The Big Day

You may have heard of the movie "The Big Year". It is about three birders trying to see how many birds they can get in a year. Paul has read the book and is reading it again. Paul keeps records of all the birds he sees and how many varieties he can find each month and each year. The most he has had in a year is 414 kinds of birds. He has 583 life birds, not counting what he may have seen in Korea. He was not yet a birder in 1956 when he was there with the Army.

Our son Bill is an even more serious birder. He will go on a trip just to find a certain bird, as many birders do. This is called chasing birds. He has around 550 as the most in a year. He has 684 on his life list, not counting Iraq birds. We get to go on a lot of rides with Bill when he is with us since he goes places to see the birds. I'm glad he chose this same hobby as his Dad. He started birding when he was stationed with the Air Force in Phoenix, Arizona. He wanted to figure out good places to take us when we visited him so he needed to know where the birds are. He has since become an avid birder. He has birds from 48 states. He just hasn't been to Alaska or Hawaii.

Laura is better at seeing the birds than I am. She remembers more about more birds than I do and she enjoys birding with her brother and dad. I am not a birder but I know more than someone from a non birding family. I mainly go along for the ride and scenery. We get to go places we would not otherwise.

With Bill here from Florida for the month we are doing a lot more than we usually get to do. It would be considered a big month compared to a normal month for us. We have gone to the mountains, the desert and the beach areas. You could do all three in one day in San Diego. I guess we have not done that yet, but we have done the mountains and desert in one day on more than one occasion.

On Tuesday the 25th we enjoyed an excursion to Balboa Park in San Diego. I enjoyed taking pictures with Bill's good camera. I spent most of my time near the large fountain enjoying watching all the people go by. There were a lot of children at the park that day. There seemed to be classes of children. I know it was free for children at the zoo in October so a lot of classes were going to the zoo the day we were in the park. There seemed to be a lot more activity than on a usual week day when we were there. I took pictures of some of the activity and the historical buildings and fountain. Paul, Laura and Bill walked further than I did as it is difficult for me to walk. Eventually Paul joined me at the bench while Laura and Bill continued their walk. Usually we do more walking through the park, but it was a satisfying day for me.

Wednesday October 26, 2011 was Paul's 78th birthday and a ride was planned. We were up early and left the house when it was barely light out. The birders had a bird to see at Otay Lakes. They had looked earlier in the week and were still after it. I took advantage of the opportunity to take early morning pictures at the lake. I guess the birders didn't find the bird they were after that morning, but I'm sure Bill got it on another try. Of course they saw other birds at the lake. The fishermen were out early too. We had been there a previous day and a lot of people were picnicking that afternoon.

Next on the agenda was to head to highway 94 and go east to Potrero County Park for more birding. I was able to take some decent bird pictures while the rest of the family was birding. These were almost my first bird pictures since I never had the right camera for them before. I had taken one bird picture in Balboa Park but otherwise I haven't been able to take such pictures before. At Potrero I took pictures of Western Bluebirds and tried for other birds that were too quick for me to shoot. We also had a quick lunch since I had packed sandwiches.

I thought that was the big event of our ride, but we were just getting started. We headed east to Campo for more birding. We stopped at an old landmark barn that is now the Motor Transport Museum. This was a good photo opportunity. Lots and lots of old vehicles to take pictures of. I would recommend this spot for an auto or antique buff. There was a man working on some vehicles, but none of us really have the gift of gab so we didn't talk to him. I would like to follow Larry Himmel and get an ear full of his spirited conversation. He is one of our local favorites. He would have a story to tell if he talked to the man working on the vehicles. I took some pictures of 78 year old Paul with some of the oldies that belonged to the motor museum.

Continuing east and birding along the way we made some stops in Jacumba to look for birds. Heading east we tried to go to the desert tower, the overlook at InKoPah, but it was closed on Wednesdays. I don't know if Bill planned this or if it was a spur of the moment decision to keep going this far. Heading east on I 8 we exited the freeway at Ocotillo, next to Anza-Borrego Desert State Park. This is the largest state park in California. The weather was very nice to be driving through the desert and it was a pretty day for pictures. Heading north we made stops along the way for the birders and picture taking. I wasn't the only one taking pictures as Bill has a long lens camera. He takes good bird pictures as well as other little creatures such as butterflies.

One stop was at Agua Caliente County Park where we took pictures of quails. At Vallecitos Stage Station we took pictures of roadrunners and other birds. We also made other stops while we were driving through Anza-Borrego. The sky was blue as can be with a few white fluffy clouds and that makes for nice pictures. The mountains in the background make the pictures even better. We drove through Shelter Valley which is where Rik and Faith live. Rik was one of Griff's childhood friends and we are still friends with his family. I don't know exactly where they live in Shelter Valley, but Rik's Dad lives around the block from us. Our backyards touch each other at the corners.

Next we headed west and up Banner grade towards Julian. The mountain scenery begins again. This is a favorite part of the county for us. We made a quick stop in a park in Julian and took pictures of some wild turkeys. We soon headed towards Cuyamaca enjoying the green of the trees and the rest of the landscape. We did not go all the way through Cuyamaca as we turned towards the Lagunas where our birders had birds to observe. You can see where the fires have been in our mountains as you drive through them. It is sad to see the fire damage, yet it is also part of nature as the landscape changes through the years. We still have a lot of pretty trees and other foliage.

After more birding we continued south towards the freeway. The sun was turning sunset orange as we neared the end of Sunrise Highway. We had observed the sunrise from this highway the week before. I never did get a chance to take a picture of the sunrise or sunset from this vantage point. It was getting dark as we drove into the city with all of it's traffic. We had been away from home all of the daylight hours on Paul's birthday. We had cake and ice cream waiting for us at home. This truly was a big day for the four of us.

Paul has read some other books with the same theme as "The Big Year". This is a popular subject for serious birders. Paul loves to make lists to keep track of all his birds. I know he enjoys the birds, but I sometimes think that the lists of birds seen are his favorite part of the adventure.

When Paul was a fisherman in his younger days he always kept lists of all the fish he caught. Of course he knew the weights too. His largest fish caught surf fishing in Coronado was a four pound ten ounce Spotfin Croaker. This was when he was a teenager, before we were going together. Then when we were dating we spent a lot of time on the beach while he was fishing. Our first date was at a picnic with a group of friends on the beach. We even went grunion running that evening. That was the only time I ever went grunion running, catching the tiny silver fish on the beach with bare hands. We ended up with a number of them in a bucket. Then we went to a friend's house where her mother fried them till they were crispy and yummy.

The grunion are just innocently trying to lay their eggs on the beach by the light of the moon when they are gathered up and put into a bucket. Then they end up in someones frying pan. Poor fishies. You need a fishing licence to legally do this if you are older than a certain age. I never had a fishing licence as I was young enough. Paul always had a fishing licence in those days. Fishing was his hobby then. Birding is his hobby now. At least no birds suffer for this hobby. The only shooting we do is with a camera.

We do have hunters in the family and I'm not totally adverse to this as long as it is for food. I have enjoyed meals at the table of some of the hunters in my family. I would not be able to be a hunter though. I guess a person can do whatever he has to do though. My dad who was a city boy learned to kill the chickens we raised for fryers. Mom grew up on a farm and knew how to clean them for eating. I don't think my grandparents enjoyed having to butcher the pigs for their use, but they did what they had to do. We are so protected from the realities of life, yet we eat meat. I can understand someone deciding to be a vegetarian.

When we had our boys we had said there would be no toy guns. That did not last long. They got toy guns as gifts for birthdays. And if they don't have the toy they turn a stick into a gun. The youngest son is the one that really likes guns though he is not a hunter. So much for no guns. I am still not fond of them, but will protect the right of the one who chooses to own one. I will stick to shooting with a camera. I'm sure that is the sentiment of most of our family.

A New Adventure Each Day

We never know what a day may bring. Today it's a cute little chihuahua that was found in our front yard. We had been thinking we need less pets so we can not keep doggy. When Laura went out to water this morning there was a cute little dog that was not moving under the water spigot next to the house. Who knows how long she had been there waiting for rescue. I think she had given up as she did not even accept water or food at first. She may have been lost for some time. I see lost dogs, especially chihuahuas, quite often. I might have even seen her on the next block when we drove by earlier in the week.

I asked a few neighbors to be sure she was not theirs as I knew at least two have chihuahuas. Then I called animal control to come for her. They will be here sometime today. I feel bad to have to do this, but this gives her owner a better chance of finding her. I already know that putting a lost and found ad in the paper does not bring the desired results. Anyway that is our experience. We ended up keeping the dogs we tried this with. We are down to no dogs, but we have too many cats so no more animals allowed at this time. We are still waiting for animal control to get here. They were real busy this morning when I called.

This has been a busy week with all of our going places with Bill. Monday we went to the mountains and the desert. We found a real interesting mountain road that was long and narrow that I had never been on before. Bill had done part of it once before. We finally had to turn around when it became more narrow and rough, but it was fun while it lasted. A number of trails go off from this road. Bill had hiked a ways on one a week or two earlier. The purpose of the ride was for the birders in the family to find a certain bird. They heard it but I don't know if they ever saw it on Monday. This trip found me without a camera due to my forgetting it. This was a picture perfect day too. I had mountain pictures recently though.

We also went to Borrego Springs on Monday. There I am without a camera and I see things I want to photograph. The large sculptures would have been a great addition to the pictures I have taken with Bill's camera. There was an article in the paper the other day about these sculptures. I had seen articles before too. We went to Borrego Springs by way of Julian and Banner grade, past Scissors Crossing and then north into Borrego Springs. Bill knows the good birding spots so we did a few of them, then we headed west to Ranchita. We did a quick trip to Warner Springs just to say we had been there. Then we looked at some birds on Lake Henshaw before continuing south towards Ramona for more birds, and then headed home. A full day, yet we got home while it was light out. We had left home before sunrise as we often do on these trips. Would have been some good sunrise pictures.

Thursday was another interesting day with the birders of the family. I remembered the camera this time. We headed to Point Loma for some birding. I read the paper while Paul, Laura and Bill did their birding. I always take something to read for those times I want to stay in the car. I was saving my walking for the main event of this trip. We went to LaJolla for our traditional walk at the cove. The birders were enjoying the day and I was taking a lot of pictures. Actually Laura and I walked together in LaJolla, enjoying the scenery along the way. Bill had his long lens camera with him so he also enjoyed taking pictures. The LaJolla Cove is one place we always like to go when we have the opportunity.

We were not quite done in LaJolla as we also enjoyed a ride up Mount Soledad to the Veterans Memorial and the cross. I always find John Moorhouse's plaque and picture on the wall there. It is honoring him and his time in the Marines. He is a purple heart veteran and has a story to tell. In the past we have found plaques honoring President Reagan and Bob Hope among other familiar names. We enjoyed a ride to LaJolla and Mount Soledad with Madeline and Steve not too many years ago. We always enjoyed our special excursions with them over the years. Steve is no longer with us, but we still have special times with my dear friend Madeline.

Yesterday brought out the adventurer in all of us, with Bill at the wheel as usual. We headed north to Del Mar where our birders know some good birding spots at the lagoon. This seems to be a new traditional place for them to spot birds. Heading south afterwards it was decided to not go straight home, but head to another scenic place. Going east to LaMesa and up Mount Helix was next on the agenda. Paul, Laura and I had been there with Madeline and Steve a number of years earlier. Mount Helix is a great place for a view of LaMesa and the ElCajon area, a great photo op like Mount Soledad. We have never done both of these mountains in one excursion. This is the first time doing Mount Helix with Bill. These are very small mountains right in the middle of the city, but are special with crosses on top of each. Thankfully I had a good camera to take pictures.

Our cute little doggy was picked up by a nice animal control officer in the middle of the afternoon. She apologized for being so slow in arriving to pick up the dog. She made sure I did not want an adoption hold on doggy, but she also realized I did not really want more pets. She noted that our cats looked well fed and admired our fluffy kitty. I hope this will be a happy ending for our little chihuahua. They will check her to see if she has a micro chip so she may have a chance to see her owners again. Otherwise I hope she gets a good home soon. I like chihuahuas and would have kept her if it had been realistic.

Originally written Friday, October 21, 2011
first picture is Paul and little Chihuahua we found
next pictures are of Caroline
last picture is Paul, Laura and Bill at Mt.Helix

Sea Otter Seen Near San Diego

On Saturday, October 8th, our son Bill was on a boat with other birders, near the entrance to the San Diego Bay, when he spotted something most unusual for our area. He thought that if this was Monterey, that would be an otter he was observing. He had his camera on the creature so took a quick picture of it. Soon everyone on the boat was getting excited about this sea animal as it was the first sea otter seen in our area as long as anyone could remember. The boat circled the sea otter while everyone took pictures. Bill managed to take several good photos of the otter. This may have been a birding trip, but the most exciting moment of their long day was seeing the sea otter.

On Monday there was an article about this event in the San Diego Union-Tribune on page B2 with a picture of the sea otter similar to the pictures Bill took. "It was a golden moment, with the setting sun lighting the creature as it floated near the vessel for about 15 minutes and boaters took photos...The sighting sent a buzz through San Diego's network of marine experts, who on Sunday were trying to determine when the last sea otter was spotted off local shores."

Bill was enjoying the day with his friend Mark. They have been on a number of birding trips together to our mountains, desert and beaches. This was their first boating excursion together. It was a day for them to get up before the sun was out to get to the boat on time. It was a long day on the ocean and they were heading back to the harbor when they had their golden moment along with all the other birders. They had already enjoyed their day of birding and would have called it a successful trip. This event made the day even more memorable.

We have been on the go with our son here from Florida for the month of October. Even though he had traveled two days straight through from Florida with barely a break he was ready for some San Diego birding when he arrived. It was the morning of Thursday September 29th when he arrived. We soon headed to Point Loma to Rosecrans and Cabrillo National Monument for some birding. Actually Paul and Bill are the birders and I'm just along for the scenery. Laura does some of each. She likes to do a little bit of birding, but enjoys the trip much like I do.

While Paul and Bill looked through their binoculars and Bill's scope Laura and I found the sight where our friend Steve was laid to rest at Rosecrans. We had been there earlier this year with Madeline so pretty much knew where to look for Steve's grave sight in the new wall. When we were there earlier we had put flowers there and at Uncle Ivor's and Uncle El's burial places too. Usually when we go to Point Loma and to Rosecrans it is for seeing the many birds that are there. Cemeteries are good places to find birds. Rosecrans National Cemetery is on the migratory path for the birds, as is Cabrillo National Monument.

The next stop was the tide pool area at Cabrillo. The waves were splashing over the rocks and we stayed on higher ground instead of going to the beach below. I took my first pictures with Bill's digital camera and the guys did their birding. This is a good place to see shore birds. Laura walked a bit further than we did. Then we headed to the lighthouse part of Cabrillo for more birding and photo opportunities. This is always a favorite place to go when Bill is in town. Paul and have gone there by bus on several occasions.

The next week included many birding trips for the birders in the family. One day we enjoyed a trip to the Laguna Mountains with many photo opportunities. Of course this was a great place for seeing birds as well as enjoying the scenery. It was a beautiful October day. We could see the desert from several view points along the way. Some of the birds seen along Sunrise Highway and the nearby mountain area were Stellers Jay, Western Scrub Jay, Lawrence's Goldfinch, Fox Sparrow and Mountain Chickadee. Bill heard a Pinion Jay which is rare for the area. Also seen were two kinds of Nuthatch and a California Quail plus a bunch of other birds.

So far this week I have joined the family for a day trip to the desert. The main event of the day was going to the birding spots near the Salton Sea. It was a pretty warm day and would be hot before the day was over. If we had waited to go another day it would have been too hot. Some of the birds seen were Yellow Footed Gull, Laughing Gull, Clapper Rail, White Pelican and Brown Pelican as well as a bunch of other birds. Most of the birds were seen in multiples. I took pictures of a flock of White Pelicans as well as the Brown Pelicans. Burrowing Owls and Road Runners are always favorites to see when on this trip.

Last week we also went to our son Griff's in Valley Center. This is always something we enjoy doing. He has his house on top of a hill and ten plus acres. We always take family pictures there with Palomar Mountain in the background. This is a beautiful setting for his home. Laura picked some avocados to bring home with us. I'm still waiting for them to be ripe to eat. Guacamole is on my list of things to enjoy in the near future. On the way home from Griff's we stopped at Bate's Nut Farm and bought a pumpkin. It was a busy day at the farm as a lot of people were buying pumpkins and taking pictures of the pretty fall scene. We have been to this farm a few times in the past.

The family has enjoyed many of our local birding spots since Bill has been here, and we have more places we can go for birds and photo opportunities. Birds were also seen while at Griff's as he is in a good spot for all things nature including snakes. We did not see snakes this time though. Last year Bill took some good pictures of a California King Snake. That kind of snake is not a problem for me, but I do not want to run into a rattle snake. Griff used to have one in a large aquarium. It was a baby snake when he got it and it grew to be large. He finally took it to the hills to release. I'm glad he does not have that "pet" now. Was not my favorite pet of all time.