So close

 

Thought we had it.  My notes said we needed a white-throated sparrow.  They’re rare here right now, but we got a hot tip and went and found one at the South Coast Botanic Garden.  Beautiful place.  Got the sparrow.  But when I looked up our record, it didn’t add to our year-list.  We’d already gotten it once when we were in Canada and it didn’t register on the software we use to find birds we still need.

 

So, we’re still one bird shy of 275.  Jumped ahead another hour on my education though.

 

Countdown:

Birds:  1

CPE:     38

 

I’ve got a hot lead on a Japanese White-eye for tomorrow.  No way we’ve gotten that bird already this year and forgotten!

 

 

It’s different here now.  We can see Catalina Island.

 

And we can see the San Gabriel Mountains.

 

When we were kids, only one time did we ever see the mountains from Long Beach.  Judy and I were on the top of Signal Hill in 1967 watching the Queen Mary being brought into the harbor.  We looked the other way and saw a city with high-rise buildings we couldn’t identify, and mountains behind it.  It was Los Angeles, 20 miles away.  We had never been able to see it before, and we had no idea the mountains were that close.  We’ve seen Catalina and the mountains every day we’ve been here this trip.  Air quality (and visibility) has improved substantially from when we were kids.

 

Funny, I never paid much attention to Catalina when I was young either.  Now I see it and think I’d really like to go there and explore it.  We’ve been there a couple times, but never got out of the little town of Avalon.  I think most of the island was private back then.  I’d love to explore the coastline by boat and see something on land besides Avalon.  I think the Wrigley family has turned most of the island over to a conservancy now.  I don’t know if that opens it up to people though.