American Avocet
2020-May at Bitter Lake NWR, New Mexico
After several memorable months in Texas, even enduring the craziness and uncertainty of the earliest days of the pandemic, I began my first Texas Exodus in 2020-May. I was 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 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 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…
2022-08-21 Mustang Island
Mustang Island is one of the long strips of dune islands, or barrier islands off the Gulf Coast of Texas that protect the mainland from the worst fury of the…
2022-05-17 Two Days in Cody Wyoming
I spent my first night in Cody at the Walmart parking lot. I’d been having difficulty getting clear focus in my camera when taking long shots of large mammals. Modern…
2022-04-25 In Malheur
The clear blue skies I enjoyed in Burns Oregon on Saturday and Sunday degraded to a gloomy gray on Monday. Still, the gloom was not so deep as to dampen…
2021-03-27 Palmito Hill & Boca Chica Beach
Just 10 miles inland from Boca Chica Beach is Palmito Hill, another of my favorite birding locations. On my way to the beach, I stopped to scout the birding opportunities.…
2021-02-28 Port Aransas Nature Center
The Port Aransas Nature Center had a popular boardwalk over the freshwater marshes on the property until 2017’s Hurricane Harvey dismantled it beyond use. Not ones to give up easily,…
2021-01-30 Boca Chica Beach
I wanted to ride my bike on Boca Chica Beach all week, but operations at the Space-X Launch Complex mandated a closure of the road to the beach. Finally, on…
2020-11-24 Late November Gallery Updates
Sometime next week I expect to be back on the road in search of new birds to meet. For now, I’m still working on my friend’s home in Thatcher, getting…
2020-11-12 Thursday In Gilbert Arizona
It was a big day for me Thursday in Gilbert. The sun was at its harshest mid-day height when I arrived at the Water Ranch, but I stayed into the…
2020 Bird Gallery Updates: Part 1
One benefit of taking a lengthy journey, such as my 2020 Texas Expedition, is collecting images of new bird species for my species galleries. If I’ve met the bird before,…
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…
2019-10-10 Vendel Road, Salton Sea
My trip to Arizona finally launched Thursday morning. I used the opportunity to visit some of my favorite bird destinations. My first stop was Poe Road, but I was disappointed…
What’s An Avostilt?
I’ll never forget when in 2003 I first heard the expression “Avostilt”. The San Diego County Bird Atlas needed images of Elegant Terns, and author Phil Unitt introduced me to…
2012-04-24 Chula Vista Again
Low tide was early on this Tuesday morning. The mudflats at J Street were alive with waterfowl and shorebirds. I don’t get as many opportunities as I’d like to spend…
2013 March In South San Diego County
In March 2013, I went twice to Lower Otay Lake in search of a Prairie Warbler. As did many of my adventures in South San Diego County, my first trip…
2017-08-17 Antelope Island (Part 1 of 4)
I fell in love with Antelope Island in the spring of 2015 when introduced by friends Ron and Mia, so when my new friend Joe suggested we spend the day…
2017-08-16 Bear River
After showing Jerry and me the Promontory Road raptors in the early morning, Joe took us out to the Bear River Migratory Bird Reserve. While I’d visited this area in…
2017-08-13 Henderson Bird Viewing Preserve
This morning I found my way to the Henderson Bird Viewing Preserve. I visited here once before while doing my big inter-mountain trip in the Samurai (the one where I…
2015-05-12 Two Days At Bear River
The Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, west of Brigham City Utah is 80,000 acres of marsh, open water, uplands, and alkali mudflats. There is a one-way dirt track loop through…
2015-05-05 Henderson Bird Viewing Preserve
The Henderson Bird Viewing Preserve in Henderson Nevada near Las Vegas Nevada is a converted water treatment facility that now serves as a bird sanctuary. It lies north of Henderson…