Costa’s Hummingbird Nest

Ron Niebrugge Anza-Borrego, California, Photos, Travel, Wildlife 8 Comments

Costa’s Hummingbird

Costa’s Hummingbird Nest.

 I thought I would stick with the bird theme.  This hummingbird is tiny!  According to Sibley, it is one of our smallest birds – it weighs in at 3.5 grams.  I shot this right at sunrise with a 600, plus 2x converter, plus extension tubes and still couldn’t fill the frame.

You can see this little gal right outside the Anza-Borrego Visitor Center.  Employees roped off the area surrounding the nest after a dog started sniffing near the nest; that does make finding the bush with the nest a lot easier, look for the barriers.

Anna’s Hummingbird Nest

Ron Niebrugge Anza-Borrego, California, Photos, Travel, Wildlife 4 Comments

Anna’s Hummingbird Nest

Anna’s Hummingbird Nest. 

I found this nest a few days ago.  I must admit, I couldn’t help but think of her during the night as the wind blew and the rain came down.  I can’t imaging how much the branches most have been moving around as she sat there keeping the two little jellybean sized eggs warm.   

They have a fourteen day incubation period, I look forward to seeing the chicks.

Palm Canyon, Anza-Borrego

Ron Niebrugge Anza-Borrego, California, Photos, Travel 3 Comments

Palm Canyon, Anza-Borrego

Palm Canyon, Anza-Borrego Desert State Park, California.

We have hiked around in this wonderful canyon two days in a row – there are endless photo opportunities.  The palms have all kinds of cool patterns, but in addition to the palms, you can’t beat all the water flowing through the area right now.  There are a bunch of waterfalls just like this one – they seem so out of place in this desert environment.  There are also numerous Brittlelbush and other flowers just waiting to bloom – I think there could be further opportunities in this scenic canyon in a week or so when the flowers bloom.

Unlike last year at this time, we haven’t seen any sheep in the canyon.  Rangers say they were seeing them regularly up until about a week ago.

Update on Friday 9:00 a.m. PST:   It has been raining most of the night, and continues to come down right now – this is the second good soaking this area has received in the past week.  This should do nothing but help the wildflowers!

Busted Plans

Ron Niebrugge Anza-Borrego, California, Photos, Travel 3 Comments

Agave

Thick clouds yesterday morning gave me hope for a dramatic sunrise sky, or at least some dramatic light.  I sat in the dark trying to make out Mark and Brian through the static on the radio and waited, but the great light never developed.  The cool, dark light did seem appropriate for this Agave which I did photograph.

That’s ok, because I had planned for days for last nights eclipse.  I scouted many places – my first choice was the Pumpkin Patch with the pumpkins lite by flash light – that seemed cool, almost lunar like.  I had the time and direction recorded thanks to my GPS and a compass.  I had even tracked the moon arch through my view finder to see what focal length I would need to capture multiple exposures during the entire eclipse (35mm by the way).  But, unfortunately this evening brought wind and blowing sand, clouds and even a little rain. 

 It seems like most extended trips are that way.  I will scratch and claw for a few images, and then all of a sudden a day will come along where everything comes together and I get a bunch of images.  I guess the old 80/20 rule holds true even for photography.

Desert Lily

Ron Niebrugge Anza-Borrego, California, Photos 5 Comments

Desert Lily

Desert Lily, Anza Borrego Desert State Park, California.

One of the better areas right now is along Henderson Canyon Road.   The Desert Lily is a beautiful flower with almost a prehistoric look to it.  Along with the pink Desert Sand Verbena seen here, there was also plenty of Dune Evening Primrose.  Numerous Lupine and other Desert Lily were just starting to sprout and should be blooming in this area in the weeks to come.