Jos Stratford
Beast from the East
Thanks for good words all, am enjoying doing the write-up, sorry it's progessing rather slowly 
Day Nine - 30 August
In the hot nights of Salton, a tent was not really needed, but rather than wake with some Coyote licking my nose, I decided upon just the inner tent, which is basically mosquito netting suspended, perfect for letting the gentle breeze at least slightly offset the heat.
However, at perhaps 4.00 a.m., my world suddenly became rather bright! Flicking across the skies, bolts of lightening darted forth, illuminating all. Low thunder soon followed, followed by the sudden realisation on my part that the heavens were about to open and my tent, not having its roof, was hardly going to offer much shelter. On top of that, the track I had driven up was almost certainly going to become a quagmire. Jumped up and stuffed the tent in the car and got off the Red Marina Island!
Dawn broke, but still the rain had yet to fall, the thunderstorm, mighty in power, was basically stationary, just inching in from the north at a pace to put a tortoise to shame! Early birding was done within safe running distance of the car! But again I was to be left in awe - not at new species, but in sheer numbers. Parked at Obsidian Butte, a dead end road that abutted a small bay. But what a bay! Thousands of Brown Pelicans, hogging rocks, dead trees and water with equal glee, White Pelicans in their hundreds too, plus about 500 Black-winged Stilts, 200 American Avocets and Marbled Godwits and Long-billed Curlews to add another 250 or so birds. And, of course, Western Sandpipers, Least Sandpipers, Willets, yet more trillions of gulls, including 25 Yellow-footed Gulls and, all in a tightly packed flock, 300 Caspian Terns, 250 Black Terns and perhaps a minimum of 50 Forster's Terns.
Still the skies hinted at nasty things to come, but I decided to press on, first having a quick look at the Wister Unit again - Lesser Nighthawks on their perches again, Barn Owl tucked deep in his palm, another Barn Owl in another palm some miles away, plus a couple of Ladder-backed Woodpeckers. I was cutting it fine, the fine spot of rain were beginning to spit down, the darkness was developing overhead. I got as far as Finney Lake, a Belted Kingfisher sat lakeside, six Western Grebes out in the middle, then the heavens just opened, the rain was like torrent, absolutely lashing it down. Spun the car at a few nice angles, the top few centimetres of these red claylike roads simply gave no grip whatsoever. Slung it in reverse and did a nice wheelspinning exit all half the mile back to a better track, thereafter back to the nearest asphallt! My nice little black car was caked in gunky Salton goo!
With the storm now sat smack bang over Brawley town, the one and only bird I really wanted to see was beginning to look a little on the difficult side! Gila Woodpecker, basically a Mexican species, but extending north just to this town (itself only a dozen miles from the border). Now hardly in conditions that reminded of Mexico, I basically kerb-crawled the best residential areas of this town in the hope of spotting one without getting out of the car! Urban birding by car, cool! White-winged Doves two'a'penny, some Rufous Hummingbirds looking rather bedraggled, but not a hint of a woodpecker. Finally pulled over by a nice house with a feeder in their front garden - House Sparrows hopped about, nowt else! A half hour of this and I decided another kerb crawl, purely in search of birds, was in order. Got to the first junction and, as I pondered which floded road to try next, a loud yip yiip yiip yiip got my looking right, that had to be a woodpecker. Reversed back, parked and braved the rain ...ran round the back and up a service lane and there he was, vocal and showy, a Gila Woodpecker in the rain! Ah, super.
Didn't stay there too long, Gilas look good, but rain in California doesn't! Celebrated by hitting the local MacDonald's for coffee and a good dose of fast food, the pleasant young lady didn't understand my accent - all I said was medium fires, burger and coffee!!!
Then it was off to the west, exitted the Brawley city limit and so ended the rain, a few kilometres I stopped and looked back - that storm had some grudge against Brawley, it just on top of it!
In front of me was open road, desertlands and my next destination...
Day Nine - 30 August
In the hot nights of Salton, a tent was not really needed, but rather than wake with some Coyote licking my nose, I decided upon just the inner tent, which is basically mosquito netting suspended, perfect for letting the gentle breeze at least slightly offset the heat.
However, at perhaps 4.00 a.m., my world suddenly became rather bright! Flicking across the skies, bolts of lightening darted forth, illuminating all. Low thunder soon followed, followed by the sudden realisation on my part that the heavens were about to open and my tent, not having its roof, was hardly going to offer much shelter. On top of that, the track I had driven up was almost certainly going to become a quagmire. Jumped up and stuffed the tent in the car and got off the Red Marina Island!
Dawn broke, but still the rain had yet to fall, the thunderstorm, mighty in power, was basically stationary, just inching in from the north at a pace to put a tortoise to shame! Early birding was done within safe running distance of the car! But again I was to be left in awe - not at new species, but in sheer numbers. Parked at Obsidian Butte, a dead end road that abutted a small bay. But what a bay! Thousands of Brown Pelicans, hogging rocks, dead trees and water with equal glee, White Pelicans in their hundreds too, plus about 500 Black-winged Stilts, 200 American Avocets and Marbled Godwits and Long-billed Curlews to add another 250 or so birds. And, of course, Western Sandpipers, Least Sandpipers, Willets, yet more trillions of gulls, including 25 Yellow-footed Gulls and, all in a tightly packed flock, 300 Caspian Terns, 250 Black Terns and perhaps a minimum of 50 Forster's Terns.
Still the skies hinted at nasty things to come, but I decided to press on, first having a quick look at the Wister Unit again - Lesser Nighthawks on their perches again, Barn Owl tucked deep in his palm, another Barn Owl in another palm some miles away, plus a couple of Ladder-backed Woodpeckers. I was cutting it fine, the fine spot of rain were beginning to spit down, the darkness was developing overhead. I got as far as Finney Lake, a Belted Kingfisher sat lakeside, six Western Grebes out in the middle, then the heavens just opened, the rain was like torrent, absolutely lashing it down. Spun the car at a few nice angles, the top few centimetres of these red claylike roads simply gave no grip whatsoever. Slung it in reverse and did a nice wheelspinning exit all half the mile back to a better track, thereafter back to the nearest asphallt! My nice little black car was caked in gunky Salton goo!
With the storm now sat smack bang over Brawley town, the one and only bird I really wanted to see was beginning to look a little on the difficult side! Gila Woodpecker, basically a Mexican species, but extending north just to this town (itself only a dozen miles from the border). Now hardly in conditions that reminded of Mexico, I basically kerb-crawled the best residential areas of this town in the hope of spotting one without getting out of the car! Urban birding by car, cool! White-winged Doves two'a'penny, some Rufous Hummingbirds looking rather bedraggled, but not a hint of a woodpecker. Finally pulled over by a nice house with a feeder in their front garden - House Sparrows hopped about, nowt else! A half hour of this and I decided another kerb crawl, purely in search of birds, was in order. Got to the first junction and, as I pondered which floded road to try next, a loud yip yiip yiip yiip got my looking right, that had to be a woodpecker. Reversed back, parked and braved the rain ...ran round the back and up a service lane and there he was, vocal and showy, a Gila Woodpecker in the rain! Ah, super.
Didn't stay there too long, Gilas look good, but rain in California doesn't! Celebrated by hitting the local MacDonald's for coffee and a good dose of fast food, the pleasant young lady didn't understand my accent - all I said was medium fires, burger and coffee!!!
Then it was off to the west, exitted the Brawley city limit and so ended the rain, a few kilometres I stopped and looked back - that storm had some grudge against Brawley, it just on top of it!
In front of me was open road, desertlands and my next destination...
