Merced-San Luis Refuge System
I had a few hours over the weekend of Dec. 7-8 and visited the San Luis National Wildlife Refuge complex, starting with the San Joaquin River NWR. Wasn’t able to get close to the noisy flocks of geese to see the Aleutian Cackling Geese, as the roads are off-limits.
So I went to the San Luis NWR – the light was amazing but didn’t get as close to the birds as I had hoped.
I did see a pair of juvenile tundra swans.
I got to the Merced NWR just as the sun tinted the dramatic cumulus clouds building over the distant Sierras. Really really really wanted the sandhill cranes silhouetted against them, but they came in long after the color had drained from the sky. I did get some snow geese, though.
The next morning was foggy and drizzly. Which is what the weather usually is when I visit. I always choose the wrong time.
The sandhill cranes had mostly left before dawn, and this small flock didn’t linger too long either. Not sure which fields they went to for grazing, but I didn’t have time to go look for them either.
I drove around the auto tour road about three times, each time seeing something different.
Red-tailed hawk 
Leucistic black phoebe 
Wilson’s snipe 
Juvenile bald eagle 
Long-billed dowitcher
Snow geese
Snow geese
Photos and text copyrighted by Cindy McIntyre
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Website: CindyMcIntyre.com
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California Condors
I have seen California Condors, mostly from a distance, though I did see some juveniles close enough to read their wing tags about five years ago at Pinnacles National Monument.
But on Nov. 9, 2019 I was fortunate to go on our tour of the Bitter Creek National Wildlife Refuge in Southern California where I saw approximately 8 free-flying and 14 captive condors in the flight pen.
According to the U.S. Fish & Wildlife 2016 report on the California Condor Recovery Program, the total world population of condors is 446, with 166 wild in California, 76 in Arizona/Utah, and 34 in Baja, Mexico.
Of the California population, there are a total of 82 in Southern California (2017 report) and 86 in Central California.
Many in the flight pen were captive-raised and were to be released after learning from the older mentor bird how to interact, feed and fly. Some were trapped for medical checkups.
The wild birds are often at the pen, either waiting for their mates to be released, or perhaps as support or out of curiosity.
We met a few miles from the refuge entrance and were escorted to the bunkhouse where we carpooled to two observation points. The first one (above) had a view of the flight pen.
We were told that the condors generally become active around mid-morning when the thermals are stronger. Since they are also curious, they flew close to us to check us out.
Purple 54 
Juvenile Green 96
Unfortunately they were against the light, so their coloration isn’t as clear.
Soaring against the expansive hills was a majestic sight.
We had lunch and then visited a hillside opposite of the first one. The light was much better, but the birds kept their distance. I wish our first visit had been to this side instead when the birds were more curious.
Juvenile condors have black/gray heads, and attain their full adult coloration of white-underside wings and red heads around age six.
I drove home through one of my favorite places – Carrizo Plain National Monument. After six or seven months without rain, it was barren, a sharp contrast to the lushness of the flower-covered landscape in late winter.
There were hundreds of antelope squirrel holes, and I looked for burrowing owls but without success. I did catch two of the San Joaquin antelope squirrels, a species considered threatened in California.
There were very few birds actively foraging. I saw some white-crowned and lark sparrows at the southern end at a spring in an old farm yard, a flock of sagebrush sparrows and horned larks, and a single red-tailed hawk.
There were more birds at the northern end, but by then I was rushing to get home by dark.
It was an exceptional day, and an amazing condor experience. Thanks to our tour guides for giving us this opportunity. Check out the Bitter Creek NWR website to join a future tour.
For more information on the California Condor:
California Dept of Fish & Wildlife
Photos and text copyrighted by Cindy McIntyre
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Website: CindyMcIntyre.com
Online gallery: Smugmug and Fine Art America
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Desert Birds
The black-throated sparrow is my favorite sparrow, and the first place I ever saw one was at Big Bend National Park, Texas. They are also common in Southern California, too.
This one’s bushy “eyebrows” look quote comical.
Read the rest of this entry »Salton Sea Birds
One of the great joys of living in California four years ago was discovering the burrowing owls at the Sonny Bono National Wildlife Refuge on the Salton Sea in Southern California’s Imperial Valley.
On my trip to view the wildflower bloom in the desert, I stopped by specifically to look for them. I was not disappointed.
Read the rest of this entry »Carrizo Plain Winter Birds
Last week’s visit to Carrizo Plain National Monument yielded some nice birds as well as a herd of at least 100 Tule elk about a half mile in the distance.
Read the rest of this entry »Morro Coast Bird Festival – part 5
The Morro Coast Bird Festival in January 2019 featured a variety of trips, many of them centered around the water. However, some of the best birds were songbirds.
I carry around a very heavy Nikon D750 with a Nikon 200-500mm lens. This is the sharpest lens I’ve ever owned, and combined with a good camera sensor allows me to crop a small portion of the image and still come up with a relatively sharp and minimally pixelated image.
Read the rest of this entry »Morro Coast Bird Festival – Part 4
My favorite gull is the Heermann’s, which I had never seen until I moved to California. In its breeding colors as shown above, it is a handsome bird, but only spends the winter with us.
I saw quite a few of them at San Simeon during the Morro Coast Bird Festival in January 2019.
Read the rest of this entry »Morro Coast Bird Festival – part 3
The Morro Coast Bird Festival was four days of amazing birding in my own “backyard.” Of course, most of the birds we saw were water birds.
The horned grebe’s eyes are so red they show up in the water’s reflections!
Read the rest of this entry »Morro Coast Bird Festival – part 2
The Morro Coast Bird Festival held in January 2019 at Morro Bay, California had a huge selection of field trips, workshops, and classes to choose from. I chose two trips in a boat, a walking trip along Morro Bay, and some car caravan trips.
The brown pelicans are coming into their breeding colors, but I had never seen one fly with his huge head dangling down like this one.
Read the rest of this entry »Morro Coast Bird Festival – part 1
I treated myself to four days of birding at the Morro Coast Bird Festival in January 2019. Although I chose some trips to areas I was already familiar with, I found it extremely beneficial to go with someone who pointed out birds I had never seen before.
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