Spring had sprung - The desert was calling - Winter birds had taken off to their nesting grounds, and it was time for me to take off for an adventure into the California desert where I could see blooming wildflowers, interesting birds, awesome vistas, and spend time with a friend.
The rugged, snow capped peak is Mt. San Jacinto at 10,833 ft.
A visit to Cathy, my friend in the Coachella Valley, was long overdue. Cathy loves the desert and is familiar with all the special places that have wildflowers, birds, and beautiful vistas; she is within a half hour to forty minutes from the Santa Rosa - San Jacinto National Monument, the Big Morongo Preserve, and the Coachella Valley Preserve, which is known for it dense groves of the only native Palm in California, Washingtonia filifera. Palm sprouts may be seen in left foreground of photo.
Coachella Valley Preserve - The California Palm, also known as petticoat palm, has dense fronds that form a “skirt.” The fronds hang down to the ground creating habitat for many species of birds, and reptiles. The San Andreas fault which runs through the Coachella Valley supplies the water necessary for the California Palms to thrive. A delightful boardwalk meanders through a grove; as you can see in the photo, the skirts overhanging the boardwalk have been trimmed, creating skirt or petticoat tunnels. It is not everyday one can stroll through, and I do mean through, California native palms.
The open desert presented us with an abundance of blooming shrubs and wildflowers; we marveled at the beauty of Brittlebush (Encelia farinosa), one of my favorite desert plants. To say Brittlebush was prolific is an understatement, miles and miles of desert were covered with this brilliant blooming beauty.
As we walked along the little gully, still wet from recent rain, we spotted a White-winged Dove. It’s feathers looked like grey velvet. The White-winged Dove overwinters in Mexico and Central America and comes to our southwestern states to breed. Unfortunately they are infrequent visitors to the Central Coast.
Shortly after our Dove sighting we noticed Verdin activity in a thorny Palo Verde Tree. Verdin are tiny, the same size as Bushtits. Sitting on a shaded log we watched the little darlings methodically build their breeding nest.
The female was inside lining the nest while the male was gathering materials. The opening will be toward the prevailing winds, to bring in cooling air as the weather gets hotter. Actually, they have two nests. The winter nest is much thicker for warmth.
Big Morongo Preserve - At the feeding station (above) we saw numerous birds, including a pair of Vermilion Flycatcher and a brilliantly colored Hooded Oriole. We had a spectacular sighting from an overlook in the riparian section of the preserve. Thanks to two birder/photographers who readily shared identification, we found we were looking at a small flock of endangered Least Bell’s Vireo. Their musical chatter was delightful.
They are officially listed as endangered, primarily due to loss of riparian habitat and cowbird brood parasitism. Cowbirds lay eggs in various songbird nests. When the eggs hatch, the hatchlings kill the other chicks. Big Morongo Preserve is one of the few places where Least Bell’s Vireo nests. I hope there are no Cowbirds in the Big Morongo Preserve.
Santa Rosa-San Jacinto National Monument - An interpretative
trail winds its way through a plethora of blooming plants and shrubs.
Oh my gosh, it was a wildflower paradise. The red flowering shrub is Chuparosa (Justicia californica), a favorite of Costa's Hummingbird.
A pair of Phainopepla were active in the Mesquite and Palo Verde trees. The female has a smaller crest, is gray in color; both male and female have red eyes. To our delight a pair of Verdin were nest building only a few feet above us. After two visits to the Santa Rosa Nat. Mon., I was hoping for a third, but ran out of time.
A great thank you is due to Cathy and Mother and Father Nature for the most fabulous desert adventure I have ever experienced.
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