Mokka mit Schlag

#465 and #466 at the Salton Sea

April 10th, 2009

A couple of weekends ago (March 21-22), Beth was out of town so I decided to drive farther than normal from my usual O.C. stomping grounds. In particular, I decided to take a spin around the Salton Sea. It’s about 300 miles there, around, and back again, and seemed like a good fit for a weekend. I didn’t get as many life birds as I hoped but I did add two, plus one new species for my California list.

The first bird came almost as soon as I arrived Saturday morning. I drove down Lincoln Street to the Whitewater River delta. However all the gates were closed, and marked off with no trespassing signs. Bummer. However on the way back, I watched an Abert’s Towhee scurry off to the side of the road. This wasn’t a great look, and I might not even count it, except that I saw another one at my last stop of the day at the Sonny Bono Salton Sea Visitor Center, and two more the next morning in a vacant lot in Brawley. More often than not, the first bird is a “Is that what I think it was?” and you have to find a few more to be sure. That was the case for #465.

#466 though, left no room for doubt. I’ve looked for Common Ground-doves, without success at San Joaquin Wildlife Sanctuary in Irvine where they breed; but I found them all over the ground at the Sonny Bono Salton Sea Visitor Center where they were attracted to the feeders. Basically this is a sparrow-sized Mourning Dove. I even got pictures:

common-ground-dove

Although, just now as I look at the photos I notice this bird was banded. Hmm… That doesn’t necessarily mean it’s not countable; and I did see more than one individual, at least one of which flew. Still if this is not really a wild bird, it doesn’t really count. Fortunately, I found another one the next morning at the Riverview Cemetery in Brawley, and that one counts even if this one doesn’t.

Another birder also showed me a Barn Owl roosting right next to the center. Not a lifer but rare and special nonetheless. I also had a maybe on a Yellow-footed Gull after walking the path out to the Sea, but I couldn’t be quite sure.
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Moth Monday: Emerald Geometer

April 6th, 2009

You may have noticed that most of the moths I post here range in color from gray to brown so you’d think a pure green moth would be fairly easy to identify, but it turns out there are quite a few of these. Tentatively this has been identified as Dichorda illustraria – Hodges # 7055:

emeraldgeometer
Santiago Oaks, 2009-04-05
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Moth Monday: Perizoma custodiata

March 31st, 2009

Yes, it’s Tuesday; but I was on a plane and then pretty jet lagged yesterday. Anyway, today’s moth is one from my Salton Sea trip two weekends ago. These moths were common on every built up surface in every campground. Best guess is that this is Perizoma custodiata, Hodges# 7328.

Moth on restroom wall
Mecca Beach Campground, Salton Sea, 2009-03-21

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Starting my New York List for the Year

March 31st, 2009

I visited Brooklyn this past weekend. Despite jet lag, rain, and wind, I managed to spend a few hours in Prospect Park and picked up 39 species including 15 year birds: