Archive for the ‘County’ Category

Last Views of Big Bend

Monday, February 16th, 2009

The pictures above are of the Chisos Mountains in Big Bend National Park. The first one is a view of the mountains from the west entrance of the park. The second one is the Chisos Basin Campground area. The campground is in the center of the picture, if you squint. The “V” in the mountain is a window to the Santa Elena Canyon area.

The park warns against trailers longer than 20 feet, or motor homes more than 24 feet, from driving up the mountain road or staying in the campground.  My not being able to stay at the campground is probable one reason I did not spend much time here. Next time I come here I’ll go on some of the trails. This was more of a get aquainted driving tour. Staying in the non-hookup Rio Grande Village, I did not want to leave my dog either in my rv or truck.

I did not see many javelinas. The park warns campers not to leave their pets unattended outside. Pets have been killed and eaten by javelinas. This is the first time I have heard of this, and I have been other places where they are. They may be coming into campsites looking for food and attack a curious dog. I recall my dog, Jake, barking at a javelina from my truck at a refuge. The javelina briefly showed its’ sharp teeth, then went back to looking for food.

The road from Lajitas to Presidio, Texas, goes through Big Bend Ranch State Park along the Rio Grande. It has 15% grades in some places. This is why I got a Ford 250, not the 150. I didn’t have any problem going over the grades. The road is like a roller coaster in some places, where water has flooded over it in the past.

At the top of one high grade, some people were looking up in the mountains and taking pictures. I would never have seen the bighorn sheep above if not for them. The sheep have a long way to go to get water at the river.

More from the Arroyo City area

Thursday, January 8th, 2009

Riding my bike I came across these male turkey’s preening and flexing their feathers.

Two different osprey.

Catbird

Brown thrasher

There is a small harbor near the park where night herons nest during the day and egrets nest at night.

At the refuge, saw two bucks fighting over a female. Could not see them as much as hear their snorting and their antlers clicking.

More from Laguna Atascosa

Friday, January 2nd, 2009

Loggerhead shrike at the refuge. This is a small predator bird that kills by biting the back of its’ victims neck to sever the spinal cord. No wonder the birds eating my grapefruit are always on high alert, very aware of their surroundings.

Wild male turkey’s congregate in one pack and female’s in another near where I am camped.

Lots of osprey in the area.

Harris’ hawks, parent in top photo, young one in lower. I was afraid the young one might have a problem with his wing. He was sleeping on a picnic table in the picture. Have since seen him with two other hawks flying without difficulty.

Roseate spoonbill at the refuge.

Laguna Atascosa National Wildlife Refuge

Monday, December 29th, 2008

I’m currently at Laguna Atascosa National Wildlife Refuge. I’m staying at the same county park I stayed at last year in the village of Arroyo City near the small town of Rio Hondo which in turn is near the city of Brownsville, Texas. You still see a lot of boarded up windows and piles of debri in the area, but probably a lot of damage is unseen. The refuge looks great. It was pretty dry when I visited last year. Now there is water all over the place.

Above: A green jay at the refuge visitor center; below it, a crested caracara on a hot and windy day.

Reddish egret on the same hot and windy day.

Long billed curlew

Placed some grapefruit on a tree limb outside my door and took the pictures below through the screen. The order reflects the bird ranking: woodpecker trumps the green jay who trumps the cardinal who trumps the sparrow.

Rancho Jurupa Park, Riverside

Monday, October 27th, 2008

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.

Prado Regional Park, Chino, California

Tuesday, June 3rd, 2008

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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.

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Adult black-crowned night heron. Have never seen so many.

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Juvenile black-crowned night heron.

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Commorant

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An osprey. Note the powerful legs and feet.

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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.

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Geese and ducks of course.

Birds seen but not pictured: black-necked stilt, black phoebe, common tern, common moorhen, egret, turkey vulture, coot.

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Campground at Prado. If you squint, you can see my rv in the center.

Rancho Jurupa Park, Riverside, California

Saturday, May 31st, 2008

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Have been back at Rancho Jurupa Park in Riverside for the past two weeks. Wanted to get some things done. Plan to start heading North next week.

Above, an adult breeding wood duck that was by the marsh area at the park.

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Think this is an adult, breeding ring-necked duck. Also seen by the marsh area.

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There were several sets of mother and baby ducks. The ones above look like teenagers.

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Came across a female goat that was in distress on park property. There are small ranches with all kinds of animals right next to the park. The goat must have gotten through a hole in a fence, then could not find her way back in. She was in distress and looked like she needed to be milked. All my pictures of her were a little blurry. Between her chasing Jake (and me) and my trying to keep Jake by my side, it was hard to stand still. I walked around to the street with the ranches and came across the son of the owner of the goat. He came and rescued her.

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The two sets of mascots are still here. The male muscovoy duck is really dominant. Saw him chase down and bite some feathers off the large white male goose. He has also done this to the female muscovoy duck. Despite this, you often see the four of them resting together as a group.

Both sets of mascots were going from rv to rv looking in the screen doors, hoping for a handout. There have been less people at the park due to construction, so handouts may be harder to come by.

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There only seems to be the one, full-time, blue heron here now. The ones that went gopher hunting here in April have probably headed North. Still plenty of gophers around.

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Rancho Jurupa Park is right next to the Santa Ana River Wildlife Area. There are marsh areas on both sides of the river, along with miles of sandy horse trails that you can also walk or ride a bike on.

More Zhen Zhen and the Zoo

Tuesday, April 15th, 2008

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Headed back to the zoo today and was pleased to find that spring break finally seems to be over. Last week when I was here it was crowded like it usually is on weekends. Found out some schools were still out for spring break. Today I was able to circle through the panda exhibit a number of times, the line was so short.

Zhen is starting to ingest bamboo now, not just play with it.

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Su Lin became interested in one of her enrichment items. It probably had a scent that she liked. She hung upside down and tried to pull it up to her.

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This was the first time I have had the right timing to see the polar bears underwater. They are incredibly beautiful to watch. Kids seemed to really enjoy it too. Heard several say it was their favorite exibit. Read on the zoo web site that they are hoping to have some baby polar bears in the future.

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Have never seen an egret sitting like this.

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I stayed at Sweetwater County Park again during my stay in San Diego. It is around 10 miles from the San Diego Zoo (takes 30 minutes to drive there). About half of the park’s sites are always filled, either with permanent sites for people who volunteer 20 hours a week or “recurrent” visitors. You can stay here three weeks, then have to leave for one week before you can return. On weekends it often fills up.

Herons’ on gopher patrol

Tuesday, April 8th, 2008

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The herons were on gopher patrol again this morning. Two herons both caught one each. They hunt and swallow the gopher whole, just like they do fish. They have to be a little harder to go down than fish. In the picture above you can see the lump in the heron’s throat after swollowing the gopher.

Here is a short clip of the turkey-ducks muscovy ducks coming to the door seeking food.

Rancho Jurupa Park, Riverside, California

Monday, April 7th, 2008

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Have been in Rancho Jurupa County Park for more than a week. It is not so much a destination, as a place to get things done. Have to admit I appreciate the California spring weather in the 60′s and 70′s.Top picture above, a tree with character that I see from my window. Below, what is behind the tree, lots of 30-40 foot palm trees that have never been trimmed and other trees all covered with some kind of vine.
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Fellow campers bribe their cats with food to get them to come outside. The swans are always on the lookout for dogs and small children, but seem to know when an animal is no threat to them.

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The female swan tried so hard to take a bath in the water I put out. She could not understand why she could see the water, but could not put her head through the side of the container. Not sure why the swans don’t go in the fishing pond here.

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Two days in a row I have seen blue herons hunting in the field I see outside my window. Both days at least one gopher was caught. The picture above was taken through my window glass, hence the poor quality.

The herons cannot fish in the pond here because there are no shallow areas for them to wade in.

Movie below is called “I’m top duck here, don’t make eye contact”.