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 Winnebago. I put in a lot of effort and resources into that rig, hoping it could support my ambitions to travel across North America. Sadly, it never lived up to deliver this capability. It ran too hot and sucked too much fuel.
I’ve had three different electric bicycles in my ‘career’. I modified each one for carrying my camera gear while I explored trails too long for ‘shank’s mare’. Back in 2011, I was using my Hanebrink bike. It had 20 inch x 8 inch wide tires and was a beast. There are several miles of trails around the lake, and I tried to traverse them all. The back-country in San Diego can get quite warm. And on this late spring day, packing all my gear over the trails would have been exhausting without the bike’s help.
On my ride, I saw at least a half-dozen Southern Pacific Rattlesnakes on the trails. Some of them were calm as I passed them by, but one buzzed loudly at my approach. It was early in the day, and I’m sure their proximity to the roadways was to gather warmth for their cold-blooded bodies.
As I reviewed the images I captured that day, I wished I’d done a better job. Especially poor were shots I attempted of a Mountain Quail and a Common Loon. I missed a golden opportunity to photograph a Gray Vireo. It posed nicely, but only stayed for a second before bouncing back into the thick roadside chaparral. I’m not a fan of European Starlings. But when I found them at nests, I spent a few frames on them and nearby Western Bluebirds feeding their young in nest-holes.
European Starling(Sturnus vulgaris) |
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Description: Lake Moreno near Campo in southestern San Diego County California 2011-04-27. |
Date Taken: 2011:04:27 12:04 |
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Location:
Lake Morena |
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Camera Information: NIKON D3X, 800 mm, f/5.6, 1/500 |
File Name: JCD7621-Starling-Nest |
| © 2011 Jack Daynes, shadeTreeImaging.com |
Western Bluebird(Sialia mexicana) |
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Description: Lake Moreno near Campo in southestern San Diego County California 2011-04-27. |
Date Taken: 2011:04:27 12:05 |
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Location:
Lake Morena |
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Camera Information: NIKON D3X, 800 mm, f/5.6, 1/800 |
File Name: JCD7624-WesternBlueBird |
| © 2011 Jack Daynes, shadeTreeImaging.com |
Western Bluebird(Sialia mexicana) |
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Description: Lake Moreno near Campo in southestern San Diego County California 2011-04-27. |
Date Taken: 2011:04:27 12:12 |
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Location:
Lake Morena |
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Camera Information: NIKON D3X, 800 mm, f/5.6, 1/250 |
File Name: JCD7635-WesternBlueBird |
| © 2011 Jack Daynes, shadeTreeImaging.com |
Western Bluebird(Sialia mexicana) |
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Description: Lake Moreno near Campo in southestern San Diego County California 2011-04-27. |
Date Taken: 2011:04:27 12:12 |
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Location:
Lake Morena |
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Camera Information: NIKON D3X, 800 mm, f/5.6, 1/250 |
File Name: JCD7638-WesternBlueBird |
| © 2011 Jack Daynes, shadeTreeImaging.com |
Western Bluebird(Sialia mexicana) |
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Description: Lake Moreno near Campo in southestern San Diego County California 2011-04-27. |
Date Taken: 2011:04:27 12:15 |
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Location:
Lake Morena |
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Camera Information: NIKON D3X, 800 mm, f/5.6, 1/250 |
File Name: JCD7648-WesternBlueBird |
| © 2011 Jack Daynes, shadeTreeImaging.com |
Eurasian Collared-Dove(Streptopelia decaocto) |
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Description: Lake Moreno near Campo in southestern San Diego County California 2011-04-27. |
Date Taken: 2011:04:27 12:40 |
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Location:
Lake Morena |
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Camera Information: NIKON D3X, 800 mm, f/5.6, 1/1250 |
File Name: JCD7655-EurasianCollaredDove |
| © 2011 Jack Daynes, shadeTreeImaging.com |
Rock Wren(Salpinctes obsoletus) |
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Description: Lake Moreno near Campo in southestern San Diego County California 2011-04-27. |
Date Taken: 2011:04:27 13:21 |
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Location:
Lake Morena |
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Camera Information: NIKON D3X, 800 mm, f/5.6, 1/2000 |
File Name: JCD7669-RockWren |
| © 2011 Jack Daynes, shadeTreeImaging.com |
Rock Wren(Salpinctes obsoletus) |
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Description: Lake Moreno near Campo in southestern San Diego County California 2011-04-27. |
Date Taken: 2011:04:27 13:22 |
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Location:
Lake Morena |
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Camera Information: NIKON D3X, 800 mm, f/5.6, 1/1600 |
File Name: JCD7673-RockWren |
| © 2011 Jack Daynes, shadeTreeImaging.com |
Rock Wren(Salpinctes obsoletus) |
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Description: Lake Moreno near Campo in southestern San Diego County California 2011-04-27. |
Date Taken: 2011:04:27 13:23 |
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Location:
Lake Morena |
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Camera Information: NIKON D3X, 800 mm, f/5.6, 1/2500 |
File Name: JCD7680-RockWren |
| © 2011 Jack Daynes, shadeTreeImaging.com |
Granite Spiny Lizard(Sceloporus orcutti) |
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Description: Lake Moreno near Campo in southestern San Diego County California 2011-04-27. |
Date Taken: 2011:04:27 13:36 |
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Location:
Lake Morena |
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Camera Information: NIKON D3X, 800 mm, f/5.6, 1/1250 |
File Name: JCD7684GraniteSpinyLizard |
| © 2011 Jack Daynes, shadeTreeImaging.com |
Woodland Alligator Lizard(Elgaria multicarinata webbii) |
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Description: Lake Moreno near Campo in southestern San Diego County California 2011-04-27. |
Date Taken: 2011:04:27 14:56 |
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Location:
Lake Morena |
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Camera Information: NIKON D3X, 800 mm, f/5.6, 1/30 |
File Name: JCD7696-AlligatorLizard |
| © 2011 Jack Daynes, shadeTreeImaging.com |
Hutton's Vireo(Vireo huttoni) |
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Description: Lake Moreno near Campo in southestern San Diego County California 2011-04-27. |
Date Taken: 2011:04:27 15:37 |
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Location:
Lake Morena |
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Camera Information: NIKON D3X, 800 mm, f/5.6, 1/80 |
File Name: JCD7710-HuttonsVireo |
| © 2011 Jack Daynes, shadeTreeImaging.com |
Red-Shouldered Hawk(Buteo lineatus) |
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Description: Lake Moreno near Campo in southestern San Diego County California 2011-04-28. |
Date Taken: 2011:04:28 9:33 |
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Location:
Lake Morena |
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Camera Information: NIKON D3X, 800 mm, f/5.6, 1/1600 |
File Name: JCD7714-RedShoulderedHawk |
| © 2011 Jack Daynes, shadeTreeImaging.com |
Western Bluebird(Sialia mexicana) |
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Description: Lake Moreno near Campo in southestern San Diego County California 2011-04-28. |
Date Taken: 2011:04:28 9:51 |
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Location:
Lake Morena |
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Camera Information: NIKON D3X, 800 mm, f/5.6, 1/800 |
File Name: JCD7731-WesternBlueBird |
| © 2011 Jack Daynes, shadeTreeImaging.com |
Western Bluebird(Sialia mexicana) |
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Description: Lake Moreno near Campo in southestern San Diego County California 2011-04-28. |
Date Taken: 2011:04:28 9:53 |
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Location:
Lake Morena |
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Camera Information: NIKON D3X, 800 mm, f/5.6, 1/640 |
File Name: JCD7739-WesternBlueBird |
| © 2011 Jack Daynes, shadeTreeImaging.com |
Southern Pacific Rattlesnake(Crotalus oreganus helleri) |
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Description: Lake Moreno near Campo in southestern San Diego County California 2011-04-28. |
Date Taken: 2011:04:28 11:03 |
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Location:
Lake Morena |
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Camera Information: NIKON D3X, 800 mm, f/5.6, 1/1600 |
File Name: JCD7745-SouthernPacificRattleSnake |
| © 2011 Jack Daynes, shadeTreeImaging.com |
California Quail(Callipepla californica) |
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Description: Lake Moreno near Campo in southestern San Diego County California 2011-04-28. |
Date Taken: 2011:04:28 11:48 |
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Location:
Lake Morena |
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Camera Information: NIKON D3X, 800 mm, f/5.6, 1/400 |
File Name: JCD7752-CaliforniaQuail |
| © 2011 Jack Daynes, shadeTreeImaging.com |
Olive-Sided Flycatcher(Contopus cooperi) |
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Description: Lake Moreno near Campo in southestern San Diego County California 2011-04-28. |
Date Taken: 2011:04:28 12:01 |
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Location:
Lake Morena |
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Camera Information: NIKON D3X, 800 mm, f/5.6, 1/1000 |
File Name: JCD7758-OliveSidedFlyCatcher |
| © 2011 Jack Daynes, shadeTreeImaging.com |
Olive-Sided Flycatcher(Contopus cooperi) |
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Description: Lake Moreno near Campo in southestern San Diego County California 2011-04-28. |
Date Taken: 2011:04:28 12:03 |
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Location:
Lake Morena |
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Camera Information: NIKON D3X, 800 mm, f/5.6, 1/1000 |
File Name: JCD7766-OliveSidedFlyCatcher |
| © 2011 Jack Daynes, shadeTreeImaging.com |
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