Birding Destinations
Places I've enjoyed meeting birds.
2024
Memories of Boulder Creek Road
When I was 16 years old, and starting to drive independently, exploring San Diego County’s remote back-country roads was one of my greatest joys. Boulder Creek Road was one of…
Memories of the Santa Ysabel Reserve
The San Dieguito River system drains from the mountains east of Santa Ysabel through the San Pasqual Valley and out to sea at Del Mar. Forward thinking citizens fought for…
Memories of the San Dieguito River
The Del Mar Fairgrounds have been a customer of my company for decades. We (Western DC Systems) service the emergency systems on campus four times a year. I’m retired now,…
Memories of Poway Pond
Very near my home is Poway Pond. Actually, there are two ponds. One is publicly owned, while the other is privately owned. The privately owned pond is now named “Taylor…
Memories of Palm Canyon
The residents of Borrego Springs collect their drinking water from Palm Canyon. Hikers can enjoy a 2.9-mile loop trail from the desert floor that ascends the canyon. After a 700…
Memories of Lake Wohlford
Prior to the construction of Lake Dixon, Lake Wohlford stored the water supply for the City of Escondido. This reservoir was constructed in 1895, and holds 3500 acre-feet of water.…
Memories of Daley Ranch
The Daley Ranch and Dixon Lake could be considered as closely related. They are next-door neighbors. But there are significant differences. Much of Lake Dixon’s features can be accessed by…
Memories of Lake Poway
I don’t always bring a camera with me when I visit Lake Poway. Only 7.5 miles from my home, I find its peace and serenity soothes me and heals my…
Memories of La Jolla
There are two locations in San Diego County that produce in me thoughts of the three generations of Daynes that preceded me. The first is Scripps Ranch and Miramar Lake,…
Memories of the Tijuana River Valley
The Tijuana River Valley holds a special place in the hearts of the San Diego birding community. Here probably have been the scene of more ‘rarity’ findings than any other…
Memories of Balboa Park
There are many reasons to love Balboa Park. Anyone unfamiliar with the attractions there is truly missing out. The museums alone are worth visiting. There are 18 of them to…
Memories of Cuyamaca Mountain
On 2013-06-15, I parked at the staging area ten miles south of Julian California where Milk Ranch Road meets Route-79. The path I traveled on my bike is displayed on…
Memories of the San Luis Rey Rivermouth
I love visiting locations where streams and rivers meet the ocean. These places where freshwater and saltwater meet have the potential for life to thrive. Sadly, in San Diego County,…
Memories of Bahia Grande – Texas
The road from Brownsville to Port Isabel and South Padre Island (TX-48) crosses a low, flat plane called Bahia Grande. I traveled this road many times during my stay in…
Memories of Whelan Lake
In 2003, my pursuit of bird photography was budding. I knew Phil Unitt was ramrodding the San Diego County Bird Atlas project, and I wanted to contribute. Phil had a…
Memories of Yellowstone
To say Yellowstone Park is big is an understatement. I have paid visits in 2001, 2015, and 2022. Yet, I don’t believe I’ve scratched the surface of the opportunities possible…
Nevada Deasinations
Henderson Bird Viewing Preserve The preserve comprises nine ponds spread over 140 acres, intertwined with trails weaving their way along the levees between the ponds. Some ponds are quite large.…
Birding Destinations
Travel and birding for me go hand-in-hand. I nearly always drive when I venture across North America, and I pack my camera gear with me. Some of my expeditions cover…
Memories of Plum Canyon
Like many folks in love with nature and new to photography, 25 years ago, flowers seemed an attractive subject for me. Always beautiful, and available, even in one’s own yard…
Memories of Dixon Lake
I enjoyed visiting Dixon Lake several times between 2004 and 2008. Sometimes I would hike the trails. Other times I would rent a boat and tour the shoreline. I usually…
Memories of Lone Pine
I always enjoy exploring near Lone Pine. There is so much spectacular scenery nearby. To its east, and rising to over 11,000 feet, are the Inyo Mountains. These mountains were…
Memories of the Anza-Borrego Visitor Center
With more than 600,000 acres, Anza Borrego Desert State Park has many areas worth exploring. But for the sheer convenience of meeting the widest array of species, both plant and…
Memories of Catalina State Park
2019-10-24 After my all-day marathon photo-safari at the Boyce Thompson Arboretum on Wednesday, I was too tired to drive very far south towards Tucson. I stopped in nearby Superior Arizona…
Memories of Granite Wells
2016-12-04 Camping at the Granite Wells site was the coldest excursion of all the museum outings. It was good that this was the last outing until spring next year. On…
Memories of Scissors Crossing
2013-03-26 Thrasher Hunt County Road S-2, or the Great Southern Overland Stage Route, runs along the desert floor at the foot of the local San Diego mountains. The route is…
Memories of Imperial County’s Ramer Lake
The heat of summer at Ramer Lake means hundreds upon hundreds of nesting and/or roosting Cattle Egrets, White-Faced Ibis, Double-Crested Cormorants would be present. A few American White Pelicans, numerous…
Memories of Tamarisk Grove
2020-02-21: The Road To Texas Begins I turned left off CA-78 at Santa Ysabel and headed towards Warner Springs. Near the turnoff on the road to San Felipe and Ranchita…
Memories of Fort Lowell Park, Tucson
I’ve enjoyed chasing birds at various venues around Tucson. I have been there many times. One location I visited briefly was Fort Lowell Park. This is a small park with…
Memories of Dirty Socks Springs
2016-04-20 Wednesday The local birding community is well aware of Dirty Socks Springs. Located at the southern edge of the Owens Lake basin, it used to be a county park…
Memories of Clark Dry Lake
2013-04-27 Borrego’s Clark Dry Lake Birds I made several fruitless thrasher hunts during the first half of 2013, and while I failed to locate the Le Conte’s Thrashers I had…
Memories of the Salton Sea at Red Hill
2017-04-20 Salton Sea: Bowles Road to Red Hill I spent the night at Bowles Road and woke up early to find a swarm of tree swallows all around me. It…
Memories of Culp Valley
At 3400 feet in elevation, Culp Valley is up-slope from Borrego Springs 2800 feet below on the valley floor. The habitat here is still desert, but different from the desert…
Memories of Pinyon Wells – Joshua Tree NP
2016 – Early October Camping I spent the second week of October with the bird and mammal department of the San Diego Natural History Museum in Joshua Tree National Park.…
Memories of Tucson Arizona’s Reid Park
I have visited Tucson Arizona often, and have found it a town with many venues suitable for chasing bird-life. On 2008-11-27, I traveled there for Thanksgiving with family in Tucson.…
Memories of Cottonwood Spring – Joshua Tree NP
Cottonwood Spring is located inside Joshua Tree National Park. Twice, in 2016, I visited there, with the science team from the San Diego Natural History Museum; once at the end…
Memories of Blair Valley – Anza-Borrego
2009-04-09, 2009-04-10: Desert Birds In 2009, I camped for two April nights in Blair Valley. One way to reach this location is to drive east through Julian on CA-78, and…
Memories of Hot Springs Mountain
2004-05-21 At 6,526 feet, the summit of Hot Springs Mountain is the highest point of land in San Diego County. However, many folks living in San Diego are unaware of…
Memories of Petersville Road – Alaska
2005-07-05: Petersville Road Today I had two locations nearby to explore. The first, about 13 miles behind me, was Byer’s Lake. There are trails around the lake that might offer…
Memories of Mohave Desert Camping – Cima
2016-11-08~14: Camping In The Mojave I left Poway on Tuesday, November 8 to catch up with the Bird and Mammal team from the San Diego Natural History Museum. The science…
Memories of Midway Lake – Alaska
07/12/05: Back in Tok, Again Yesterday I wound up back in Tok, thus completing a very large triangular trip through Alaska’s interior. From here I planned to head towards the…
Memories of Haines Alaska
This tale includes some mechanical drama with my ride (Suzuki Samurai). The problem got solved in Haines, but I spent several days in Tok, unsuccessfully trying to sort things out.…
Memories of Aspendell California
Twice, I’ve visited this alpine community towering at an elevation of 8400 feet over the 4100 foot Owen’s Valley below, where the town of Bishop is located. Bishop, a small…
Memories of Palomar Mountain
2013-05-29 Palomar Mountain Birds Palomar Mountain rises near the northern boundary of San Diego County and divides the watersheds of the San Luis Rey and the Santa Margarita River systems.…
Memories of Fish Creek in Hyder Alaska
In 2005, near the end of my 12,000 mile round-trip expedition from San Diego to Alaska, I drove to Haines Alaska, where I spent several memorable days before boarding a…
Memories of Red Rock Feedlot
Red Rock Arizona is in Pinal County, located off the I-10 between Picacho and Marana. There is a feedlot two miles east of town that sometimes hosts rare doves and…
Memories of Old Mine Road, Ranchita
I will remember 2014 as the year I met Lewis’s Woodpeckers for the first time. My very first encounter was in August while visiting friends at June Lake in the…
Memories of Henderson Bird Viewing Preserve
The first time I visited the Henderson Bird Viewing Preserve was on 2015-05-05. I was starting out a long expedition of the western USA states and driving my Suzuki Samurai.…
Memories of Gilbert Water Ranch
Twice, I visited this gem of a bird sanctuary. My first explorations took place on 2020-02-23, as I traveled to Texas on my first birding expedition to the Lone Star…
Memories of Denali National Park
07/06/05: Almost Denali Yesterday’s drive was a dud as far as birds were concerned. I believe I was late for most of the birds I’d read about for this section…
Memories of Lake Morena
I spent two days near the end of April-2011 at Lake Morena, six miles north of Campo in southern San Diego County. During my stay, I stayed in my 1977…
Memories of Grand Teton National Park
My first time visiting Jackson, Wyoming was in November 2001. I was participating in the only nature photography seminar I’ve ever been to. It was a week-long event, and I…
Memories of Coming In To Alaska (2005)
After finishing my tour of Canada’s Dempster Highway, I settled in Dawson City, Yukon Territory to rest my road-weary bones. I found the road from Dempster Junction to Dawson City…
Memories of Lake Saskatoon & Little Lake
Saskatoon Island Provincial Park rests between Little Lake and Saskatoon Lake about 12 miles west of Grande Prairie in Alberta, Canada. I’ve described Crystal Lake in Grande Prairie elsewhere on…
Memories of 2005 at Dog Lake – BC, Canada
My earliest adventure in Canada was while traveling to Alaska. Late in May-2005, I drove out of Idaho and crossed over the border at Kingsgate Port of Entry. After driving…
Memories of Moose-Wilson Road, Wyoming
2015-05-17 Moose-Wilson Road The Moose-Wilson Road skirts the western perimeter of the greater Jackson Valley just west of the Snake River. The northern end of the road ends at the…
Memories of the Dempster Highway
On May 18, 2005, still new to birding, I left for a 73 day ‘trip of a lifetime’ that covered 12,000 miles. All did not go as planned, but it…
Memories of Miramar Lake
For most San Diegans, Miramar Lake is either a pleasant piece of scenery, a fishing hole, a body of water to hike around, a picnic haven, or for the pragmatic,…
Memories of Lake Erie’s Northern Shore
2023-05-13 Long Point on Lake Erie While visiting with my friend Judy in Ontario Canada, she offered to escort me to a few of her favorite birding destinations, and Saturday…
Memories of Lake Ontario’s Northern Shore
2023-05-13 Ontario’s Bronte Harbour After enjoying breakfast at a local diner last Thursday, we visited Bronte Harbour. My friend Judy wanted to show me the nesting Red-Necked Grebes at the…
Memories of Mammoth Lakes
In 2017, I spent two days exploring Mammoth Lakes in the eastern Sierra-Nevada Mountains. Below are notes from the visit. 2017-07-16 Mammoth Lakes Birds Mammoth Creek connects a string of…
Memories of Graham County, AZ
I visit Graham County as often as I can to visit long-time friends there. Below are notes from two such visits. 2020-05-22 Ascent To Mount Graham Mount Graham, called Dził…
Memories of Bear River, UT
Twice, I have cruised through the wetlands of Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge. These fields, ponds and marshes lie at the northeastern margins of Utah’s Great Salt Lake. Following are…
Memories of Apache Creek, NM
I’ve been to the Apache Creek region in New Mexico two times. The following notes are from those occasions. My first visit to Apache Creek was in late May-2020, while…
Memories of the Nacimiento-Ferguson Road
I fell in love with the Nacimiento-Ferguson Road in the 1990s, long before I began my love affair with bird photography. My career supporting battery-operated life-safety inverter systems often required…
Memories of Fort Nelson
I have had the pleasure of visiting Fort Nelson on three occasions. All three fell in June. My first visit came in 2005, while heading to Alaska. Because I left…
Memories of Grande Prairie Alberta
My first visit to Crystal Lake in Alberta’s Grande Prairie was in June-2005 while on my way to Alaska. I was using The MILEPOST travel guide to inform me of…
Memories of Glenwood Catwalk and the Glenwood Fishery
My first visit to the Catwalk at Glenwood New Mexico was in August 2003. I was new to bird photography, and I remember meeting my first Summer Tanager there. It…
Memories of Watson Lake, Yukon
In June-2005, while traveling to the northern reaches of the Yukon Territory and Alaska, I first found my way to Watson Lake. It was a destination I looked forward to…
Memories of Minesing Wetlands
2023-05-18 A Quick Tour Of McKinnon Road Thursday, I drove north, towards my friend’s cottage near the shore of Georgian Bay on Lake Huron. I planned a few stops along…
Memories of Patagonia
Near the start of my 2023 expedition to Canada, I passed through Patagonia in March and visited the Patton Center for Hummingbirds for my first visit to this well-known birding…
Memories of Taylor Landing, Canada
My 2022 expedition to northwestern Canada included two visits to Taylor Landing. Once while traveling north, and again on my return, headed south. Each visit was memorable. Following are the…
Memories of Lesser Slave Lake
2022-05-30 Late May At Lesser Slave Lake It took two days to drive from Jasper to Slave Lake, a town at the southeastern end of Lesser Slave Lake that I…
Memories of Charlie Lake, Canada
In June-2005, I first visited Beatton Provincial Park at Charlie Lake near Fort Saint John, in British Columbia for a few days. I was traveling to Alaska at the time…
Memories of McIntyre Marsh
I first visited McIntyre Marsh in June-2005 during my stop-over in Whitehorse Yukon while traveling to Alaska. It would be seventeen years later that I would return to enjoy the…
Memories of Applegate Valley
I first explored the Upper Applegate Valley in June-2015. Oregon Route 238 leaves Jacksonville Oregon, eventually following the Applegate River to Applegate Lake for 28 miles, and continues south to…
Memories of Redington Road
In 2004, I was just beginning my education about birds and how to capture them in my images. It was an exciting time for me. Many of my meetings with…
Memories of the Klamath River Mouth
On 2017-09-12, I drove south from Crescent City and found the Klamath River Mouth where River Otters entertained me. I spent the night right there and drove a short distance…
Memories of Burns Oregon
On 2022-04-24, after a long drive from Joseph (Oregon), I arrived in Burns late Saturday afternoon. Rather than surrendering to fatigue, I drove through the region just north of town…
Memories of San Luis Obispo Bay
On Monday, 2022-02-28, I was eager to get on the road after months of preparation, and not wanting to face Los Angeles traffic on a weekday, I left my Poway…
Memories of Oregon’s Yaquina South Jetty
In Spring-2022, I drove from my home in southern California, and explored the entire west coastline. When I arrived in Newport, I spent most of the day catching up with…
Memories of Marathon Texas
My first Texas Birding expedition began in 2020, with an ill-planned visit to Big Bend. I learned that because of Spring Break, all camping spaces in the park were occupied,…
Memories of Kickapoo Caverns State Park
In October-2022, I spent two nights at Fort Clark in Brackettville Texas. It was my base camp during my tour of Kickapoo Caverns State Park, about 30 miles away. In…
Memories of Sandia Crest
Just outside of Albuquerque, the Sandia Mountains loom large in the northeast. For years I’ve been wanting to pay a winter visit to the crest of these peaks and meet…
Memories of the Davis Mountains
Davis Mountains State Park has its origins in the 1930s as a Civilian Conservation Corps (or CCC) project to help lift the broken economy out of the depression. The CCC…
2022
2022 Expedition in Review
On February 27, I left San Diego on what turned out to be a 16,000 mile tour of western North America that lasted 7½ months. I began with a slow…
2022-07-05 Kimiwan Lake
My long drive from Grande Prairie ended Monday at Lake Kimiwan near the Town of McLennan in the province of Alberta. There is a boardwalk over the marsh at the…
2022-06-16 Thursday At Lake Lebarge
Rather than chase the same birds as I did Wednesday, I wanted to try for birds in an area yet unexplored by me. Lake Labarge, the subject of Robert Service’s…
2022-04-21 Thursday In East Washington
With my route planned through eastern Washington to Oregon, I hit the road about mid-morning on Wednesday. The weather was cool, but not freezing, and the passes were open with…
2022-04-13,14,15 Puget Sound Island Hopping
My friend Teresa volunteered to take me island hopping in the Puget Sound, and I happily accepted the offer. According to my research, there are 20 sizable islands in the…
2022-04-10 The Road To Mount Olympus
On April 9th, my Saturday drive began at my US-101 roadside camp by the Palix River in Washington, 12 miles south of South Bend. By day’s end, I found myself…
2021
Memories of Rockport Texas
My adventures in Rockport preceded my first expedition to South Texas, and the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic that would dominate our society one week later. On 2020-03-16, I drove…
Memories of San Bernard NWR
On Tuesday, 2021-03-09, I spent the night at a rest stop on the Interstate-10 freeway east of Houston. I endured a lot of drive time exiting Louisiana after I decided…
Memories of Anahuac NWR
After departing High Island in early March 2021, I set a course for the nearby Anahuac National Wildlife Reserve. I planned a quick visit before heading east on my clock-wise…
Memories of Port Aransas
I visited the Leonabelle Turnbull Birding Center next to the Port Aransas Nature Preserve on the last day of February 2021. I learned there was a popular boardwalk over the…
Memories of High Island
For my second expedition to Texas in 2021, I stayed five and a half months (2020-12-27 to 2021-05-13). I started in Guadalupe Mountains National Park, and Big Bend before gravitating…
Memories of Aransas NWR
Located 50 miles north of Corpus Christi (Texas), and primarily on the Blackjack Peninsula, rests the primary unit of the 115,324-acre Aransas National Wildlife Refuge. The barrier provided by Matagorda…
Memories of Big Bend National Park
I’ll begin by listing a few factoids about this popular national park. At 1,252 square miles, it is the 15th largest national park. The rugged terrain reaches heights of 7832’…
Memories of Guadalupe Mountains National Park
During the last days of the calendar (2020) I was leaving New Mexico, determined to revisit Texas. After spending Christmas day at Bitter Lake NWR near Roswell (New Mexico), I…
Memories of the Laguna Vista Nature Trail
Nestled at the southwest corner of Laguna Madre, that body of water that lies between the barrier island of South Padre in south Texas and the terra firma of the…
Memories of Boca Chica Beach
Perhaps one of the most overlooked birding “hot-spots” in South Texas is the mouth of the Rio Grande at Boca Chica Beach. There is no infrastructure or visitor center located…
Memories of Edinburg Scenic Wetlands
Centered in the Lower Rio Grande Valley, Edinburg is McAllen’s nearest neighbor to the east. It is where the Edinburg Scenic Wetlands are located. In March 2003, they opened this…
Memories of Quinta Mazatlan World Birding Center
Built around a 1930s 10,000 square foot mansion, Quinta Mazatlan is an urban oasis, with trails weaving through 15 acres of birding habitat in the middle of the city of…
Memories of Bentsen-Rio Grande Valley State Park
Bentsen-Rio Grande Valley State Park occupies 797-acres, with over 1,200 acres of adjoining U.S. Fish and Wildlife refuge tracts. In 1944, the Bentsen family donated 586.9 acres to the Texas…
Memories Of Santa Ana NWR
Santa Ana National Wildlife Refuge nestles in 2,088 acres along the Rio Grande. With 14 miles of trails, there are almost limitless opportunities to meet birds and other wildlife. During…
Memories of The Sabal Palm Sanctuary
A few short miles south of Brownsville (Texas), is a birding destination of world renown. In the 1890s and early 1900s, it was one of the largest post-Civil War plantations…
Memories Of The National Butterfly Center
In February 2021, Texas experienced some freakishly cold weather. We called it the “Big Freeze”. Electrical power failed for four days, and temperatures fell to 15°F and stayed low for…
Memories of Estero Llano Grande
South Texas is about as close to heaven for bird lovers as any place I’ve ever visited. The southmost part of the state is fondly called the Lower Rio Grande…
2020
2020-05-28 Cattle Call Brawley
After leaving Arivaca Wednesday morning I drove a rural route through Ajo and Gila Bend to Yuma where I spent the night. Thursday morning after having breakfast I launched the…
Memories of Boyce Thompson Arboretum
Travel fifty-four miles east from the I-10 freeway on US-60 in Phoenix, and just 3 miles short of Superior Arizona is a jewel of a location for nature lovers called…
Memories of Bitter Lake NWR, New Mexico
After four days on the road from Brownsville, I followed the Pecos River upstream from Texas and crossed into New Mexico on Sunday, May 10th of 2020, and found a…
Memories of South Padre Island
Of all my experiences in South Texas, no other destination produced as many great birding memories as did South Padre Island. There are three must-see locations on the island. Just…
Memories of Breeze Lake Texas
My first birding expedition into Texas was in the spring of 2020. After being on the road since February 21st, on Monday, March 23rd, the world-wide panic from the pandemic…
Memories of Resaca de la Palma State Park
A week before the end of April 2020 I made plans to exit Texas at the end of the month. Then I learned of several locations I’d hoped to explore,…
Memories of Laguna Atascosa NWR, Texas
My first visit to Laguna Atascosa National Wildlife Refuge was on April 20th, 2020 after I left Corpus Christi and headed for the southern tip of Texas. The full impact…
Memories of Palmito Hill Texas
Near the lowest end of the Rio Grande, less than ten miles from where the river empties into the Gulf of Mexico, is the wide plain called Palmito Hill. Covered…
Memories of Idyllwild
Whether your interests are hiking, exploring, shopping for art, camping, mountaineering, relaxing, summer jazz, or just escaping from the hustle of the southern California cities below, the mile-high region around…
Memories of Merced NWR
Midway between Interstate 5 and US-99, 15 miles from Los Banos and 11 miles from Merced California, is the approximate geographic center of California’s Central Valley. It is also the…
Memories of Iron Mountain
For me, Iron Mountain is a daily experience. From my property, it sits prominently when I gaze east from my home. At 2,601 feet elevation, it is not the highest…
Memories of Torrey Pines State Park
There are three sections to this state park: the bluffs, the slough or lagoon, and the extension. When most folks think of Torrey Pines State Park, it is the bluffs…
Memories of Agua Dulce Creek
Because habitats in San Diego County include the coast, the valleys, the coastal slopes, the mountains, and the desert, its biodiversity exceeds that of most places in North America and…
Memories of Gray Lodge
Wildlife preserves in modern times can serve as a reminder of the intended natural order of life on this planet. The ravenous demands of an ever-expanding society have ground through…
Memories of Crowley Lake
Crowley Lake is located within the Eastern Sierra District in the high country north of Bishop California. It is a large lake on the upper Owens River and part of…
Memories of Crescent City
Tucked into the northwestern corner of California and surrounded by redwoods, you will find the town of Crescent City. When I visit family in Southern Oregon, I enjoy the first…
Memories of Cattle Call Park
Cattle Call Park is located on the western edge of Brawley California in the Imperial Valley, close to the Salton Sea. The park takes its name from the rodeo event…
Memories of Gold Beach Oregon
In September 2017, I was roaming the coast of Southern Oregon. I had been in Bandon and was headed to Gold Beach where I planned to tick off a bucket-list…
Memories of Snake River Birds of Prey NCA
The Morley Nelson Snake River Birds of Prey National Conservation Area has been set aside to promote the protection and preservation of raptors. These birds sometimes gather here in large…
Memories of The Bitterroot Valley
In May-2015, I was visiting an old chum who’d settled outside of Stevensville Montana in the Bitterroot Valley. While I stayed here, I met two bird species for the first…
Memories of Lee Metcalf NWR
Of all western states, Montana is perhaps the one I’ve least explored while looking for birds. This although I lived here briefly in the winter of 1969-1970, and for nearly…
Memories of June Lake
The Eastern Sierra District, as some call it, is a wondrous region. It stretches over 150 miles from Bridgeport to a few miles south of Lone Pine. I see it…
Memories of Bridgeport California
At the foot of the Eastern Sierra-Nevada Mountains is a “Big Meadow”, as the town of Bridgeport California was once called. It is a small town with a population of…
Memories of Garner Valley
Garner Valley sits between the sky islands of San Jacinto (10,833′) and Santa Rosa (8,717′) in southern Riverside County. My first visit here was June 2011 with the San Diego…
Memories of Birding Island
Birding Island is part of the Payette River Wildlife Management Area. It is a 1200 acre Idaho Department of Fish and Game site located about two miles north of New…
Memories of Goodan Ranch
Between June and December 2008, I visited Goodan Ranch eleven times. I have not been back since. I’m not sure why. Perhaps I overdid it that year. For the time…
Memories of Mono Lake
Mono Lake is unique. To the uninterested or uninformed passerby it might seem just another large lake, and it is large (over 45,000 acres). What is less obvious is the…
Memories of Lake Hodges
Lake Hodges is inland on the San Dieguito River between Rancho Bernardo and Del Dios on the outskirts of Escondido. I like the trails from the Rancho Bernardo side of…
2019
Memories of Bandon Oregon
In September 2017, I was touring the Central Oregon Coast. The smoke from the Chetco Fire near Brookings spilled over the Coastal Mountains into the Rogue Valley where I was…
Memories of Sacramento NWR
My first visit to the Sacramento National Wildlife Refuge was December 2002. Winter is an interesting time of the year to visit any of the reserves in the Sacramento or…
Memories of Jackson Hole
Jackson Hole, as some will call the Jackson Wyoming region, has turned into a mecca for the disproportionately wealthy. The billionaires are crowding out the millionaires. Once this was a…
Memories of Pinedale Wyoming
Factoids: There are 1,300 glacier formed lakes around Pinedale. The largest glaciers in the U.S. Rocky Mountains are in the Wind River Range. Gannett Peak, at 13,802 ft is the…
Memories of Ramona Grasslands
There is a broad grassy valley running west from the Ramona Airport through Highland Valley. The County of San Diego has seen fit to make a preserve of the land…
Memories of William Heise Park
As of 2017, researchers have found 522 out of the 673 recorded bird species in California in San Diego County. The reason for this diversity of species is the diversity…
Memories of Dos Picos Park
In a deep, narrow valley west of Ramona California, is Dos Picos County Park. This is a nice little park with a little of everything for its visitors. Most of…
Memories of Piedras Blancas
Like Morro Bay’s otters, Piedras Blancas has its own mammalian attractions: the Northern Elephant Seal. From the time of their discovery by European profiteering mariners, these animals were slaughtered by…
Memories of Morro Bay
I first visited Morro Bay in December 2003, when my passion for bird photography was new. The act of chasing birds can produce unanticipated meetings with creatures other than birds,…
Memories of Antelope Island, Utah
Arguably, one of the best Birding Destinations I’ve ever visited is Antelope Island near Salt Lake City, Utah. I’ve paid visits on two expeditions, and each time I’ve spent multiple…
Other Destinations
When the concept of a series of stories about Birding Destinations took shape in my mind, I assembled a list of candidate locations and began writing about places I’ve most…
Memories of Otter Creek, Utah
One aspect of birding I enjoy is that if you have eyes open, you can find birds in so many places. In late spring of 2015, while on my six-week…
Memories of Anza-Borrego
Anza-Borrego State Park has long been a favorite destination of mine. Even before my passion for bird photography, this desert’s beauty drew me to it. Not everyone “gets” the desert.…
Memories of the Chiricahua Mountains
I have yet to tap into all the treasures the Chiricahua sky island offers, but Rustler Park and Cave Creek were a treat during the limited time I spent there.…
Memories of Zion National Park
Nobody goes to Zion National Park to see birds do they? With all those rose and pumpkin-colored cliffs to enjoy, who has the time or inclination to look for birds?…
Memories of Bicknell Bottoms
Late in the spring of 2015, I was on a six-week expedition through the Intermountain West. My good friend and fellow photographer Charlie introduced me to Ron Dudley, another talented…
Memories of the Santa Rita Mountains
Madera Canyon, Gardner Canyon, and Florida Canyon each find their origins on the slopes of the Santa Rita Mountains. Madera flows west, Florida north, and Gardner east. Each canyon differs…
Memories of Huachuca’s Eastern Canyons
Ramsey Canyon, Carr Canyon, and Miller Canyon all descend from the eastern flanks of the Huachuca Mountains. For bird lovers, each of these places offers a wealth of opportunities for…
Memories of Fort Huachuca
The Huachuca Mountain Sky Island is chock full of exciting birding destinations. There are too many exceptional places to describe in a single post. I will attempt to offer information…
Memories of Mount Lemmon
Mount Lemmon looks southward over the city of Tucson, Arizona. In late April-2017, I spent three days exploring several locations atop this sky island. I think I’ve barely scratched the…
Memories of Sabino Canyon
For my money, Sabino Canyon is the crown jewel of all Tucson Birding Destinations. I’ve not been here often enough to advise on the best time of the year for…
Memories of Agua Caliente Park in Pima County
Stuck out of the way near the foot of the Rincon and Catalina Mountains in the northeastern corner of Tucson Arizona, is Agua Caliente Park. Here sits a hundred acres…
Memories of Davis Dam
Early spring can be a fun time to visit Davis Camp in Bullhead City Arizona. The camp is located at the base of Davis Dam. Behind Davis Dam is Lake…
Memories of Havasu NWR
Along the Colorado River, between Lake Havasu City and Bullhead City Arizona is Havasu National Wildlife Refuge. My visits to this refuge have been at the northern section, between Interstate…
Memories of Cibola NWR
I like out-of-the-way places, and Cibola National Wildlife Refuge is such a place. Located along the Colorado River between California Route-78 and the low range of rocky desert mountains lining…
Memories of Bill Williams River NWR
Thirty miles east of Kingman Arizona, in the high country south of I-40, where the Big Sandy River and the Santa Maria River join, the Bill Williams River begins its…
Memories of the Rio Grande Nature Center
Albuquerque is the largest population center in New Mexico. This town rests in the Rio Grande River Valley, a stream whose headwaters are in the highlands of central Colorado on…
Memories of Lindo Lake
Tucked away within an urban setting in the small town of Lakeside (California) is a large pond called Lindo Lake. A roadbed divides the lake, giving the impression of two…
Memories of Mission Trails Regional Park
I’ve only visited Mission Trails Regional Park a few times, but enjoyed each one of my stays. My introduction was in the spring of 2009, when the San Diego Natural…
Memories of Santee Lakes
Water treatment facilities can be environmentally beneficial and often provide great habitat for wildlife, especially waterfowl and other water-loving species. Santee Lakes is a prime example and one of the…
Memories of Dairy Mart Ponds
When I was very young, the dairies in San Diego were at the top of their game. Places like Mission Valley and the Tijuana River Valley were dominated by some…
Memories of Robb Field
In Ocean Beach, the community sports park known as Robb Field is nearly synonymous with the San Diego River Mouth. It’s not the grass ball fields that draw birders to…
Memories of the Bird and Butterfly Gardens
The Tijuana River Valley has its own special locations dear to bird lovers. The Bird and Butterfly Gardens is one such place. It’s easy to see why. The river-course on…
Memories of North Mission Bay
There is a marshy wetland at the north end of Mission Bay that is a remnant of how the whole bay was before it was dredged and drained. Just another…
Memories of Famosa Slough
Folks who study local seismology believe the Rose Canyon Fault is the most dangerous earthquake threat in San Diego County. It is also responsible for some of the most interesting…
Memories of Border Field
Border Field State Park occupies the extreme southwestern corner of the USA. What is not part of the floodplain of the Tijuana River is sandy beaches and dunes. The low…
Memories of Chula Vista Bayfront Park
Chula Vista Bayfront Park occupies the southern shore of San Diego Bay. To its south is a large shallow marsh where low tides expose a mudflat that can host large…
Memories of the Saltworks
I almost hesitate to include the Saltworks in my “Birding Destinations” series because the best this site offers the nature lover is not within the public view. While there are…
Memories of La Jolla Cove
As I began my series on Birding Destinations I was mostly focused on places away from my home turf. It occurred to me, that it might be a disservice to…
Memories of Siskiyou Summit Road
I have family in Central Point Oregon that I like to visit as often as possible. During my stays there, I like to explore the surrounding region. Above the Rogue…
Memories Of Malheur
My first visit to Malheur National Wildlife Reserve was in December 2003. The only bird images from that visit were some mediocre shots of my first meeting with a Rough-Legged…
Memories of the Link River in Klamath Falls
I’ve traveled extensively through Western USA, yet I don’t feel I’ve “seen it all”. Far from it, I’m certain there are still plenty of surprises waiting for me to ferret…
Memories of the Salton Sea, Southeastern Shoreline
For the sake of simplicity, the area I often refer to as “Lack and Lindsey” includes the shoreline and adjacent fields from the New River Delta north to Obsidian Butte.…
Memories of the Salton Sea, Vendel Road
Continuing the sharing of my favorite birding destinations near the Salton Sea … After visiting Poe Road, my next stop is usually at Unit #1 of the Salton Sea NWR.…
Memories of the Salton Sea, Poe Road
For a brief background discussion on the Salton Sea, <Read This Post>. When I travel from my San Diego County digs to visit the Salton Sea, there are several locations…
Memories of the Salton Sea, A Unique Geology
The basin we know as the “Salton Sink” is one of the lowest places in North America. It rests over the San Andreas Fault system and is in a very active…
Memories of Arivaca
Those who know me well, know I love to travel. Sometimes the places I go draw me back time and time again. Arivaca Arizona, is one of these places. My…
2015
Memories of Bosque del Apache
Bosque del Apache is a birding Mecca in the middle Rio Grande Valley. It is near the geographic center of New Mexico. A winter pilgrimage will reward the traveler with…
2005
Memories of Seward – Alaska
2005-07-08: If it’s Friday, this must be Anchorage Driving south on the Parks Highway, I stopped in Anchorage to book passage for July 17th on a ferry for me and…
Memories of Fairbanks Alaska
On July 1, 2005, after my visit to the Delta Agricultural Project, I decided to make it to Fairbanks this day, so it would call for a bit of a…