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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Hamhed" data-source="post: 3666520" data-attributes="member: 70825">Day 8The quest for LeConte’s Thrasher continued with our plans to enter Joshua Tree from the south side, exploring the Cottonwood Springs area.  EBird reports for the previous three years indicated this was the best site in the area for that species.Just about every birding adventure has a time when the weather conditions hit a low point and birding takes a back seat to just getting through the day.  Today was that day.  Strong winds and 37º (3C) waited for us at the parking lot.  Apparently inflexible and determined in our goal, we set out on the Mastodon Peak trail, exposed to the rugged conditions.  Phainopepla’s and Black-throated Sparrows were the most numerous birds when we could lift our heads to use binoculars.  Cresting a rock strewn hillside, the wind gusts were often strong enough to nearly stop us in mid-step.  I later conservatively calculated the wind chill to 14º (-10C).  Despite paying an exorbitant price, the Thrasher eluded us.  We surrendered and crawled stiffly into the car 3 miles (4.8K) later.  Once our fingers were working again, we tried in vain for the Thrasher in the nearby campground, giving up easily in the continuing cold.  A drive in the warm car took us deeper into Joshua Tree NP to the Ocotillo Forest.  Visions of feeding frenzies of hummingbirds disappeared when we discovered the Ocotillos were not in bloom though, on our hike, we had seen quite a few with flowers.  An insane desire to find a LeConte’s Thrasher took us on a level walk in the desert at Porcupine Wash.  The conditions had not improved much; once again, we didn’t last long.  Not a bird was seen.Time for reason to prevail.  Driving west and substantially lower through the golf course centered towns of Indio and Palm Desert, we sought out warmth and birds at the San Jacinto Visitor Center and were not disappointed.  A pair of Verdins in the dense vegetation and a perplexing Ladder-backed/Nuttall’s Woodpecker tapped upside-down in a low tree.  Seed on the ground and hummingbird feeders attracting several Costa’s Hummingbirds were the center of activity at the Visitor’s Center building.  A new hummingbird for Liz and only my second sighting, we counted at least four of the Costa’s.  A few short trails adjacent to the building had native vegetation planted and labeled, giving us another reason to linger in the relative warmth and calm of the late afternoon.  The shortest day of the year at an end, we picked up Chinese takeout for supper, confident the weather could only get better tomorrow.Bird lists here:<a href="http://ebird.org/ebird/view/checklist/S41241669" target="_blank">http://ebird.org/ebird/view/checklist/S41241669</a><a href="http://ebird.org/ebird/view/checklist/S41241645" target="_blank">http://ebird.org/ebird/view/checklist/S41241645</a></blockquote>

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