Nature stuff going on around San Diego the weekend of January 31-Feb 1, 2015

Buena Vista Lagoon

I usually post my weekend events articles on Examiner, but thought I would post them here and see how they do. I may go back to posting them on Examiner in the future.

Saturday's weather is supposed to be a little wet, but may clear up in the afternoon. It should still be a nice weekend for most activities, though. Bring an umbrella for Saturday morning. Here are a few things going on this weekend.

Earth Discovery Institute: I like posting events for this organization. Mostly, they work with the east county preserves such as Rancho Jamul and Crestridge. This weekend, they will be having  the "Lilac 5k Fun Run and Kids Fun Run Fundraiser" on Saturday, January 31st from 7-11am. The actual race starts at 8:30am. and begins at the Crestwood Ecological Horsemill Road entrance at 1171 Horsemill Road in El Cajon. Unfortunately, pre-registration ends tonight. But, you can register at the day of the event. Entry fees for the race on the day of the event are $30, but Crest residents get $5 off. The fun run is $15 for the day of the race. Contact the Earth Discovery Institute at  619-447-4715 or email info@earthdiscovery.com for more information.

Mission Trails Regional Park: The park wants people to know that the south climbers trail is now open. It was damaged by fire last summer. This area is popular for climbers and is open from sunrise to sunset. Be prepared for a lot of people on the weekends. Also, if you want to learn about the basics of birding at Mission Trails, there will be a free class this Saturday at 1pm in the Visitor's Center. They are located at 1Father Junipero Serra Trail in east San Diego. Call them at (619) 668-3281 for more details.

Buena Vista Audubon: You can also learn about basic birding and participate in a bird count at the lagoon this Saturday beginning at 8am. The class starts at their nature center at 2202 S. Coast Highway in Oceanside. Joan Fountain at 760-729-1379 and Tom Troy at 760-420-7328 are the ones leading the class and count.

Update on "Mystery Goo": So far, no one knows what the goo is, but some of the bird patients that were being cleaned are being re-released in a different location. They have ruled out oil and PIB, the substance that killed hundreds of sea birds in Great Britain a few years ago. The little dunlin shown in the picture on this blog a few posts ago is said to be doing well.

On My Examiner.com page: Sorry that I haven't posted a Lake Murray birding update as I've been a bit under the weather. I may have to pass on it for this month and post it next month. 

Desert stuff and water

Last week, I went to the Borrego Springs area. I used to go there more often in the past, but with high gas prices, it made it too expensive to do so. When I went, it was very nice with mostly clear skies and mild temperatures. I went out to look for birds, mostly.

The first place I went to was Peña Springs in the Culp Valley area of the Anza-Borrego Desert State Park. I've been there many times and have even done artwork based on that area. The funniest thing is that I can never find the actual spring though I look really hard for it. Someone will have to show me where it is sometime. Springs are interesting places to visit as they often attract a lot of animals, especially in the summer. If you do visit a spring during the warmer months, be respectful and limit your stay. That way, the animals won't have to wait too long to get their water.

Here are some photos of the landscape:

On the way down to Borrego Springs, I noticed, for the first time, that there are two large solar farm in the valley. I love green power, but I worry about the birds. At first, this one looked like it was a lake, which made me worried. However, the panels were all propped up at an angle. I noticed when I was driving level that it emitted a bright shine.

This one has flat panels, but they are dark, so they don't look like water. I am not sure about hot hot they get, but not all solar panels heat up. I didn't actually visit the farms or talk to anyone from them, so I don't know much about them except what I can see from a distance.

I heard there was a rare bird over at Rams Hill, a resort-residential area that has long been established. I also heard that the golf clubhouse has good food at reasonable prices. The area is restricted and you're not allowed to visit unless you are going to the golf course or clubhouse. You must check in with the guard. Once you're there, you can walk on the golf cart trails, though.

They have very nice water features there. I really enjoyed the landscaping which attracted a lot of migratory birds. I guess there's been controversy over Rams Hill having so much water as there are water issues in the Borrego Valley. I'm not sure if those issues with Rams Hill were resolved or if they have found a compromise, but that wasn't why I was there.

Lots of coots there, enjoying the water and warm weather, plus they fertilize the greens. I wish I took a photo of the clubhouse. But, since they have good food, I may be back anyway.

Oh, and the rare bird, an Inca dove, was not found that day.

West coast updates and news

Hi everyone!  Sorry I haven't posted much in the last month on any of my blogs. For one, I haven't been taking very many photos of birds and such.  Also, I haven't done a whole lot of artwork, either. I may write here more regularly now, though.

For those of you who have known me from Examiner.com may notice me posting a lot fewer articles. The main reason is money. I'm practically not getting paid anymore. I get paid for traffic and nothing else. I used to get paid every month, but not for a long time. I think it's due to overall changes in search engine criteria and the internet. It's also hard to get support when I need it. I'm planning on writing one article a week or less each month until page views there go up. I actually get paid more doing other things or even blogging.

Speaking of Examiner, I just published an article there about a massive goo problem in the San Francisco Bay Area. International Bird Rescue has been inundated with birds stuck with a sticky substance similar to rubber cement. Right now, it is not known what the substance is, but it is suspected to be the same substance that affected sea birds off the coast of Great Britain a couple years ago. You can read more about this in my Examiner article:   Mysterious substance coats sea birds in East San Francisco Bay.  IBR says it's up to almost 300 birds in need of care and that the goo may have made it to the west side of the bay.

Gunked up patient at International Bird Rescue
Credit: International Bird Rescue

They need a lot of donations because there is no one deemed responsible for the mess, yet, so they're paying for everything.  You can donate on their site or pick them as a charity to donate through Amazon Smile.

I haven't posted anything on the killdeer blog, lately. But, I do have a few pictures I've taken. When I was counting birds, I came across these rare guys at Lake Murray (horned grebes):

This weekend: If you are looking for stuff to do this weekend, the Tijuana River National Estuarine Research Reserve will be cleaning up junk in the Tijuana River Valley from 9AM to Noon this coming Sunday, the 25th. Meet at the entrance to Border Field Park at 1500 Monument Road. You must RSVP for this project.  You can do so here.

King Tides!!! Today was the second day of King Tides in San Diego! Today's was at 8:30AM. Tomorrow, it will be at 9:01AM.  A good place to see them is anywhere along the shoreline, or around San Diego Bay. If you miss tomorrow's tides, look for some in the middle of February.

Here are a couple photos I took last year of the King Tides. It went right over the bike path in the South Bay near the Silver Strand.

Happy New Year!

Wow, it got really cold, too!  And, on at least two freezing cold (or below freezing cold) days, I had to get up early to go count birds! Today was one of those two days. You can see a little bit about today's count on Killdeers, Phoebes and Finches, my bird blog.

I haven't done anything for New Years since I was half my age, so I didn't do anything last night. We had snow relatively close to town a couple of days ago. Today, so many people went to Julian, a small historic mining town in the mountains, that Julian closed the town down, pretty much.  Well, not really, but they were asking people not to bother coming up there. Apparently, traffic was backed up all the way to El Cajon the way people were talking.

Not much happened in town on Christmas. It was a nice day and I went down to Lake Murray to see the ducks and loons. Arthritis duck is was still there, but last Tuesday, he was shivering in the cold, so I am worried about him. I haven't checked on him in the last few days, so I don't know what is going on with him.

Even though it was cold, it was a nice day to do stuff. I'm glad I didn't go to Julian. I've experienced enough snow as a kid when I lived in Detroit, so I don't care if I see any. I might go up to Julian later as I like the tea shop up there.

Christmastime in San Diego

I've been sick lately, so I've missed out on a few events before I could post them here in my blog.  We've already gone past December Nights and one week of the Parade of Lights. Don't worry, if you missed the Parade of Lights around Coronado Bay last weekend, there's more this weekend. It get pretty crowded and cold, so arrive early and bundle up. Perhaps an evening barbecue at Glorietta Bay Park in Coronado before the parade might help.

I love my neighborhood this time of year. Despite being a poorer, working class neighborhood, they take pride in it and the majority of people decorate their houses with lights and whatnot. I work at night, so it's so nice driving home and seeing all the lights. Back when a lot of homes were being foreclosed on, a lot of the neighborhood lights went dim. It took a few years before I started seeing a lot of lights again.

If you're wondering what's closed on Christmas, a lot more than on Thanksgiving. All government offices, libraries, etc. are closed on that day. Most stores and restaurants will be closed or only open a short time on Christmas Day for those last minutes gifts. Some parks and all rec centers will be closed, too. Lake Murray's gates are locked, but you can still go in and walk and see the ducks. Just be aware that it will be packed like on Thanksgiving. Please be kind to animals.

Speaking of Lake Murray, we have a poor male Pekin with injured or diseased feet. I see swollen joints on him and tears in his webs as well as bumblefoot. Pekins, being a meat duck, are bred to be disproportionate and often their legs can't handle the added weight. When they get bumblefoot, an infection in the feet, it can spread to other parts of the body and cause arthritis, especially as they get older. I keep an eye on the domestic ducks at the lake and if I can get them help, I do. But, I am unable to take them home or care for them myself. The added restriction of not being able feed them due to park rules and that people get upset if I try to catch them for treatment makes it harder. I can tell he's hurting sometimes, but seems better after a swim and walking on the sand rather than the rocky shoreline. In this photo, he seems to be feeling good, but his foot seems sore.

The Christmas weather is expected to be very warm up until Christmas eve and then seasonal for Christmas day and the next few days after. I hope it's good the following Sunday as I'm doing the Christmas Bird Count that weekend and don't want to be wet after being sick such much this season.

On New Year's, I plan to go out counting shorebirds in the South Bay.

Thanksgiving in San Diego 2014

Well, Thanksgiving is tomorrow and that's the start of the Christmas season, literally.  Many stores are doing big sales on Thursday.  I don't plan on doing any of those sales.  I don't know what to buy people anymore, anyway.  I've heard that many sales are really not that big of a bargain if you know when to buy things.  I also don't like the crowds.

There are several "Turkey Trots" around town in the morning.  Exercising is good on a day where you eat a lot.  There's the San Diego Turkey Trot and Food Run.  It's held at Rohr Park in Bonita.  Be sure you bring a non-perishable food when you run.  You can find out more at www.sdthanksgivingrun.com.  Father Joe's, a well known charity and shelter here in town, also holds their own turkey trot and encourage people to "move your feet before you eat".  You can find out more about their run at https://my.neighbor.org/sslpage.aspx?pid=411

Many places you might not expect to be closed tomorrow will be.  Lake Murray will be closed and there is no parking anywhere except the street.  It's also one of busiest days of the year at the lake.  Expect to have problems with parking and crowds.  Also, since the lake is closed, fishing will not be allowed.  Anyone who fishes on that day is poaching.  Please save your fishing for the days the lake is actually open.  You are free to walk and picnic at the lake.  Be aware that you will probably have to walk a long way to get to any picnic areas.

If you want to do some bird watching, or bike riding, the usual bike paths and hotspots will be open along the South Bay and San Diego River.

My Eskimo Curlew Obsession

I wrote this about my Eskimo Curlew obsession.  Since I've written this article, the Squidoo site was merged with HubPages.  The link still works, but you will be directed to HubPages instead of Squidoo.

Eskimo Curlew Painting in the last 1880s
by Archibald Thorburn (1860 - 1935).

A lot of people know that my favorite bird is the killdeer, but, I'm also obsessed with Eskimo curlews. It all started when I saw (or saw again), the ABC Afterschool Special and read the book by Fred Bodsworth called "Last of the Curlews". It was a sad story about a lone male curlew in search of a mate, and then finds one, only to lose her at the very end of what was a promising travel back to the nesting area. The whole story of the Eskimo curlew was a very sad one that may have ended in extinction. But, I deeply hope that is not the case.

The Eskimo curlew was the smallest curlew in the Americas and was once the most numerous shorebirds in the region. It looked a lot like the whimbrel which is still pretty plentiful in most areas today. It had a remarkable migration going from the top of the Earth in the high arctic, almost all the way down to the tip of South America, though not quite as far as the red knot or arctic tern does. Like many birds in the mid to late 1800s in the United States, it was hunted mercilessly and went from multiple millions of birds to practically none in about twenty years. The bird had an endearing characteristic of returning to comfort its hurt mates and colleagues when they were shot or injured. Hunters took this as stupidity and this trait of the curlews made it easier to mow down huge flocks of these birds for the market.

Even when this bird became extremely rare, it continued to be shot by collectors wanting to be the ones to have one of the last Eskimo curlews in its existence. With the passage of the Migratory Bird Act in 1918, most of the shooting stopped, but it was too late. The bird was considered extinct in the 1940s, but was re-found in the 1950s. A pair of birds was frequently seen in Texas each year from the late 1950s to early 1960s when the two were photographed. One bird was shot in Barbados in 1963. This ends the last official records of the species. But, other sightings were confirmed up to the 1980s. There have even been fairly credible sightings up until the early to mid-2000s.

I maintain a page on Squidoo about Eskimo curlew sightings. One of the problems that people seem to be having is distinguishing the curlew from the whimbrel. Most people alive now have never seen an Eskimo curlew even in a museum. Skins of the bird are not common and only a handful museums display mounted specimens and mostly in the states where the specimen was obtained. Most skins are kept locked up and one has to get special permission to view and study them up close. Juvenile whimbrels can look very much like Eskimo curlews, especially far out on a mud flat. Many people also confuse Eskimo curlews with long-billed curlews. Even back in the 1960s, with photographs and a specimen, even sighting was highly scrutinized. Without physical proof, no sighting of this bird will ever be accepted now. Since the bird was, more or less, officially declared extinct this year after 50 years of lack of physical proof, I haven't heard of a single sighting where I usually hear of at least two or three a year.