Western Sandpiper

Memories of the San Luis Rey Rivermouth
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 Henderson Bird Viewing Preserve
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.…

2019-08-12 Day Two in Crescent City
2019-08-12 Day Two in Crescent City

Time to wave goodbye to Crescent City and get moving south again. I expanded my awareness of the surrounding coastline yesterday, but still the harbor drew me back. It was…

2013-08-23 J-Street and Border Field
2013-08-23 J-Street and Border Field

Two locations well worth visiting any time I’m in South San Diego Bay region are J-Street by Chula Vista’s Bayfront Park, and Border Field near the Mexican border. I spent…

2013-07-24 Saltworks & Imperial Beach
2013-07-24 Saltworks & Imperial Beach

Wednesdays are set aside for accepting guests as part of the nesting tern surveys at the Saltworks section of the San Diego Bay NWR. I’ve had to good fortune to…

2013-04-04 Border Field
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,…

2013-03-24 Surfbirds At The  Mission Bay Jetty
2013-03-24 Surfbirds At The Mission Bay Jetty

Good image captures of Surfbirds were a source of frustration for me until this day. These shorebirds are not rare during the winter season in San Diego County, but I’d…

2014-09-23 At The San Luis Rey River Mouth
2014-09-23 At The San Luis Rey River Mouth

The still and brackish waters at the mouth of the San Luis Rey River in Oceanside California can be attractive to migratory birds passing by on their southbound route from…

2017-09-07 Central Oregon Coast
2017-09-07 Central Oregon Coast

A study on “peeping” I awoke at the north end of Coos Bay (North Bend Oregon) to a dense fog, then drove out the Horsfall Beach road. A recommended trail…

2017-08-13 Henderson Bird Viewing Preserve
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…

2017-08-11 Salton Sea Sunsets
2017-08-11 Salton Sea Sunsets

Choosing to add a few more “features” to my RV delayed the launch of my expedition into the inter-mountain West. I might have taken Interstate 15 on my way to…

2017-04-20 Salton Sea: Bowles Road to 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 was a bright and clear morning, so I…

2015-08-19 Saltworks Shorebirds
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…

2015-07-08 Saltworks
2015-07-08 Saltworks

It’s always a pleasure to hang with the science team when they march through the levees at the Saltworks to survey the terns and skimmers nesting there. I’ve been lucky…

2015-04-28 Salton Sea
2015-04-28 Salton Sea

My first ‘real’ stop on this outbound leg of this expedition was at the Salton Sea. I made four stops in the general area. Poe Road, Vendel Road, Lack &…

2014 Early August Around Mono Lake
2014 Early August Around Mono Lake

During my stay with friends Carmine and Mark at June Lake California, I made several excursions in the surrounding area’s well known (and some not so well known) scenic attractions.…

2014 Late July At The Salton Sea
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…