November 28, 2012-Still Few Bird Species

A nice day for a few species at the Roadrunner and The Springs RV Park. The Bluebird was foraging on a grassy area that still had some moisture present. Nice looks at Yellow-rumped Warblers, probably the most abundant of the perching birds. The Night Heron (adult) was in the famous Willow Tree. 

Western Bluebird 11/28/12-HC

Yellow-rumped Warbler-11/28/12-HC

Black-crowned Night Heron 11/28/12-HC

Great waterbird day November 14, 2012

Today, November 14, 2012 was especially good for water birds. We observed an Eared Grebe, Pied-billed Grebe, 2 Blue-winged Teal and 2 Canvasback ducks at the Borrego Springs Country Club and Club Circle ponds. Canvasbacks and Blue-winged Teal are rare in the valley. The Burrowing Owls continue in town but at an undisclosed location. I still need a closeup of a Say's Phoebe.

Today we observed: American Wigeon, Mallard, Blue-winged Teal, Canvasback, Ruddy Duck, Pied-billed Grebe, Eared Grebe, Great Egret, Merlin, Common Raven, White-crowned Sparrow and House Finch. What is amazing are the birds we didn't see-Doves, hummers etc. We just didn't stop at feeders.

Burrowing Owl-11/9/12-HC

Burrowing Owl-11/9/12-HC

Canvasback Duck 11/14/12-HC

Canvasback profile-11/14/12-HC

Eared Grebe-11/14/12-HC

Say's Phoebe 11/9/12-HC

Few Bird Species but Great Photo's-11/7/12

Today at The Springs and Roadrunner Club the number of species observed was sparse, however the photo opportunities great. A very cooperative Roadrunner chased and ate grasshoppers on the golf course at the springs. We had a nice look at a Western Bluebird bathing. Ducks up close were nice and a sleepy White-winged Dove. I took over 500 shots and narrowed the number down to 15. These shots are part of the remains. I've been asked what camera is used. It's a small simple Panasonic Lumix that produces fairly good quality shots at 24X. After looking at the shots, it looks like the dove has some pollen on it's neck.

Roadrunner with a Gray Bird Grasshopper-11/7/12-HC

Western Bluebird entering bath 11/7/12-HC

Western Bluebird enjoying the bath-11/7/12-HC

American Wigeon-11/7/12-HC

Female Mallard 11/7/12-HC

Sleepy White-winged Dove-11/7/12-HC

Bighorns Dominate the Day-November 4, 2012

We now have renamed the blog to include all wildlife and plants. A group of birders went out Sunday November 4, 2012 led by Lori Hargrove, noted ornithologist. Although birding was the prime objective, we were interrupted by Bighorn Sheep, lizards and insects. Within 15 minutes of our walk, a large bighorn ram pushed us off the path. A walk by was a bit close for good photography. Birding highlights included all 4 wren species including Rock, Canyon, Cactus and Bewick's. A Chipping sparrow with huge eyerings, more like a Field Sparrow. Gray Bird Grasshoppers mating was interesting. In 2011 we counted over 1800 Swainson's Hawks feeding on this same species.
Here is a list of the birds observed:
Cooper's Hawk, 
Gambel's Quail,
California Quail

White-winged Dove

Roadrunner

Costa' Hummingbird

Anna's Hummingbird

Northern Flicker

Say's Phoebe

Black Phoebe

Loggerhead Shrike

Verdin

Bushtit

Black-tailed Gnatcatcher

Bewick's Wren

Rock Wren

Canyon Wren

Cactus Wren

Common Raven

Western Bluebird

Yellow-rumped Warbler

Black-throated Gray Warbler

California Towhee

Black-throated Sparrow

Chipping Sparrow

House Finch

Lesser Goldfinch

Our birding group 11/4/12-HC

Bighorn Sheep up close and personal 11/4/12-HC

Chipping Sparrow? 11/4/12-HC

Lizard (Whiptail?) 11/4/12-HC

Canyon Wren 11/4/12-HC

Bluet species Damselfly-11/4/12-HC

Mating Gray Bird Grasshoppers-11/4/12-HC

Bighorn 11/4/12-HC

Bighorn 11/4/12-HC

The First Blog for Birds of Borrego Springs-November 1 , 2012

Greeting: This is the first entry into a new blog. I will share photo's of birds of Borrego Springs as well as dialog. Every Wednesday I will try to post information concerning birds observed on the weekly bird walk for The Springs RV Park. On Wednesday October 31 we found 26 species during our 2 hour walk. Birds included: American Wigeon, Mallard Ducks, Cormorant, Great Blue Heron, Great Egret. Black-crowned Night Heron, Kestrel, Coot, Collared Dove, Ground Dove, White-winged Dove, Mourning Dove, Anna's and Costa's Hummingbirds, Black and Say's Phoebe, Raven, Verdin, Western Bluebird, Starling, Yellow-rumped Warbler, Lark Sparrow, White-crowned Sparrow, House Finch, Lesser Goldfinch and House Sparrow. Let me know if I've forgotten anything. Here are a few photo's taken on Wednesday. Notice how light the Juvenile Black-crowned Heron is. I have added some insects shots as well. The grasshopper is a favorite food of the Swainson's Hawk. Painted Lady Butterflies are now migrating from Mexico through Borrego Springs.

Lark Sparrow-10/31/12-HC

Juvenile Black-crowned Night Heron-10/31/12-HC

Painted Lady Butterfly-10/31/12-HC

Grey Bird Grasshopper-10/31/12-HC