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Borrego Springs, CA

Sunday, April 8, 2012

Sunday morning excursion

John, Diana, and I were off early this morning to do some birding at a couple of wildlife management areas along the Pascagoula River.  Among other things, we were hoping to find lots of Mississippi and Swallow-tailed Kites.  Turns out we got skunked in that department.

IMG_7516Many of the gravel roads in the management areas we were visiting were flooded, so we didn’t get very far off the beaten path.  It was a gorgeous morning for a drive though.

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We stopped at the headquarters for the Lower Pascagoula WMA, and enjoyed a walk along the river.  The headquarters’ grounds had many huge live oak trees that were dripping with Spanish moss…

_MG_7522 _MG_7524

And it was in these oaks that we found a flock of Northern Parulas busily working the trees for insects.  It was hard to ignore their loud rising buzzy song.  Warblers are often hard to photograph as they seem to be birds of perpetual motion.  While these two shots aren’t very good, there is enough there to seal their identification.  It has been many many years since I’ve seen this colorful warbler.  It made my day.  Smile

Finding a place to have an Easter dinner was also a challenge.  Our first choice was closed for Easter.  Our second choice turned out to be closed also, but it seemed like it had been closed for a very long time.  (the GPS came up with that suggestion)  We ended up at a buffet that changed owner’s hands last Wednesday, and I think that collectively we would give it a score of one star.  Smile with tongue out  Guess we should have just packed a picnic lunch.

_MG_7532While Emma and I were out walking this afternoon, I came upon a new bloom.  Don’t know what it is yet, but as it gets a little past prime it kind of reminds me of a flower with a bad hair day!

I have a couple of errands to run tomorrow, and Emma and I just might check out how the white pitcher plants are coming along.  I’ll be sure to bring my boots and bug spray. 

This morning didn’t exactly turn out as planned, but I sure enjoyed the excursion anyway.  Sure beats sitting inside all day.

Thanks for stopping by… talk to you later,  Judy

19 comments:

  1. When life serves up a bit of a lemon...you and Emma made some great lemonade!

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  2. No matter what life throws at you, you always have a good time (and take those wonderful pictures).

    Keep up the good work!

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  3. Anytime you can spend the day with friends, and the beauty of nature, its a good day. Sorry about your lunch though.

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  4. Those warbler pictures are terrific. I can't even usually find them in my binoculars let alone get a picture of them. You ARE amazing!

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  5. Sounds like a wonderful day to me. It was in the mid-90s all day here, inside and outside, so we stayed in with windows covered and A/C running intermittently. Tomorrow is supposed to be more of the same. :( Your day sounds much nicer!

    Love the little birds, especially the the take-off! I had to laugh at the bad hair day photo. Right on. :)

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  6. That's sensitive briar. We tried to get it to grow as a ground cover in the butterfly garden at Anahuac but the frogfruit overgrew it. It's one of my favorite plants and is the only wildflower I remember from my book of pressed wildflowers I made in 5th grade.

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  7. Some of our best days never started out like we thought they would. Just enjoy each day to the fullest! Hope you enjoy your week. ~wheresweaver

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  8. The flower in new blossom reminds me of fireworks! Celebrating Easter!

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  9. The pink flower is called Sensitive Briar. If you touch a leaf all the nearby leaves immediately fold up. It is like the plant has nerve cells.
    http://plants.usda.gov/java/profile?symbol=mimi22

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  10. Yep, looks like a bad hair day to me too!

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  11. I like that photo of warbler in midair. Glad you got out side on a beautiful day.

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  12. Parulas! What a great sighting. Love the header photo :)
    The “bad hair” flowers… mimosa I reckon.
    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mimosa_pudica

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  13. You're so smart ~ I believe you are correct on the identification of my hawk... a Rough Legged Hawk. LOVE your blog and all the plants and birds and daily excursions. Thanks for taking us along:)

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  14. Love the pic of the Warbler taking flight. So hard to be on target and fast! Keep up the good work.
    Karen

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  15. Sounds like it was a great day other than the Easter dinner bit, sorry that part didn't work out for you. Love the pictures, especially the warblers and the pretty flowers.

    Kevin and Ruth
    www.travelwithkevinandruth.com

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  16. Not a bad day from where I am sitting. Great photo's thanks for sharing.

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  17. For us it is always the adventure not necessarily the destination. As usual great post. Happy Spring!

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