Part II - Tamarisk Grove Campground / San Felipe Creek / Ramona Pond

From Blair Valley I headed into Borrego Springs for a drink. I tried to call Hal Cohen to see if I could stop by and see the Broad billed Hummingbird, but he didn’t answer, so I headed over to Tamarisk Grove Campground. When I got there I wondered if they were actually open because there wasn’t a soul in the whole place! I was mainly here after the Long-eared Owls. The ranger I bumped into quickly volunteered: “I haven’t seen them… recently” before I even asked. J There wasn’t a lot of birdlife in the campground – a Verdin, a couple Hermit Thrushes. Across the street I saw a Northern Mockingbird, House Finches, and a probably Bewick’s Wren. While looking for the owls I was able to find a different owl – a Barn Owl was nicely tucked into the middle of a bunch of branches. Finally as I was headed back to the truck I found the owls. There were no more than 10 feet from where I had parked! They were much smaller and sitting in much more exposed locations than I expected. I counted at least 10 in the group, so I guess they’ve been breeding successfully since Phil Unitt only claims 6 being there during the Atlas period. I was so close I felt like I was disturbing them and I didn’t stay as long as I would have liked. I did snap off a few frames before leaving. But no tripod or flash…


Exposure: ISO 400, F5.6, 1/250


Exposure: ISO 400, F5.6, 1/250

Next was a short stop at San Felipe Creek off S2. Saw lots of sparrows here, but most were hard to identify due to distance, skittishness, and lighting. I was able to identify White-crowned Sparrow, Dark-eyed Junco, Brewer’s Sparrow, and Lark Sparrow. In addition I saw White-tailed Kite, Mourning Dove, Say’s Phoebe, and a small flycatcher that I wasn’t able to identify before it flew off. Could be a fun place to stop in the morning on the way into the desert.

From there I headed back home via Julian and Ramona. There is a small pond off the side of the road as you come into Ramona – a puddle really – that seems to hold an amazing number and diversity of birds. The list for today was 21 species long!
American White Pelican
American Avocet
Ruddy Duck
Northern Shoveler
Mallard
Killdeer
American Coot
Pied-billed Grebe
Bufflehead
Double-crested Cormorant
American Widgeon
Cattle Egret
Red-winged Blackbird
Greater Yellowlegs
Cinnamon Teal
Green-winged Teal
Ring-billed Duck
Lesser Scaup
Least Sandpiper
Greater White-fronted Goose (domestic?)
Rock Dove