Big Morongo Preserve

Saturday, 10/9/10, was a perfect example of a retirement day in our household. When I tell people that I am really enjoying retirement, this is the reason why. There are things we need to do to make it perfect, like making enough to pay for our school loans so that Andi can retire with me, but this is the prize we are working for.

It is Saturday morning at about 8:00AM, and I am parking my Honda Insight in the parking lot of the Big Morongo Preserve. Dee Zeller waves greeting as I step out of the car. There are others milling about the parking lot that I don't recognize, but I knew we were all there for the same reason, birds.

My dad told me years ago that everyone wears a uniform. If I were to ask you to visualize a cop or fire fighter, you would most readily think of their respective uniforms. If I ask you to visualize a gang member there may be some differences but most could come up with a particular set of clothing, grooming or lack thereof, and even stances or behaviors.

It is the same with birders. Who else would be in a wooded area as the sun begins to bathe the area in warmth and brilliant light. Who else packs bottles of water, cameras, and most importantly, binoculars on their bodies while wearing sensible shoes. Who else is already looking up in the trees for something flitting about. Who else carries a three pound book in a pocket or shoulder pouch that will help them identify what they see this day. Yes, they were birders. Thus started my day.

Today was no ordinary birding day, (is there one?). Today, we would be led on a birdwalk by Dee Zeller, camp host for the Big Morongo Preserve, (www.bigmorongo.org), then we were to be entertained with a lecture by Chet McGaugh. Chet is an ornithologist who has birded this area for nearly 33 years and has seen many changes in the area as well as the numbers and kinds of birds found here. He works with and has been deeply involved in the San Bernardino Museum and Audubon Society, leading the way on several projects of various sizes over the years. Chet and his lovely wife drove out from their home in Riverside to meet with our group and show us a short history of birding in the Preserve, which he broke down into the various seasons. It was enlightening to see which kinds of birds we could expect at each time of year.

But I have gotten ahead of myself. We started out with a short gathering in the parking lot, and a total of around 40 people of all ages, sizes and shapes gathered to hear the organizer of the event, Seth representing Joshua Tree National Park, give a brief introduction of Dee and what we were to expect. There were several regulars, like Margaret who is very knowledgeable and regularly keeps records of how many and what kinds of birds we see on these walks, today was no exception.

Also there was Bill with his camera and large lens, (envy, envy, envy), ready to document our journey today. Also, Dan, the new dad, was there with his ever-present scope. It turned out this was fortuitous, as without the scope, several of the hikers would not have seen some exciting birds.

Then there were new faces, including a young family with four young girls dressed properly for a hike. There were young women armed with pen and paper to document what we saw during our event. I believe this was a school assignment or perhaps extra credit. There was young couple, and several older couples. These were an odd assortment of people that may not have hung out together, except for their shared interest in birding this morning. How wonderful!

Dee had us start off and between he and Margaret they shared information on the types of plants, some of which were used as food sources by the Native Americans in the area, the birds we saw and the geography and habitats we could see along our hike.

Before we completely left the parking lot, but at the head of a trail, Dan called out that we were seeing something unusual near the more normal California Thrasher,(Toxostoma redivivum), White-Crowned Sparrows, (Zonotrichia leucophrys) and House Finches, (Carpodacus mexicanus). The bird teased us with short glimpses at first, testing the identification skills of Dan and Bill who were trying hard to pish (yeah, I know) the bird out into the open. It worked, the Dickcissel, (Spiza americana), hopped to the top of a small bush, and sat there for a good look at him for nearly 15 minutes. Bill got some photos, and Dan put him in the scope for all to see. Why was this exciting? Dickcissels are an East Coast bird, and we shouldn't see any west of Texas. Why was it here? Well, who knows? It was a young bird, probably first phase, (ornithologists use phases instead of years as birds mature at different rates, such as some gulls take two or three years to mature into the more recognizable plumage), and we had some strong storms recently, so perhaps it was migrating and was blown off course. We were just thrilled we could see him.

The Dickcissel was a first time sighting for many of us, and therefore a "lifer". It was also a first time sighting for Big Morongo Preserve as well. Already an excellent day. Dee commented he was a little disappointed, as he had planned for us to see this bird later in the walk, now his whole build up was for naught. That was his big finale and it came too early. We teased him, asking him if he tied the little bird to the bush, but he wouldn't make a commitment.

Never fear, we continued on and did find a couple other rarities, but nothing quite like the Dickcissel. We found a Red-naped Sapsucker (Sphyrapicus nuchalis), and were enlightened as to evidence they leave behind. They drill holes in the bark of Cottonwood trees and Eucalyptus trees, in a straight horizontal line, circling the trunk or branch in concentric circles. We were able to watch two of these guys at work during our walk. We also saw a Western Wood Pewee (Contopus sordidulus) flitting about the thick growth of the riparian habitat we walked through.

There were the usual Western Bluebirds, American Goldfinches(Carduelis tristis), and Yellow rumped warblers(Dendroica coronata). The Yellow rumped warblers were in good numbers and relatively new to the area. They come each year but they were not here earlier in the week. Yellow rumps are affectionately known as "Butter-Butts" in the birding world, and are pretty common at certain times of the year.

An exciting moment during our stroll was a Barn Owl (Tyto alba) flew across the open field for everyone to see. I tried really hard to look for the Ovenbird that (supposedly) has been seen in the area for the past two weeks, but to no avail. That would have been another "lifer" bird for me, but all I saw were warblers, finches, and jays. However, Margaret and I sat in the front yard of the Fishers, otherwise known as Fishers Point, (there is a sign), and we watched the birds enjoy the water feature built by the Fishers. As we watched the finches bathe and fly off, suddenly there was a brilliant yellow head sneaking around the feature. A Yellow Warbler (Dendroica petechia), was waiting its turn for a drink. It took a quick drink and flew. It disappeared, and we were discussing whether we really saw what we saw, when Bill came over and asked if we saw the Yellow Warbler. This was notable because they aren't supposed to be here for another month or two. A great day!

Then we sat in the little class room in Covington Park and listened to Chet discuss how Big Morongo Preserve is perfectly aligned at the edge of two large deserts, the Mojave and Colorado, and at the low end of the mountainous area, and the high point of the desert. It has a combination of riparian, wetland, open field, and desert habitats. All creatures represented in those climes and habitats are found at Big Morongo, including mountain lions, bobcats, tortoises, bighorn sheep, snakes and lizards, and, of course, various and sundry birds. Great place!

Chet showed us slides of birds he has seen at Big Morongo over the past several years. It was over all too soon at noon.

As we came out of the relative darkness of the room, we were met with several firetrucks and an Air Ambulance flying low overhead. There was a safety fair going on in the park and they landed the helicopter near the skatepark for all the waiting people to peruse. That was the end of birding and home I went.

That was a good enough day, but it was not over. I had tickets for a professional basketball game at Indian Wells. I, and my son, his friend, and our family friend Richard attended this outdoor basketball game between the Dallas Mavericks and the Phoenix Suns. The Suns won, and we had a terrific time, great seats and good food. We took another hike to get back to our car, but it was a pleasant night.

I think I am going to like this retirement thing!

You might be a birdnerd...if you get up early on a weekend day and go pishing with your friends in the woods.

Pishing is the sound one makes that is supposed to entice birds to come out to investigate what is making that infernal racket. One makes the sound by placing your tongue in the position to say shhh!, then add "p" in front of this. Thus, pish. I am not sure why this works, but it seemed to today with the Dickcissel. It is just, well, fun to do at any rate.