Hiking at SARA

Yesterday we took our friends Dan & Charlene hiking at SARA Park. Click here for the Trip Journal.

"A" for the Day

Joe Leeak from Seattle Washington got an “A” grade for the day this morning.  I get all kinds of people in all states of preparedness showing up for my Birding Hikes on the Sunset Trail at Lake Havasu State Park.  Many times they are without binoculars and bringing a bird guide would be very rare.  But, that’s OK, I try to have spare binoculars around and I bring a spotting scope to share and explain the birds we see.  I do insist that they make a list, which I provide and they merely need to check off each species when we see it.  Joe was on my Bird Hike a couple of days ago and I was glad to see him return, but I was blown away when he showed up this morning with not only binoculars and a guide book, but a clip board with a check list!  He had taken the previous trip’s list home and scanned it into his computer, erased the day’s count, and printed out a new list. I call that prepared, and Joe gets an “A”!  

This one's for Bev - - -

This photo and post is for Bev Beam back in Oregon.  This weekend at Lake Havasu State Park is a big annual gathering of VW fans called Buses By the Bridge, so named because of the proximity to the London Bridge. Bev traveled around in her VW bus to these events with her club the Wet Westies for many years.  I’m sure she will recognize a couple of her buddies in the photo.  In January of 2011 after being in Arizona for a Buses By the Bridge she went out of her way to look us up at Buckskin Mountain State Park where we were volunteering.  I posted about that event here.  It looks like this is going to be a good weekend here Bev, your comrades are streaming in and the weather is at last warming up.

Forster's Tern

Today’s gift was this Forster’s Tern we found along the shore of Lake Havasu.  I probably would have over looked it as yet another Ring-billed Gull, but lucky for me we had an experienced birder with us today that picked it out right away from a group of gulls. It did not look familiar to me because of its non-breeding plumage that includes a black bill in place of the orange bill of the breeding season, and a black mask instead of the black cap. It was great find for me in that it is another fresh addition to my Mohave County list. 

More Than Birds

Some of you may think that Cascade Ramblings is just for the birds, pun intended, but I offer this photo as proof there is more. I took this image about four days ago and it continues to hang in my mind.  It’s a Queen Butterfly feeding on a BahaFairy Duster flower in the Arroyo De Camino Cactus Gardens in Lake Havasu State Park. Queen Butterflies are members of the same genus as the better known Monarch Butterflies. One reason that this image continues to bang around in the forefront of my mind is the book that Jeanette and I are reading on her iPad Mini, Flight Behavior by Barbara Kingsolver.  It was recommended to me by Dan Scott fellow RV’er and Winnebago View owner.  I always enjoy Barbara Kingsolver’s books, but this may be her best, and certainly provides some thought provoking insights into our world’s current environmental crisis.  I recommend everyone read this entertaining, but educational book.

Greater Roadrunner

This day held several surprises, the first being that even though the weather was colder and the wind was blowing even harder,  I still had three persons show up for the Bird Hike. They were repeat customers so it wasn’t that they didn’t know what they were in for.  Birds were pretty scarce, I think it was just too cold for them, so of course I really didn’t get any good photos.  But mid-afternoon while walking back from the campground I spotted this Greater Roadrunner and was able to get a photo.  

More Birders

The surprise for the day was that despite temperatures in the forties and wind of 20 mph off of the lake we had six brave people show up at 10:00 for the guided Bird Hike. Birds were not very available today, but visiting among the participants was at a high level. Counting Jeanette and I we had 3 couples from Oregon and one couple from British Columbia. Installation of water and electricity to the campsites has now been postponed until May so more people are coming into the park to camp, which is a good thing, because more people means more birders.