Escondido, California and the Trip Home

9/20This morning we drove to Lake Hodges to see the grebes. When we arrived we unpacked the tripods and long lenses and made the short hike down to the lake. It was early enough that the birds weren’t quite active yet, so we settled in and waited. There were maybe six grebes scattered in front…

Tucson and the Sky Islands

4/13Up and out by 6:30, we headed down to the Paton Center for Birds in Patagonia. We got an excellent photo of a lazuli bunting, loads of hummingbird pictures, Alan got a black-headed grosbeak, I got a rat, and we chatted with a few of the other birders. One, Debra Johnson, does what we do…

Big Bend and Beyond

4/9Today we visited Big Bend National Park. It was a long drive, but we got started at 4:30am, delayed by 2 potty stops. The first stop was Panther Junction Visitor Center where I asked about good birding spots. We’d already researched the locations, but I wanted the inside scoop. Cottonwoods Campground got added to our…

Santa Clara Ranch

4/6We got up at 5:40am, said hello to Molly and Bert (two of the permanent Harris hawk residents that perch near the ranch house), and joined Alisha, Gavin, Hector, our guide, at breakfast. Then we drove the short distance to Blind #2 for the morning to see a wide assortment of birds, some dessert cottontails,…

Heading to Texas

3/31 We left home at 7:30am a day later than we’d planned due to some nasty weather. We stayed steady on the road and arrived just north of Atlanta, GA in time for lunch at Farmhaus Burger. The food was really good with lots of vegan options. We stopped in Montgomery, AL and had dinner…