Salton Sea - Southeast California

We left Oceanside on the 6th and our last new bird here was the Lilac-crowned Parrot.  So we said good-bye to the exotic birds and the ocean and headed east.  Through the windy foothills, and the coastal mountains into the desert.

Lilac-crowned Parrots

We stopped at Anza-Borrego Desert State Park to bird for a few hours.  This is the largest State Park in the U.S. covering 42,000 acres with lots of trails, activities and a great place to find some desert birds.

White-winged Dove

Costa's Hummingbird preening

Thousands of Snow Geese along the south side of the Salton Sea

 It was then 40 miles through the barron desert downward to the Salton Sea.  This salt basin in over 100 feet below sea level.  We stopped at the southern end of the sea at Unit 1 of the Sonny Bono National Wildlife Refuge.  Tens of thousands of Snow Geese winter in the area.

Snow Goose

Snow geese, Blue phase and one young

Snow Goose on the bottom and Ross's Goose above

White-faced Ibis

White-faced Ibis (sun sheen brings out color)

Burrowing Owl near irrigation ditch by south Unit 1

There are 100,000 acres of irrigated agricultural fields, feed lots for thousands of cattle, Geo-thermo electric plants,  where millions of birds find a great wintering grounds.  We found many Yellow-headed Blackbirds among the thousands of Red-winged and Brewer's Blackbirds.

Pair of Burrowing Owls by Visiter's Center

Field full of Cattle Egrets and sometimes Snow Geese on the Red Hill Trail

Abert's Towhee

Common Ground Dove

While we were at the Visitor's Center for the Wildlife Refuge, they told us about a very rare duck that was being seen at the north end of the Salton Sea, so we decided to go look for a "life bird".  We drove the 45 miles along the east side of the sea to the State Recreation Area.

Female Garganey

Among the hundreds of Blue-winged Teal was a female Garganey (Center bottom above).  This bird is usually only seen in North America on the islands west of Alaska.

Black-necked Stilts

We could see through the scope that there was a Yellow-footed Gull out among the gulls on the north end of the sea.  Ty decided to walk closer to try to get a photo.  Unfortunetly, the gull just never was close enough.

We drove around the camping area of the State Park and found one other bird, a Phainopepla.

Greater Yellowlegs

Next day we drove to the old Red Hill Marina, in it's "hay day" in the 50's, it was a busy yacht launch area.  The water kept evoporating and now the run-down area and boat launch is many, many yards from the water.  There are a few marsh areas left where this Yellowlegs got caught on camera.

The only nice looking part left of the Red Hill Marina.

Red-tailed Hawk on huge hay bales

Coyote "tries" to sneak up on the geese

Back at Unit 1, we found hundreds of Cattle Egrets on the dike.

You can only get so close and there they go.

Sandhill Cranes in formation

Sandhill Crane 

Two Northern Harriers

Look close!  There is a Wilson's Snipe in the middle of this photo

Verdin

We took a ride south to Brawley and Cattle Call Park,  not as many birds as we hoped for but that's birding!  For 2019, we reached our goal of 500, right on the head.

Our first 12 days this year have been good, with over 150 species of birds.  Looking forward to a record breaking year!

Vermilion Flycatcher

Black-tailed Gnatcatcher

All this week we have stayed at Del Yerno RV Park in Calipatria, the town known most for it's flag pole that is 124 feet tall so that the flag flies above sea level.  The first time we were here in 2012, we found Burrowing Owls in the old wall across from the park.  They are still here in spite of the painting vandalism covering their home, and the many trains that pass by several times a day.

The Wolf Moon rises over the desert as we plan the next steps of our journey.  Tomorrow morning we head for Arizona and a stop at Organpipe National Monument.

Love & Prayers,
Ty & Ida Baumann