Bird report for North West Pacific Coast, May 2006 As we approach 250 species on our North American bird list, it is becoming more difficult to find “new” species, especially as we have been in coastal habitat for most of the past 6 weeks. Outlined below are some of the wildlife highlights we have experienced on our travels north through Oregon, Washington, and Vancouver Island, not an exhaustive list of birds seen. Ospreys and Bald Eagles have been seen almost daily, as have Common Loons. Other exciting sea and estuary birds have been Caspian Terns, Pigeon Guillemots, Red-necked Grebes, Rhinoceros Auklets, Horned Grebes, Marbled Murrelets, Harlequin Ducks, Black Oystercatchers and Common and Red-breasted Mergansers. The whole of the west coast has been good for sea-lions and seals. The High Desert of northern Oregon brought us our ... read more

Motorhome News from North America 9 9th - 20th April 2006 Somewhere over the Mountains Somewhat against our better judgement we headed east from the coast at Newport toward the Cascade Mountain Range, determined to venture deeper into Oregon lest we shall never return. The road follows the wide rambling Yaquina River to Corvallis, the home of Hewlett Packard, another town, much the same as any other, but this one had petrol at the best price for miles - and an extra 3 cents per gallon off for Safeway card holders! Fuelled up, we ventured on, through Albany, Lebanon (are we on the right continent?), to Sweet Home - everyone’s home surely, in the green Willamette Valley, past tiny farms on riverside meadows and lonely homesteads that were once but garden sheds, then on up the ... read more

Bird report for California, March 2006 After winter birding in Arizona, we moved west into southern California for spring. Birds began to take on their brighter breeding plumage and migration began. 24.2.06 Sonny Bono Salton Sea National Wildlife Refuge in hot, sunny weather. This lake and marshland area is 255’ below sea level and 25% saltier than the Pacific Ocean. That didn’t seem to deter birdlife as an excellent day’s birding at 3 different locations on the south and east shores brought us 19 new species for our American list, of which 13 were “lifers”. We got really excited by huge numbers of long-billed curlew, white-faced ibis and sandhill cranes in fields adjacent to the marsh areas. We marvelled at big flocks of snowgeese, not something you see every day. We glimpsed our first sora (a ... read more

Motorhome News from North America 6 Wonderful Yosemite! Moss Landing, Monterey, Pebble Beach, Pacific Grove, Carmel, Laguna Seca and Hearst Castle From summer to winter to spring - all in March. March 7th - 16th 2006 How are you guys doin’ today? We have heard it so many times, from so many people, ‘If you only visit one place in California, it has to be Yosemite’. There is no escaping Yosemite National Park. It offers 1,200 square miles of spectacular natural landscape to explore and savour, though it’s not all accessible in winter; the higher passes are closed until late spring when the thaw brings water gushing forth from streams and falls. Earlier lessons of snowy conditions learned, we chose a ‘Kampgrounds of America’ (KOA) campsite outside the park and took the morning bus along the ... read more

Arizona Bird Report January-February 2006 The desert state of Arizona in sw USA can be a very exciting birding location in January and February. Dozens of State and National Parks, Wildlife Refuges, Forest Parks and Wilderness Preserves offer sanctuaries for a wide variety of birds adapted to the varied terrain of desert basins and mountain ranges. The Sonoran Desert stretches across southern Arizona and is full of cacti such as giant saguaro, prickly pear and various cholla (pronounced choya). On walks here, phainopepla watch passers-by from bare bushes, greater roadrunners, with long tail and beady eyes, scurry across the sand, while gila woodpeckers and gilded flickers dart between the tree-like cacti. Cactus wrens, as big as blackbirds, are easily seen, in cafes and carparks as well as on cacti. Another unmistakable bird is the vibrant red ... read more