Category Archives: Birds

Wings & Wonder

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The sky ablaze this morning with 60 or so vultures, circling, searching. What has died? What is about to die? Joining the fray, a Magnificent frigate bird, his long lanky body with split tail stark against the chunky vulture bodies. As they continued to swirl, a lone red tail hawk joined the sky born dance. Similar in size, in their silhouette against the sun, he was almost hidden, except for a distinctive wing formation and different soaring/flapping pattern. Soon, more vultures, another frigate bird and the sky was bird bird bird … and then gone. Whatever they had hoped for or sensed, had scurried deep into the stark desert landscape, and the winged ones dispersed.

Egret in the shallows

Yesterday on our early dog walk, one of the ‘resident’ egrets fished the estuarian inlet near the house.  While the dogs played, I sat on the side of the water watching the tall white bird hunt for tiny fish trapped by the tidal flow.

In the desert it seems, it is bird life that is most obvious.  Their appearances at all times of the day and weather remind me of the mysteries of life, the magic of flight .. the dreams of Icarus.

Dog races …

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Dog Walk

One of the best things about Loreto dog beach walks : NO LEASHES!  No rules .. Just head out the door and let the dogs run.  The long stretch of beach backs up to estuaries with herons & egrets … osprey and gulls .. The desert stretches to the west, covered in cardon and mesquite, like a carpet of greens and yellows sprinkled across the dusty ground.

Down the beach, around the point .. Cormorants & grebes ply the waters .. Over head, the terns and the blue-footed boobies spy and dive for small fish … The dogs take it all in .. but mostly, they are just dogs … full of joy and play.

Ocean Breezes ….

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Wind swept

Between the space of surfing and hanging out with my friends, I always take the opportunity to find quiet time .. Reflection and opportunities to gather my thoughts.

This small gull feather, caught on the afternoon breezes, danced along the shoreline before coming to rest right below my feet.  I pondered the bird that had dropped it – all the miles it might have flown.  The sand underneath, created by the pummel of waves on unseen corals.  the wind ruffled the edges of the feather along with my hair.  Small waves echoed their cresting against the dusty cliff faces.

So much beauty ..  all it asks is to be seen.

Gardens in the Desert

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“The Desert Dreams of Water” is the name of a series of photographs I took in different desert locations.  My experience of the dried earth in sparsely vegetated areas of the desert is that the dream of water is never more than a breath away.  During and after a rain storm, the earth opens up in a plethora of scents and colors and growth that is staggering.  All dormancy slides away with water born from the heavens.

In Baja, those oasis that dot the peninsula do so because of the existence of water – precious water that is never to be wasted or taken for granted.  The palm groves an inland rivers of San Ignacio and Mulege are prime examples of nature’s gardens.  The town of Loreto, tucked off the main highway for decades, shimmers with shades of green when approached by the sea.

Vegetation provides shelter from the heat, protects the soil from erosion, provides an oxygen/carbon dioxide exchange, as well as shelter and habitat for bird life.

In San Quintin, a Pacific coast fishing village south of Ensenada, a small hotel and restaurant complex can be found about 1/2 mile off the highway. “El Jardin” sits in the midst of its own oasis of palms, cactus, flowering shrubs and a small orange grove.  The motel is delightful – only a couple of years old, and the quiet is exquisite.  Rooms have ample windows for garden viewing, and the garden itself is filled with benches and tables for contemplation and relaxation.

It’s an amazing place to stopover, spend some time and recharge during the drive north or south, or even a spot for launching an all day fishing jaunt on one of the local pangas.

repair/replanting

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Rigo replanting the edge of the walkway

It’s taken 10 days, five city officials, two layers, one environmentalist, extraordinary patience, and strained relationships with neighbors, but at last, the city has blessed our ‘replanting’ plans which beautify the community walkway, provide a modicum of privacy to my home, and a support a fledgling bird habitat.  And along with the blessings was an agreement to keep the plantings no higher than the ridgeline of the house, and the neighbors ‘trim’ permit was rescinded.  The costs were large by any standards, the emotional upheaval and grief ridiculous, and all of it unwarranted and stupid.  Acts of deception and lies led to the wholesale chainsawing of a lovely 13 year old tree – which all had agreed to trim – not chop down.

I’ll say it again .. the only thing I find to fear in Mexico are Americans who want to transplant their complicated lives to this lovely serene town.

I sat by the sea this afternoon trying to figure out why this happened?  What precipitated acts of bad judgment?  In the end, I have to accept that I’ll never understand.  Instead, I’ll watch as new plantings slowly fill the space that their predecessors once occupied, and thrill as the bird population rediscovers a habitat and sanctuary.

As I finish that sentence, a stunning road runner leaps onto the garden wall, flicks his head side to side, spies the grasshopper he’s been chasing and takes off into the remaining tall tree.  Yes, another wonder filled day.

Stillness and bird chatter begin the day ..

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Morning Light

Morning Light, Loreto

sun rises. dog snuggles.  hunkered down in the patio with laptop and laprobe.  cool crisp clean air.  the chatter of bird talk as finches, wrens and orioles flit tree to tree.  in the palm above me, the cooing of rock doves.  gentle splash as calm seas surge over beach stones.

pongeros head out for a day of fishing.   the loreto fleet of pelicans crash lands in front of me.  buster longs to catch one. ha ha ..

yes .. this is why i come here. …  coffee’s cold .. i must have been lost in thought ….

Trouble in Paradise

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Doves' Nest in shelter of palm outside my window

Wow .. Knock me over with a 2×4.  I’ve just experience the worst of gringo hubris

While away, my neighbors – Roger Calvin and Susan Gordon – went to the Municipality and got a permit to clear cut the narrow canopy of foliage that had been planted in the community walkway next to my house.  The foliage was a bird habitat, provided a modicom of privacy and shade.  The reason for their permit (as presented) was to access the beach with their boats – while there is a new, wider, smoother, firmer access 1/2 block to the south.

The act was vicious and cruel, and taken while I was in the United States.  I replied to an email request to trim the tree on the front, that I would arrive on Friday and would take care of it – bring it down to the roof level of the house.  Knowing that I would remain absent, they rushed the process … and now, all is gone ..

Hubris ..

To them I say :

Without understanding the value of habitat – shade, oxygen, shelter and food sources, you clear cut a narrow habitat.

You never saw the doves nest, repeatedly, and the tiny birds fledged from the tree outside my bedroom window.

You never heard the finches and sparrows as they fluttered inside the tree to keep cool under the burning sun.

You never saw the cardinals dance on top of the branches, their flashy yellow bodies like golden arrows in the morning light.

You never witnessed the ruby throated hummingbird flittering from golden flower to golden flower.

You never experienced the woodpeckers chattering, bouncing, tree to tree.

You never saw the butterflies, the mariposas, fanning themselves in the shade .. again, shelter from the brutal sun.

You just arrived, stripped away a greenbelt, and  removed a narrow canopy of privacy.

Hard to Leave

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It’s like pulling teeth .. the yanking me from the shores of the Sea of Cortez as business calls me back to the States.
Leaving the seabirds, the undersea life, the winds and the small waves … my friends. Biz is biz .. but each trip I learn more of what is truly important to me. Exquisite lessons …… life as a work in progress.

seaside feeders

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Egret Conference : Sea of Cortez

Stately centuries in the morning light, the egrets – white and fluffy – bounce from fishing ground to fishing ground searching crustaceans and tiny morsels.  They mingle with the gulls, terns, grebes, herons, cormorants and pelicans in a noisy cacophony that breaks the otherwise silent air.  These quiet mornings, when the Sea of Cortez is mirror like, and stillness slides into a zen-like presence, nourish everything in me that begs for peace.