Double-Crested Cormorant
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 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 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 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…
2023-06-25 High Island
It’s been nearly two weeks since I published my last episode about my 2023 North American Expedition. Since then, I have fallen way behind in my story-telling chores. Having crossed…
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…
2022-03-31 Thursday In Coos Bay
The “Check Engine” light on the RV came on yesterday, so I needed to look into it. There is a Dodge dealer in Coos Bay, but I stopped at a…
2022-03-26 Pistol River to Port Orford
After two nights, I broke camp this morning at the Pistol River Mouth and spent a few minutes at Cape Sebastian. With all my travel-yarns woven and posted, it was…
2022-03-24 Crescent City Again
I spent ten days in Medford (Oregon), addressing minor upgrades to the RV, spinning the most recent yarns about my trip. During this time I enjoyed the company of my…
2022-03-09&10 Into Redwood Country
Since my last entry in this month’s journal, I have had two amazing stops in Point Reyes and in Bodega Bay. As I pen these words, this morning I am…
2021-04-08 SPI Birding & Nature Center
I’ve made it no secret. My mission is to experience as much of the vernal migration through South Texas as I can. South Padre Island is the best place I…
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.…
2021-03-06 High Island Rookery
I left Galveston on Thursday (2021-03-04) and crossed the bay by ferry on a 2½ mile passage to the Bolivar Peninsula. Back on Terra Firma, I drove 28 miles to…
2021-01-15 and 16 At Breeze Lake
Last spring, while on my way through Texas and the COVID-19 pandemic was taking a grip on our nation and the rest of the world, I’d been boondocking in my…
2020-03-17 Tuesday After The Boat Ride
I said my goodbyes to the Skimmer and her crew in Fulton Beach after a wonderful morning full of highlights at Aransas NWR. I fully expected to settle in somewhere…
2020-03-17 Aransas By Sea
I arrived at 215 North Fulton Beach Road in Fulton, Texas at 8:30am. Our departure aboard the Skimmer was scheduled for 9am, so I had some time to assemble my…
2020-03-16 Aransas NWR Day 2
“Wow” hardly seems sufficient to describe my morning! I stayed in Austwell Sunday night, and I was only 12 miles from Aransas NWR, so I could achieve an early launch…
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…
2019-08-17 Klamath Veterans Park
The story of Veteran’s Park this stay was the midges. Millions of black flying bugs too small to provide much of a meal were hovering low over the waters of…
2018-12-17 La Jolla Cove
Last week I had LOTS of warblers chasing flying insects at my house, and I tried chasing them with my D5 and my biggest lens. It was impossible to follow…
2013-04-04 Border Field
Weekday visits to Border Field, at the extreme southwestern corner of the USA, requires a long walk. It is over a mile from the parking area to the sandy beach,…
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…
2014-12-19 Santee Lakes
This post wraps up my retelling of stories from 2014. Tales of 2013 remain to be told, and I hope to spin those yarns soon. I know I’ve been pumping…
2017-09-16 San Simeon and North
(as far north as I could go) I drove all day Friday. It was the longest day single day of driving for this entire trip (368 miles). I left early…
2017-09-15 Sacramento Valley Trifecta
Sacramento NWR, Colusa NWR, Gray Lodge Wildlife Area The Sacramento NWR mostly had puddle ducks, with a few Raptors and herons. They have not flooded the fields, yet it looks…
2017-09-10 Mail Boat Ride (Plus Pistol River)
I parked Saturday night in a space along the main road going south out of Gold Beach. All day I’d been parked along the South Jetty, but it was questionable…
2017-09-09 South to Gold Beach Oregon
Having booked a ticket on the Mail Boat for the 108 mile white water of the Rogue River, I had a whole day to look for subjects to satisfy my…
2017-04-20 Salton Sea and Ramer Lake
My visit to the Red Hill Marina Campsite was fun, but it was time to continue my journey to Arizona. Ramer Lake is another interesting bird location in the Salton…
2017-02-11 The Rocky Islands
This was an exciting day for us. It would be our first contact with terra firma in three days. We’d travelled approximately halfway down the Baja peninsula. Our time on…
2015-08-19 Saltworks Shorebirds
By August each year, tern nesting is winding down at the Saltworks, but the Snowy Plovers still have a few chicks, so people in the southeast part of the Saltworks…
2015-06-05 Klamath Falls
I pulled into Klamath Falls Oregon in the late afternoon on June 4th. After securing lodging and a meal I wandered down to Veteran’s Park next to Lake Ewauna and…
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…
2015-03-16 Oceanside Harbor
I needed to get out, and I’d heard through the grapevine that Red-Throated Loons were present at the Oceanside Harbor channel. I pulled into the parking area at sunrise and…
2014 Autumn In La Jolla
My dad and his three older sisters were born in La Jolla during the early 1900s. The village was a humble place in those times. Streets were cobblestone and homes…
2014 Late July At The Salton Sea
Whoever said “you must suffer for your art” must have been thinking about photographing birds at the Salton Sea in mid-summer. Temperatures here often elevate to over 115°F in the…
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…