pelican « westernviews.us

Archive for the ‘pelican’ Category

Salton Sea State Recreation Area

Monday, March 16th, 2009

Stayed at the Salton Sea State Park one night at their Salt Creek Campground. Enjoyed staying at the no hookup campground next to the water.

The pictures below were taken in the morning light. The protuberances seen on the beaks of the pelicans in the second picture had me concerned. Later found out adult pelicans have these in the breeding season.

Above: Get off my cloud! Some of the pelicans got protective of their fishing areas.

A variety of gulls, along with pelicans and a few herons and terns, roosted on sandbars. Gulls were continuously flying in and out of the roost.

When I went to close the door of my rv after it got dark, saw a lot of pelican activity on the water. Looks like they wanted a bedtime snack.

Posted in Airstream, Salton Sea, State, heron, pelican, tern | 1 Comment »

Estero Llano Grande State Park

Wednesday, January 21st, 2009

Have spent most of my time at Estero Llano Grande State Park as they have the most birds. Above: A lone roseate spoonbill has been roosting with some black-bellied whistling ducks the few days I’ve checked. Nearby are some white pelicans.

A tricolored heron eyeing a small fish.

Grebe

When I started hearing great kiskadees in Arroyo City, it took me a while to recall the kiskadee’s distinct calls. You often hear them but not see them and they are often heard in stereo, with one on each side of you.

great_kiskadeecalls

A sora, the first one I’ve seen. A volunteer heading a bird walk mentioned you could often see one at this spot, and he was right. The park has some very knowledgeable birders.

There are a lot of moss covered trees at Santa Ana National Wildlife Refuge, especially along the land near the Rio Grande River. I rode my bike on on their 7 mile paved road (cars are not allowed in the winter, just a tram) and walked most of their trails. Did not see a lot of birds. Saw scat left by small to medium sized animals, so there is a lot of wildlife there, just hidden in the woods.

A squirrel getting around a squirrel-proof bird feeder at Frontera Audubon Thicket.

Below, a malachite butterfly, also at Frontera.

Posted in Alamo, State, black-bellied whistling, butterfly, egret, grebe, heron, pelican, roseate spoonbill, sora, wildlife refuge | No Comments »

Goose Island State Park, Texas

Tuesday, December 23rd, 2008

Have been at Goose Island State Park, near Rockport, Texas for the past week. Glad to find it pretty much the same as last year. The big tree also made it through the hurricane ok.

Above, a rail, I think a clapper rail. Saw it while driving in the park and quickly grabbed my camera. My first picture of a rail.

Think this is a ruddy turnstone.

Drove 30 miles to Mustang Island State Park on a cold and windy day. The heron and the terns above were on the park beach. Maybe next year I’ll stay here a few days. It is a lot like South Padre Island, just not quite as over-developed. I like Goose Island State Park. I have an ocean view, good evdo internet coverage, and am near the town of Rockport and the Aransas National Wildlife Refuge. The refuge sustained severe hurricane damage from salt water in the fresh water marshes. Most of the fresh water marshes are dry and you see piles of salt everywhere.

Birds seen but not pictured: night herons, crested caracara, roseate spoonbill, sandhill cranes, kestrel, snake bird. Also, saw a large group of ducks fly by as it got dark. 99.9% sure they were black-bellied whistling ducks just from their whistles.

Saw this muscovy duck last year near a privately owned pond near Goose Island park. There were two of them, but the second one has since been killed by a car. Feel sorry for this guy/girl, by itself. Guess the people around the pond give it a lot of attention.

Little blue heron at the same privately owned pond.

Have been trying to get a picture of a kingfisher for a long time. They are small and so quick to fly away, it’s hard to get close enough to get a good picture. Last year I saw a kingfisher on one of the private piers near the Goose Island park. Sure enough, found one again in the same area.

Posted in State, heron, kingfisher, muscovy, pelican, rail, tern, turnstone | No Comments »

Tule Lake Wildlife Refuge

Friday, October 17th, 2008

I’m here in Tulelake, California, with hunters and coyotes, at the Tule Lake Wildlife Refuge, where migrating birds are arriving.

Seeing a few sandhill cranes.

An eared grebe with a small fish.

Northern shoveler

Canvasback

Next to the refuge, there is a ranch house with a fenced garden with pumpkins and other squash. Don’t know if the owners wanted the mule deer inside their garden!

A parent western grebe giving its’ young one a small fish. The young one swallows it whole.

Posted in Tulelake, canvasback, coyote, deer, grebe, hawk, northern shoveler, pelican, ring-necked pheasant, sandhill crane | 2 Comments »

Klamath Basin National Wildlife Refuges

Saturday, June 14th, 2008

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.

Posted in Ibis, Tulelake, black bird, cormorants, ducks, eagle, egret, geese, grebe, hawk, heron, pelican, ring-necked pheasant, swallow, wildlife refuge | 1 Comment »

The Big Tree

Friday, January 4th, 2008

The area around Goose Island State Park in Texas is primarily known for two things: the largest winter population of endangered whooping cranes and The Big Tree. This is a coastal live oak that is more than 1,000 years old. There are beautiful groves of oaks all over this area. Homes and roads are often built with a view towards saving all the oak trees they can.

An American oystercatcher, a rare visitor from Mexico.

A white ibis, a rare visitor to muddy pools, marshes, and mudflats.

Brown pelicans by the bait shop at Goose Island State Park.

Pelicans watch intently as fishermen clean fish. You know pandemonium will break loose when any scraps are thrown their way.

The Fulton Mansion in Rockport. Built in 1877 by George Fulton, with indoor plumbing and central heating.

Posted in Ibis, Oystercatcher, Rockport, State, pelican | No Comments »

Los Angeles Area

Monday, December 10th, 2007

Spent close to two weeks in the Los Angeles area. First in Riverside, at Rancho Jurupa County Park, then the KOA in Pomona. At Rancho Jurupa, the two pairs of ducks that were there before are still doing well. Also, in their small fishing pond, there were some visiting white pelicans, cormorants and a blue heron.

There is no shallow area in the pond for the blue heron to wade in. It kept watching the cormorants catch fish and wanted in the water, but it was too deep.

I stayed a few days more than I had to in Pomona waiting for mail that had been forwarded to me. Finally had to give up on it and head down to San Diego. At least I payed all my bills online, so there should not be any outstanding bills.

Posted in County, Los Angeles, Riverside, cormorants, ducks, heron, pelican | No Comments »

Salton Sea State Park, California

Wednesday, November 28th, 2007

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.

Posted in Salton Sea, State, hawk, heron, pelican, snow geese, wildlife refuge | No Comments »

Harris Beach State Park, Oregon, July 6-13, 2007

Friday, July 6th, 2007

Stayed at Harris Beach State Park for a week. The sites are pretty close and it was crowded at this time of year, but the beach is just across the street.