Western Wood-Pewee
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 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 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 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 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…
2023-07-12 Arizona’s Huachuca Canyon
After coming off the Chiricahua Mountains Monday and getting breakfast in Sunsites, I pushed my way over roads I’d not traveled in a very long time. It carried me through…
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…
2022-06-15 Whitehorse After A Long Rain
After arriving in Whitehorse last Friday (June-10), I took several days off from the rigors of the road and capturing new images. I used the time to rest, recuperate, and…
2022-05-31 Crystal Lake in Grande Prairie
After I camped at Lake Winagami Tuesday night, I drove for a little over two hours to reach Grande Prairie. Family restaurants that serve breakfast are not so easy to…
2020-05-20 Road From ABQ and Mount Graham
Two corrections: Thanks to the astute observations of readers Celestyn Brozek and Lori Conrad, I’ve learned my “Cassin’s Vireo” is the wrong Solitary Vireo. The proper identification is Plumbeous Vireo.…
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…
2013-08-09 Agua Dulce Again
Agua Dulce Creek is a popular birding destination for the local San Diego birding community. On my way to visit this place I stopped first at the town center of…
2013-05-29 Palomar Mountain Birds
The locations I visited were the San Luis Rey Picnic Grounds off California State Route 76, East Grade Road on Palomar Mountain, Nate Harrison Road. Palomar Mountain resides near the…
2013-05-17 Ramona Grasslands Again
This was my second visit in 2013 to the Ramona Grasslands. My first visit was a month earlier, and there were several new players on the stage for this act. The…
2013-05-01 Santa Margarita River Trail
The Santa Margarita River flows out of Riverside County, draining a basin 30 miles long, and crosses south into San Diego County, then west across Camp Pendleton and out to…
2014-05-22 March Yard Birds
March 2014 brought a Cassin’s Vireo into my yard, and I managed to capture respectable images. Hutton’s Vireos are regular visitors to the oak trees on my property, but other…
2017-08-19 Willard Bay
Willard Bay was a last-minute addition to our ad hoc tour schedule for the Salt Lake City area. Our time in this state park was all too brief. Even so,…
2017-07-18 Twin Lakes Mammoth, Round Two
My plan for this day was to head out to the end of Lake Mary Road in Mammoth. There were several locations nearby where I thought I might find the…
2017-07-16 Mammoth Lakes Birds
Mammoth Creek connects a string of high elevation lakes in the Sierra Nevada Mountains. Starting above Skelton Lake (9,920′), it drains into Arrowhead Lake (9,690′), Lake Mary (8,920’), Lake Mamie…
2017-07-07 and 09 Lower Rock Creek
Friday morning (7/7) I chased (but missed) my friend Steve Brad’s Indigo Bunting. He’d been visiting the region in the weeks prior to my departure. I’m reasonably certain I was…
2017-05-04 Arivaca Cienega
Thursday morning I got out early to the Cienega at Arivaca, one of my favorite birding locations. Here I found Hermit Warblers, Orange-Crowned Warblers, Lucy’s Warblers, Brewer’s Sparrows, Vermilion Flycatchers,…
2015-05-27 Bitterroot Valley, Days 4 and 5
Lee Metcalf National Wildlife Refuge near Stevensville Montana, in the Bitterroot Valley sits along the Bitterroot River about 25 miles from where it empties into the Clark Fork River in…
2014 Early August With Birds at June Lake
I am fortunate to have generous friends willing to welcome me into their homes as I travel. My friends Carmen and Mark have a house at June Lake California. I…
2014 Early June On Santa Rosa Mountain
I never grow tired of visiting Santa Rosa Mountain, a sky island in southern Riverside County California, a stone’s throw from the border with San Diego County. Part of me…