San Luis National Wildlife Refuge

April 16, 2016

It's been a few weeks since I've had an outdoor adventure.  I've been busy with other things.  We spent a weekend in the recording studio and last week I watched the Masters on television.  That's probably my favorite televised sporting event.  A lot of people find golf to be boring to watch, but I like the way good play is slowly and patiently rewarded while one or two mistakes can unravel a run at a major championship.

Western Kingbird -- San Luis National Wildlife Refuge, CA

It's definitely Spring now.  Most of the Winter birds have flown North.  The kingbirds are back, a sure sign that we've switched from Winter birds to Summer birds.  Meadowlarks are year-round inhabitants, but they were a little more conspicuous than normal.

Western Meadowlark -- San Luis National Wildlife Refuge, CA

In fact, a lot of the regular, small animals were easier to see than normal.  I only saw a couple of hawks and a single harrier during the three hours or so that we were there.  It's not unusual to run out of fingers and toes when counting the hawks and harriers at this refuge.  I assume they've followed the ducks North.  Their absence makes life a little easier for the little critters, I guess.

Sheep -- San Luis National Wildlife Refuge, CA

Some of the refuge was fenced off for grazing.  This was the only sheep I saw.  I suppose others were probably lying down in the grass.  It was midday, after all.

Killdeer -- San Luis National Wildlife Refuge, CA

Most of the flooded fields were in the process of drying up.  Some of the fields in the back were still flooded.  There weren't a lot of birds there, just a few stragglers including this killdeer.

Tule Elk -- San Luis National Wildlife Reserve, CA

We saw three elk.  Again, probably a bad time of day to see elk.  The ladies always seem to be hard to spot, I suspect they stick to the middle of their large enclosure.  We found a couple of bulls hanging out near the shade of a tree.  This guy was keeping an eye on Pongo who was on a leash beside me while I took photos.  Tough light, but I like his velvety antlers.

Brush Rabbit -- San Luis National Wildlife Refuge, CA

All in all, not the most exciting of trips but it was good to get out.  Pongo and I spent a good chunk of our time on Saturday just hanging out next to the parked car enjoying the peace and quiet.

Soundtrack

• John Coltrane -- Ballads

Merced & San Luis National Wildlife Refuges

It's been a few weeks, but Pongo and I finally made it out of the house for an afternoon.  It felt good to get out into the open air.

Western Kingbird -- Merced National Wildlife Refuge, CA

We started at the Merced complex.  The waterfowl are mostly gone aside from a few ducks and mudhens.  The refuge is far from empty, though.  Less plentiful in number than the large flocks of geese and ducks, the land is populated by kingbirds, swallows and raptors.  The great horned owls also remain.  The wetlands are now dry for the most part.

Great Horned Owl -- Merced National Wildlife Refuge, CA

Great Horned Owl

A few marshy areas remain at San Luis.  Pongo and I made our way there after touring the Merced refuge.  Our first good sighting was a great horned owl, a first for me at the refuge.  I was unable tp get a decent picture because he stuck to the shadows.You'll have to use your imagination a little bit with this picture.

Pongo jumped out of the car window again.  This is the second time he's done that, both at San Luis and both incidents happened within a few hundred yards of one another.  Last time he went after ducks that quacked at him.  This time he leaped after a ground squirrel.  It happened very quickly.  I keep a long leash on him when we're driving with his window open and I never go more than ten miles an hour, still it was a little frightening.  I was worried about him getting under the wheels but he was fine.  I told him not to do it again, but we'll see.  I want to keep the window down for him because he enjoys the drives so much, but I sure don't want him to get hurt.

San Luis National Wildlife Refuge, CA

Aren't the greens and yellows amazing?  What a beautiful time for a drive at the refuge.  I love the varied browns of winter, but Spring is even more to my liking.  I miss the big flocks, though.  I was hoping to see a coyote or two since we were there late in the afternoon but no such luck.  We didn't see one until much later in a field on our drive home.

Western Kingbird -- San Luis National Wildlife Refuge, CA

We saw a couple of swainson's hawks on elk fence posts.  I think I saw a couple of others in flight but I wasn't able to identify them with any cinfidence.  I've never seen swainson's hawks before, at least that I could identify, so that was cool.

Swainson's Hawk -- San Luis National Wildife Refuge, CA

Swainson's Hawk

The elk must have been tucked into the interior of their large enclosure because I only saw three.  The two males had velvet on their antlers.  I wonder how long until that comes off and they take on their tough guy demeanor.

Demeanors?  Spell check says no.  Dunno.  I should dig up a dictionary.  I guess I could google it, but I'm too lazy.

Anyway, it was a nice afternoon.  I just have to talk Pongo into keeping himself in the car while we're driving around the loop.

Tule Elk -- San Luis National Wildlife Refuge, CA

Yea, Though I Walk . . . Red Rock Canyon State Park

Getting There

April 27, 2014

Soundtrack:

• Sonic Youth -- Murray Street
• The Smiths -- The Queen Is Dead / Strangeways, Here We Come

I spent the weekend down in Death Valley.  Woot.

Western Kingbird -- Merced County, CA

There's magic in the wind in Death Valley, but I'll get to that in later posts.  Getting there and coming back is part of the whole experience.  This post is all about the drive down.

Merced County, CA

Interstate Five, Merced County, CA

I drove down I-5 to Bakersfield.  That's one of the least interesting stretches of highway I've ever been on.  There's a lot to like about California's Central Valley, but somehow the engineers who put this road together figured out how to hide almost all of it.  If you look for it, though, you can find things to keep you entertained even on this crusty stretch of interstate.

Cliff Swallows -- Buttonwillow, CA

Take birds, for instance.  Stop at any rest area and you're bound to see a variety of species. As you're driving over overpasses, you may notice large numbers of small birds in the vicinity.  Those are cliff swallows.  They don't live on cliffs anymore.  They like to build their nests on freeway overpasses.  There's a large colony in Buttonwillow.  Hmmm.  Colony?  Flock?  Village?  Metropolis?  I don't know what the right term is for what the birds have built here.  In the Spring the adults will be flying around gathering food.  I like stopping to watch them feed their young 'uns.  It looks like a lot of work for those poor parents.

Red Rock Canyon State Park. CA

After heading East from Bakersfield, I stopped at Red Rock Canyon.  This place has nothing on Southern Utah, but it's still a fun place to stop and stretch the old legs before making the last stretch into the Valley of Death.

Red Rock Canyon State Park. CA

Of course, before Death Valley comes Owens Valley.  There aren't too many prettier stretches of highway than those that course through Owens Valley.

Owens Valley, CA

One hundred years ago Owens Valley was filled up by Owens Lake.  There's no lake there anymore, just salt flats and ponds.  The lake was drained dry by Los Angeles.  The city diverted the lake's main tributaries to sate the city's thirst.  The same thing was happening to Mono Lake as well until Congress put a stop to it.  The story of Owens Lake is ancient history, though.  It's been mostly dry since 1924.  Some water has been diverted back to the valley, so perhaps someday the lake will be restored.  Not in my lifetime, I'm sure.

Owens Valley, CA

It was getting dark by the time I was pulling into Panamint Springs.  I've stayed here every time I've visited.  It's on the Western edge of the park and not actually in Death Valley proper, but just above Panamint Valley.  It's got the best views of any of the campgrounds in the park.  I always try to get one of the sites up against the desert.  At night it can feel like I'm out there all by myself without a soul for miles around.  Well, as long as I don't turn around to see the lights of the bar, anyway.

Death Valley National Park, CA