Idyllwild area, Riverside County, CA PLUS Colorado River area, La Paz County, AZ

Pine Tree in Black Forest Campground - December 23, 2018
San Bernardino National Forest, Pine Cove, CA

Active birding leads to many adventures in a variety of places. This trip with birding companion, Glenda Jones, took us from the Phoenix area to the mountain community of Idyllwild, California in the San Jacinto Mountains on Thursday, December 20, 2018. On the Solstice we had a very short day of birding; a full moon brought light to the long night.

Stopping first at Lake Hemet close to our destination after a six-hour drive, we began birding at 4:21 p.m. Four other birders from Oregon were wrapping up their full day of looking for the same Life Bird I was after -- Mountain Quail -- without luck. We birded there from the parking lot together briefly - but long enough for our first California sighting to be a WHITE-TAILED KITE far in the distance.

Photo of White-tailed Kite by Glenda Jones

Based on these pine cones that lit up in direct setting sunlight, I believe this is a Coulter Pine

I was certainly aware of the devastating fires across much of California this summer/fall, but did not realize how close one fire had come to Idyllwild - stopping on the opposite side of the road leading into town. The whole mountain community had been saved.
At our Creekside Inn, we learned that everyone had needed to evacuate and that lives were just now getting back to normal. Later, we birded a road that ended at a burned area with soot and ash ankle deep. 

End of road showing fire-burnt area in San Bernardino Forest -- Photo by Glenda Jones

I walked only on hardened surfaced ash there and just brushing against a burned bush left my new tan quill pants covered with black charcoal streaks - which brushed off easily over time. It was along this road that we spotted our first PURPLE FINCH and RED-SHOULDERED HAWK.

RED-SHOULDERED HAWK

Overall, we spotted some 70 species of birds in our three days of birding, none of which was my target bird: Mountain Quail. We couldn't even find a California Qual! To make a long story short, the coordinates from an eBird list reporting 5 Mountain Quail and 19 California Quail led us to a residence. Well, that can't be! Adding to my frustration was the problem of my "smart phone" updating itself during the night so that my GPS on it wasn't available; it now needed to be updated itself to work with the updated system. Grrrrrrrr.

We returned the next day with Glenda's research showing the google photo of the parcel we needed. Finding two farmers out early (7:30), they laughed and said, "Oh, that's so and so's ranch; he's not going to let you in there." But he proceeded to provide potential alternative approaches to the back of that ranch and the area depicted on her photo.

We bush-whacked through forest with deep pine needles that proved slick when going down  a bank into a ravine or back up to flatter land. Every turn we took led to fence line. We got through the first one but came upon a well-signed fence that would have made us trespassers, so retraced that unsuccessful attempt at locating the rich "quail" spot.

An adjacent property that had been gated at our start was now open with a caretaker out and about. While Barry tended the goats he welcomed us into the Christian Retreat center that was free of guests. He said it was full of Red-headed Woodpeckers. Glenda and I looked at one another, then took advantage of full access to this property that supposedly also abutted the back end of the big ranch.

Male ACORN WOODPECKERs do have red crowns but not the full red head of Red-headed Woodpeckers. It's a beautiful black and white bird with a white eye and clownish face. But they were busy and kept their distance.

I took this photo in the Pinal Mountains, Superior, AZ 

Tree trunk where ACORN WOODPECKERS were stuffing acorns

Although we explored the edges of this property, we found no clear passage (fenced) to the google-identified parcel we were seeking. So, my major quest was dashed! 
Actually, birds were out and about now that the sun was well up. We identified fifteen species, including OAK TITMOUSE, CALIFORNIA SCRUB JAY and NUTTALL'S WOODPECKER. 

OAK TITMOUSE - Photo by Glenda Jones

Having done just a quick stop at Lake Hemet on our way north, we returned to cover that area more thoroughly. Winds had picked up and the only waterfowl we found on the Lake was huddled close to shore. But passerines were present, too.

CALIFORNIA SCRUB JAY

WESTERN MEADOWLARK  - Photo by Glenda Jones

TRI-COLORED BLACKBIRD - Photo by Glenda Jones

Idyllwild Nature Center proved to be "birdy" each time we stopped to walk around.

WHITE-HEADED WOODPECKER

PYGMY NUTHATCH

MOUNTAIN CHICKADEE  (above and below)

MOUNTAIN CHICKADEE

WESTERN BLUEBIRD - Photo by Glenda Jones

GLENDA JONES - Idyllwild Nature Center

The artsy community of Idyllwild appealed to us. The only meal we sat down to enjoy was dinner. Night #1 at Ferro's Italian Restaurant we devoured a delicious pizza; second night at Cafe Roma with its gallery art decorating the walls I chose a stuffed sweet potato that filled me up.

Sasquatch must visit this welcoming town

There were many more California birds but it was time to check out some of my favorite spots in Arizona before heading home. After an overnight in Blythe, CA, we arrived at Cibola National Wildlife Refuge by 7:30 a.m. to drive the Goose Loop and walk the Cornfield Nature Trail including the Loafing Pond.

OSPREY in dawn light

CANADA GOOSE

NORTHERN PINTAIL (pair)

SANDHILL CRANE

NORTHERN SHOVELER (female)

YELLOW-HEADED BLACKBIRDs (females)

Three black-backed male YELLOW-HEADED BLACKBIRD in this photo above 

SNOW GEESE

SNOW GEESE at Loafing Pond -- Photo by Glenda Jones

SANDHLL CRANEs

Spending way too much time at Cibola with its thousands of Sandhills and Snow Geese, we managed to make a run north to Parker Dam and Bill Williams National Wildlife Refuge (Hdq) to check for a few more birds before driving back to East Phoenix, arriving around 7:30 p.m. 

Emotions during this birding trip ranged from very disappointed to thrilled. And that seems to be the name of the game. 

Thanks to eBird's statistical data base that counts my total birds observed during each year, I am having my best-ever birding year! 

By year's end, I'll let you know my standing in both Arizona and the ABA (American Birding Association that covers the USA and Canada).

Setting Solstice Moon

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