Final day on birding vacation

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Today was a variety – the sunniest day ever by the afternoon (it got to about 73 degrees F) but in the late morning we tried to find certain special birds in Box Canyon, and it must have been blowing cold wind thru that canyon at about 40 MPH! Crazy.

Actually, the first thing on the agenda was – you guessed it Chris and Jeanette – the local water treatment plant. Great for a variety of ducks and teals and even 3 SNOW GEESE. One cinnamon teal. It was chilly but worth it – and then we went for brunch at a place we had discovered last year. The best sweet potato fries ever.

Fortified, that’s when we drove into Box Canyon and tried to hike a little in the very cold wind. We didn’t see the 5 striped sparrow we were hoping to. But it was interesting to see the mountains from the other side and the crazy wide open spaces of this area. It was obviously an adventure road for ATVs, which found the bumpy dirt road easier going, and the 14 motorcycles that passed us, AND a man who was doing a 40 mile loop on a mountain bike (see photo)!

Mt Wrightson is about 9500', and seems to always have some snow on the heights.

We rewarded ourselves by driving over to Madera Canyon and the welcoming bird feeders and lattes. It’s been a lovely visit, but time to go home. We have identified 108 birds with 7 new ones for the life list.

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