Borrego Springs Swainson's Hawks

So, I went down to see the Swainson's hawks in Borrego Springs yesterday because I couldn't do it last year. I guess at some point before, someone counted over a thousand hawks! I only saw a couple hundred. I was there early in the morning, but did not stick around after they started kettling.

They were all on the ground off of Borrego Springs Road near Henderson Canyon Road looking for caterpillars when I got there.

Some where out flying around, so I was able to get a couple of shots:

They started kettling around 10 a.m. near Henderson and Peg Leg. I guess they migrate all the way from South America to near the arctic and like to pass through here.

They were looking for these guys. I think this is a photo of a sphinx moth caterpillar. I think the sphinx moth is the one that's also known as the hummingbird moth. 

The caterpillars like to eat these things:

Creosote in bloom:

Sand verbena with what I think is dune evening primrose. I don't know what those little white flowers are called.

Here are some more of the little white flower. I think they might be snowball sand verbena.

 I think this might be the regular kind of evening primrose:

A shot of the entire valley.

I haven't been taking many pictures of the animal around Lake Murray lately. No. 6 and Miss Skeeter decided to go way over to where Mr. Squeaky got killed by the coyotes. They were there for about a week when No. 6 was seen alone in another area of the lake. I could not find Miss Skeeter for well over a week and thought that she might have been killed by the coyotes, too. However, I finally found her not far from where No. 6 and two other white pekins were hanging out..

In this photo, taken before she disappeared, you can clearly see the fishing line around her leg:

This next time I saw her, I couldn't see the line very much, though she was still limping. I think she likes to play with it and wrap and unwrap it around her leg. She's not hurt here, she's trying to dig under the leaf litter and decided to lie down.

Handsome No. 6:

There's a new dumped duck that was dropped off a week or so ago. He looks a lot like Dougie who was pekin and another breed.

I saw a pretty canvasback female back in February:

There hasn't been many killdeer lately. Mostly, I've been seeing one pair: a large female and a skinny male much like George and Martha. I also think I've seen Killer and Dee now and then.

The fat sandpiper continued to stick around and she lost quite a bit of weight:

I also came across this ring-billed gull with actual rings on its legs. Unfortunately, I could not read the USFWS band number:

Desert Birding at a golf course

Today, I birded two areas around Borrego Springs. The first area, near Pena Springs in Culp Valley, only gave me a sparse number of birds and most of those birds were identified by voice. I didn't get any photos of them.

The second area I birded was Rams Hill golf course. I had heard there was an Inca Dove there and, since I was in the area, decided to check it out. This area is restricted, so don't expect to just go in there and look around any time you want.  You can only visit the area around the clubhouse and golf course unless you have a good reason to visit other areas.

I often don't consider birding at modified landscapes in the desert true desert birding because there is much more water than what would normally be in this area. This attracts animals that would never have been there, otherwise. But, it also concentrates local desert birds as well. Many of the birds I saw were common, but I did managed to get a Vesper sparrow, one that I never saw before. There were also verdin, finches, Eurasian collard and white-winged doves, and an American pipit. I saw no killdeer, though. Here are some highlights:

American Pipit, very friendly:

Plenty of Eurasian Collard Doves:

The white-winged doves were shy and didn't really want their picture taken:

Vesper sparrow:

White-crowned sparrow:

Ring-neck duck:

Birding in the desert

I managed to get out to the desert very recently and shoot a few photos of some birds, mostly around the Anza-Borrego Desert's Visitor Center.  The weather happened to be mild, but still very dry.

The first bird I heard at this place, as soon as I stepped out of the car, was a Costa's hummingbird.  Though they have a high-pitched call, they are extremely loud.  Even if you have hearing loss on the high end, they should be loud enough to hear for most people.  They sorta sound very insect-like.

I tried to find a black-tailed gnatcatcher, but couldn't.  Instead, I got this photo of a blue-gray gnatcatcher.  This print is for sale on Fine Art America:

The black-throated sparrows weren't being very co-operative , this is the best shot I got:

A loggerhead shrike is looking for lizards to impale.  He seemed completely undisturbed by my presence:

Mockingbird peering at me:

Ravens were everywhere, but no crows.

There was also a flycatcher there that sounded unfamiliar.  I think it was a Hammond's flycatcher.  Both it and the Pacific Slope flycatcher migrate through the area and it didn't sound like a Pacific Slope flycatcher to me.  I didn't get a good photo except I did get one with a definite notch in its tail.  It was also fairly yellow-ish.

I didn't see any quail or even verdin, which is kinda strange.  Someone else saw an Inca dove in another spot in Borrego Springs.

Birding in Borrego

I decided to go birding out in Borrego Springs and the Anza-Borrego Desert State Park today.  I first stopped at Lake Henshaw where I saw my first mountain bluebird and I think I saw three snow geese there along with white pelicans.

I haven't been to Borrego Springs in a while because of high gas prices, but I wanted to see the new Borrego Springs sign.

I was also surprised to see that Borrego Valley Foods is gone, but I think it had closed down when I was there last.  There's a new art institute there now and they were having an art show:

I really came to see birds and add to my life list and went to the Anza-Borrego Desert State Park Visitor's Center to see some of them.  They have a nice garden and variety of desert plants.  But, I didn't find a whole lot of birds to photograph.  Mostly, I got a couple photos of this verdin:

They were very active like warblers, jumping around and chasing each other and other birds. I think they're related to chickadees and bushtits:

There was also a greater roadrunner who quickly hid as soon as he saw me.  I didn't see him again.  I saw a mama Costa's hummingbird and her nest and cute babies.  And, I swear I saw and heard a black-tailed gnatcatcher in the Visitor's Center parking lot.  Their vocalizations are nothing at all like the blue-gray or California gnatcatcher.  I think I saw a verdin chase one away.

I also saw a blooming agave:

Here is the view of the valley from the Visitor's Center.

I went to the Ramona pond,  just outside Ramona, on the way home and saw some killdeer, yellowlegs, shovelers, coots, and dowitchers, but no tundra swans or snow geese. The photos I took didn't come out very well.  The property is up for sale, too.  I would love to buy it just so that I could watch the killdeer every day.