Tag Archives: California

Birding trip to Eastern Sierras April 12-14, 2013

Posted on April 18, 2013 | 1 Comment

We just returned from the Eastern Sierras where my husband, Vic Leipzig, co-led a Sea and Sage Audubon birding trip with Linda Oberholtzer.

Diaz Lake, CA

Diaz Lake, CA

We started at 7 am at Diaz Lake just south of Lone Pine. You can see the brown Alabama Hills behind the lake and in front of the Sierras. The Alabama Hills and Lone Pine area was a very popular spot for filming Westerns.

Reeds in the lake

Reeds in the lake

Great-tailed Grackles

Great-tailed Grackles

Yellow-headed Blackbird

Yellow-headed Blackbird

View of Alabama Hills and Eastern Sierras from the visitor center south of Lone Pine

View of Alabama Hills and Eastern Sierras from the visitor center south of Lone Pine

 

Mt. Whitney Fish Hatchery north of Independence, CA

Mt. Whitney Fish Hatchery north of Independence, CA

We enjoyed a group dinner at Jack’s Restaurant in Bishop, and spent the night in Bishop.

We gathered at the Little Green Church south of Mammoth Lakes early Sunday morning to caravan to the sage grouse lek.

We gathered at the Little Green Church south of Mammoth Lakes early Sunday morning to caravan to the sage grouse lek.

Little green church at Benton Crossing Road and Hwy 395.

Little green church at Benton Crossing Road and Hwy 395.

A series of forks and turns on dirt roads took us to the entry gate to the lek area.

A series of forks and turns on dirt roads took us to the entry gate to the lek area.

The group hiked to the lek, approaching very slowly, and never getting close enough to disturb the birds.

The group hiked to the lek, approaching very slowly, and never getting close enough to disturb the birds.

Greater Sage Grouse males displaying.

Greater Sage Grouse males displaying.

The grouse disperse shortly after the sun hits the lek.

The grouse disperse shortly after the sun hits the lek.

These are a few of the three dozen mule deer that we saw.

These are a few of the three dozen mule deer that we saw.

These sagebrush flats are part of the Great Basin sagebrush habitat.

These sagebrush flats are part of the Great Basin sagebrush habitat.

We spotted a bald eagle feeding in the distance at the edge of Crowley Lake.

We spotted a bald eagle feeding in the distance at the edge of Crowley Lake.

Ken Wells led us to a site where bank swallows nest.

Ken Wells led us to a site where bank swallows nest.

The group needed to hike to see the swallows.

The group needed to hike to see the swallows.

Convict Lake is a beautiful spot. A few people spotted a dipper in the stream.

Convict Lake is a beautiful spot. 

A few people spotted a dipper in this stream. I missed it.

A few people spotted a dipper in this stream. I missed it.

We finished the trip with lunch at Tom's Cafe south of Mammoth Lakes.

We finished the trip with lunch at Tom’s Cafe south of Mammoth Lakes.

The group found 103 bird species, a record for the April Eastern Sierras trip. In addition, we saw mule deer, coyotes, and beautiful scenery. This is one of my favorite vacation spots. From Lone Pine to Mono Lake, I never tire of it, never get enough of it.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Posted on November 3, 2011 | 2 Comments

This is such a beautiful day that I went to the Bolsa Chica Ecological Reserve at the corner of Pacific Coast Highway and Warner Avenue in Huntington Beach.

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I stopped at the Bolsa Chica Conservancy’s Interpretive Center. A class on environmental interpretation from CalState Long Beach is here, and I got a video of some of the students handling a king snake, one of several snakes that live in the building for interpretive purposes.

Harumph, I have no idea why the videos are upside down. I took them right side up. Sorry about that. Bear with me as I figure out this iPad.

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Trip to Big Bear, California, Part II

Posted on August 11, 2011 | Leave a comment

The cabin walls were covered with huge log slabs, very rustic. Our room had a fireplace and a full kitchen, plus a private balcony/porch.

The kitchen in our cabin.

Our little granddaughters would love this children's playground with playhouse.

Our granddaughters would also love this pretty pool.

The hosts at Oak Knoll Lodge often build a campfire on weekends. I was too tired on Friday to take advantage of it, and they didn't build a fire on Saturday, so we missed out on toasting marshmallows.

The landscaping was a riot of color, a mix of wildflowers and old English garden favorites like hollyhocks, foxgloves, larkspurs, and coreopsis.

We had dinner on Saturday night at Peppercorn Grille in Big Bear Lake. The food there was incredible! Great Italian menu.

On our last morning there, we had brunch at the Mill Creek Manor Tea Room. Adorable place, but tea was $5.

What do you think? Is the decor over the top? I liked it, but it made Vic squirm.

They have a hat rack with hats that can be borrowed while you're having tea. I picked one and wore it while we ate.

Do I look like I'm enjoying myself? I was. I thought that the prices were a bit high, but I would definitely love to go back.

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Trip to Big Bear California, Part 1

Posted on August 11, 2011 | 7 Comments

Vic led a birding trip to Big Bear Lake, California last weekend. We mostly drove around on dirt roads in the mountains, then walked a short distance to Bluff Lake. Wildflowers were spectacular. Here are some shots.

Santa Ana River at Middle Control Road near Angelus Oaks

Next to Santa Ana River

Santa Ana River

Santa Ana River by Middle Control Road, near Angelus Oaks

California wild rose

White Yarrow

No clue what these flowers are

Close-up of corn lily flowers

Corn Lilies

Did I mention that it was COLD? Yes, it was August, but there were ice crystals on the grass

Ice crystals on a sage leaf

A sunflower of some sort

If this were spring, I'd say that this saprophyte was snow plant. Others thought it was named pine drops.

Here is the group of birders that Vic was leading. I don't think he's in the picture. Oops, yes he is. Both he and our son Scott pointed out that he's in the red jacket in back. Hey, I'm working with a 2-inch photo, gimme a break.

Backlit Jeffrey pines. If you sniff the deep cracks in the bark, you can smell vanilla.

Western fence lizard

Purple asters. They may be called Showy Asters.

Vic (in red jacket on left) and his group of birders

Our first view of Bluff Lake

Bluff Lake

Bluff Lake

Northern Bluets (I think)

A bumblebee shows us his heinie, and the stuffed pollen sacs on his legs

Rangers Buttons

Paintbrush

columbine

Corn Lily at Bluff Lake

Saprophytes, maybe pine drops

female mallard

Bluff Lake

A saprophyte, maybe snow plant

Old log cabins by Bluff Lake

Can't remember this flower, maybe loosestrife

corn lilies

Scarlet bugler, I think

Lemon Lilies

California wild rose

Great trip. Part II will cover where we stayed.

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A Brief Tour of the Mojave Desert Preserve

Posted on December 3, 2010 | 6 Comments

Much of the Eastern Mojave Desert is now protected as the Mojave National Preserve. Motorists tend to zip by it on their way between Los Angeles and Las Vegas without giving it a second glance. But the prettiest parts are off the interstate.

The preserve has over a thousand miles of roads, many of them paved, which makes exploration easy. The Automobile Club of Southern California (AAA) has a great map of the area. The National Park Service also has a great map, but you have to know how to get to their visitor center at Kelso Depot to pick it up. Just take Kelbaker Road out of Baker, CA to get there.

Housing at the Desert Studies Center

Vic and I led a field trip for his birding class out there last month. We stayed at the Desert Studies Center in Zzyzx, an adventure in itself. Guests provide their own bedding, towels, soap, shampoo, etc. The bathrooms are open air community bathhouses, mens and womens, with hot and cold running water, curtains on the shower and toilet stalls, and coffee cans over the toilet paper to keep mice from using it as nesting material.

Our room at the Desert Studies Center. We brought our own bedding (sleeping bags) and towels.

Dawn at Lake Tuendae, an artificial pond at Zzyzx

Dawn at Soda Dry Lake

A mirage on Silver Dry Lake. There is no water.

Silver Dry Lake north of Baker, CA

Fall foliage at Horsethief Spring

Antelope Ground Squirrel

Tarantula

Freight train going through Afton Canyon

The Mojave River flows above ground in only three places: Afton Canyon and Upper and Lower Narrows in Victorville. The water flows under the desert sand everywhere else along its course.

Dawn at Zzyzx, day 2

Breakfast in the dining hall. The food was really good.

Corriente cattle are a Mexican breed that is adapted to dry desert life. Unlike other cattle breeds that eat grass and hay exclusively, they can eat browse (tips of bushes) like a deer.

Juvenile Western Fence Lizard

The chef at the Desert Studies Center prepared a nice box lunch for our group.

Red-tailed Hawk

Pancake Prickly Pear

The Visitor Center at Hole-in-the-Wall has no electricity, but it does have running water.

Because this was a birding trip with Vic's class, not a photography trip, I had to grab this shot of Wild Horse Canyon out the car window.

Cooper's Hawk

Animal tracks at Kelso Dunes

Two hikers atop Kelso Dunes

Kelso Dunes at sunset

Providence Mountains at sunset

Sunrise at Soda Lake, day 3

One of Vic's students in a tiny dorm room.

Dawn at Soda Dry Lake

View of Lake Tuendae and Soda Dry Lake from the dorm balcony

Vic's Irvine Valley College bird class in front of a smoke tree.

Pygmy Blue Butterflies in Afton Canyon

Variegated Meadowhawk in Afton Canyon

Fall foliage along the Mojave River in Afton Canyon

Another tarantula

The Mojave River at Harvard Exit near Camp Cady is just drifting sand

Camp Cady, an historic stop along the Mojave Trail

We spent four days out there and barely scratched the surface of things to see and photograph. And this was November! Imagine how pretty it will be with spring wildflowers.

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Last day, Bridgeport, Bodie and home

Posted on November 4, 2010 | 6 Comments

Grasses by Fred's Bait Shop, Bridgeport

October 29, our last day on the photo trip. Although we certainly could have found more things to see and photograph in the next two days, I was tired and quite ready to go home. But not until I got some pictures in Bridgeport and had my fill of photographing the weathered old miners’ houses in Bodie State Park.

Sunrise from Murphey's Motel in Lee Vining

I liked the morning light on these little houses in Lee Vining. It's a scene that I'd like to paint for my watercolor class.

A pastoral scene of sheep in the sagebrush outside Bodie State Park.

Bodie State Park

Old mine buildings at Bodie State Park

Rusted cans, Bodie State Park

Roof, Bodie State Park

Wheelbarrow, Bodie State Park

Old bedframe, Bodie State Park

Road from Bodie

Mule deer

Tule elk

And that’s the day from the point of view of the Nikon. Here’s how the Canon saw it.

Courthouse in Bridgeport, CA

Mallow outside Fred's Bait Shop, Bridgeport

Dun horse, view 1

Dun horse, view 2

Dun horse, view 3

Pinto horse, Bridgeport, CA

Farmhouse, Bridgeport, CA

Bridgeport Community Church

Virginia Creek Settlement Restaurant

Lamp, Virgina Creek Settlement Restaurant

Railing, Virginia Creek Settlement Restaurant

Church, Bodie State Park, CA

White stool, Bodie State Park

House interior, Bodie State Park

Bottles in the window, Bodie State Park

Shadow on the linoleum, Bodie State Park

Kitchen, Bodie State Park

Virginia Lakes

Aspen at Lundy Lake

What a great trip. But I was happy to get home. I miss my hubby when I go on camera outings with the club. I love sharing my photos with him. And with you! Hope you enjoyed them.

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Day Two, photographing Mono Lake and Yosemite with the Canon D30.

Posted on November 4, 2010 | Leave a comment

Dawn at Mono Lake

Mono Lake

Aspen by Mono Lake

Frost on aspen leaves

frosted leaves on sagebrush

Historic 1922 roadhouse by Mono Lake

roadhouse

Wild California rose

leafy path just outside the eastern side of Yosemite National Park

Lee Vining Creek

Path through the aspens by Lee Vining Creek, late October

Lee Vining Creek, late October

leaves in creek

Ice crystals by Lee Vining Creek, late October

Rainbow colors on ice crystals

Logs in creek

Clouds over Yosemite

autumn foliage over creek

Road in autumn just outside Yosemite National Park

Ice on twigs

Ellery Lake, Yosemite National Park

Tree

Creek

winter grasses

Creek coming out of Saddlebag Lake

Fish Creek Hot Springs near Mammoth

June Lake Loop

Aspen along June Lake loop, late October

I hope you enjoyed this little tour around the Mono Lake and Yosemite National Park areas. Next post will be Bridgeport and Bodie on the next and last day of the trip.

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Autumn photo trip from Lone Pine to Bishop California, Oct. 27, 2010

Posted on November 4, 2010 | 4 Comments

I just returned from a great trip to the Eastern Sierras with my camera club, Photographic Society of Orange County. We stay in the same motel and go our own way during the day, taking whatever pictures we like. We meet for happy hour and dinner, and occasionally run into each other while out taking photos.

I carpooled with fellow club member Mark Singer. We took pictures on the way up last Wednesday and all day Thursday. But then Mark received news that there had been a death in his family,. We headed back home on Friday, cutting the trip short by two days. We did join the club on Friday morning for a photo shoot in the ghost town of Bodie before heading back.

I took 844 photos with my Canon EOS D30 and 330 with my Nikon Coolpix P90. I got those narrowed down to 321 pictures that I worked with on my computer using Corel’s PaintShop Pro. Out of that batch, I really like 207 of them. Somehow I’ve got to narrow that down to something reasonable that I can post on my blog. Here are photos from the drive up, which includes the stretch of Hwy 395 that runs from Lone Pine to Bishop and beyond, including Tom’s Place.

The Eastern Sierras in October viewed from Diaz Lake.

 

Cottonwood at Diaz Lake near Lone Pine, CA

Yerba Mansa and autumn grasses at Lake Diaz near Lone Pine, California

Milkweed

View of Crowley Lake from road leading from Tom's Place

The shots above were taken with the Nikon. The ones below are from the Canon.

Rocks at the Alabama Hills outside of Lone Pine, California

Closeup of lichen on granite

Grasses between rocks of the Alabama Hills, Lone Pine, CA.

The lighting is better in the early morning. This is what the Alabama Hills look like closer to noon.

The Alabama Hills were favorite locations for TV westerns and movies.

Cottonwoods, black poplars, copper birch and aspen had turned yellow.

Round Valley near Bishop.

Cottonwood leaf on rabbitbrush.

Rabbitbrush in autumn

Honeybee on rabbitbrush

Round Valley near Bishop, CA

Creek near Tom's Place

Copper birch leaves

Pack mule

Mark and a pack mule confront each other. I love the light splatter in this photo.

Wild rose hips

Aspen trees

Path through the October woods near Tom's Place, CA

And that concludes Day One of our trip.

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A new Whole Foods Market is opening in Huntington Beach, CA

Posted on October 12, 2010 | Leave a comment

Our newspaper column this week is going to be about the new Whole Foods Market that is opening in Huntington Beach on October 13, 2010. I went on a tour today and was wowed by what this store has to offer.

They passed out samples of these organic apples. The apples were sweet, juicy and packed with flavor.

Whole Foods is a grocery store that encourages people to eat right and adopt a healthy diet of organic, locally raised foods that are in season. With bulk grains, ethically raised meats, and a tempting selection of organic produce, it’s a store that I’m happy to support.

They have a wide selection of organic lentils, dried peas and grains.

I had never even heard of some of their varieties of rice, like pink rice and green rice.

Whole Foods Market has 500 different cheeses and cheese products.

Eating foods that are in season locally, like these winter squash, avoids transport of foods over long distances.

I had so many tomatoes from my garden the past couple of months that I swore I would never look at a tomato again. But then I see a display like this and I want more tomatoes.

And with all that good food on your family table, all that's missing is a bouquet of flowers.

You can read my columns in the Huntington Beach Independent at www.hbindependent.com/news/opinion. Vic and I hope that you eat a diet that is mainly plant-based, and that you choose foods that are whole, fresh, natural, organic, local, seasonal and unprocessed. And although Whole Foods Market had a fabulous produce section, nothing can beat the food that you grow yourself.

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Earth Day and a birding trip to the Eastern Sierras

Posted on April 21, 2010 | 5 Comments

My newspaper column that is coming out in this Thursday’s Huntington Beach Independent is about the 40th anniversary of Earth Day (April 22) and our trip last weekend to the Eastern Sierras with a Sea and Sage Audubon group. Don’t worry, I tied those two topics together nicely with the theme of endangered species. Hope you’ll read my column online on Thursday. Meanwhile, here are more photos and some mini-videos from our trip.

Alabama Hills in foreground and the Sierras in the background as seen from Lone Pine, CA

Diaz Lake just south of Lone Pine was created in 1872 when an estimated 8.0 earthquake shifted the earth ten feet and dropped the valley floor. The former springs and wetlands were converted to a lake.

Pack horse fattening up on spring grass.

Ditto

Female Yellow-headed Blackbird

Male Yellow-headed Blackbird

Eurasian Collared Doves, a non-native species to the US, are expanding their range throughout California.

Great-tailed Grackle male. This species is native to the US, but has expanded its range fairly recently to California.

California Ground Squirrel

Mt. Whitney historic fish hatchery

 

Male Western Fence Lizard

Acorn Woodpecker

We checked out this Scrub Jay to make sure it wasn't the newly identified Woodhouse subspecies of the Western Scrub Jay. It wasn't.

Stream at Glacier Lodge

Steller's Jay gathering nesting material

Pond at Glacier Lodge

Water Strider

We enjoyed a picnic at Glacier Lodge

Steller's Jay at Aspendel

California Vole running for his life across a road in Aspendel.

Gray-crowned Rosy Finch in Aspendel

Dawn at Crowley Lake

Male Greater Sage-grouse on their lek, displaying to a female.

Greater Sage-grouse copulating

 

Sagebrush, rabbitbrush and the Sierras

Golden Eagle

Winter ice on Crowley Lake had broken up just the week before we were there. Winds piled the ice high on the shore.

 

Teal taking flight from a stream.

Stream near Crowley Lake that feeds into Owens Creek.

Plants growing in the creek.

 

Convict Lake

We stopped on the drive home to catch this shot of the Western Mojave Desert in bloom.

Hope you enjoyed this photo tour of the Eastern Sierras. We got over 100 species of birds, including fantastic sightings of Greater Sage-grouse on their lek, Golden Eagles, Bald Eagles, and nesting bank swallows.

My husband, Vic Leipzig, leads private birding trips for clients from all over the world. To learn more, visit his website at www.southwestbirders.com. He’d love to take you birding.

(To read more of Lou Murray’s environmental writing, see her weekly column, Natural Perspectives, in the Huntington Beach Independent at http://www.hbindependent.com/blogs_and_columns/ )

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