Over the weekend, twenty of us returned to one of the best birding sites in United States: Salton Sea. It continues to amaze and impress. Seeing the masses of Snow Geese at daybreak, as well as viewing several murmurs of red-winged blackbirds as they rose up out of fields and feedlots was a very healthy thing to do. It felt especially good, especially after recently learnilng how 2.9 billion birds have vanished across North America since 1970, a decline of roughly 30%. We thought to ourselves: well maybe not here!
The title of this expedition is perhaps a misnomer since not one of our recorded birds was seen very close to Salton Sea. The lake has shrunk so much that it was always at least a quarter of a mile from us. But it is the Salton Sea area and people generally know where that is, so we continue to call it the Salton Sea trip.
The dynamics of the group were particularly enjoyable this year, with everyone contributing, interacting and generally having a good time. Sound planning avoided wrong turns into jungley road conditions. Our Italian meal at the hotel restaurant was excellent with fast friendly service. Saturday night we ordered eight Domino pizzas for our meeting room. This worked out well, as it allowed us to do the list and to compare notes as to what our overall impressions were about the trip. Many thanks to Hal & Dianne Benham who, as usual, did an excellent job of organizing this trip.
All in all we recorded 95 species, one more specie than 2018. Sixteen new species were seen, yet fifteen species that were sighted in 2018 were not located this time. We once again found two Great-horned Owls in two different caves of Red Hill. Another was found at the Cattle Call. The Greater White-fronted Geese were a surprise for all. On Sunday, we saw recorded species that had not been sighted on Saturday. Below is our list. The species denoted in red are those seen in our 2018 trip to Salton Sea, but not this year. The species denoted in blue are those not seen in 2018. The number immediately following the specie name represents the number of that species found on Saturday, whereas the number immediately following represents the number of that species seen on the Sunday.
>Greater White-fronted Goose 8, 0
> Snow Goose 2000, 0
> Ross’s Goose 5, 0
> Ross’s Goose 5, 0
> Canada Goose 2, 0
> Gadwall 1, 0
> Gadwall 1, 0
> American Wigeon 10, 2
> Mallard 2, 6
> Cinnamon Teal 4, 6
> Northern Shoveler 66, 4
> Northern Pintail 200, 0
> Mallard 2, 6
> Cinnamon Teal 4, 6
> Northern Shoveler 66, 4
> Northern Pintail 200, 0
> Green-winged Teal 100, 0
> Redhead 50, 0
> Ring-necked Duck 1, 0
> Bufflehead 2, 0
> Bufflehead 2, 0
> Hooded Merganser 1, 0
> Ruddy Duck 600, 100
> Gambel’s Quail 25, 6
> Pied-billed Grebe 6, 3
> Eared Grebe 0, 0
> Western Grebe 0, 8
> Clark’s Grebe 0, 4
> American White Pelican 0, 45
> Double-crested Cormorant 20, 10
> Ruddy Duck 600, 100
> Gambel’s Quail 25, 6
> Pied-billed Grebe 6, 3
> Eared Grebe 0, 0
> Western Grebe 0, 8
> Clark’s Grebe 0, 4
> American White Pelican 0, 45
> Double-crested Cormorant 20, 10
> Neotropic Cormorant 0, 4
> Great Blue Heron 7, 3
> Great Egret 50, 12
> Snowy Egret 0, 2
> Cattle Egret 200, 200
> Green Heron 3, 1
> Black-crowned Night Heron 2, 7
> White-faced Ibis 15
> Turkey Vulture 0, 2
> Osprey 1, 0
> White-tailed Kite 0, 0
> Northern Harrier 12, 2
> Cooper’s Hawk 0, 0
> Great Blue Heron 7, 3
> Great Egret 50, 12
> Snowy Egret 0, 2
> Cattle Egret 200, 200
> Green Heron 3, 1
> Black-crowned Night Heron 2, 7
> White-faced Ibis 15
> Turkey Vulture 0, 2
> Osprey 1, 0
> White-tailed Kite 0, 0
> Northern Harrier 12, 2
> Cooper’s Hawk 0, 0
> Ferruginous Hawk 1, 0
> Red-tailed Hawk 18, 8
> Red-tailed Hawk 18, 8
> American Kestrel 30, 20
> Peregrine Falcon* 1
> Yuma Clapper Rail 1, 0
> Sora 5, 0
> Common Gallinule
> American Coot 500, 500
> Sandhill Crane 6, 0
> Black-bellied Plover
> Peregrine Falcon* 1
> Yuma Clapper Rail 1, 0
> Sora 5, 0
> Common Gallinule
> American Coot 500, 500
> Sandhill Crane 6, 0
> Black-bellied Plover
> Mountain Plover 2 (Friday)
> Killdeer 15, 5
> Black-necked Stilt 12, 6
> American Avocet 50, 0
> Killdeer 15, 5
> Black-necked Stilt 12, 6
> American Avocet 50, 0
> Spotted Sandpiper 1, 1
> Greater Yellowlegs 4, 0
> Greater Yellowlegs 4, 0
> Willet 4, 0
> Long-billed Curlew 50, 33
> Marbled Godwit 20, 0
> Long-billed Curlew 50, 33
> Marbled Godwit 20, 0
> Western Sandpiper 3, 0
> Least Sandpiper 30, 0
> Long-billed Dowitcher 70, 0
> Long-billed Dowitcher 70, 0
> Wilson’s Snipe 6 0
> Ring-billed Gull 500, 400
> Ring-billed Gull 500, 400
> California Gull 4, 1
> Herring Gull 0, 0
> Herring Gull 0, 0
> Caspian Tern 1 (Friday)
> Rock Pigeon 35, 8
> Eurasian Collared-dove 50, 7
> White-winged Dove 0, 0
> Mourning Dove 100, 10
> Common Ground-dove 4, 0
> Rock Pigeon 35, 8
> Eurasian Collared-dove 50, 7
> White-winged Dove 0, 0
> Mourning Dove 100, 10
> Common Ground-dove 4, 0
> Inca Dove 6, 0
> Greater Roadrunner 4, 1
> Great Horned Owl 2, 1
> Burrowing Owl 6, 0
> Anna’s Hummingbird 0, 2
> Costa’s Hummingbird 0, 0
> Belted Kingfisher 1, 1
> Ladder-backed Woodpecker 0, 0
> Northern Flicker 0, 0
> Gila Woodpecker 0, 1
> Great Horned Owl 2, 1
> Burrowing Owl 6, 0
> Anna’s Hummingbird 0, 2
> Costa’s Hummingbird 0, 0
> Belted Kingfisher 1, 1
> Ladder-backed Woodpecker 0, 0
> Northern Flicker 0, 0
> Gila Woodpecker 0, 1
> Red-naped Sapsucker 0, 1
> Black Phoebe 15, 3
> Say’s Phoebe 6, 2
> Cassin’s Kingbird 2 (Friday)
> Loggerhead Shrike 5, 3
> Warbling Vireo
> Black Phoebe 15, 3
> Say’s Phoebe 6, 2
> Cassin’s Kingbird 2 (Friday)
> Loggerhead Shrike 5, 3
> Warbling Vireo
> Hutton’s Vireo 1, 0
> Common Raven
> Common Raven
> Horned Lark 3, 0
> Tree Swallow 100, 15
> Tree Swallow 100, 15
> Barn Swallow 4, 0
> Verdin 3, 4
> Marsh Wren 12, 8
> Ruby-crowned Kinglet 3, 2
> Verdin 3, 4
> Marsh Wren 12, 8
> Ruby-crowned Kinglet 3, 2
> Vermillion Flycatcher 1, 3
> Blue-gray Gnatcatcher 0, 0
> Black-tailed Gnatcatcher 4, 2
> Black-tailed Gnatcatcher 4, 2
> Western Bluebird
> Northern Mockingbird 1, 1
> European Starling 50, 8
> American Pipit 1, 0 (thank you Adam)
> Yellow-rumped Warbler 8, 4
> Aber’s Towhee 6, 4
> Savannah Sparrow 1, 0
> Song Sparrow 2, 1
> Northern Mockingbird 1, 1
> European Starling 50, 8
> American Pipit 1, 0 (thank you Adam)
> Yellow-rumped Warbler 8, 4
> Aber’s Towhee 6, 4
> Savannah Sparrow 1, 0
> Song Sparrow 2, 1
> Vesper Sparrow
> Lincoln Sparrow 1, 0
> White-crowned Sparrow 12, 4
> Dark eyed Junco
> Red-winged Blackbird 1000, 300
> Western Meadowlark 20, 10
> White-crowned Sparrow 12, 4
> Dark eyed Junco
> Red-winged Blackbird 1000, 300
> Western Meadowlark 20, 10
> Yellow-headed Blackbird 3, 0
> Brewer’s Blackbird 100, 0
> Great-tailed Grackle 12, 15
> House Finch 0, 6
> Brewer’s Blackbird 100, 0
> Great-tailed Grackle 12, 15
> House Finch 0, 6
> Lesser Goldfinch
> House Sparrow 12, 10Regards, and flyin’ high
Doug Walkley
