So I went to the desert to see flowers and got beauty at the complete other end of the spectrum! I decided to visit somewhere that I've always wanted to go, just for it's strangeness.
It did not disappoint, let me tell you!
But we'll start with the not so strange...my first stop on my revised itinerary (revised only because I'm an idiot and didn't stick to my foolproof plan. Stick to the plan!), the Sonny Bono Wildlife Refuge, home of the ever so adorable Burrowing Owl!
But before I even left my desert oasis, I was awakened by songbirds...not really something I expected in the desert! But what do I know, I've never been to a SoCal desert before! Except for brief stops in Barstow on my way to Vegas, that is.
I'm not sure what these two are, but they sure sounded pretty!
Here's a tip: Look for these guys on the side of the roads where there is a drainage ditch, canal, etc. They're probably staring at you as you fly by them (pun intended!) in your car. But slow down a bit and you'll see them! In spades! I did, anyway.
This cute couple was sitting roadside, literally. I passed them at first...slowly braked and then reversed, making sure that my car wasn't too close to them. I then took this shot right through my passenger window.
Whereas this guy was across the ditch and definitely more nervous of me (even though I stayed in my car). I quickly moved on so as not to stress him further.
Funnily enough, I came expecting burrowing owls, but I did not expect to find fields upon fields of egrets! The first field-full that I came across just blew my mind!
And this was all just on the drive there!!
I reached the Wildlife Refuge and decided to do the short hike. I really didn't expect many birds. Little did I know that had I come here just one month earlier, there would have been scores of birds to see! (Already planning another trip during the Pacific Migration.)
But the area is just so fascinating, so I really wanted to get out there and see the surrounds.
The trail is called the Rock Hill Trail. You can see why in the photo below. :-)
It's a 2-mile, out and back trail. There was a sign that said to look for rattlesnake rattles on the trail (which I definitely did!) so I wasn't sure what sort of critters I might find. But I did find critters!
Starting with seeming hundreds of tree swallows that were flitting around the telephone polls/wires. Which made for some really cool photos.
Love the guy on the left! "Get off my wire!"
I'm still on the right trail! And about halfway there.
This is the view back towards the visitor center. You can see a geothermal plant in the background.
Rock Hill overlooking the Salton Sea to the left. Those little white dots in the middle of the picture are American White Pelicans floating around.
I was delighted to see scores of bunnies!! Desert cottontails! They look like Riparian Brush Rabbits but with longer, Jackrabbit style legs.
And then, I saw something that I have only seen once before and that was in a zoo. A real, live Roadrunner!
These pictures are shite, but I had to include them. They move really fast! Even when he's standing still he's so fast he's blurry!
Running in black and white (cause I convinced myself it looked better in B&W)
I couldn't even get a clear shot when it was standing still! lol It was fun trying though. Luckily no coyote was chasing him!
Oh my goodness, the day was VERY frustrating in that I saw two species of bird that I'd never seen before and that don't live in or visit my part of California. And I could NOT get decent pictures!
The desert was wreaking havoc with my camera's focus (I guess because everything was camouflaged well) and then these birds were so FAST!
The next one is Gambel's Quail, a gorgeous fellow with scarlet head and stripey wings. And fast legs!
Funny that the slightly better picture is the one of them hiding in the bushes! lol
A beautiful testament to the volcanic activity that built this area are chunks of obsidian scattered about. The gorgeous black glass is such a strange sight to this NorCal chica.
There are some man-made ponds on this Wildlife Refuge, but the roads leading beside them were closed. Signs stating "Birds only beyond this point" gave me a chuckle and made me happy that I had a 300mm lens!
I took just one shot of the grouping on an island because there are several birds worth noting such as the breeding and non-breeding American Avocets, Marbled Godwits, Ruddy Ducks, and of course, Northern Shovelers.
And more bunnies! This guy kept an eye on me while managing to keep nibbling the greenery.
There was a pond between the path and the Sea, and one lone Avocet was taking advantage of it.
This next photo is a hazy blue on blue photo of a pelican floating on the Salton Sea. It was really gorgeous and peaceful out there.
Yuck. This next photo is a surprise one of me and shows me in the most unflattering light possible. But it is proof that I did make it to the top of Rock Hill. lol So I guess I'll leave it in. Yuck.
#Motivation
This was taken from the top of Rock Hill.
Ditto. Note the geothermal plants in the distance.
The pond on the left of the photo is where the Avocet was wading.
I FLOVE this next series of photos. I'm not sure if this Killdeer was nesting, but she definitely became very vocal as I came off of Rock Hill. She didn't do the broken wing trick that Killdeers are known for, but I really felt that she was leading me away from where she was sitting.
So as not to stress her, I gave a wide berth and couldn't see any eggs mixed in with the rocks through my lens or in these photos. So I don't know. Maybe I just bugged her.
Eventually, she stopped walking ahead and just let me pass when she could tell I wasn't coming towards her.
As I walked back, the lone Avocet flew over me to join the others in the deeper pond. It looked really cool to see him floating! I haven't seen one floating before and they are certainly very elegant looking birds!
My last stop on the Refuge was the visitor center where the helpful lady showed me some other points of interesting, including how to get to the mud volcanoes that I was planning to see. She also made sure I knew about their resident Burrowing Owl couple that was near the parking lot.
So cool!
I can only imagine how incredible this place is during the migration. I will definitely be back here sometime this winter!
xoxo
