some desert birding

After a taste of mountain birding, I wanted to soak up some desert birds as well. So I made my way to Anza Borrego Desert State Park. As promised, Costa's Hummingbirds were present near the visitor's center near Borrego Springs. This male sang his song from on high at the edge of the parking lot. To my ears, it reminded me a bit of a dentist's drill... or perhaps a backfeeding hearing aid.... At any rate, it was a real high-pitched noise from a VERY tiny bird.

male Costa's Humingbird digiscoped Borrego Springs, CA

From behind the VC, a Black-throated Sparrow gave a muted "whisper" song from atop its precarious perch. It made for an interesting photo though and provided a great opportunity to review various shapes of gray!....

adult Black-throated Sparrow, digiscoped Borrego Springs, CA

I headed west toward Clark Dry Lake in hopes of spying the localized, Le Conte's Thrasher. This is a very difficult bird to see most places but I was hoping the sparsely vegetated margins of the Dry Lake would reap benefits. As I walked through the bleak arid habitat an occasional chip signified the presence of a Sage Sparrow but there was no other birdlife for a long time.

Patience is a virtue though and finally after much zig-zagged hiking the pearl-gray stunner appeared. I watched and followed as it dashed from shrub to shrub tail cocked, head down, & running full tilt across the dusty terrain. When it finally stopped and teed up briefly, I was surprised at how dramatically different it was from the similar Crissal Thrasher. As typical, the guides didn't do this stunning bird justice.

LeConte's Thrasher digiscoped Anza Borrego, CA, Feb '07

I was real excited at picking up a life bird and was surprised by the subtle beauty of this odd desert denizen. However, the highlight of my entire trip came when I got a surprise view of another rare desert dweller. Not far from the car, after an exhausting desert hike, a tiny Kit Fox popped up from a burrow. I was able to stop, set up my scope, mount the camera and rattle off a couple of shots before it quickly disappeared.

Kit Fox, Anza Borrego, CA, digiscoped Feb 2007

This was a great bonus to a wonderful day of birding!