Birds and Bunnies of Salton Sea in Coachella Valley California

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SUPERBLOOM 2019!

COACHELLA VALLEY!

In between seeing the sights of the Coachella Valley and heading to North of the Borrega badlands to see the blooms, I went birdwatching!  

My first stop was the Wister Unit of the Imperial Wildlife Area.  Just off the highway shortly before the turnoff, I spotted my first Burrowing Owl!  And when I say singular, I mean singular.  I'm embarrassed to say I didn't even notice the little guy at the bottom of the photo until I was doing post-production.  :-( 

At the fishing pond, I saw probably a hundred adorable Ruddy Ducks

And two or three Grebes.  Western Grebes I think?

And this guy.  Who was so quick and elusive to my lens!  He quickly trotted into the brush every I raised my camera.  And, to be honest, I was mystified as to what this guy was.  There were actually about 3-5 of them but he was the only one that came into full view.  

Looks like a large blackbird, but take my word for it...it was no blackbird.  It was much larger (but smaller than a crow) and had a much longer, sharper beak.  Also he had a beautiful fanned tail like I had never seen before. 

I Googled it after I got home and it's a Great-tailed Grackle!  A cool-looking bird with a cool name.  

There were several people fishing in the pond which made for a pretty scene.  I couldn't resist snapping a shot. 

Kestrel!

Dove!  Eurasian-collared Dove?

Next stop was Sonny Bono National Wildlife Refuge.  But on the road, I was treated to the sight of  more beautiful birds!

Long-billed Curlews searching a freshly burnt farmer's field for food. 

And the resident Burrowing Owl couple that lives near the entrance to the NWR. 

Gambel's Quail!

White-crowned Sparrows!

Belted Kingfisher keeps watch over a canal. 

Mourning Dove!

American Avocet

Cormorant, Snow and Ross Geese, American Coot

Northern Shoveler

 Cormorants, Northern Shoveler, Ruddy Ducks

Gadwall Ducks

Desert Cottontail eating!

Cottontail!

I wasn't the only photographer on the Refuge.  lol 

This is the stubborn backside of a Loggerhead Shrike!

I stopped by the southern unit of  Sonny Bono...which I didn't even know existed.  Haha

I happened across it when I was driving the backroads to hook up with SR 78 and then SR 86 to head to Anza Borrega.  

I just made a quick stop but was glad I did as I saw a flock of beautiful Snow and Ross's Geese. 

Including a stunning Blue/Dark Morph!  Another first!

I was using my car as a blind and shooting over a berm, so these aren't the greatest, but I'm excited anyway!  Woot woot!

And some of them swirled into flight (like they do frequently, only to land again a few minutes after) and I got this cool shot.  

Awwww, what a good day to be out and about on this beautiful planet with these beautiful creatures.  

I had some reservations about going as, sadly, there was an outbreak of Avian Cholera in January that killed off thousands of birds in January.  This is the problem with the shrinking Sea and loss of habitat which puts the birds that use this vital spot for migration in closer proximity.  

Save the Salton Sea!!  

But for now, I'll just be grateful for the times I get to have here while it's still a viable spot.  

xoxo

Nikon D600

Sights of the Coachella Valley - Road Trip into the Desert

When most people think of Coachella, it's music, celebrities, and bohemian vibes that come to mind.  But there is so much more to this desert area than a music festival.  I took another trip south into the desert to try to catch a few things I hadn't seen before. 

This is actually the part before the other part of this quick road trip.  Check out the beautiful DESERT SUPER BLOOM from my last post. 

This leg of the adventure takes us from Yucaipa, where I spent part of the night in my car and my toes nearly froze off, East on the 10, and then South on 111. 

The sun was rising as I came down into the valley from Yucaipa and it was glorious. 

One reason I had taken this quick trip was because it had been raining in California pretty much nonstop and severely for the last few weeks.  I needed some sun!  To be honest, I was starting to worry that it was still raining pretty steadily all the way through Yucaipa.  Maybe I wasn't going to get the sun I wanted!  Maybe I picked one of the 4 days a year (possible exaggeration) that it rains in the desert!

But the sun rays breaking through the clouds and highlighting the windmills was SUCH a welcome sight!  And a breathtaking sight as well!

So much so that I had to include a black and white, color, and square version of this scene.  lol

One of the main draws of the Coachella Valley (besides the music festival) is palm trees.  All kinds of palms, but for me, I had really wanted to stop by one of the date palm farms I had seen on my last trip.  So I pulled off 111 and headed into a neighborhood to see what there was to see around one of the most prominent stands of palms off the highway. 

I parked my car so I could change into some cooler clothes and walk around a bit.  There was a huge kettle of turkey vultures (that's what a group of vultures in flight is called...I Googled) circling the tall palms in the field next to my car.  

I didn't see or smell anything dead, so that was a relief.  I continued my walk toward the date palms and saw something bright and wonderful. 

Oranges?  And cows. 

Honestly, I couldn't tell what these fruits are.  I know some palms produce orange fruit, but I think (from Google) that they are smaller than these...about the size of grapes where these are like oranges.  

I know citrus - including oranges - is a common crop in SoCal, but why would they just be rotting in a field of palms and cows in the desert?  I have no idea and neither did Google. 

BUT!  I know one thing...I will be going back so that I can try their dates and shakes.  Unfortunately, they were closed when I drove by as it was shortly before 8:00 a.m. and they open at 9:00.  And since I was making a big circle through Anza Borrega, I knew I would have to plan another trip. :-)

But back to the beautiful palms at Oasis Date Gardens...  I did park and walk around the front to try to get some cool photos of the palms, but honestly, I couldn't do them justice.  It's a very cool and majestic site that you have to experience in person. 

Then it was time to continue on in search of additional interesting Coachella Valley sights.  I didn't have to go far...in fact just down the road and I had to pull over again because there was the coolest dead palm tree and I just had to have a photo of it. 

Then I hopped back in the car and headed to my next destination, the Salton Sea. Specifically, there was an art installation (or three) that I was hoping to find.  The art is part of the Desert X which is a biennial art festival designed to bring art to the Coachella Valley to increase awareness of the Valley.  

I knew where one of the installations was so that's where I was headed and hoped to maybe find a couple more. The art was titled "Halter" and was by Eric N. Mack (check out his Instagram).   I was excited to see it and perhaps put my own art fingerprint on it. 

The art was woven, knit fabric draped on an abandoned gas station. 

Surrounding the gas station and other abandoned buildings beside it, the desert bloom was in full force. 

I was really glad that I made it down there to see this really cool art in the desert.  Unfortunately, the art was vandalized and stolen about 10 days after I had seen it.  :-(  They found charred bits of fabric and the rope that had held it in place and the rest was missing. 

The rest of the photos are sights around the East and South shore of the Salton Sea.  

Behind the North Shore Beach and Yacht Club - Purplified!

Obsidian

Farm fields burning

That's it for today's post.  There are so many cool areas around the Salton Sea that I didn't get to on this trip.  But here are a few from my last trip that are really cool and worthy of a revisit:

Mud Volcanoes and Burrowing Owls!

Dead Tilapia Staring and Bombay Beach Ruins!

Salvation Mountain and Slab City!

I love this awesome area!

xoxo

Nikon D600