New Bird: Snow Goose

Snow Goose, Chen caerulescens, Sonny Bono Salton Sea National Wildlife Refuge, Salton Sea, California. Snow geese nest and breed way up North up past the timberline in Greenland, Canada, Alaska, and Siberia. They Winter all the way down to Northern Mexico. Given that it is late March, these geese have all of April to cross the North American continent South to North, before they nest. Snow geese reportedly pair for life.

Greater Roadrunner, Geococcyx californianus

Greater Roadrunner, Geococcyx californianus, Salton Sea, California. These sleek, swift little birds can run at speeds up to 25 mph and earned their moniker for running on the road in front of cars, darting off to safety at the last minute. They have a varied diet including seeds, fruit, insects, small birds, rodents, snakes, lizards, spiders, scorpions, centipedes and millipedes. The have been known to bludgeon large prey against a rock to kill them or to hit the base of a rodent's neck with their significant beak. They will also occasionally hunt cooperatively.

Notably, there was something about these little birds that reminded me of the velociraptors in Jurassic Park. I don't know if they modeled the velociraptors in the movie after roadrunners or if it was the other way around (i.e., roadrunners being long lost relatives of the velociraptors). Either way, they are smart, lively birds to watch.

Barn Owl - Tyto alba

Barn Owl, Tyto alba, snoozing the day away deep within the fronds of a large palm tree at the Salton Sea, California. Barn owls are the most widespread and successful owls worldwide and indeed, one of the most widespread of all birds in general. In fact, they are even found in Hawaii! Barn owls prefer open grassy hunting grounds on the edge of forested areas where they hunt for rodents and other small vertebrates. A nesting pair of barn owls may consume as much as 1000 rodents in a year.

Burrowing Owl - Athene cunicularia

Burrowing Owl, Athene cunicularia, near the Sonny Bono Salton Sea National Wildlife Refuge. This little owl has taken up residence in an old bit of drainage pipe. It's probably drier and cleaner than an old ground squirrel hole anyhow.

Burrowing owls can typically be found hanging outside the burrow during the day. They will forage for bugs during the day and for rodents at night; thus, their hours tend to depend on the food available at that time of year.

Hear a burrowing owl