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Look At Me! - Judith Sparhawk

When I was at Yucaipa Regional Park, I spend quite awhile watching the three Wood Duck drakes, waiting of some good shots. They spent most of their time swimming away from me, no matter which side of the docks I was on. Suddenly one of them reared up and flapped his wings as if to say "Look at me!" One quick shot and then it was over and he swam away. 1/25/21 wwwsparhawkphotography.com

Common Merganser Couple - Judith Sparhawk

The pair of Common Mergansers were photographed at Yucaipa Regional Park. They were pretty far off in the middle of the lake, so I had to crop a lot to see them this well. The female is the one with the wild "hair". The male had been diving, so his "hair" is slicked back. Dry, and seen in the right light, his resembles the female's, but is a dark green. They make a pretty handsome couple! 1/24/21 www.sparhawkphotography.com

Rock Wren - Judith Sparhawk

This little Rock Wren may not have all the drama and colors of the Wood Duck from yesterday, but when hiking around one of the lakes at the park, I spotted this little guy doing what Rock Wrens do best--sit on top of rocks. He was quite cooperative, hopping from one rock to another. This was one of the many shots I took of him. 1/23/21 www.sparhawkphotography.com

Wood Duck - Judith Sparhawk

I went birding today at Yucaipa Regional Park, where I hadn't been for years. It was quite birdy, and I added 9 birds to my year list (now stands at 129). There were 3 male Wood Ducks swimming around with other ducks. This was one of them. They are so pretty--one of the fancier ducks I'd say! 1/22/21 www.sparhawkphotography.com

Island in the Lake - Judith Sparhawk

This is a painterly version of the small island that is out in Seccombe Lake in San Bernardino, CA. I was there birding, but they were few and far between. As the park has been neglected and overrun, I wanted to focus on the nice reflections. Filtering it did improve the look of the park--I wish it were that easy to renovate the real thing! 1/21/21 www.sparhawkphotography.com

Hooded Merganser Couple - Judith Sparhawk

Still at the fishing pond at Ford Park, Redlands, CA. This pair of mergansers stayed pretty close to each other. The female is very different from the male, but both have a "hood" from which they get their name. They began feeding, which included diving down under the water and coming back up, covered with drops. In this shot, both of them have just come up from a dive, and the Mrs. has found something tasty for lunch. (BTW, she didn't share with the Mr!) 1/20/21 www.sparhawkphotography.com

Mr Hooded Merganser - Judith Sparhawk

This male Hooded Merganser was photographed in Ford Park, Redlands, CA. There were quite a few species of ducks in the fishing ponds there, but only 3 of these mergansers, 2 males and one female. This is my favorite merganser--they are so little and perky and cute. 1/19/21 www.sparhawkphotography.com

Reflections Gone Wild - Judith Sparhawk

I went birding today at Seccombe Lake in San Bernardino, CA. I used to visit there fairly often when I worked not far from there. Today the park has become a homeless encampment, with the attendant problems. While standing on one of the bridges over the lake, I saw some beautiful reflections of the sky and trees. I took a few shots of these, wishing to take something beautiful from my visit there, which overall was kind of sad. I was definitely out of place there walking around with my binoculars and my big camera and long lens! I was mostly ignored by the people there, although I did have a nice conversation with a couple of people hanging out in the park. 1/18/21 www.sparhawkphotography.com

American Wigeon - Judith Sparhawk

This male American Wigeon was photographed in a lake in San Bernardino, CA. The lovely afternoon light created nice colors and reflections. 1/17/21 www.sparhawkphotography.com

The Happy Couple - Judith Sparhawk

Last time I was down at San Jacinto Wildlife Area, I was surprised that I hadn't seen the usually quite common Mallard ducks, even when I had been down at Salton Sea. As I drove around the auto loop, suddenly there was this happy couple, my first Mallards of the year. He was a particularly handsome one, and she was showing her blue wing feather, so of course I had to take a quick shot of them. 1/16/21 www.sparhawkphotography.com

Patterns in the Sand - Judith Sparhawk

When I was down at Salton Sea, I saw something I'd never seen before. Beside one road, the side of an irrigation ditch, rather than being plain dirt as usual, appeared to be fine sand or dust, in which interesting patterns had developed. I took a few shots of it--I think this was my favorite. 1/15/21 www.sparhawkphotography.com

Salton Sea Sunset

One of the nights I was out at Salton Sea around New Years, this was the sunset that I saw. The color was amazing. I wonder if the ducks swimming around in the pond could appreciate the golden wonder of it all. 1/14/21 My website: www.sprhawkphotography.com

Sunshine in the Eucalyptus Grove - Judith Sparhawk

While hiking in San Timoteo Canyon the other day, I went into the large eucalyptus grove along the Carriage Trail. As I looked through the trees, I saw the sun peeking between them. It created a warm glow in the grove. 1/13/21 My website: www.sparhawkphotography.com

Visitors to the Dog Park - Judith Sparhawk

I went to a park in Loma Linda today, and after hiking around a bit, I ran across these very colorful fun painted dogs. At this park there are two dog parks, one for large dogs, one for the little guys. I am assuming that these art pieces are promoting the dog parks. This is showing both sides of the dogs, painted with very different pictures and patterns on each side. And I must say, the birds shown here are much more interesting than any I found in the park today! 1/12/21 My website: www.sparhawkphotography.com

Bloomin' Yucca - Judith Sparhawk

I went hiking today in San Timoteo Canyon, hoping for birds. The birds were few and far between, and the canyon is very dry right now. We have had so little rain, the hillsides are not green, as they are some winters. I was surprised to see this yucca plant just starting to bloom--it seemed early for this. It was nice to see something besides dry grass! 1/11/21 My website: www.sparhawkphotography.com

Ring-necked Duck - Judith Sparhawk

This duck was photographed in Fairmount Park in Riverside, CA. It got its name from the purple ring at the base of its neck, which isn't always visible--it does show in this view. 1/10/21 My website: www.sparhawkphotography.com

Sage Thrasher - Judith Sparhawk

While birding out at San Jacinto Wildlife Area the other day I spotted this Sage Thrasher. I know he's not the most dramatic or beautiful bird, but I hadn't seen one for a couple of years, so it was pretty exciting to find him. This thrasher doesn't have as long or curved a bill as most thrashers; he has a yellow eye, a white cornered tail, and lots of bold streaking. He is more likely to be here in spring and summer, but is an early migrant, even as early as late January or February. So, I guess this is an extra eager-beaver migrant! 1/9/21 My website: www.sparhawkphotography.com

Northern Harrier - Judith Sparhawk

When birding down at San Jacinto Wildlife Area, I saw many Northern Harriers, flying low over the wetlands. I've never gotten good photos of these hawks, always wishing for a nice flight shot. Of those I tried the other day, this was the best I could do. Unlike Wayne, David and Loyd who take wonderful flight shots, it is definitely not my strong point. I was glad to get this female Harrier in flight, looking down for its next meal. When it flies over, many ducks and other water birds will fly away in fright--she is a great hunter. (The strangest thing I saw once was one of these hawks standing out in shallow water, standing on its prey until it drowned, before flying off with it to eat!) 1/8/21 My website: www.sparhawkphotography.com

Gadwall - Judith Sprhawk

This Gadwall was photographed at San Jacinto Wildlife Area the other day. The Gadwall is one of the plainer ducks, but when you look closely, it has nice markings and textures. 1/7/21 My website: www.sparhawkphotography.com

Peregrine Falcon - Judith Sparhawk

I went birding today at San Jacinto Wildlife Area, working on my new year list (I'm up to 103 species so far for the year!) This Peregrine Falcon was perched in a small tree along the road in the preserve, so I took several shots from my car. He was a nice addition to my year list. 1/6/21 My website: wwwlsparhawkphotography.com

The Edge of the Sea - Judith Sparhawk

When birding out at Salton Sea, driving along a stretch of the sea wall, I saw this view of the edge of the sea. It was windy, and this caused a mass of ripples across the surface of the shallow water, and it was all sparkling in the sun. This shot doesn't really capture the sparkle, but it does show the ripple effect. Years ago, the water would have extended way off into the distance; the water has receded greatly, affecting the quality of the water and, of course, the bird populations. 1/5/21 My website; www.sparhawkphotography.com

The Flower Fields

The Imperial Valley , where Salton Sea is located, is also a major agricultural area. Most of the crops are not very photogenic, but while driving on a road I'd never been on before, I saw field after field of multicolored Stock plants. It smelled heavenly while I was out shooting the flowers. 1/4/21 My website: www.sparhawkphotography.com

New Years Eve Sunset

I spent the last couple of days of 2020 birding down at Salton Sea. Each night I waited at a certain location for the sunset, watching the geese and cranes fly in to roost. The sunset on New Years Eve was special, and well after the sun went down, color remained in the sky. Although this shot is not a typical Salton Sea sunset, I liked the way it turned out. What a way to end the year! 1/3/21 My website: www.sparhawkphotography.com