Western Kingbird on barbed wire

I made a quick stop on Kitchen Creek Road this spring. I walked eastward about a half mile on the Pacific Crest Trail. This is one of the only known areas in San Diego County where one can reasonably expect the Gray Vireo.

No Gray Vireo for me this time. So I settled for this roadside shot out the car window of Western Kingbird.

Western Kingbird. Kitchen Creek Road, San Diego County, California. April 15, 2018.

Black-tailed Gnatcatcher at Agua Caliente County Park

I was able to visit Agua Caliente County Park this April during the spring migration. Oases in the desert during migration are always great for birding. I was able to see many migrant birds. Most of my best photos, however, were of the resident desert birds.

One of my favorites in the Anza-Borrego Desert is the expressive little Black-tailed Gnatcatcher. The first two photos are a male on a flowering Creosote bush.

Black-tailed Gnatcatcher. Agua Caliente, California. April 15, 2018. 

Acorn Woodpecker at Kit Carson Park

The best part of our job as property managers is that we live where we work. The worst part of our job as property managers is that we live where we work. We have no commute from work to home. But if we're not careful, we could end up working on our days off. So we always try to do something away from home on our weekends.

In April, Marlene and I just got away for an hour at nearby Kit Carson Park. Marlene sat on a bench by the lake, reading a book. Rather than my usual hike, I photographed the woodpeckers immediately nearby. I obtained two decent images.

Acorn Woodpecker. Escondido, California. April 22, 2018.

Males and females are told apart by the forehead coloring. The top photo shows a female with a black band between the white forehead and red crown. The male immediately above has a full red crown connecting to the white forehead.

Notice that the all the feathers of the wing on the top photo are brownish rather than black as the back? That indicates that this bird is one year old. All the flight feathers are the same age, worn and faded.

Older birds molt flight feathers a few at a time, usually throughout the autumn in the northern hemisphere. That way they always have enough feathers to fly. Thus there will be new shiny black feathers amid older browner feathers, as seems to be the case with the lower bird.

White-winged Dove on Ocotillo at Vallecito County Park

I'm not sure why Vallecito County Park, in the Anza-Borrego Desert Sate Park, doesn't get birded more often. Birders visit nearby Agua Calliente County Park, especially for spring migration. But most seem to drive right by this campground without stopping. It's worth a one hour stop. Day Use parking is $3.

Here is the official website.

I visited this spring, on April 15, 2018. During my hour-long visit I recorded 26 species and walked the entirety of the park, about a mile total. Here is my eBird list.

I share these two photo crops of a White-winged Dove. The light was a bit harsh, and the photo is backlit. Nevertheless, I thought these turned out quite well.

Pied-billed Grebe at Kit Carson Park

Pied-billed Grebes sometimes occupy small ponds. Thus getting close photos of these frequently diving water birds is usually just a matter of waiting them out. Such a small pond is at Kit Carson Park in Escondido. I got these photos in April.

Pied-billed Grebe. Escondido, California. April 11, 2018.