Origins

In the summer of 2003 Jane Mootz and Barry Parkes began arranging outings directed towards fellow birders from Big Morongo Canyon Preserve, in Southern California. Since then our circulation list has expanded somewhat but it remains very small and largely restricted to true Big Morongo Birders. A considerable number are part-time seasonal residents from the Pacific North-West, Midwest, and Canada.
Our interests are diverse - many are docents at Big Morongo - and Spring 2004 saw a number of wild-flower oriented walks which were well received. In addition, through the assistance of Dee Zeller, the Host of Big Morongo Canyon Preserve, and others, we have been able to arrange access to areas which are normally closed to the public. We expect to continue to develop this programme and include plants and flowers, in addition to birds; we have an interest in Indian history and culture and this may well feature in future excursions.

Very many thanks to Patrick Casey for his help - and patience - in making this site more presentable than it otherwise would be.
Comments and suggestions are welcome, and in particular suggestions for future outings............bb

BMB 03/08 Salton Sea 14th January 2008

Wednesday was rather unfriendly birding weather at the preserve – too much for your scribe – but the hard core, and you know who they are, found 31 species by virtue of not inconsiderable effort. Cold with wind surely can’t last for ever!

Monday at the Salton sea was a very different affair; fine weather, a group of 19 BMBs and not too many cars. All in all I am told, a fine birding day, and here is Margaret’s count:

Salton Sea
January 14, 2008
Turkey Vulture	Raven	White-tailed Kite
White Pelicans	Eurasian Collared Dove	Northern Harrier
Red-winged Blackbird	Brown-headed Cowbird	Snow Geese
Great-tailed Grackle	Verdin	American Coot
White-faced Ibis	American Kestrel	Yellow-rumped Warbler
Mallard	Double-crested Cormorant	Red-tailed Hawk
Northern Shoveler	Marsh Wren	Black Phoebe
Dark-eyed Junco	Vermilion Flycatcher	American Avocet
Dowitcher	Say's Phoebe	Great Egret
Snowy Egret	Loggerhead Shrike	Peregrine Falcon
Black-necked Stilt	Killdeer	Least Sandpiper
Marbled Godwit	Savannah Sparrow	Western Meadowlark
Green-winged Teal	Ring-billed Gull	Greater Yellowlegs
Eared Grebe	Great Blue Heron	Ruddy Duck
House Sparrow	Abert's Towhee	Gambel's Quail
Long-billed Curlew	Horned Lark	American Pipit
Willett	Burrowing Owl	Belted Kingfisher
Brewer's Blackbird	Cattle Egret
Total number species = 53.

• Diary Update
• Monday January 28th San Jacinto Wildlife Area. Meet for car pooling at 7am BMCP, 730am Palm Springs Denny's at Indian and I10.
• Monday February 25^th Joshua Tree. Meet for car pooling at 7am Denny’s Palm Springs, Indian &I10 – 7.30 at Yucca Park & Ride, Kickapoo and 62 – 8am at Blackrock Visitor Centre, five miles south of HWY62/247 Junction. Time at Kickapoo and Blackrock approximate. The plan is to bird at Blackrock, Oasis of Mara, Luckie Park (home of the Scissor-tailed Flycatcher, but don’t hold your breath) and perhaps more. We will conclude our walk with lunch at 29 Palms Inn where, as many of you know, Bear is Executive Chef. Given the lunch arrangements will you please email me if you plan to attend?
• Saturday March 1st Oak Glen. Meet for car pooling at 7am BMCP, 730am Palm Springs Denny's at Indian and I10

As always any queries call Dee at 363 7190 or your scribe at 328 6750................bb

BMB08/02 Schedule Update

In the midst of several storms and generally inclement weather in the Coachella and Morongo Valleys, similar and deteriorating weather in San Jacinto, and following consultation with Dee, we have concluded that the San Jacinto Wildlife Area is already a quagmire. In consequence the walk at San Jacinto scheduled for Monday January 7th will not now take place and has been re-scheduled.

• Diary Update
• Monday January 14th Salton Sea. Meet for car pooling at 7am BMCP, 730am Costco Palm Desert at Monterey.
• Monday January 28th San Jacinto Wildlife Area. Meet for car pooling at 7am BMCP, 730am Palm Springs Denny's at Indian and I10.
• Saturday March 1st Oak Glen. Meet for car pooling at 7am BMCP, 730am Palm Springs Denny's at Indian and I10

As always any queries call Dee at 363 7190 or your scribe at 328 6750.

Good Birding..................bb

BMB 08/01 2007 CBC and Update.

We had a fine Christmas Bird Count last month in very pleasant if cool weather. We had a small increase in the specie count but a drop of around 25% in the bird count. Thanks to Margaret, David and Betty for a job well done; all we need now is a solution to the time consuming confusion over the sign in routine.

This morning was very pleasant - sunny and cold (46) but fine with no wind. We had 41 species which is a substantial improvement on recent walks.

Diary Update

• Monday January 7th San Jacinto Wildlife Area. Meet for car pooling at 7am BMCP, 730am Palm Springs Denny's at Indian and I10.
• Monday January 14th Salton Sea. Meet for car pooling at 7am BMCP, 730am Costco Palm Desert at Monterey.
• Saturday February 2nd Oak Glen. Meet for car pooling at 7am BMCP, 730am Palm Springs Denny's at Indian and I10

Please bring water, a snack or picnic and warm clothing; call Dee/Betty at 363 7190 for information. All will be full day outings except Oak Glen which should bring you back to Denny's by late lunch time.

Very best wishes to you all and good birding for 2008!............bb

Barry Parkes

bbparkes@ix.netcom.com

ranchobb@yahoo.com

BMB07/11 Big Morongo Update 27th November 2007

Birding on the Preserve has been thin at best over the last few weeks, with specie counts no more than the low thirties, but our bracing winter weather is now bringing pink cheeks to many of our birders. Walks every Wednesday, and every Saturday save the first in the month, all start at 8am and of course all are welcome.

Our Web Master Patrick Casey recently introduced enhancements to the Web site - www.bigmorongo.org - and the section on birds is a major improvement. Go to 'Birds' on the menu: a click on a 'Blue' specie (seen recently) brings up the Cornell Institute profile complete with picture - a perfect feature for a beginning birder, and others.

Diary Update

• Friday December 7th East Valley Hawk Watch. 730am. Meet behind the Beer Hunter La Quinta at Washington and HWY 111
• Saturday December 15th Morongo Valley Christmas Bird Count. 7am BMCP Parking Lot. Volunteers needed to help cover our eight sectors within a 15 mile radius of the Preserve, beginners to experts. Pizza and sodas to those who stay the course. $5 fee to help cover processing costs of National Audubon Society. It will be cold at 7am, guaranteed!!
• Monday January 7th San Jacinto Wildlife Area. Meet for car pooling at 7am BMCP, 730am Palm Springs Denny's at Indian and I10.
• Monday January 14th Salton Sea. Meet for car pooling at 7am BMCP, 730am Costco Palm Desert at Monterey.
• Saturday February 2nd Oak Glen. Meet for car pooling at 7am BMCP, 730am Palm Springs Denny's at Indian and I10

Please bring water, a snack or picnic and warm clothing; call Dee/Betty at 363 7190 for information. All will be full day outings except Oak Glen which should bring you back to Denny's by late lunch time.

Join and enjoy and, as always, pass on ideas for more field trips to Dee, Betty or your scribe.

Good Birding.......................bb

Barry Parkes

bbparkes@ix.netcom.com

ranchobb@yahoo.com

BMB07/10 Big Bear Friday 30th August 2007

We were a fortunate six Big Morongo Birders, who found Big Bear a cool 80 or thereabouts, and very much enjoyed the Discovery centre and Woodland Trail - OK, part of it! We checked out Discovery Road and the Lake - lucky we had scopes to see the distant water, and found Pelicans, Coots and Cormorants. Carried on to Mill Creek for lunch, dodging raindrops, following which we called at Moonridge to see Wild Wings. On our return we saw thunderstorms, lots of lightning, and almost saw the Pileated Woodpecker that Wild Wings reported, so don't bother to call the Rare Bird Alert. Margaret prepared this list of what we really saw, for which our thanks. Discovery Center, Woodland Trail, Division Road, Aspen Glen
Scrub Jay	Pygmy Nuthatch	Mountain Chickadee
Northern Flicker	Dark-eyed Junco	Band-tailed Pigeon
Purple Finch	Cassin's Finch	Steller's Jay
Western Bluebird	Wilson's Warbler	Townsend's Warbler
Mourning Dove	House Sparrow	Rufous Hummingbird
American Robin	House Finch	Acorn Woodpecker
Northern Shoveler	American Coot	Caspian Tern
White Pelican	Double-crested Cormorant	Pied-billed Grebe
Brewer's Blackbird	Red-shouldered Hawk	Lesser Goldfinch
Total species seen = 32.

Salton Sea 26th August. We joined SBVA for their Summer Salton Sea excursion and had a most enjoyable day. 19 birders (seven from Big Morongo) started at Wister at 5.30am: just think about that! After a very full morning - and a late lunch - we missed the Wood Stork, which had clearly fled from the day before, but we did see several Ruffs and had a wonderfull view of a Ruddy Egret. We all appreciated the support and help that John Green provided.

Early Warning!!

Friday 12th October 2007 Bear Paw Ranch in cooler weather. Meet at Denny's, Palm Springs, Indian and I10 for car pooling at 7.30am, bring picnic and water.

Good Birding......bb

Barry Parkes

bbparkes@ix.netcom.com

ranchobb@yahoo.com

BMB07/09 Bear Paw Ranch Monday 20th August 2007

When eight Big Morongo Birders went to Bear Paw it was not through downtown Yucaipa; Marguerite led us through Cherry Valley, Los Rios (Oak Glen) and Apple Valley via the ranger station on HWY38 on the most scenic route. Many thanks!

We had a fine morning, perhaps not as cool as we hoped but very pleasant. We quickly discovered that the best birding was around the feeders adjacent to the Ranger’s House and after covering the rest of the Preserve; that is where we had lunch and birded from a seat in the shade! We saw very many Acorn Woodpeckers and Mountain Chickadees.

W Scrub Jay	Band Tailed Pigeon	Dark Eyed Junco
Acorn Woodpecker	American Robin	Mountain Chickadee
White Breasted Nuthatch	Anna’s Hummingbird	Stellar’s Jay
Oak Titmouse	Rufous Hummingbird	California Quail
Black-headed Grosbeak	Western Bluebird	Lesser Goldfinch
Red-shafted Flicker	Western Tanager	California Towhee
Red-tailed Hawk	Wrentit

Barbara Lyons told us she has four Bald Eagles roosting in one of her Douglas Firs and ‘the Kingfisher’s babies have fledged so the parents are giving their kids flying lessons by racing around the front yard’.

Upcoming Events

Sunday 26th August - Salton Sea. Not for the faint hearted, we meet at Wister at 5.30am for a day with SBV Audubon. We already have seven takers from Big Morongo including Dee & Betty and your scribe; it’s not too late to join!

Friday 31st August - Big Bear. Meet at BMCP at 7am, Big Bear Discovery Centre about 8.30am. Bring picnic and water.

If you intend meeting at the trail head, as it were, please let your scribe know beforehand, otherwise you could be alone..............bb