Winter Escape of 2009

The dark rainy days here at the end of December are providing me with lots of time to sort through photos and write reviews for RVparking.com. Today, it’s going back to our trip to Death Valley in January of 2009.  Some great days of camping, hiking, and sunshine with our friends Dan & Charlene Lawry. I am shown here checking my altimeter at the lowest point in North America, Badwater Basin.

Merry Christmas

Just took this photo of a male Purple Finch at our feeder this afternoon.  It's color seems to be the most Christmasy I could probably find, so Merry Christmas!

Mother and Child

I took this photo last week of these two Lesser Scaup, but it wasn’t until I got home and was looking closer at the images on my computer that I realized what I had.  In the fore ground is a female adult, and in the background is a juvenile.  Notice the mother has just returned to the surface with something in her mouth.  According to Wikipedia, “The origin of the name scaup may stem from the bird's preference for feeding on scalp - the Scottish word for clams, oysters, and mussels.” So, I’m guessing that maybe that’s a freshwater clam or mussel in her mouth.  We watched both ducks dive several times, so I know the juvenile is capable of finding its own food, but like its human counterpart, this juvenile still looks to mom to provide it something to eat. 

RVparking

It seems I’ve got a new winter project, writing reviews on campgrounds. Some time ago, like maybe this summer, I installed a free App on my I-Pod for RVparking.com. I’ve used it a little, and on our last trip to California, I began to see its real worth.  Not only is it helpful in locating an RV park or campground to stay in, you can also leave a review which can later serve to remind you what you liked or did not like about the park and what you paid. On top of that you can post photos, which again can serve as a nice reminder of your time.  I’m beginning to see it has kind of my own collection of campground information. Of course others can do the same, and so collectively it begins to really be a huge source of information, and it’s all free.  So, my project now is to review all the parks and campgrounds we have stayed in and add photos, that should keep me busy for some time.  

The Continuing Search

It’s becoming a habit of mine to search out the warmest spot around for a hiking/birding destination.  I check the weather forecast for several towns, and follow up with a look at the web cams. With cold fog hanging in the inland valleys, the coast has been the winning area lately.  Yesterday, Coos Bay was the warmest around by about five degrees, so I settled on the John Topits City Park for an afternoon bird walk. The park has a great network of paved trails that circle the Empire Lakes. One of the birds that we saw and I photographed is shown here, a male Ring-necked Duck on Lower Empire Lake. I also got some photos of a juvenile Lesser Scaup on Upper Empire Lake. It seemed like birds were a little scarce, but the warm sunshine was an ample reward, and still we ended up with 14 different species identified.  

In Search of Warmth and Birds

The reported sighting of a Snowy Owl in the Siltcoos Estuary last week, and my search for the warmest nearby weather, came together to suggest a birding trip yesterday.  Our Friend Janet Schaller went with us for an afternoon trip to the Siltcoos Recreation Area, north of Reedsport.  We didn’t see the owl, but in all honesty the warmth of the sun and the abundance of other birds caused us to kind of forget about the Snowy. There were a large number of Bufflehead Ducks on the water, Yellow-rumped Warblers flittered in and out among the trees in search of bugs, and the normally shy Hermit Thrush, seemed extra curious in regards to our presence. In all we spotted 16 different species of birds, a glorious afternoon of sunshine and birding.

Back to Home & Routine

We are back home in Elkton and into our normal routines.  Jeanette is shown here at coffee this morning at Arlene’s Café with her exercise friends.  The group meets weekday mornings at 6:30 for exercise, followed by coffee at 7:30. I usually monitor the coffee hour. Without a local newspaper it’s one of the better ways to know what’s going on.