We stood around in the cold morning air watching the sun rise and watching the sky. Chet ran this one, and handed out responsibilities to groups. Nancy and I followed Bill and a very nice couple, Diane and Bill. Our area included the north side of Salton Sea and into the town of Mecca.
(Chet handing out the responsibilities).
Mecca is a small farming town with a high percentage Hispanic population. While it may not be a nightlife hotspot, many people are familiar with the area as it is a popular spot to stop and get gas, food, and use restrooms for those spending their weekends camping in and around the Salton Sea, off-roading in and near Glamis, and for farmers of everything from sod to bell peppers and hay. It is a great place to bird because many birds love the open field areas to forage for insects and worms, while others such as Barn Owls like to nest or sleep in hay stacks and find plenty to eat with the mice and voles that seem to be attracted to farms. This is a terrific area for Burrowing Owls as well. A birder is almost guaranteed to find a Burrowing Owl in their travels around the Salton Sea.
Nancy and I stayed in my truck and we followed Bill as he lead the way to the north shore of Salton Sea and we began to look around. Diane proved herself adept at finding new and intriguing birds, and usually at a distance. She giggled like a school girl when she found something and it turned out to be something interesting. Like the immature Bald Eagle (Haliaeetus leucocephalus),she saw sitting on a tall palm stump in the distance. I hadn't seen one at Salton Sea before, so this was exciting to me. It was too far to take a photograph that would be worthwhile, so you will just have to take my word for it, it was an eagle.
As we turned away from the eagle we saw a Loggerhead Shrike, ( Lanius ludovicianus), that was barely close enough to photograph, which I got. These are also called "Butcher birds" for their habit of impaling their prey, such things as grasshoppers, small lizards and snakes, on cactus thorns or the barbs of barbed wire fences.
(Bill, Diane and her Bill scoping out the area).
We had a good day of birding but most of what we found, such as the flock of Horned Larks, (Eremphila alpestris), that Diane also found in a field, were too small and too far away for me to get a decent snapshot. They are pretty little birds with feathers on their heads that sweep up in black "horns", thus giving them their name. Among them were Pipits, (Anthus rubescens), and plenty of Rock Pigeons, (Columba livia). We also saw several Phainopepla, (Phainopepla intense), and White tailed Kites, (Elanus leucurus). Other raptors we saw included a Merlin, (Falco columbarius), several American Kestrels, (Falco sparverius), an Osprey, (Pandion haliaetus), two Red Shouldered Hawks, (Buteo lineatus), and several Red Tailed Hawks, (Buteo jamaicensis), including a very dark "morph" or phase hawk. For those uninitiated, Red Tails can be any number of colorations, but all forms have the red tail that names them. Another marking that is tell-tale is dark shoulder "patches' along the leading edges of their wings as they fly. Most also have a "belly band" of darker feathers under a lighter chest, but the darker "morphs" may lose the light chest. These hawks can be found anywhere, and are plentiful, but in a variety of colors, so it gets birders excited and challenges them for proper identification.
(The Loggerhead Shrike).
It was after a pretty good rain, so the areas around the Salton Sea were pretty muddy and it has taken me a week to get my boots, the truck and my clothes properly cleaned. Sometimes the smell around the Sea can be a bit challenging, but in the winter, it is an absolutely awesome place to bird. There are American White Pelicans, (Pelecanus erythrorhynchos), by the hundreds. These are larger than the more common Brown Pelicans, (Pelecanus occidentals), and they cooperatively feed. Where the Brown Pelicans will feed individually by diving into the water onto an unsuspecting fish, the White Pelicans gather together in groups of five to twenty or so, swim until they find a school of fish then surround the school. They then swim in an ever-decreasing sized circle, herding the school of fish into the middle of their circle, then they all dip their heads under the water and feed. They also fly at incredible heights when they migrate. They fly high enough the naked eye cannot see them, then they suddenly appear already spiraling down from the heavens, toward the Sea or another body of water. Sometimes it takes several minutes for them to sail down from their heights to the water.
White Faced Ibis, (Plegadis chihi), Avocets, (Recurvirostra americana), Great Egrets, (Ardea alba), Snowy Egrets, (Egretta thula), Cattle Egrets, (Bubulcus ibis), and a Green Heron, (Butorides virescens) were found along our travels as well.
The surprise of the day was for Bill, our leader. He was busy trying to identify some tiny bird at an irrigation pond, when Nancy, who had found an old bent spoon, walked up and held up the spoon with a $20 bill wrapped around it in front of him and asked he wanted to see a Spoon Bill. Ba-dump, bump. Bill tried to collect the specimen, but Nancy was too quick.
(Lesser Yellowlegs foraging in the mud).
All in all it was a good day, (when is birding not a good day?). We didn't see any lifer birds, but we did see plenty of our old friends. We didn't get to the shore of the Sea, but saw some new territory. Salton Sea holds a special place in my heart as I am excited by the sheer numbers of birds that arrive each winter, as well as the variety and numbers of species. Everything from small warblers to the large American White Pelicans come down in numbers. If you have ever stood under a flock of thousands of Snow Geese as they take flight, it is an awesome event, and never to be forgotten.
We didn't stay for the dinner and count afterward, Nancy had to get home in order to get to work on time, (something I no longer have to worry about, ha ha). After some warm handshakes, and heartfelt wishes, we took our leave and drove home, dirty, tired and hungry. What a great start to the year.
(Diane's Bill birding until the last minute of sunshine).
You might be a birdnerd if..you sacrifice your sleep in order to participate in a birding event. (You can sleep next month!).
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