seasons, but it hosts rarer birds in the summer. It's the only place in the Western U.S. to host Laughing Gulls, Gull-billed Terns, Wood Storks and (only occasionally, now) Fulvous Whistling-Ducks. There is also a bird that comes there in the summer that you can find nowhere else in the United States at all - the Yellow-footed Gull, a very large dark mantled gull previously thought con-specific with our local Western Gull. The Yellow-footed Gull only breeds in the Gulf of California, but every summer since the 50s, an increasing number of them have been flying north to the Salton Sea during the summer.
We were fairly successful in our trip. We saw Laughing Gulls in breeding plumage - not a lifer, but the first time we'd ever seen a hooded gull with a hood. We saw Gull-billed Terns, which were lifers; Black Terns, another lifer that breeds fairly commonly in the inland parts of North America; and our Yellow-footed Gulls. There had been three Fulvous Whistling-Ducks reported this year, but we didn't see them, and eight Wood Storks had been reported two days before we birded the area. No luck on that front either, despite checking the spot they were reported twice and giving every distant American White Pelican a double look.
Fledgling Burrowing Owlhttp://flickr.com/photos/rowleypics/2640728978/in/set-72157606014338686/
Bird List:
Species in no particular order, but species seen in Idyllwild won't show up on the Salton Sea list. I'm just writing things down now, too, so I may forget some species.
Idyllwild:
1. Spotted Towhee
2. Band-tailed Pigeon
3. Mourning Dove
4. Red-tailed Hawk
5. Oak Titmouse
6. Violet-green Swallow
7. White-throated Swift
8. Western Scrub Jay
9. Steller's Jay
10. Mountain Quail (Lifer)
11. Western Bluebird
12. Common Raven
13. Northern Mockingbird
14. Mountain Chickadee
15. Acorn Woodpecker
16. Turkey Vulture
17. Lesser Goldfinch
18. Green-tailed Towhee
19. White-headed Woodpecker
20. Pygmy Nuthatch
21. Hummingbird sp.
22. Western Tanager
Salton Sea:
23. Ruddy Duck
24. Marbled Godwit
25. Long-billed Curlew
26. Black-necked Stilt
27. American Avocet
28. White-faced Ibis
29. Killdeer
30. Brown Pelican
31. American White Pelican
32. Clark's Grebe
33. Eared Grebe (these were almost certainly Fall migrants)
34. Double-crested Cormorant
35. Great Blue Heron
36. Great Egret
37. Snowy Egret
38. Green Heron
39. Cattle Egret
40. Black-crowned Night-Heron
41. Northern Harrier (rare in summer at Salton Sea)
42. American Kestrel
43. Gambel's Quail
44. American Coot
45. Common Moorhen (a small family with very ugly little babies)
46. California Gull
47. Laughing Gull
48. Yellow-footed Gull (lifer)
49. Willet
50. Ring-billed Gull
51. Gull-billed Tern (lifer)
52. Black Tern (lifer)
53. Caspian Tern
54. Forster's Tern
55. Common Ground-Dove
56. Rock Pigeon
57. Eurasian Collared Dove
58. White-winged Dove
59. Greater Roadrunner (always very fun to see - crossing the road in front of us)
60. Burrowing Owl (41 - fun to play the "count the Burrowing Owl" game)
61. Black-chinned Hummingbird
62. Gila Woodpecker (one seen in flight was a little unsatisfying)
63. Black Phoebe
64. Western Kingbird
65. Northern Rough-winged Swallow
66. Cliff Swallow
67. Verdin
68. Cactus Wren
69. European Starling
70. Abert's Towhee
71. Red-winged Blackbird
72. Western Meadowlark
73. Great-tailed Grackle
74. House Finch
75. House Sparrow
Species in no particular order, but species seen in Idyllwild won't show up on the Salton Sea list. I'm just writing things down now, too, so I may forget some species.
Idyllwild:
1. Spotted Towhee
2. Band-tailed Pigeon
3. Mourning Dove
4. Red-tailed Hawk
5. Oak Titmouse
6. Violet-green Swallow
7. White-throated Swift
8. Western Scrub Jay
9. Steller's Jay
10. Mountain Quail (Lifer)
11. Western Bluebird
12. Common Raven
13. Northern Mockingbird
14. Mountain Chickadee
15. Acorn Woodpecker
16. Turkey Vulture
17. Lesser Goldfinch
18. Green-tailed Towhee
19. White-headed Woodpecker
20. Pygmy Nuthatch
21. Hummingbird sp.
22. Western Tanager
Salton Sea:
23. Ruddy Duck
24. Marbled Godwit
25. Long-billed Curlew
26. Black-necked Stilt
27. American Avocet
28. White-faced Ibis
29. Killdeer
30. Brown Pelican
31. American White Pelican
32. Clark's Grebe
33. Eared Grebe (these were almost certainly Fall migrants)
34. Double-crested Cormorant
35. Great Blue Heron
36. Great Egret
37. Snowy Egret
38. Green Heron
39. Cattle Egret
40. Black-crowned Night-Heron
41. Northern Harrier (rare in summer at Salton Sea)
42. American Kestrel
43. Gambel's Quail
44. American Coot
45. Common Moorhen (a small family with very ugly little babies)
46. California Gull
47. Laughing Gull
48. Yellow-footed Gull (lifer)
49. Willet
50. Ring-billed Gull
51. Gull-billed Tern (lifer)
52. Black Tern (lifer)
53. Caspian Tern
54. Forster's Tern
55. Common Ground-Dove
56. Rock Pigeon
57. Eurasian Collared Dove
58. White-winged Dove
59. Greater Roadrunner (always very fun to see - crossing the road in front of us)
60. Burrowing Owl (41 - fun to play the "count the Burrowing Owl" game)
61. Black-chinned Hummingbird
62. Gila Woodpecker (one seen in flight was a little unsatisfying)
63. Black Phoebe
64. Western Kingbird
65. Northern Rough-winged Swallow
66. Cliff Swallow
67. Verdin
68. Cactus Wren
69. European Starling
70. Abert's Towhee
71. Red-winged Blackbird
72. Western Meadowlark
73. Great-tailed Grackle
74. House Finch
75. House Sparrow
Wednesday, July 02, 2008
Oregon
I'm pretty late in posting about our trip to Oregon, but it's better late than never.
Right after school got out for me, Jonathan and I took a brief trip up to Toledo, Oregon to visit my Dad's side of the family. We were both very excited about this trip. Oregon in general, and Grandma's House (where we stayed) in particular, are a kind of Home for me. Even though I didn't spend tons of time there when I was growing up (a couple of Christmas-time visits, and a handful of Summer ones) it's full of happy memories. So being there gives me a warm, content, home feeling. And this was my first chance to share that with Jonathan, so that was extra special.
Sadly, my parents and younger siblings weren't able to come because of recent health issues that my Dad has been dealing with. So that was disappointing. But Gabe and Emily and their boys were there, and that was a lot of fun. Those little boys offered a lot of entertainment.
We hit all of the favorite spots and activities. And Jonathan and I got in some birding and even had some lifers (5 for me, and 6 for him). But it also was just good to be there, even when we weren't doing anything more than sitting in Grandma's family room looking at old pictures and eating cookies.
We took a lot of pictures of our trip, which you can view here.
Sunday, June 29, 2008
Summer Reading
If one were to lift the curtain on the Rowley apartment this summer, one would more often than not find its inhabitants reading. Libby is taking classes that require reading, is part of a summer book club (so far A Severe Mercy and The Diary of Anne Frank) with some teachers from her school, and is also engaged in personal reading projects: currently The Brothers Karamazov. I don't have anything else to do after work, either, so I've been working my way through other Russian literature. In the last month I've finished both Anna Karenina and War and Peace as well as Hard Times by Charles Dickens. I've just started Dostoevsky's Demons. The result is a rather peaceful and contemplative life.
This is my first real foray into Tolstoy. Anna Karenina was a very well written novel, and some have considered it the greatest novel of all time. Nevertheless, I found it morally bothersome. Tolstoy's personal opinions are obscured, and I didn't enjoy the moral ambiguity surrounded the titular character's affair. While it definitely resulted in destruction, the actual cause of the destruction is unclear - is it Anna's fault, Vronsky's fault, or society's fault? Meanwhile, one wonders if the problems Levin is struggling with will expose a solution to Anna's unhappiness. Levin's solution is lyrically beautiful and powerful, but ultimately unsatisfying to an orthodox Christian.
War and Peace is not as good of a novel as Anna Karenina. In fact, in some places it is hardly a novel at all. Indeed, the whole second epilogue is a focused attempt at solving the problems of historiography and putting it on a footing that allows for its study as a positivistic kind of endeavor - to discover the very laws by which human activities are governed. This is very dull and history, ironically, has shown it futile. The narrative, on the other hand, is well written, and the characters themselves are engaging. The scope of the work, admittedly intimidating, is also a strength, as Tolstoy is able to approach many obstacles to true human happiness from a variety of angles. Pierre Bezukhov and Andrew Bolkonsky's concerns, especially, are very interesting reading and I found the thoughts Tolstoy expressing through them interesting and helpful.
Back to reading, now!
This is my first real foray into Tolstoy. Anna Karenina was a very well written novel, and some have considered it the greatest novel of all time. Nevertheless, I found it morally bothersome. Tolstoy's personal opinions are obscured, and I didn't enjoy the moral ambiguity surrounded the titular character's affair. While it definitely resulted in destruction, the actual cause of the destruction is unclear - is it Anna's fault, Vronsky's fault, or society's fault? Meanwhile, one wonders if the problems Levin is struggling with will expose a solution to Anna's unhappiness. Levin's solution is lyrically beautiful and powerful, but ultimately unsatisfying to an orthodox Christian.
War and Peace is not as good of a novel as Anna Karenina. In fact, in some places it is hardly a novel at all. Indeed, the whole second epilogue is a focused attempt at solving the problems of historiography and putting it on a footing that allows for its study as a positivistic kind of endeavor - to discover the very laws by which human activities are governed. This is very dull and history, ironically, has shown it futile. The narrative, on the other hand, is well written, and the characters themselves are engaging. The scope of the work, admittedly intimidating, is also a strength, as Tolstoy is able to approach many obstacles to true human happiness from a variety of angles. Pierre Bezukhov and Andrew Bolkonsky's concerns, especially, are very interesting reading and I found the thoughts Tolstoy expressing through them interesting and helpful.
Back to reading, now!
Thursday, June 05, 2008
Wee Blue Heron
I know it's been awhile, but it's worth recording that last weekend we took a summer trip to Bolsa Chica. We hadn't been there since December, and the birds had mostly completed the transition to summer-time. Not a duck to be found- the only bird bobbing around in the water was a single Pied-billed Grebe. Terns were everywhere, though. The raucous calls of Elegant Terns, especially, filled the air. Least Terns were also nesting in their protected habitat, and Forster's Terns came right up to us on the boardwalk. I put up some pictures and videos at my Flickr: http://flickr.com/photos/rowleypics/. I was happier than normal with the pictures. The terns really did come very close to us, and some of the pictures and one of the videos was taken without any zoom. The only drawback was the harsh light; they did come out grainy.
Little Blue Heron at Bolsa Chica
http://flickr.com/photos/rowleypics/2540240986/in/set-72157605394003781/
The terns were a lot of fun to watch, but the best moment came right after we arrived. A helpful birder came up to us and pointed out a Little Blue Heron feeding a few hundred yards away. Heat waves inhibited even our scope, but we hurried over and get some very good views of the rarity. I even got a couple of pictures. This was our first for-sure wild Little Blue Heron. I remember seeing one in a distant exhibit at the San Diego Zoo a few years ago, but we didn't count it because we weren't sure whether or not it was wild. Now we have one that certainly was, and we saw it quite well. Little Blue Herons are a warmer-water Egret. The only breeding population in California is at Sea World, but they're quite common further south and over on the east coast.
We also finally saw our first Red Knots. We're not shorebird aficionados, but Red Knots were one of the common winter shorebirds at Bolsa Chica that we'd somehow overlooked in the past. Since this is probably the low point of the shorebird population in So Cal, it was easy to pick a few of them out among the few Lesser Yellowlegs, western Willets and Marbled Godwits that were foraging in the mud. I got some pictures of those too, but they were too grainy and I'm not going to post them.
Anyway, a two-lifer day in Orange County of all places! Not too shabby.
Little Blue Heron at Bolsa Chicahttp://flickr.com/photos/rowleypics/2540240986/in/set-72157605394003781/
The terns were a lot of fun to watch, but the best moment came right after we arrived. A helpful birder came up to us and pointed out a Little Blue Heron feeding a few hundred yards away. Heat waves inhibited even our scope, but we hurried over and get some very good views of the rarity. I even got a couple of pictures. This was our first for-sure wild Little Blue Heron. I remember seeing one in a distant exhibit at the San Diego Zoo a few years ago, but we didn't count it because we weren't sure whether or not it was wild. Now we have one that certainly was, and we saw it quite well. Little Blue Herons are a warmer-water Egret. The only breeding population in California is at Sea World, but they're quite common further south and over on the east coast.
We also finally saw our first Red Knots. We're not shorebird aficionados, but Red Knots were one of the common winter shorebirds at Bolsa Chica that we'd somehow overlooked in the past. Since this is probably the low point of the shorebird population in So Cal, it was easy to pick a few of them out among the few Lesser Yellowlegs, western Willets and Marbled Godwits that were foraging in the mud. I got some pictures of those too, but they were too grainy and I'm not going to post them.
Anyway, a two-lifer day in Orange County of all places! Not too shabby.
Monday, June 02, 2008
Field Trip!
We've been studying the human body in Science, so today I took my 5th graders to the Body Worlds exhibit at the California Science Center in LA. It's really incredible. At the exhibit there are actual human bodies, preserved through the process of plastination. One can see every bone, every muscle, every blood vessel and how intricately they all work together without our thinking about it. It was a neat experience, and I'm glad we had the opportunity to do it.
It's a pretty popular exhibit, too. It was hard to get tickets; and it was rather crowded when we were there. Also, apparently, there are people who are so moved by the exhibit that they want to sign up to donate their bodies specifically for this purpose. I heard that they have more people who want to donate their bodies for this exhibit than they can actually use.
At the very end of the exhibit, there's even some information about how you too can donate your body for this. One of my students, after reading about the body donation process, asked me with knitted eyebrows and real concern in her voice: "Mrs. Rowley, when you sign up to donate your body, do they kill you?" I managed not to smile as I explained that they wait for you to die of natural causes before they take your body.
But then later, I laughed.
It's a pretty popular exhibit, too. It was hard to get tickets; and it was rather crowded when we were there. Also, apparently, there are people who are so moved by the exhibit that they want to sign up to donate their bodies specifically for this purpose. I heard that they have more people who want to donate their bodies for this exhibit than they can actually use.
At the very end of the exhibit, there's even some information about how you too can donate your body for this. One of my students, after reading about the body donation process, asked me with knitted eyebrows and real concern in her voice: "Mrs. Rowley, when you sign up to donate your body, do they kill you?" I managed not to smile as I explained that they wait for you to die of natural causes before they take your body.
But then later, I laughed.
Sunday, May 25, 2008
Memorial Day Weekend Desert Birding
This weekend Libby went on a camping trip/ late spring birding trip extravaganza! This'll be an illustrated narrative of the experience, but if you'd like to skip straight to the pictures we took over the weekend, you can click here:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/rowleypics/sets/72157605250412673/.
We stayed the night at Black Rock Campground, a campground in the north-western portion of Joshua Tree National Park. You can't actually access the rest of the park from that area, so you don't have to pay an entrance fee. We arrived in the gathering darkness of light twilight, with lightning and flashing on the horizon, a brisk wind chilling the air, and the first stars blinking overhead. We chose to hedge our bets, and put up our comfortable new tent. Subsequently, we spent a pretty comfortable night. Our sleeping bags kept out the cold, and the only sounds from outside were our fairly noisy neighbors and a pair of Great-horned Owls hunting in the nearby desert.
Here's our new tent, and me, at Black Rock Campground.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/rowleypics/2520587198/in/set-72157605250412673/
A male Summer Tanager at Big Morongo.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/rowleypics/2519793715/in/set-72157605250412673/
The creek was quite full from the recent rain and snow.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/rowleypics/2519773249/in/set-72157605250412673/
We spent a good deal of the rest of the evening up at the base of Monkeyface Falls watching for any swifts, but none showed. Well, I did see one, but it went zipping by at the base of the cliffs so fast I couldn't see anything about it before it disappeared in the direction of Forest Falls. It might have been a White-throated Swift, so it's nothing to count. This is delightfully accessible, though, so we might have to go back and try again sometime a half-hour or so before sunset. That's when they come in to roost. And, then we drove home! All-in-all, we had a great time.
Trip List:
Black Rock Canyon:
1. Gambel's Quail
2. Great-horned Owl
3. Ladder-backed Woodpecker
4. Ash-throated Flycatcher (heard)
5. California Thrasher
6. Black-throated Sparrow
7. Scott's Oriole
Big Morongo:
8. Turkey Vulture
9. Cooper's Hawk
10. Red-tailed Hawk
11. American Kestrel
12. Virginia Rail (heard only)
13. Mourning Dove
14. Black-chinned Hummingbird
15. Costa's Hummingbird
16. Anna's Hummingbird
17. Nuttall's Woodpecker
18. Western Wood-Pewee
19. Willow Flycatcher
20. Black Phoebe
21. Say's Phoebe
22. Vermilion Flycatcher
23. Brown-crested Flycatcher
24. Cassin's Kingbird (heard)
25. Warbling Vireo
26. Oak Titmouse
27. Bewick's Wren
28. Western Bluebird
29. Swainson's Thrush
30. Northern Mockingbird
31. Yellow Warbler
32. Wilson's Warbler
33. Common Yellowthroat
34. Yellow-breasted Chat
35. Summer Tanager
36. Western Tanager
37. California Towhee
38. Spotted Towhee
39. Song Sparrow
40. Black-headed Grosbeak
41. Blue Grosbeak
42. Hooded Oriole
43. House Finch
44. Lesser Goldfinch
45. Lawrence's Goldfinch
46. Rock Pigeon
47. European Starling
48. House Sparrow
Luckie Park:
49. White-winged Dove
50. Eurasian Collared Dove
51. Western Kingbird
52. Scissor-tailed Flycatcher (Lifer!)
53. American Robin
Oasis of Mara Visitor's Center:
54. Verdin
55. Cactus Wren
56. Phainopepla
57. MacGillivray's Warbler
58. Great-tailed Grackle
Mentone/ Mill Creek:
59. Acorn Woodpecker
60. American Crow
61. House Wren
62. Black-throated Gray Warbler
63. Bullock's Oriole
Highway 62:
64. White-throated Swift
65. Common Raven
http://www.flickr.com/photos/rowleypics/sets/72157605250412673/.
We stayed the night at Black Rock Campground, a campground in the north-western portion of Joshua Tree National Park. You can't actually access the rest of the park from that area, so you don't have to pay an entrance fee. We arrived in the gathering darkness of light twilight, with lightning and flashing on the horizon, a brisk wind chilling the air, and the first stars blinking overhead. We chose to hedge our bets, and put up our comfortable new tent. Subsequently, we spent a pretty comfortable night. Our sleeping bags kept out the cold, and the only sounds from outside were our fairly noisy neighbors and a pair of Great-horned Owls hunting in the nearby desert.
Here's our new tent, and me, at Black Rock Campground.http://www.flickr.com/photos/rowleypics/2520587198/in/set-72157605250412673/
Black Rock Campground is in classic Mojave habitat - Joshua Tree forest. Because we would be out of that habitat when we went to Big Morongo, we did a little birding there before we left. Gambel's Quails called from the tops of Joshua Trees and bushes all around us, and we flushed coveys of them as we wended our way through the brush. We were a little puzzled by a California Thrasher, which we thought might be out of habitat. The most beautiful bird of our walk, however, was a trio of Scott's Orioles, including a bright male. That's the regularly breeding California oriole we see the least of, so we were happy to get some good views of it. Libby likes to call them black-headed yellow birds because they remind us a bit of an inverted Yellow-headed Blackbird. I'm going to put a day list, with birds separated by location, at the bottom of the post. You can check there if you want to get a feel for what some typical high desert avifauna.
We couldn't waste too much morning, so we jumped in the car and sped off to Big Morongo Canyon Preserve, an oasis on the edge of the town of Morongo Valley about 10 miles west of Black Rock Canyon. Big Morongo is a special place because it supplies year-round water to desert wildlife - an oasis packed with dense vegetation and bird-life. This makes it a valuable stop-over for a lot of tired migrating birds during spring and summer, and it has recorded far more than its fair share of rare vagrants. It also provides habitat for some birds that are uncommon in California. This is one of the few locations where Summer Tanagers breed regularly, Brown-crested Flycatchers can be regularly be found in one of its eastern-most locations, and Vermilion Flycatchers also breed here every year.
Big Morongo had a fire a few years ago and is still recovering.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/rowleypics/2519770487/in/set-72157605250412673/
Migration was slow, though, at the preserve. The most common migrants were Wilson's Warblers, Yellow Warblers, and Western Wood-Pewees. We also saw a couple of Western Tanagers, a Willow Flycatcher, and a Warbling Vireo. Still, we were able to find all of the common specialty resident birds, with the exception of Least Bell's Vireo. Besides the three above, that includes such colorful species as Hooded Oriole, Blue Grosbeak, Lawrence's Goldfinch and Yellow-breasted Chat. Oh, and we saw a raccoon - a picture's in the set.
We couldn't waste too much morning, so we jumped in the car and sped off to Big Morongo Canyon Preserve, an oasis on the edge of the town of Morongo Valley about 10 miles west of Black Rock Canyon. Big Morongo is a special place because it supplies year-round water to desert wildlife - an oasis packed with dense vegetation and bird-life. This makes it a valuable stop-over for a lot of tired migrating birds during spring and summer, and it has recorded far more than its fair share of rare vagrants. It also provides habitat for some birds that are uncommon in California. This is one of the few locations where Summer Tanagers breed regularly, Brown-crested Flycatchers can be regularly be found in one of its eastern-most locations, and Vermilion Flycatchers also breed here every year.
Big Morongo had a fire a few years ago and is still recovering.http://www.flickr.com/photos/rowleypics/2519770487/in/set-72157605250412673/
Migration was slow, though, at the preserve. The most common migrants were Wilson's Warblers, Yellow Warblers, and Western Wood-Pewees. We also saw a couple of Western Tanagers, a Willow Flycatcher, and a Warbling Vireo. Still, we were able to find all of the common specialty resident birds, with the exception of Least Bell's Vireo. Besides the three above, that includes such colorful species as Hooded Oriole, Blue Grosbeak, Lawrence's Goldfinch and Yellow-breasted Chat. Oh, and we saw a raccoon - a picture's in the set.
A male Summer Tanager at Big Morongo.http://www.flickr.com/photos/rowleypics/2519793715/in/set-72157605250412673/
We spent a few hours at Big Morongo. We made sure to walk all the trails and we also spent some time at the feeders to see all three of the local hummingbird species. But, we couldn't stay all day because we wanted to make it over to Luckie Park at Twenty-nine Palms to look for (or, as the Brits say, "twitch") a Scissor-tailed Flycatcher. Scissor-taileds are generally found in Texas or parts thereabout, but this particular individual spent last summer at Luckie Park and is back again this summer. We had some directions for the bird, but it never showed in the places recommended to us. A short walk, however, yielded the exciting view of a smallish bird with streaming tail feathers sailing towards us. Hurrah! I got a few pictures, included in the Set, but none show the distinctive tail. The park also hosted Robins and Grackles, but the second best bird we saw there was a fly-by White-winged Dove. Oh, and also.
A nice lady at Big Morongo recommended we stop by the Joshua Tree National Park visitor's center since we were going to be at Luckie Park. It's basically just across the street. So we did, and that was fun. It's got an artificial oasis that they have to maintain since its natural water dried up some years ago. The best bird we saw there was a really sharp-looking MacGillivray's Warbler. We also picked up some desert species that we missed at Black Rock.
You might think that, after all this awesome birding, and as time must have been ticking away, that we would call it a day and come home. Well, we didn't. Next target for the day was Black Swifts, that nest behind a waterfall called Monkeyface Falls near Forest Falls at the base of San Gorgornio. So, instead of taking the 10 all the way home, we turned north in Yucaipa and headed up Mill Creek Canyon. When we arrived it was around 4:30, and it was cold and wet. Low clouds covered the tops of all the nearby mountains. So we ate dinner and then stopped by a picnic area along Mill Creek where we enjoyed a different sort of riparian habitat than earlier. Here we had a Bullock's Oriole, which made the third oriole species for the day.
The creek was quite full from the recent rain and snow.http://www.flickr.com/photos/rowleypics/2519773249/in/set-72157605250412673/
We spent a good deal of the rest of the evening up at the base of Monkeyface Falls watching for any swifts, but none showed. Well, I did see one, but it went zipping by at the base of the cliffs so fast I couldn't see anything about it before it disappeared in the direction of Forest Falls. It might have been a White-throated Swift, so it's nothing to count. This is delightfully accessible, though, so we might have to go back and try again sometime a half-hour or so before sunset. That's when they come in to roost. And, then we drove home! All-in-all, we had a great time.
Trip List:
Black Rock Canyon:
1. Gambel's Quail
2. Great-horned Owl
3. Ladder-backed Woodpecker
4. Ash-throated Flycatcher (heard)
5. California Thrasher
6. Black-throated Sparrow
7. Scott's Oriole
Big Morongo:
8. Turkey Vulture
9. Cooper's Hawk
10. Red-tailed Hawk
11. American Kestrel
12. Virginia Rail (heard only)
13. Mourning Dove
14. Black-chinned Hummingbird
15. Costa's Hummingbird
16. Anna's Hummingbird
17. Nuttall's Woodpecker
18. Western Wood-Pewee
19. Willow Flycatcher
20. Black Phoebe
21. Say's Phoebe
22. Vermilion Flycatcher
23. Brown-crested Flycatcher
24. Cassin's Kingbird (heard)
25. Warbling Vireo
26. Oak Titmouse
27. Bewick's Wren
28. Western Bluebird
29. Swainson's Thrush
30. Northern Mockingbird
31. Yellow Warbler
32. Wilson's Warbler
33. Common Yellowthroat
34. Yellow-breasted Chat
35. Summer Tanager
36. Western Tanager
37. California Towhee
38. Spotted Towhee
39. Song Sparrow
40. Black-headed Grosbeak
41. Blue Grosbeak
42. Hooded Oriole
43. House Finch
44. Lesser Goldfinch
45. Lawrence's Goldfinch
46. Rock Pigeon
47. European Starling
48. House Sparrow
Luckie Park:
49. White-winged Dove
50. Eurasian Collared Dove
51. Western Kingbird
52. Scissor-tailed Flycatcher (Lifer!)
53. American Robin
Oasis of Mara Visitor's Center:
54. Verdin
55. Cactus Wren
56. Phainopepla
57. MacGillivray's Warbler
58. Great-tailed Grackle
Mentone/ Mill Creek:
59. Acorn Woodpecker
60. American Crow
61. House Wren
62. Black-throated Gray Warbler
63. Bullock's Oriole
Highway 62:
64. White-throated Swift
65. Common Raven
Friday, May 23, 2008
Cryptic Species
One of the things that makes birding interesting as a hobby in a way you might not expect is that the collective ornithological knowledge upon which all birding is based - field guides, checklists, etc. - is always changing. That's because there is still a whole lot of mystery in the natural world, and every once in awhile, someone unlocks a new door and discovers something exciting. For example, there are still new species being discovered right here in North America.
How can that be? Haven't we exhaustively explored every inch of our continent? Well, yes, but sometimes two different species can look identical. All North American birds have been named via a dead bird - a "type specimen" in a dusty specimen cabinet in a university or a library shot by famous old ornithologists birds are named after - like Nuttall, Audubon, or Townsend. So they were named by appearance - the physical make-up (or morphology) of the bird.
But, if they are genetically distinct despite their identical appearance, and choose not to breed with each other (more often than not, given the choice), than isn't that a different species? The most famous examples of this is found in the Tyrannid (New World Flycatchers) family - these birds do not learn their songs, like most singing birds, but rather are genetically programmed to sing the songs they sing. So, even though some are basically identical (Alder and Willow Flycatchers, Cordilleran and Pacific Slope Flycatchers, Eastern and Western Wood-peewees), if they have different calls, that reflects a genetic difference. And, if the birds choose to breed with their own species instead of their sister species when given the choice (this happens where the species are found in the same place - so called "contact zones"), then they're separate species. Since female birds are apt to choose their mates based on song, this is what does happen, and so we've been adding species since people started studying this sort of thing in the last 30 or 40 years.
A recent book I read (The Singing Life of Birds by ornithologist Donald Kroodsma) suggests that Winter and Marsh Wrens are distinct species (both with an eastern and western version) based on the fact that they have distinct songs and calls. He did laboratory studies where he raised eastern and western wrens in the same room, playing eastern and western songs for them. He found that the birds, though song-learners, didn't learn each others' songs as well as they learned their own version of Marsh Wren song. The author then studied the contact zone for Marsh Wrens in the Midwest, and found that the birds maintained their perfectly distinct songs even when found in the same marsh. His conclusion is that, given sexual selection for birds that sing familiar songs and the genetic predisposition to learn their own song, the birds are distinct species. This probably needs to be followed up with a genetic study to confirm the females' preference before it will be accepted, but it seems very likely.
He had not found or studied a contact zone for Winter Wrens, however. Winter Wrens are, to the English, THE Wren. It's the only kind of Wren found in the "old world", and it's found from the Bering Straight to the British Isles - in both hemispheres. The Pacific-slope population, though, has long been thought to be the most accomplished singer. It sings longer and more complex songs than any other group. Finally, someone's done the study, and found the place where this complex singing group meets their more widespread (and less virtuoso) eastern relative. And, lo and behold, the birds in the contact zone maintain their distinct song, defending neighboring territories in the coniferous forests of western Canada. And, the molecular DNA study shows they don't interbreed. So, the females are choosing the birds that sing the song their ancestors sung, and the birds are therefore a distinct species. But you can't tell them apart just by looking!
Winter Wren from Germany (Wikipedia)
This bird is showing the distinctive Winter Wren formula - a little mousey brown bird with a short barred tail and an eye-brow. Looks like a Bewick's Wren whose tail's cut off. The Pacific Winter Wren looks pretty much the same.
So the Winter Wren Libby and I've seen (in Northern California) turns out not to be Troglodytes troglodytes. It's Troglodytes pacificus - not officially, there's a group (the AOU) that decides that, but almost certainly. Now, I would be interested to see if the birds of Europe are the same as the birds in eastern North America. There aren't any contact zones, so people will have to come at it from a different angle. Hopefully some ornithologist will pursue it, now.
For birdwatchers, there'll be a new bird to identify, tick, add to our lists. A new vagrant to look for in the Fall (an eastern Winter Wren was in Huntington Beach this Fall, for example, identified by call notes). A new bird to seek out in the Northeast. Since the whole pleasure of birdwatching hinges on identifying birds, this carries significance. The field guides will be have to be amended, with new color-coded range maps and illustrations. Libby and I's current field guides are already lacking the Cackling Goose and the Dusky vs. Sooty Blue Grouse split, so this is just one more thing to learn. I love that things are so dynamic. What larks!
How can that be? Haven't we exhaustively explored every inch of our continent? Well, yes, but sometimes two different species can look identical. All North American birds have been named via a dead bird - a "type specimen" in a dusty specimen cabinet in a university or a library shot by famous old ornithologists birds are named after - like Nuttall, Audubon, or Townsend. So they were named by appearance - the physical make-up (or morphology) of the bird.
But, if they are genetically distinct despite their identical appearance, and choose not to breed with each other (more often than not, given the choice), than isn't that a different species? The most famous examples of this is found in the Tyrannid (New World Flycatchers) family - these birds do not learn their songs, like most singing birds, but rather are genetically programmed to sing the songs they sing. So, even though some are basically identical (Alder and Willow Flycatchers, Cordilleran and Pacific Slope Flycatchers, Eastern and Western Wood-peewees), if they have different calls, that reflects a genetic difference. And, if the birds choose to breed with their own species instead of their sister species when given the choice (this happens where the species are found in the same place - so called "contact zones"), then they're separate species. Since female birds are apt to choose their mates based on song, this is what does happen, and so we've been adding species since people started studying this sort of thing in the last 30 or 40 years.
A recent book I read (The Singing Life of Birds by ornithologist Donald Kroodsma) suggests that Winter and Marsh Wrens are distinct species (both with an eastern and western version) based on the fact that they have distinct songs and calls. He did laboratory studies where he raised eastern and western wrens in the same room, playing eastern and western songs for them. He found that the birds, though song-learners, didn't learn each others' songs as well as they learned their own version of Marsh Wren song. The author then studied the contact zone for Marsh Wrens in the Midwest, and found that the birds maintained their perfectly distinct songs even when found in the same marsh. His conclusion is that, given sexual selection for birds that sing familiar songs and the genetic predisposition to learn their own song, the birds are distinct species. This probably needs to be followed up with a genetic study to confirm the females' preference before it will be accepted, but it seems very likely.
He had not found or studied a contact zone for Winter Wrens, however. Winter Wrens are, to the English, THE Wren. It's the only kind of Wren found in the "old world", and it's found from the Bering Straight to the British Isles - in both hemispheres. The Pacific-slope population, though, has long been thought to be the most accomplished singer. It sings longer and more complex songs than any other group. Finally, someone's done the study, and found the place where this complex singing group meets their more widespread (and less virtuoso) eastern relative. And, lo and behold, the birds in the contact zone maintain their distinct song, defending neighboring territories in the coniferous forests of western Canada. And, the molecular DNA study shows they don't interbreed. So, the females are choosing the birds that sing the song their ancestors sung, and the birds are therefore a distinct species. But you can't tell them apart just by looking!
Winter Wren from Germany (Wikipedia)This bird is showing the distinctive Winter Wren formula - a little mousey brown bird with a short barred tail and an eye-brow. Looks like a Bewick's Wren whose tail's cut off. The Pacific Winter Wren looks pretty much the same.
So the Winter Wren Libby and I've seen (in Northern California) turns out not to be Troglodytes troglodytes. It's Troglodytes pacificus - not officially, there's a group (the AOU) that decides that, but almost certainly. Now, I would be interested to see if the birds of Europe are the same as the birds in eastern North America. There aren't any contact zones, so people will have to come at it from a different angle. Hopefully some ornithologist will pursue it, now.
For birdwatchers, there'll be a new bird to identify, tick, add to our lists. A new vagrant to look for in the Fall (an eastern Winter Wren was in Huntington Beach this Fall, for example, identified by call notes). A new bird to seek out in the Northeast. Since the whole pleasure of birdwatching hinges on identifying birds, this carries significance. The field guides will be have to be amended, with new color-coded range maps and illustrations. Libby and I's current field guides are already lacking the Cackling Goose and the Dusky vs. Sooty Blue Grouse split, so this is just one more thing to learn. I love that things are so dynamic. What larks!
Wednesday, May 21, 2008
Hunter Beetles
Have you noticed the beetle swarm currently afflicting southern California? Unlike any time before, I've been seeing big black beetles everywhere. I thought they were stink bugs, but it turns out they're a related beetle. One distinction: they can fly! One similarity: they can stink!
They're called Hunter Beetles and Biola's swarming with them right now. Since I help with the pest control in the residence halls on campus, I hear about this sort of thing. Plus co-workers and employees have been complaining about them, too. And, of course, I'm seeing them everywhere. I think it's pretty cool, and just found an article from the OC Register about it. You can read it here: http://sciencedude.freedomblogging.com/2008/05/03/tiny-predator-beetles-invade-oc-colleges/
They're called Hunter Beetles and Biola's swarming with them right now. Since I help with the pest control in the residence halls on campus, I hear about this sort of thing. Plus co-workers and employees have been complaining about them, too. And, of course, I'm seeing them everywhere. I think it's pretty cool, and just found an article from the OC Register about it. You can read it here: http://sciencedude.freedomblogging.com/2008/05/03/tiny-predator-beetles-invade-oc-colleges/
Tuesday, May 20, 2008
Blue Eyes
Did you know baby crows have blue eyes? I didn't, but this one does, so apparently at least some do. Isn't he cute?
It's baby bird time in Southern California right now. Just today I saw a young Cooper's Hawk, young Mockingbird, and lots more young Phoebes and Crows. Just as migration is winding down, the fruits of spring are becoming obvious!
Here's a baby Phoebe from nearby the crow: http://flickr.com/photos/rowleypics/2509810605/
You can always check for updates to our photo-stream here: http://flickr.com/photos/rowleypics/
It's baby bird time in Southern California right now. Just today I saw a young Cooper's Hawk, young Mockingbird, and lots more young Phoebes and Crows. Just as migration is winding down, the fruits of spring are becoming obvious!
Here's a baby Phoebe from nearby the crow: http://flickr.com/photos/rowleypics/2509810605/
You can always check for updates to our photo-stream here: http://flickr.com/photos/rowleypics/
Monday, May 19, 2008
Prince Caspian
Libby and I hadn't planned on watching any movies this weekend, but we both came down with colds. So, instead of following through with our previous plans of mucking about in 100+ degree temperatures in the desert, we sweated through the high nineties at our apartment. To break the monotony, we put some DVDs in the old laptop - Batman Begins (to prepare for the sequel I'm most looking forward to this summer), and the Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe. Of course, after having finished the first Narnia movie, we took advantage of the opportunity to catch an air-conditioned matinee of the new sequel.
To be honest, I wasn't really looking forward to the new Prince Caspian movie because 1) the first Narnia movie was a little underwhelming, and 2) the trailers were boring. Still, if one's grown up on Narnia, one can't help but indulge his curiosity.
Fortunately, the new movie is good. It's better in many ways than the first one - especially in production value. It is very pretty. The costume design and digital effects are excellent. We saw it on a digital projector at the local Regal, and it shined in polished perfection on the screen.
The acting is also a little bit better. Trumpkin was especially well acted, I thought, and Libby liked Edmund a lot. Lucy and Edmund have grown a lot since the last movie! Eddie Izzard wasn't great as Reepicheep, but that's not too surprising if you've seen the Five Children and It (don't).
The plot's very different than the novel, but I can live with that. I feel like these adaptations suffer a little bit of Lord of the Rings envy - I don't mean just in adding a few thrilling and out of nowhere scenes, and this movie seems to revel in it. Huorns in Narnia? Where are the Ents? And, there are parts I'd like to have seen that were left out (the Bacchanalia, for example), but, again, I can still enjoy it, and I did.
Thematically, it was interesting. The major theme was faithlessness, in both Narnia and the children, towards Aslan. That's a big question for a big budget movie to express, and it predictably doesn't address it very closely. The children learn not to rely too much on themselves, and Narnia learns that it can't forget about its past. Very nice.
Anyway, if you're at all a fan of the books, you should see this movie. You should like it. Plus, if you don't see it, they might not make the next one. And who else wants to see Eustace become a dragon? And to see Reepicheep sail over the end of the world in his coracle on a wave of light?
To be honest, I wasn't really looking forward to the new Prince Caspian movie because 1) the first Narnia movie was a little underwhelming, and 2) the trailers were boring. Still, if one's grown up on Narnia, one can't help but indulge his curiosity.
Fortunately, the new movie is good. It's better in many ways than the first one - especially in production value. It is very pretty. The costume design and digital effects are excellent. We saw it on a digital projector at the local Regal, and it shined in polished perfection on the screen.
The acting is also a little bit better. Trumpkin was especially well acted, I thought, and Libby liked Edmund a lot. Lucy and Edmund have grown a lot since the last movie! Eddie Izzard wasn't great as Reepicheep, but that's not too surprising if you've seen the Five Children and It (don't).
The plot's very different than the novel, but I can live with that. I feel like these adaptations suffer a little bit of Lord of the Rings envy - I don't mean just in adding a few thrilling and out of nowhere scenes, and this movie seems to revel in it. Huorns in Narnia? Where are the Ents? And, there are parts I'd like to have seen that were left out (the Bacchanalia, for example), but, again, I can still enjoy it, and I did.
Thematically, it was interesting. The major theme was faithlessness, in both Narnia and the children, towards Aslan. That's a big question for a big budget movie to express, and it predictably doesn't address it very closely. The children learn not to rely too much on themselves, and Narnia learns that it can't forget about its past. Very nice.
Anyway, if you're at all a fan of the books, you should see this movie. You should like it. Plus, if you don't see it, they might not make the next one. And who else wants to see Eustace become a dragon? And to see Reepicheep sail over the end of the world in his coracle on a wave of light?
Thursday, May 15, 2008
A Post
Hey Folks,
Not much going in Rowley-ville lately. Hence the slow posting.
Yesterday we baby-sat the nephews, which was fun. Jonathan was go-go-go! He made us lots of desert (dirt - with rocks for marshmallows), played with cars, made a water tower for a duplo train, threw around a frisbee, danced, hopped like a frog, made airplane trains, and looked for imaginary Easter Eggs. Thomas is really just insufferably cute. He followed his big brother around admiringly; attempting to engage in Jonathan's activities. He's a lot slower, though, so mostly he wanted to be carried around and watch.
Summer's coming soon for me, the semester ends on the 23rd.
Summer's a little further away for Libby, but it'll come.
Migration just doesn't stop, though. Every Tuesday I bird my way to work and enter the info on ebird.org: birding web 2.0 sytle. Personally, I like to see the little green bar graphs for each week in La Mirada Creek Park (click here). It would be such an accomplishment to get each week filled in! Unfortunately, though I've been birding the park since September, I didn't enter any checklists until April. Someone else entered one in March, which is great, but that's a lot of wasted walks to work. Also, it means there are some birds not on the park list that I've seen in the park: Chestnut-sided Warbler, Plumbeous Vireo and Olive-sided Flycatcher (all from the same amazing day back in September (or was it October?)!).
I put up some new pictures on Flickr recently of birds at Biola this week. Check it out here:
http://flickr.com/photos/rowleypics/
or here:
http://flickr.com/photos/rowleypics/sets/72157604487716261/
Here's one you don't have to click out to see:
Green Herons are year round breeding residents on Biola's campus.
http://flickr.com/photos/rowleypics/2491614513/in/set-72157604487716261/
Not much going in Rowley-ville lately. Hence the slow posting.
Yesterday we baby-sat the nephews, which was fun. Jonathan was go-go-go! He made us lots of desert (dirt - with rocks for marshmallows), played with cars, made a water tower for a duplo train, threw around a frisbee, danced, hopped like a frog, made airplane trains, and looked for imaginary Easter Eggs. Thomas is really just insufferably cute. He followed his big brother around admiringly; attempting to engage in Jonathan's activities. He's a lot slower, though, so mostly he wanted to be carried around and watch.
Summer's coming soon for me, the semester ends on the 23rd.
Summer's a little further away for Libby, but it'll come.
Migration just doesn't stop, though. Every Tuesday I bird my way to work and enter the info on ebird.org: birding web 2.0 sytle. Personally, I like to see the little green bar graphs for each week in La Mirada Creek Park (click here). It would be such an accomplishment to get each week filled in! Unfortunately, though I've been birding the park since September, I didn't enter any checklists until April. Someone else entered one in March, which is great, but that's a lot of wasted walks to work. Also, it means there are some birds not on the park list that I've seen in the park: Chestnut-sided Warbler, Plumbeous Vireo and Olive-sided Flycatcher (all from the same amazing day back in September (or was it October?)!).
I put up some new pictures on Flickr recently of birds at Biola this week. Check it out here:
http://flickr.com/photos/rowleypics/
or here:
http://flickr.com/photos/rowleypics/sets/72157604487716261/
Here's one you don't have to click out to see:
Green Herons are year round breeding residents on Biola's campus.http://flickr.com/photos/rowleypics/2491614513/in/set-72157604487716261/
Sunday, May 11, 2008
Fun Spring Birding
Libby and I had a great time birding Santiago Oaks Regional Park on Saturday. We had a good diversity of species in mild weather. It's strange; despite our two 100 degree hot spells, this spring seems cooler than normal. We've had clouds every morning - and most or all of the day - for more than a week, temperatures have struggled (often unsuccessfully) to reach 70, and this morning there was a heavy drizzle in La Mirada - enough that my face and helmet were dripping wet when I arrived to work.
Back to the main point, though. Migration seemed moderate for mid-May. There were a few warblers moving through; mostly Wilson's Warblers. One group of pine trees hosted a female Hermit, a group of Townsend's, and our only Yellow-rumped Warblers for the day. We were also happy to see a few on-territory Lazuli Buntings. The park has recently burned, and that makes the habitat perfect for Lazulis. Both Oriole species and many Western Tanagers rounded out the colorful show. We didn't bring our camera, though, so we missed out.
The bird of the day was a single male Blue Grosbeak. He was singing from the top of a very high Eucalyptus tree, and we couldn't make out his color well. Thankfully, he decided to be cooperative, and flew down into a burned oak in an arroyo below us; making it easy for us to appreciate his deep blue body and chestnut wings. That was a treat, as Blue Grosbeaks are a bird that we don't see very often.
As we were leaving the Blue Grosbeak, I pulled up with a gasp. A Mule Deer was descending the hillside into the wash! It disappeared behind a small bend, and I thought for a second that Libby would miss it. Luck was with us. Libby was already watching a buck following my doe. We stood stock-still and watched as the two deer emerged from the hills, stepping hesitatingly down the dry wash towards us. At first slowly, then more and more hesitantly, they approached within a couple of dozen feet. Every once in awhile the breeze would shift and they'd catch our scent. Then they'd stop, stare at us with their big liquid eyes, twitching their big ears. I think they would have eventually crossed the trail immediately below us, but a mountain biker puffed by going uphill, spoiling the scene. Off the deer bounded, stotting stiff-legged back up the wash and then up the hills to the left. They lingered there a moment, the doe approaching us again, but then a man walking his dog spooked them over the ridge for good. It was one of those magical one-with-nature kind of moments, where you almost feel outside of your humanity.
Incidentally, this is only our second trip to Santiago Oaks, and last time we visited we saw a Gray Fox. Pretty cool.
List below:
1. Wood Duck
2. Killdeer
3. Cooper's Hawk
4. Red-tailed Hawk
5. Red-shouldered Hawk
6. Turkey Vulture
7. Great Egret
8. California Quail (H)
9. Rock Pigeon
10. Mourning Dove
11. Red-crowned Parrot
12. White-throated Swift
13. Black-chinned Hummingbird
14. Anna's Hummingbird
15. Acorn Woodpecker
16. Nuttall's Woodpecker
17. Hammond's Flycatcher
18. Pacific-slope Flycatcher
19. Ash-throated Flycatcher
20. Warbling Vireo
21. Hutton's Vireo
22. Western Scrub Jay
23. American Crow
24. Common Raven
25. Barn Swallow
26. Northern Rough-winged Swallow
27. Cliff Swallow
28. Bushtit
29. Bewick's Wren
30. House Wren
31. Wrentit
32. Swainson's Thrush
33. Phainopepla - a single male flew out of a Pepper Tree we were approaching.
34. European Starling
35. Orange-crowned Warbler
36. Yellow Warbler
37. Townswend's Warbler
38. Hermit Warbler
39. Yellow-rumped Warbler
40. Common Yellowthroat
41. Wilson's Warbler
42. Western Tanager
43. Lazuli Bunting
44. Blue Grosbeak
45. Black-headed Grosbeak
46. California Towhee
47. Spotted Towhee
48. Song Sparrow
49. Hooded Oriole
50. Bullock's Oriole
51. Brown-headed Cowbird
52. House Finch
53. Lesser Goldfinch
54. American Goldfinch
I like to keep records of the birds we've seen, that's why I post these lists. One of the things I like about it is that I also see what birds we missed. This list is lacking any Kingbirds, which is weird, Oak Titmice, despite apparently good habitat, and Western Wood Peewees or Olive-sided Flcyatchers, although this is the time of year we ought to be seeing them. I had four Western Wood-Peewees in La Mirada last Tuesday, but none on Saturday! Weird. I wonder why - different habitat? Just not moving around that day?
Oh, and Santiago Oaks has an orange grove. Orchards are supposedly the most reliable place to find Common Ground-doves in Southern California, but we couldn't find any yesterday. I wonder if any are ever found there.
Back to the main point, though. Migration seemed moderate for mid-May. There were a few warblers moving through; mostly Wilson's Warblers. One group of pine trees hosted a female Hermit, a group of Townsend's, and our only Yellow-rumped Warblers for the day. We were also happy to see a few on-territory Lazuli Buntings. The park has recently burned, and that makes the habitat perfect for Lazulis. Both Oriole species and many Western Tanagers rounded out the colorful show. We didn't bring our camera, though, so we missed out.
The bird of the day was a single male Blue Grosbeak. He was singing from the top of a very high Eucalyptus tree, and we couldn't make out his color well. Thankfully, he decided to be cooperative, and flew down into a burned oak in an arroyo below us; making it easy for us to appreciate his deep blue body and chestnut wings. That was a treat, as Blue Grosbeaks are a bird that we don't see very often.
As we were leaving the Blue Grosbeak, I pulled up with a gasp. A Mule Deer was descending the hillside into the wash! It disappeared behind a small bend, and I thought for a second that Libby would miss it. Luck was with us. Libby was already watching a buck following my doe. We stood stock-still and watched as the two deer emerged from the hills, stepping hesitatingly down the dry wash towards us. At first slowly, then more and more hesitantly, they approached within a couple of dozen feet. Every once in awhile the breeze would shift and they'd catch our scent. Then they'd stop, stare at us with their big liquid eyes, twitching their big ears. I think they would have eventually crossed the trail immediately below us, but a mountain biker puffed by going uphill, spoiling the scene. Off the deer bounded, stotting stiff-legged back up the wash and then up the hills to the left. They lingered there a moment, the doe approaching us again, but then a man walking his dog spooked them over the ridge for good. It was one of those magical one-with-nature kind of moments, where you almost feel outside of your humanity.
Incidentally, this is only our second trip to Santiago Oaks, and last time we visited we saw a Gray Fox. Pretty cool.
List below:
1. Wood Duck
2. Killdeer
3. Cooper's Hawk
4. Red-tailed Hawk
5. Red-shouldered Hawk
6. Turkey Vulture
7. Great Egret
8. California Quail (H)
9. Rock Pigeon
10. Mourning Dove
11. Red-crowned Parrot
12. White-throated Swift
13. Black-chinned Hummingbird
14. Anna's Hummingbird
15. Acorn Woodpecker
16. Nuttall's Woodpecker
17. Hammond's Flycatcher
18. Pacific-slope Flycatcher
19. Ash-throated Flycatcher
20. Warbling Vireo
21. Hutton's Vireo
22. Western Scrub Jay
23. American Crow
24. Common Raven
25. Barn Swallow
26. Northern Rough-winged Swallow
27. Cliff Swallow
28. Bushtit
29. Bewick's Wren
30. House Wren
31. Wrentit
32. Swainson's Thrush
33. Phainopepla - a single male flew out of a Pepper Tree we were approaching.
34. European Starling
35. Orange-crowned Warbler
36. Yellow Warbler
37. Townswend's Warbler
38. Hermit Warbler
39. Yellow-rumped Warbler
40. Common Yellowthroat
41. Wilson's Warbler
42. Western Tanager
43. Lazuli Bunting
44. Blue Grosbeak
45. Black-headed Grosbeak
46. California Towhee
47. Spotted Towhee
48. Song Sparrow
49. Hooded Oriole
50. Bullock's Oriole
51. Brown-headed Cowbird
52. House Finch
53. Lesser Goldfinch
54. American Goldfinch
I like to keep records of the birds we've seen, that's why I post these lists. One of the things I like about it is that I also see what birds we missed. This list is lacking any Kingbirds, which is weird, Oak Titmice, despite apparently good habitat, and Western Wood Peewees or Olive-sided Flcyatchers, although this is the time of year we ought to be seeing them. I had four Western Wood-Peewees in La Mirada last Tuesday, but none on Saturday! Weird. I wonder why - different habitat? Just not moving around that day?
Oh, and Santiago Oaks has an orange grove. Orchards are supposedly the most reliable place to find Common Ground-doves in Southern California, but we couldn't find any yesterday. I wonder if any are ever found there.
Monday, May 05, 2008
Humorous Happenings
This is a funny article via the Inland County Birds listserve (San Bernadino, Riverside and Imperial Counties).
Birds Invade Redlands Home
http://www.redlandsdailyfacts.com/ci_9146474
Basically, some migrating Vaux's Swifts (the article incorrectly names them Chimney Swifts- almost identical relatives restricted to the eastern United States) went down a chimney into someone's home to roost. Hundreds of them. This understandably upset the home's residents. It's too bad they weren't home when the swifts arrived. It would have been like Hogwarts sending letters down the chimney in the first Harry Potter book. Totally freaky.
Although, wow, what a mess, it would have been neat to hold a Vaux's Swift. I've only ever seen them in flight. Also, I haven't seen any in our area this Spring. Last Spring a bunch of them were in a mixed flock of migrating swallows at Biola near the end of April. I'm not sure why I've missed them so far this year.
Birds Invade Redlands Home
http://www.redlandsdailyfacts.com/ci_9146474
Basically, some migrating Vaux's Swifts (the article incorrectly names them Chimney Swifts- almost identical relatives restricted to the eastern United States) went down a chimney into someone's home to roost. Hundreds of them. This understandably upset the home's residents. It's too bad they weren't home when the swifts arrived. It would have been like Hogwarts sending letters down the chimney in the first Harry Potter book. Totally freaky.
Although, wow, what a mess, it would have been neat to hold a Vaux's Swift. I've only ever seen them in flight. Also, I haven't seen any in our area this Spring. Last Spring a bunch of them were in a mixed flock of migrating swallows at Biola near the end of April. I'm not sure why I've missed them so far this year.
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