The Salton Sea, 35 miles long, 15 miles wide, and 227 feet
below sea level, was my next destination. I made plans to meet with the Pomona
Valley Audubon Society members for a birding extravaganza. 400 species of migrating birds visit these
waters so there were good possibilities of seeing birds I had never viewed
before. Such as this White-faced Ibis.
Salton Sea is in the Imperial Valley where much of our food
is grown and there are lots of fields where shore birds love to feed. Here is a
group below. Do you see the Black
Crowned Night Heron?
Snow Geese were everywhere and when we looked closely we
usually found Ross Geese among them.
One thing I had not anticipated was a stop at mud pots
near the Geo-thermo power plant. The
best part about them was hearing the burps and gurgles they made.
One of our stops was located next to a cattle lot which
seemed to go on forever. It was a little
depressing to see but I’m not one to shy away from the reality of our lives.
We found a little Verdin, my new favorite bird.
And a honey bee hive.
I had an excellent camping site with a view of the sea where
I was able to take some postcard views of the setting sun and a Great Blue
Heron settling down for the evening.
“Solitude is not something you must hope for in the future.
Rather, it is a deepening of the present, and unless you look for it in the
present, you will never find it.” –Thomas Merton, monk
Nice photographs. Looks like a great place to go birding too.
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