Native Birds

When we saw this Verdin (a species of Tit) on Ocotillo at the Anza-Borrego Visitors' Center, it was a new bird for my life list. It was apparently feeding on the pollen of the Ocotillo flowers.

The bird is a Verdin, a species of Tit, and a new siting for me when photographed. It was apparently feeding on the flowers of an Ocotillo when we interrupted its dinner.

We re still traveling. We left Anza-Borrego Desert State Park last week Thursday and drove to the wildlife refuges on the south end of the Salton Sea. After some really good and authentic Mexican food and a visit to one of the refuges, we camped for night at Obsidian Butte, which more than lived up to its name, the butte formed almost entirely of obsidian, which, for those who do not know, is volcanic glass. The shoreline, which we explored, was littered with huge boulders of obsidian (inset). The high point of the two days, however, was the wildlife refuge, where we saw many different birds including huge flocks of Snow Geese and Pelicans. The stars were the Burrowing Owls. We saw quite a number of these small owls which live in burrows and are usually seen standing guard at the entrance, while driving around the area. We drove on to Joshua Tree National Park and are there now, though we drove out of the park briefly to collect emails. Tomorrow morning we are headed on to Sedona, Arizona, for more hiking and sightseeing.

These Snow Geese were photographed in the Sonny Bono National Wildlife Refuge at the south end of the Salton Sea in California.

The Burrowing Owl, also known as the Shoco, is a small, long-legged owl that lives in burrows it either excavates itself or borrows.