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Borrego Springs, CA

Wednesday, March 7, 2012

Meeting a visitor from the desert southwest

The breezes were really blowing as I headed into work this morning.  Diana and I finally got a day to work on one of our projects rather than being stuck in the Visitor’s Center.  We headed off to the Fontainebleau Trail in the Ocean Springs unit of the refuge to document, with notes and photos, what was blooming on the trail.

IMG_6620First up, I noticed that the fiddlehead ferns were well on their way.  This is quite a bit earlier than I found them last year.

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Since the azaleas were in full bloom at the Bellingrath Gardens yesterday, I had wondered about the wild azaleas that are found on this trail.  Last year, it was April before blooms were evident.  Turned out that they are about to burst into full bloom along the bayou as well.

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A few of the buds had opened, but I’m thinking I need to come back here in about five days or so to be surrounded by these fragrant blooms.  Being on this trail at just the right time last year was one of those highlights of my volunteer stint here.  Not only are these blooms a visual delight, but the fragrance along this section of the trail on a sunny day can just send you to cloud nine!  The butterflies also find them intoxicating.

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Those azaleas are only found along a certain stretch of the trail that is a certain distance up from the bayou.  I find that most interesting how certain species can only exist under exact circumstances.  You won’t find any azaleas a little lower down along this boardwalk,…

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but we did encounter this handsome fellow.  It’s got some really cool coloration and scaling along its back.

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I’m not going to include all the blooms we found, but this is one of the plants we will have to investigate and identify tomorrow while we’re both working the VC.  Our plan is to identify blooming plants along the trails so we can develop a weekly list of what to see as folks hike along.

So what about the visitor from the desert southwest?  Well, after lunch we headed out to find a noteworthy avian visitor that somehow made it to the coastline just south of Ocean Springs.

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This Painted Redstart was discovered along the Gulf Coast in January.  It should not be here.  It naturally lives in Mexico and can be found, in breeding season, in certain areas of Arizona and New Mexico.  Certainly not in Mississippi! 

_MG_6678Well, this little dude was singing its heart out for us just as we arrived at the designated tree.  Smile  Don’t know who put up the sign pointing up a certain tree, but they didn’t quite get the name right.  That didn’t seem to matter, though, as the sign did point out the correct live oak tree.

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And the reported yellow-bellied sapsucker showed up as if on queue.  The redstart follows this sapsucker around since the holes that it pecks in the trees produces sap that attracts insects.  The Painted Redstart was a life bird for me, so I appreciated its cooperation in showing up for a matinee performance.  Winking smile

Thanks for stopping by… talk to you later,  Judy

20 comments:

  1. jeez... have I told you lately how very much I enjoy your pictures? no? ... I really enjoy your pictures... that fiddlehead fern? wow

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  2. This post was so full of beautiful pictures. I love them. Thank you.

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  3. I like azaleas and rhododendrons in the wild also. They usually have a more pale and delicate color, but there is no comparison in my mind.

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  4. I love the flower pics and the little bridge. You take really nice pics. Keep them coming! :)

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  5. Great photos today. I, too, especially like the bridge.

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  6. How fun! Maybe he got tired of the wind in the southwest.

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  7. Amazing to see the Redstart and to learn how he has adapted to life in his new locality by following the Sapsucker around. I wonder if the Redstart behaves the same when he is home in Mexico? Judy, can you identify the little lizard; it doesn’t look like an anole or a skink.

    John and Ellen
    connectedtothevinephotography.blogspot.com

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  8. Again, Great photos! Do you use Newcomb's Wildflower Guide? I hope you let us know what those lovely white blossoms are... Also, congratulations on the new "life bird"... there probably aren't a whole lot in the USA that you haven't seen!

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  9. I also really enjoyed your pictures today. Glad you got to see and photograph the Redstart.

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  10. My first thought about the redstart was...umm guess his GPS isnt working right...we all know how sometimes you are told turn right, turn right and all there is is side walk or open field...so he might have been told turn right instead of turn left when he came out of mexico.

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  11. Sniff, Sniff....could you blow those scents a bit further north....like to Indy area?

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  12. As always....BRAVO! You have a wonderful way with words as well as the camera. I second Carolyn's comment

    Just BS!(Bob and Sue)

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  13. No wonder you like to return to the same places so you can see how things different not only week to week but year to year. That's a great idea. And as everyone has said, these are fabulous pictures. Love the sign pointing to the rare bird. Now if they were just all that easy. :-) Hope he can find his way home again.

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  14. Once again I am in awe at your photograhpy. And to think you got great pictures of a new life bird. Totally cool beans!

    Maybe the bird will take up residence in the refuge and you can visit it all the time. :c)

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  15. The Park Ranger in Goliad said they are getting Green Jays and Kiskadees there now, and never did before...Global warming???Love the azaleas...

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  16. I could not help but wonder if f you are trying to enter the undocumented immigrant issue:) Perhaps that poor bird has family in Mississippi:)

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  17. Love the photos of the flowers, makes us all hopeful that spring is here.

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  18. You always take stunning photos. One year, I got obsessed with taking & editing photos of wild flowers. It was fun.They are all contained on my desktop computer which is in storage. I really need to go get that computer & get the photos from it soon. Thanks so much for sharing.

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