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Mood: happy with a sideways smile
Itinerary: Cibola NWR to look at birds  Anza Borrego Desert State Park to look at bighorns, frogs, and to practice my kung fu on metal statues Sonny Bono Salton Sea NWR to look at more birds Watch the Broncos defeat the Steelers in a cheap motel ($30.03/night) Sonny Bono Salton Sea NWR for more birding Drive Home
Weather: sunny and high of 70F, lows in the 40s (jacket-less weather)
Song: Creepy Jackalope Eye by The Supersuckers (https://youtube.com ... BrPM)
Audiobook: Why Gender Matters by Leonard Sax
Gallon Of Gas: $1.87/Gallon ($1.99/Gallon in 2014)
Weight: 188lbs (same as last year)
Best Outings in 2015: 1) Exploring Central PA in June. 2) Seeing Snake Road in October. 3) SoCal trip - Anza Borrego Desert State Park, Joshua Tree NP, and San Diego in mid-March. 4) Joshua Tree NP on 5/11/15. 5) Florida trip in January.
Highlights of 2015: 1) hanging out with bighorns in Anza Borrego in March, 2) hanging out with cottonmouths in Illinois, 3) seeing a lyre snake at Goldfield Oven Loop in November, 4) saw my 7th bobcat in December, 5) swimming with manatees in Florida.
# of Coyotes seen in 2015: 33
Recycling Income in 2015: $81.45 ($73.64 in 2014)
# of New Species in 2015: 66 (26 species in 2014)
Animals That I’ve Seen In Abundance Last Year: Blue Gray Gnatcatchers, Rosy-faced Lovebirds, Coyotes, Gila Woodpeckers, Coachwhips, Verdins.
Usual Sightings in 2015: 1) One yellow and one blue mating pair of Rosy-faced Lovebirds (they’re usually green), 2) Two bucks fighting, 3) Red-Shouldered Hawk in Cibola, 4) Lyre Snake in November, 5) Otters catching a fish.
Mission of 2016: To teach you all how to photograph snakes.
Confessions: 1) I don’t like people taking my photo because they normally don’t do it right, 2) I once ate a whole large pizza and 25 wings and was still hungry, 3) I don’t call pets by their names.
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I took advantage of a 4-day weekend and went on a mini-road trip to Cibola, Anza Borrego, and Sonny Bono Salton Sea NWR for a little getaway. I was supposed to go Xmas weekend but I met a girl and got sick (the two are not related  ). Anyway, I wanted to start the new year off right and get back to my old stomping grounds.
I got to Cibola late, around 1pm, and didn’t see much of anything besides snow geese, which numbered in the thousands. The sandhills were not where they should be, so I had to work a little hard to find them and most everything else.
The next day, I found the sandhill cranes and a plethora of other birds, including my first flock of white-faced ibises. I also found out why there were fewer birds out yesterday. There were a lot of hunters out after ducks and geese and were blastin’ away all Saturday morning. I’m not against hunting but hunting and photography don’t mix. I didn’t manage to see enough to satisfy me, but I left earlier than expected and headed toward Anza Borrego Desert State Park.
I hit the park around 1pm PST on a Saturday. I managed to spot the bighorns within 2 hours, but I was a little late and the bighorns were getting up the mountain to retire for the night. I didn’t get those Disney moments and close-ups, but I did manage to get a few good shots. I also scrambled around to look for other stuff but came up empty.
I searched for some frog by the ponds and only saw 3. Usually, I’ll see dozens. One California treefrog was white and looked more like one from the San Diego area. They have a lot of different looks to them. I also discovered where they rest during the day. They were coming out of the palm trees. I always thought they were in the pond grass. Maybe they are in the warmer months.
That evening and the next day, which would be Sunday, I drove around like a typical tourist looking at the metal statues. I saw my arch nemesis, the giant sloth, and gave it a major karate kick with a little extra UMFPH!  I ventured to the south side of Borrego Spring to visit the prehistoric statues and the horses. I got metal splinters climbing the large dinosaur and got cut up on the bighorn statue. I showed the photo of me on the large dinosaur statue. She thought that I photoshopped myself on the statue. She didn’t believe me when I told her that I had to set the camera on a 10-second timer and climbed it. I actually messed that photo up because I wanted to be standing on it but I did not have time. I only tried that one once because I was took hard to climb.
I had some time to kill before the Broncos game and went to Sonny Bono’s NWR. It was okay. A lot of hard-core birders were there looking like they were on safari and taken themselves too seriously. I watched the football game and decided to stay put for the night and go birding the next morning.
I didn’t wake up as crisp and as early as I planned. I was going to plan to go to Mittry Lake near Yuma, but I went back to Sonny’s because of the time. I only saw a few tweetie birds, and just called it quits and headed home.
That’s all folks… |
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Route Editor
Route Scout
I don't know how far I hiked but staying up until 2am and waking up at sunset for two days straight wore my out.
I wasn't in the mood to photograph much of anything else.
