Sunday June 8

Sunday morning, to celebrate Alvin's birthday we started at Mayhill Cafe 

Past experience warranted splitting a breakfast burrito smothered in green sauce, more than enough to see us through to mid-afternoon. 

Fresnal Canyon, reached from High Rolls, explores the dry side of the mountains. 

The air is so clear and the view is unobstructed so we could see for miles. 

At the Salado Canyon trailhead, we had the first opportunity to stop and observe and enjoy Black-throated Sparrow. We had been hearing the twittering/tinkling calls since we started down the mountain. 

The bird population was pretty disappointing, we kept remembering the last trip down this mountain. 

We drove on into La Luz, population @ 1,600, then reversed direction to travel back up the mountain to High Rolls, saving exploration of La Luz for another day.

A side road dips into the dry river bed where in a few short minutes we were passed by 5 cars, more traffic than we had encountered on the entire drive down the mountain. 

Another reason to explore the village at a later date. 

The road hugs the path of Fresnal Creek with a few places to pull off onto the shoulder. The birds were totally uncooperative moving through the foliage with only Mockingbird and Kingbird visible. 

Thunderheads were building up as the moist air gained altitude to cross the peaks. A meteorological explanation for the dry western slopes. 

The topography is fascinating, a geologist dream. Looking forward to some heavy reading on the area. 

Karr Canyon on Forest RD 63 leads to a National Forest Picnic Area. The appearance of Black-headed Grosbeak had hopes high, but again we were frustrated by the lack of feathered creatures. The creek is dry this year, with just a dense grassy lea near the bridge. Flutters of butters flitted all about, never stopping long enough for photo ops. I did manage to snap this one shot, I can ID the California Sister on the left, the other remains a UFO at present. All my other attempts revealed only tall grass. 

I sent some photos to Bill E. for Id help. He narrowed the genus to Argia, but couldn't pinpoint species without a clear dorsal and lateral view of the thorax. He did say this little damsel has a bad case of mites. 

The only bird we saw well enough to ID was Orange-crowned Warbler.  I could hear nuthatch and others, but they managed to stay out of sight. The remainder of the drive was uneventful, except for the crazy dirt-biker who never slowed as he barreled past on the narrow shoulder. 

Upper Karr Canyon produced only a "Red-shafter Shicker" an inside joke from another birding day. 

Also for another day's exploration, the Sunspot Scenic drive and Solar System Model. Puts the Universe into perspective for sure. 

Checking out Sleepy Grass Campground, the only bird other than Dark-eyed Junco was this Common Raven. 

A drive through Cloudcroft took us up the mountain to the Lodge and the golf course where the first tee drops 150 feet. At 9000 feet elevation with only 9 holes, that when played twice with different tees and flags, makes for an exhilarating 18 holes.  

An unsuccessful search for Coconut Cream pie for Alvin's birthday did yield a loaf of Jalapeno Cheese bread from the Front Porch Bistro.