The Great Remember (for Nancy): Steve Martin and the Steep Canyon Rangers

Again the cheesy pictures, it's a lovely little ditty from Steve Martin's banjo band. So, if the picts are lame just listen to the lovely song.

Rare Sighting in the Backyard! Western Tanager

Western Tanager

Unbelievable to me: A rare sighting in my Orange, CA backyard, the Western Tanager flutters across my path for the second time.

My first sighting was in Yosemite about 8 years ago. Nieces in tow, hunting for bugs, birds, and plants, I spotted a Tanager in our campground just outside of Yosemite. It is one of the birds responsible for my, annoying to others, addiction.

FUN FACTS:

Breeds further north than any other member of its tropical family.

The red color on its face is rare in birds. The color is not manufactured by the Tanager, but rather from its diet of insects that eat plants with the pigment.

http://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/western_tanager/id

Backyard Tourist! Red-Billed Quelea

Unexpected and cool sighting! Meet the Red-billed Quelea, from Kenya! This wondrous little lady was in my backyard on May 9, 2012. My son said, "maybe it's a finch that got into some Hot Cheetos." Giggling ensued. Being the ever faithful birder that I am, I checked. My certainty that it was this lovely little visitor is at 99%.  So... Orange, CA welcomes you lady Red-billed Quelea. I can't help but think you are an escapee from someone's collection, but I'm glad you found refuge in my backyard. 

FUN FACTS: 

• Quelea are one of the most abundant birds in the world. 
• They are monogamous and live on seeding grasses.
• Quelea number in the thousands, even millions of birds per flock!
•  WATCH HERE: http://www.bbc.co.uk/nature/life/Red-billed_Quelea

More about the birds: Nuthatch

White-breasted Nuthatch

Seem to defy gravity when hopping up and down tree trunks, whacking gathered nuts against tree bark, and tittering away, nuthatch are some of the cutest and coziest little birds in NA. 

White-breasted Nuthatch will buddy up with other small bird species, such as chickadees and titmice, to form foraging flocks.

Pygmy Nuthatch have never been spotted roosting alone. They cuddle with other Pygmy, up to 100 in one cavity! So cute and sweet, I'm definitely going to need a trip to the dentist after learning this fun fact.

COLLECTIVE NOUNS: known as a "jar" of nuthatch.

Pygmy Nuthatch

Click here to learn loads more! This link will take you to a video of a White-breasted Nuthatch hopping up and down a tree. Click around the site to learn more fun facts.

The Great Remember: All About the Birds - From San Diego to Morongo Canyon and Back Again

Costa's Hummingbird

I see the resemblance

Day 2 Sighting: Costa's Hummingbird
Spotted at Elijo Lagoon in San Diego: he was clinging to the top of a puff-less cattail reed, blowing in the wind, his violet mustachios glistening in the setting sunlight.

FUN FACTS!
Costa's hummingbirds are named after a 19th century, French politician with a passion for ornithology, Louis Marie Pantaleon Costa, Marcuis de Beauregard (a fancy enough namesake for this hummingbird).

Collective nouns are a "bouquet," "glittering," "hover," "shimmer," or "tune" of hummingbirds. CH grow no bigger than 3.5" in length. During the swooping arches and dives of its courtship display CH considers the angle of the sunlight to ensure his violet gorget catches the rays just right. Habitat is the Sonoran and Mojave deserts into Baja California.

Normally, a hummingbird's heart beats 500-900 times per minute. During the evening hours and on low temperature nights CHs' enter a torpid state, when heart rate plummets to 50 beats per minute.

The Great Remember: All About the Birds - From San Diego to Morongo Canyon and Back Again

Female - Hairy Woodpecker

Day 2 Sighting: Hairy Woodpecker (female)
Spotted in Cuyamaca Rancho State Park on the West Mesa Loop Trail along Cold stream: she was excavating for insects in a sycamore tree for a good 45 minutes, while patiently and with snacks, we sat at the fork of the trailhead watching bark and small branches rain down from the tree. 

FUN FACTS!
Hp's are prolific North American woodpeckers. Mating pairs share incubating responsibility. Perhaps that's why they are so prolific ;) Males incubate at night and females during the day (and now, in my head, I sing "Ladies Night" by Kool and the Gang). Okay, sorry, no more commentary.

Female - Downey Woodpecker

Collective nouns are a "descent," "drumming" or "gatling" of woodpeckers. Average size is 9.5 inches, considered medium-sized. You can find them in deciduous forests throughout Canada, US, and Mexico. Watch out! HP's can be confused for the Downey woodpecker, a much smaller species with almost identical markings. A good way to differentiate them is DP's bill is shorter relative to head size.

Pee Wee's Bird Adventure! Days 5-8

LA la la... la la la la la la... I forcibly share my interest in birds with everyone I meet. I am a bird nerd. Here is the story of my spring break bird adventure.

Day 5-8: Campground - Black Rock Campground (Joshua Tree?) then Back to the Salton Sea.

The night of the 4th/5th day, we left the Salton Sea (Ocotillo Wells camp) to try and make it to Joshua Tree to capture a camp site in the first come first serve Bella Campground. We didn't. So we had to fall back on the not so impressive Black Rock Campground. IT is not inside Joshua Tree NP proper, it is located on the outer most region of the NP in the city of Joshua Tree. The site was a typical family, crowded campground. Though it saved us from the lack of a place to park and provided a close home base to Morongo Canyon Reserve, we didn't stay long. Description: Although technically in the park, this campground is not on the main road through the park.It is situated uphill from the city of Joshua tree, barely inside the park's boundaries. Amenities are water, flush toilets, and a ranger station. Site are too close together for privacy seekers like us. No boulders in sight. Each site provides table and fire pit with a grill. $15/night.

That said... it's the closest campground to Morongo Canyon Preserve (for birder's who want to travel on the cheap).

Birds spotted at Morongo Canyon Preserve. FYI spend a whole day there, pack a lunch, and wait -especially near the wet land/marshy area. Description of MCP: Preserve desert riparian oasis. Boardwalk through wooded marsh, maintained trails through hilly manzanita and creosote. 2nd highest density of breeding birds in CA.

Phainopepla ^ 

Bushtit

Ladderbacked Woodpecker (or Nuttall's WP)

Red-Tailed Hawk

Bewick's Wren

Wilson's Warbler

Gambel's Quail

We probably would have seen more if we had had more time and spent another day there.

Birds spotted at the Salton Sea - Corvina Camp Ground Description: Kayaking entrance, flat dirt parking lot along the water's edge. A few picnic tables. One central pit toilet and showers. Unpleasant rotting fish smell close to the entrance, but less smelly at the back of the site. Beach consists of heavy layer of barnacle and tube worm shells and ring of fish bones. Muddy shallow pools provide good plover and sandpiper sightings. Train runs behind the campground, though silently so.

Caspian Tern ^

Great blue heron

American Avocet

Pacific golden plover >

American white pelican

Various gulls

Brants

Western grebe

Great egret

Bonapart's Gull

Eared grebe   >