My third and last week at Falcon State Park. One picnic area at the park has half of its sites closed off because of water damage (top picture). There were strong winds here one day that brought the water in close to the remaining sites. The park has definitely lost land to the water this past year.

There is a 3-mile trail around the park (lower picture) that shows the brush that is so easy for wildlife to disappear into. The brushland appears so desolate when driving through it, but a lot of wildlife depend on it to survive.

There are javelina here. Saw a group with one baby walk through my campsite one night.

The large flocks of kiskadees are gone, but you see individual ones around. Just this week started hearing and seeing cactus wrens (above). They are year-round residents, so they were probably here, I just didn’t cross paths with them.

On the park road, before you enter the park past the headquarters, I saw a group of chachalaca’s. Don’t recall seeing them here before. Know the bobcats would love the park to have a large population of them.

Meadowlarks are seen in groups and individually.

Have seen three pairs of roadrunners that come out to sun themselves in the morning.

Below, a blue-gray gnatcatcher and a pyrrhloxia.

Visited Las Vegas National Wildlife Refuge in Las Vegas, New Mexico.

Above, two kestrals. The one in the top picture has blood on it’s feet.

Two meadowlarks. Think the second one is a young one.

Sage thrasher

Swainson’s hawk

Below: Saw some white pelicans soaring and gliding at the refuge one day. The next day a very large flock were near my campground at Storrie Lake State Park. Half of them were preening and the other half were in a very large fishing group working their way along the shoreline. Pelicans are not common in this area, so I assume this is a flock migrating south (like me).

Have been enjoying traveling in Montana. The scenery along the I-15 from Idaho was incredible. Went through Helena and then the Great Falls area, where I visited the Benton Lake Wildlife Refuge. With fresh supplies and a full water tank in my trailer, headed on to Charles M. Russell National Wildlife Refuge in northeast Montana. The refuge helps protect the area around the Missouri River so the landscape is much like what Lewis & Clark saw (sans the buffalo, Indians, etc). It’s isolation reminds me of the Big Bend area in Texas. No internet access here. Miles and miles of rolling prairie.

Stayed at James Kipp Recreation Area run by the BLM. It is just off US Highway 191, where it crosses the Missouri River. The no-hookup campsites are in a large grove of old cottonwoods that were full of birds. A 20 mile auto tour route through the west end of the refuge starts on the other side of the Missouri. The dirt road is seen on the right side of the picture above.

Cliff swallows and an eastern  kingbird seen along the tour route. The bird in the bottom picture was seen in the campground. Finally identified it as a yellow-breasted chat. Also saw some cedar waxwings.

View of the Little Rocky Mountains in the distance, as seen from the tour route. They are an “island mountain range” that allow wildlife uncommon in eastern Montana to live. After leaving the James Kipp Campground, headed to the tiny village of Zortman to stay at Camp Creek Campground, also run by the BLM. It is filled with aspen and pine trees along a stream. Again, the trees were filled with birds. Just beautiful. Saw a wild turkey as I was leaving.

A catbird and a  flycatcher.

A beautiful church in Zortman.

Meadolarks are the state bird of Montana.

Stayed at Bruneau Dunes State Park for a few days.

Part of the C.J. Strike Wildlife Management Area is just a mile down the road from the park. While walking down a path towards the Snake River and duck ponds, I heard a bird I could not identify or see. Finally, I looked above me to see a northern harrier who seemed upset by my presence. It started to dive bomb me. Most of my pictures did not turn out, because it was flying so fast the camera didn’t have time to focus (while I was simultaneously ducking). Luckily I got a few. Harriers often nest on the ground, so I assume it was protecting a nest. I retreated so as not to disturb it any more.

A bird so often heard, but not often seen, a meadowlark.

Below, lark sparrows near the campground.

Have wanted to visit Carrizo Plain National Monument for a long time. One hundred miles north of Los Angeles, it encompasses an area 50 miles  north to south, bordered by the Temblor Mountains on the northeast and the Caliente Mountains on the southwest. It is managed jointly by the Bureau of Land Management, California Fish & Game, and The Nature Conservancy. The San Andreas Fault travels through it and the area is supposed to be one of the best places to study it.

Top picture, flowers seen driving over the Temblor Mountains to get to the Carrizo Plain.

Second Picture, dirt road looking back at the Temblor Range.

You don’t just happen upon the monument, you have to plan your visit. You are warned not to use a GPS. There is currently only one reliable road, Soda Lake Road. Eighteen miles of the road is paved, the remainder is dirt. The dirt road ranges from very good to areas of mild to moderate washboarding.

I stayed one night at their KLC Campground. A lot of people brought their horses and donkeys to ride. As usual, I managed to visit on a holiday weekend. It was not crowded, but I’m sure there were a lot more people than usual. Many were here to see the wildflowers in bloom.

You could hear meadowlarks all over. Saw one pronghorn elk, which are being reintroduced into the area.

The west entrance to the park (where I exited). The road on the left is Soda Lake Road. In the middle of the picture is Elkhorn Grade Road. The San Andreas Fault runs right next to Soda Lake Road here. The fault is supposed to be clearly visible near Wallace Creek, which I didn’t visit. Now that I know my way here, plan to return, hopefully in a less rainy year and not on a holiday weekend.

The way here: A blog I follow happened to mention a way to bypass a lot of Los Angeles Freeway traffic by taking the I-15 to the Cajon Pass, getting off on California 138 west to connect to the I-5 near Gorman. As it was the Friday before Easter, this was a good choice. As a bonus, it passed the poppy reserve in the Antelope Valley (picture below).

Two new sightings to start the new year off. A white-tailed kite with prey (top) and a white-tailed hawk (bottom). Both seen at or near Laguna Atascosa Wildlife Refuge. I saw the kite flapping it’s wings and staying in place and then swoop down to the ground. Later saw it had a rodent in it’s claws.

There were a dozen or more reddish egrets along the beach at the refuge. This bird is listed as threatened.

A meadowlark and a roadrunner, both seen at the refuge.

Walking near my rv, saw a couple of kingbirds chasing a juvenile mockingbird. When I stopped to take a picture of the mockingbird, it flew closer to me, which is very unusual. Think it knew the kingbirds would not come near him with me standing there. I stood there with him for about five minutes. The next day he was back, but there was also an adult mockingbird nearby.

Went to put some trash in a large bin at the campground one day and screamed when I saw two eyes looking at me from the container. Felt silly then, as it was a pair of raccoons. There was a cold wind blowing and they looked warm and cozy in the container.

Drove from Sutherlin to Tulelake, California, to visit the Wildlife Refuge there. Have been here a number of times. Along with great bird viewing, the fairground rv park gives a Passport America discount and it’s located just a few miles from the refuge. Just one other rv is here now. Last time I was here it was full of duck hunters.

Saw the eagle above at the same spot where I have seen eagles during other visits.

A breeding pair of American avocet’s defend their territory from a stilt.

Breeding eared grebe.

White faced ibis

Meadowlark with a worm. Saw a small flock of them. They are supposed to be a common bird, but this is the first picture I’ve gotten of one.

Below, a tern.