Socorro, New Mexico is a nice small town between Albuquerque and Las Cruces. The reason I come here, however, is to see the sandhill cranes that winter here.
There are also thousands of geese.
Need to have a heads-up when thousands of geese fly over you.
Below, a northern harrier.
I am visiting Kootenai National Wildlife Refuge in Bonners Ferry, Idaho, around 20 miles from the Canadian Border. The cedar waxwing, above, has some fledglings in the berry bush. The leaves were so dense, I couldn’t get a good picture of them.
On reading about Bonners Ferry on Wikipedia, found that it is near where the Ruby Ridge incident occurred. The write up on Wikipedia about this is like a novel. There are lots of places in the woods around here to try and escape society.
It is really crowded here with rv’s and motorcycles. I stopped by Glacier National Park on the way, but it was also jammed. Hope to get back there. A Canadian radio station made the comment that they just have two seasons: winter and July. This may have something to do with the crowds. It’s the best weather of the year.
Have seen this moose and calf three times. The adult always detects when people stop to watch her with the calf and she heads back into the tall grass.
Osprey. An adult was two posts down from it eating a fish.
On leaving the refuge one day, I noticed the silhouette of the back of an owl on a utility pole. I slowing walked towards it, not wanting it to fly away. Came to find it was a fake owl! Read where they were put on utility poles to keep osprey from nesting, but the osprey ended up using the fake owls in their nests.
Young deer going out into a wheat field where an adult was grazing.
Love watching the sandhill cranes. Saw one eagle, but it was to far away to get a good picture. Did not see as many grebes this visit, which was disappointing.
The Socorro area is so nice. Would like to try and stay 4 or 5 weeks next year.
You often see two cranes have a beak-to-beak face off, with their wings up…probably a territory issue. One usually ends up walking strutting away.
I stopped at a pond mid-day where there were initially a few geese. Then wave upon wave of geese flew in until the pond was packed. It was like a call was sent out for all the geese in the refuge to go to this one pond. When I drove by later in the day, they were all gone.
Above, geese settle into a cornfield at Bosque del Apache. They are not eating, but rather packed in like they were in the pond.
Have moved around 35 miles south, from Bernardo to San Antonio, New Mexico where the Bosque del Apache National Wildlife Refuge is located. Lots of geese, sandhill cranes, and other photographers. Have to admit to some lens envy. There are scads of photographers here with the long, super expensive lenses.
From Winslow, I drove the almost 300 miles to Bernardo, New Mexico. It is a spot on the map around 25 miles north of Socorro, New Mexico. A Passport America rv park is here and right across from it is the Bernardo Waterfowl Management Area. It is lesser known and less crowded than the Bosque del Apache National Wildlife Refuge that is south of Socorro.
When I arrived here a movie crew from a tv series called In Plain Sight was using the rv park as their base station. The rv park is on old route 66 and they were shooting scenes on a bridge a short distance from the park. They worked through the night and left the next morning.
Geese flying in to line up along the corn. The sandhill cranes like to hunt in areas where the corn stalks have recently been cleared, but geese line up along the corn stalks.
Below are short clips of the geese and sandhill cranes.
The people who own the Kiva RV Park & Horse Hotel that I am staying at rescue animals, lots of animals. Most all the animals that I saw when I stayed here in October 2007 are still here and doing well.
The owner of the park is pictured above with a huge donkey he recently rescued. The young brown donkey in the second picture was hand raised after its mother rejected it. He walked up to me as soon as I went over to the horse area. The young white donkey was put in with him to help teach him how to be a donkey.
I was surprised to learn that a lot of donkey’s will try to stomp and kill dogs. This is from instincts learned in dealing with coyotes.
I’m back at Rancho Jurupa Park in Riverside, California for a few days. Back to 90+ degree temps. Riverside has really done a good job in removing all their dead brush. It is really noticeable.
Above: Saw this young night heron this morning. Some adult night herons landed nearby high in the trees. Maybe relatives of this young one. It’s the first time I have seen night herons here.
Think this is a vireo. Don’t know which one.
It has been a while since I’ve posted pictures of herons and egrets.
The two pairs of mascots that I’ve spoken of before are still here. They have returned to their roots…water! It is the first time I have seen them in the water. It may be just because it’s been hot. Also, they are doing a lot of construction work here at the park and that may have pushed them back to the water. The two pairs of mascots, some cormorants, and some other birds rest together on the grass next to the water. The cranes most likely rest in some trees or some other safe spot.
I came to Tulelake, California to visit the Lower Klamath National Wildlife Refuge and the Tulelake National Wildlife Refuge, the two refuges in the Klamath Basin that are in California. I am staying at the local fairground’s rv park because I can get a full hookup site for just $13 per day with my Passport America discount card. It is nice, facing out to farmland. This is a very small farming town with no housing developments, no Walmart, no big grocery chain, or fast-food outlet, and hardly any traffic. People in town park their rv’s in front of their houses with no problems.
As you can see above, I got my first picture of a wild bald eagle! Saw it on the auto tour of the Tulelake refuge. Think the tall posts like it is on are put out to attract raptors, as there are no wires attached to it. Seeing eagles is common in the area. They have more eagles in the Klamath Basin than any where else in the U.S., except Alaska. Nearby Bear Valley National Wildlife Refuge is there to protect a major nesting area of eagles. Visitors are not allowed, but I’ve read where on winter mornings you can often see hundreds of eagles fly out to hunt for food from the highway near the refuge border.
A breeding adult eared grebe.
A western grebe, one of my favorites.
American avocet
As soon as these white pelicans saw me, they flew off to join a large group of pelicans on the lake.
A male ring-necked pheasant. The female was very quick to run off, while the male just took his time.
When I passed through Klamath Falls last year, I was bugged. The bugs are still here. On visiting the Tulelake refuge in the morning, there were bugs swarming all over near the water: midges, mosquitoes, gnats, moths, etc. They covered my truck cover. I had to brave them to get my pictures. Think the midges outnumbered the mosquitoes, as I didn’t get any bites. When I returned later in the day, there were much fewer bugs, but fewer birds too! So I’ll just be sure to dress appropriately and take along repellent.
Birds seen but not pictured (so many): night herons, blue herons, egrets, ducks (many different kinds), geese, cormorants, red winged and yellow headed blackbirds, white faced ibis, black necked stilt, killdeer, and many more I can’t recall.
Second morning trip to Tulelake refuge.
The eagle was there again, just on a different post.
There were a couple of hawks by the Visitor’s Center.
Pelicans fishing as a group.
Some midges on the back of my truck.
Moved from Rancho Jurupa Park to Prado Regional Park because I had used up Jurupa’s 14 day limit and needed to stay in the area a little longer. Prado is in Chino, 15 or 20 miles from Rancho Jurupa. It is on land leased from the Army Corps of Engineers…2,000 acres of parkland and a 60 acre lake. Found it to be a birder’s paradise. It’s rare to see so many different birds in one place. About 70% of the lake is lined with willows and other marsh plants, so there are lots of places for birds to nest and hide. There are also woods next to the lake that herons and other birds often fly to and probably nest in.
Prado Park also includes Prado Dog Park, for training work and hunting dogs; a shooting range (used in the 1984 Olympics); a radio controlled air park; an equestrian center; and a golf course.
Adult black-crowned night heron. Have never seen so many.
Juvenile black-crowned night heron.
Commorant
An osprey. Note the powerful legs and feet.
It was so good to see and hear a Western grebe again. There were a number of pairs of them. They tend to stay in the middle part of the lake, so it’s hard to get a good picture.
Geese and ducks of course.
Birds seen but not pictured: black-necked stilt, black phoebe, common tern, common moorhen, egret, turkey vulture, coot.
Campground at Prado. If you squint, you can see my rv in the center.
I have been at the Salton Sea State Park for two days. Came to see some of the birds who stop there on the Pacific flyway. Do a Google on the Salton Sea and you can get an idea of what a controversial place it is. I found it unsettling. In place of sand, you walk on fish bones and fish pieces from numerous fish die offs. It smells…the park handouts say this is from other sources, not the Salton Sea. There are a lot of geothermal power plants in the area, putting out a lot of steam.
Made a quick trip to the Sonny Bono Salton Sea National Wildlife Refuge. They are doing what I have seen at other wildlife refuges, planting fields and restoring water and marsh areas. Lots of geese there.
The pelicans do not have to dive for fish here, they just dunk for them…or scare them to the surface.
Geese at the wildlife refuge.
Lone blue heron.
Could not resist taking a picture of this hawk next to farmland on the way to the wildlife refuge.
When I left the Blythe area, I planned to stop at the Imperial National Wildlife Refuge that is a little below the Cibola Refuge. I failed to take into account that it was Thanksgiving weekend. Martinez Lake, next to the refuge was full of familes with ATVs. The two RV parks were full. I went on to Yuma for the night. On leaving Yuma and heading west on I-8, noticed a lot of RVs heading east. Soon saw that a lot of them were probably coming from the Imperial Sand Dunes Recreational Area. On heading north to the Salton Sea found that I was in with a HUGE group of RVs, mostly trailers or toy hauler/trailer combos. These seemed to be young families with ATVs. Usually I am a lone trailer with lots of large motor homes, so this was a noticeable change.
On stopping at a rest stop near the Salton Sea, I found myself stuck behind a line of RVs waiting to use the free dump station. I had to wait in line with them till I got to the exit. The caravan continued along the north side of the Salton Sea and into the rare gas station, where people were lined up for gas and the free dump station. Here I turned south, along the other side of the Salton Sea, heading to the Anza-Borrego area. Now all the RVs were on the other side of the highway heading north, I guess to the greater Los Angeles area. Octillo Wells State Vehicular Recreational Area is right next to the Anza-Borrego State Park and a lot of ATVs were still enjoying the area. So glad the Anza-Borrego State Park is there to safeguard it from the ATVs.
Just trying to make the point that there are a lot of young families with trailers or toy hauler/trailer combos out there.
The snow geese have arrived at the refuge. Ducks have been here all along, but in the past week the number of snow geese has increased daily.
The only blue heron I have seen at the refuge. He has been at the same spot twice.
Think this is a ring-necked pheasant. Seen him and a female pheasant at the same spot almost daily.
