Category Archives: Birds

beauty where we find it …..

Posted on by

Baja : Pacific Morning

For the uninitiated, there is little that can be said to fully express the beauty of Baja California Sur.  From the moment one leaves the populations of Colonet & San Quintin, makes a requisite gas stop in El Rosario, and heads into the heart of undeveloped land of cardon, bojum, cholla, poloverde, cirrius and more …  the heart slows, the shoulders drop, and the mind begins to embrace again that primal space of undeveloped land.

Mex One zigzags across the peninsula in undulating rhythms, following for the greater part, the easiest passage through rough terrain.  That translates to switchbacks, mountain climbs and descents, and arroyo crossings.  Wide plains, dry lakes and craggy rock piles – the spewn evidence of long-ago volcanoes litter the landscape.  I’ve stopped counting the trips. I never fail to be inspired.  I am always stunned by her beauty.

For those who are afraid to travel, I am sorry.  So much the greater landscape and less crowded roads for me.  While the horrors of the drug cartels are not to be ignored, the city streets of any major metropolitan area has its own body and assault count.  I feel safer in my home in Loreto than I ever did in the states.

The Pacific side teases with waves that follow distant swells.  Spots like the Wall, Shipwrecks, the local spots of Ensenada .. and of course, Pescadero, Todos Santos and Cabo San Lucas beckon surfers from across the globe.

The east coast, the beautiful bountiful Sea of Cortez, is filled with dolphin, sea turtles, fish of every color and size, rays and whales – blue, pilot, fin and orca.  Sunrises, sunsets .. kayaking, paddling, surfing, hiking, sailing, scuba diving, snorkeling .. exploring ..  magic.  To be with and surrounded by such beauty is to me – pure magic.
And then there are the people – beautiful kind warm family loving folks.

Food!  Beverages!  Music!  Dancing!  Camping under stars and/or a full moon. Yes : Baja : I love and dream of you always.

Omage to the daybreak …

Posted on by
Sunrise : Loreto : 102111

Sunrise : Loreto : 102111

Flap of pelican wings. Graceful dive of Arctic tern. Splash and leap of tiny fish. Wind rustling palm trees. The chatter of house finches. The coo of rock doves. The squawk of sea gulls.

The islands floating in the not quite break of day. The Sea of Cortez in stillness.

Buster, patiently waiting for his walk. My coffee, hot and a writing companion.

Neighbor, Chris, fishing on the shoreline. Neighbor, Mary, early walking the beach with her dog, Riley. Neighbor, Mark, sweeping his patio. Dogs at the door for morning treats.

Last night, the horses – five of them – on an unsupervised beach walk. Or did the bell on the lead horse signify a chain of command?

So much life to recognize each day.  Such gratitude.

sentinels

Posted on by

Sentinels

Known as ‘the cleaners’ of the desert,’ an appearance of turkey vultures circling overhead is a sure sign that something in the vicinity is dead. With haste and efficiency, the flock will find and eliminate all fleshy materials, and leave a skeleton and fur/skin in place of what was once an animal.

On the beaches in Baja, vultures oftentimes compete with seagulls for spent fish or squid that wash up on the shore. The seagulls are in first – going for the freshest of the remains, while the vultures gather to the side – waiting – to follow up and eliminate the remains. What the vultures leave is not enough to attract a fly.

While not considered a particularly handsome bird – they have turkey-like wattle around their beaks – they are in well suited for their task. They have broad short wings that let them glide aloft with little to no effort and easily spot the carcasses of dead rabbit, ground squirrel, or fish.

I came upon this group in the photograph above sitting atop one of the larger cardons in the open land behind my home. They weren’t hunting, nor drying their wings – more like they were having a chat session – gossiping about the local rabbits or the long summer’s lack of rain. The building clouds just slightly to the west hung most of the afternoon with promise, but if they let go of precious water, it was in the mountains and not the seaside plain.

This morning – vultures again down the beach hopping around/over something left behind by the tide – doing the job that they are admirable designed to complete.

Morning SUP – Loreto

Posted on by

National Geographic Photo : Manta Ray

The waters around Loreto are usually pefect for SUPing – Stand Up Paddling. This morning was no exception. I took off on my fish – a 9’6″ Waterman – and headed up the coast toward Coronado Island. Winds were light and building, with lots of opportunities to refine my balance as wind driven waves crashed over the nose of the board.

Each stroke, a moment of zen.  A moving water meditation.


Morning delights:

Baby yellowtail chased by baby dorado.
Leaping spinning manta rays.
Translucent blue flying fish chased by baby yellowtail.
Magnificent frigate birds gliding overhead.
A floating crab. What was he doing so far from shore and/or on the surface?
Clam divers dragging innertubes – with seagull hitchhikers on board.
Bluefoot and brown boobies diving and gliding in search of fish.
Vultures on-shore, finishing off discarded fish carcasses.
Children on the beach, playing in the the shallows.
Horseback riders out for an early ride.
Dogs running and chasing sticks.
Boats speeding to and from Coronado and fishing spots.

A great two hour paddle floating on turquoise/cerulean waters, surrounded by offshore islands and the ridgeline of the Sierra Gigantica.  A perfect morning ……..

Morning Birthday Gifts

Posted on by

Loreto Sunrise

Quiet seas and shimmering dawn. Early morning osprey calls. The whiz of hummingbird wings next to my face. The splash of hungry pelican. A brisk walk to a thought provoking seminar by Mark Spalding the Ocean Foundation on environmental governance, part of the three-day Simposio de Ciencia de la Conservación en Loreto (Conservation Science Symposium). A vulture parked atop a palapa waiting for???

A seven mile SUP on glassy blue green seas filled with fleets of small yellowtail, puffer fish, sulking rays, fat faced puffer fish …. and … a sea turtle! First time paddling I’ve had that kind of up/close encounter. Cormorants and gulls. Lots of wonderful messages from friends all over the world.

Now, to hop a flight back to the states just in time for dinner with my mother, Kay Wright. It just happens to be her birthday, too! Happy Birthday, Mom ….

Osprey in the Hood

Posted on by

Osprey

Delight of delights .. an osprey has taken up morning residence on my neighbor’s roof.  The property is adjacent to the shallow estuary created by the carved earth of the arroyo.  The heron and egrets are usually morning visitors, along with sandpipers and godwits.   Five mornings in a row, however, the osprey has been perched on the rafters above my neighbor’s porch.  Could be that the persistent winds have made fishing in the open sea a challenging task, and the shallow tidal zone offers more promise of a meal.  Whatever the reason, I am thrilled to have the fish hawk as a morning visitor.  I’ve long thought of the bird as a personal totem, and reslish chance to observe his antics more closely.

Osprey 4
Osprey 3
Osprey 2
Osprey 1
Osprey

Day Two 2011

Posted on by


Will I ever tire of the sunrise?

Sometimes I think, “enough.”  But no, I  grab the camera, capture the light.  There is always something different.  Clouds shifted, glassy seas or wind swept, the sky a range of color fields.

In the stillness, the air gathers in on itself and slowly exhales in rhythm with the sea.  It is a song that musicians cannote capture, no matter the longing.

The gathering of seabirds, in search of their first meal.  The flap of wings, the throaty call of the heron, the high pitched whistle of the tern.  The splash of fish, slap of wave, rustle of palm branches.

In the distance, a rooster reminds his brood that it is once again day.  Dogs echo and their woofs and howls call to one another, an ancient language replayed in the debut of another dawn.

December 31 .. The last day of 2010.

Posted on by

Sunrise, Sea of Cortez, December 31, 2010

Last day, last sunrise of 2010.

Woke earlier than usual : 4:00 AM and what to do. Sleep filled and nothing left but to meditate and greet the new day in darkness.  Poured hot coffee and savored the quiet.  A crescent moon lingered with Saturn clinging to its sphere.  NASA reporting storms on the ringed planet .. new information on how things in the planetary world are created.

All the dogs come for morning treats, and still it’s dark.  They chew, I sip .. and then I give it over.  The hint of light coming from behind the island beckons me.  I tie the laces on my shoes, grab the camera and off we go, down the long beach toward the distant point.

The air is chilled and the wind still from the WSW as it has been for days.  The sea has been strange with this blow.  The beach houses block the wind right at the waters edge, creating surreal glassy pools, while just beyond the roof lines, ripples fan out toward the island and the open water.

The seabirds have been luxurious. Terns, cormorants, grebes, egrets, herons, an osprey .. pelicans, boobies, gulls, sandpipers, marbled godwits, sanderlings, lesser yellow legs.  As if everyone has come to celebrate the end of the year.  Even the dolphin have moved closer in the shallows, savoring the small bait fish that swim nearer to shore.

Estuary at Dawn

At the edge of the sea, and running westward to the Pacific, lies the gorgeous extremes of the Baja desert.  Dry and subtropical on the eastern shores, the climate and plantlife are part of the Sonoran region, a part of one of the the largest and hottest deserts in North America.  Tall cardon, a relative of the saguaro cactus stand like tall sentries amidst mesquite and paloverde trees.

Estuaries are common on the eastern shores, with wading birds in wild variety and large numbers.  Migratory birds, such as the Arctic Tern, make use of Baja for their winter home.

Buster and I walked into the morning light, solitary figures on the long stretch of beach that spreads north from town.  We walked for over an hour with not a single person in sight, but plenty of heron, egrets, pelicans and cormorants.

Heron gliding northward along the beach.

The squawk of the heron as Buster flushed him from the shallows echoed down the sandy shoreline. He landed again and again, only to pick up his wings again as we grew closer.

Finally, the sun slipped up behind the edge of Isla Carmen in a beautiful – if not momentary – display of color – before tucking behind a bank of clouds. We turned back toward home. I was thinking coffee … Buster was thinking dog treats.

Buster leads the way on our morning walk.

So began the last day of the year .. Filled with gratitude for all that has come to us, all the experiences, all the learning .. the friendships, the adventures, the joys, the challenges and the successes.

 

after the longest night

Posted on by

the sun crested the isla carmen one minute earlier this morning : 7:14 instead of 7:15 .. yes, the shortest day and longest night have passed … there must be a metaphor in this.

the air is still and warm. no waves and hardly a ripple on the water. i find this magical, as i continue to drink in living in such close proximity to the water .. a constant that defies my emotional ups and downs, the comings and goings of friends, the wild off-road racer revving his engine somewhere in the distance, the cock-a-doodle do, and the grazing of cattle on the flowers and trees in my garden. i wish i could craft a plan – to do something more to protect her, to nourish her .. as i write that, i remind myself to listen .. that the messages are always present, it’s merely plucking one or the other from the chorus ..

a pelican dives for fish. his splash is another of the sounds that burn into my memory bank. yesterday hundreds of blue-footed boobies diving in formation like fighter planes .. my joy expands ..