Salton Sea Beach

 Salton Sea Beach 11-23-12

So, I followed the birds around the sea, off to the western shore,

 Brown Pelican

where pelicans flew in a sky of blue,

over peaks of rose with shadows deep,

 

where Great Egrets watch the silent sea, still as a statue,

 

and black-necked stilts search the sand on long pink legs,

dressed in their black and white formal wear,

perfect in the evening light,

and then the ribbons of cormorants flew, long, and low over the glassy sea,

 

line, after line, after line…

 

with seagulls searching the wide blue sky,

 

or standing sentinel on mounds of mud,

 

watching the humans trying to fly and having a private laugh at the sight!

 

and as lavender shadows fell over the sand

a lone plover admired his reflection.

 

The Salton Sea Beach lies on the western shore of the sea just north of Salton City. It is its own little decrepit town but I hardly noticed as I stood on the shore watching the birds. And while I was watching birds, Gus stood watch over me. He did not feel as relaxed as I did, as people whipped by on their 4-wheelers, or shot paintball guns in the abandoned buildings across the street. But I was blissfully lost in the birds and the sunlight and the sea. Finally Gus said it was time to move on, so I got in the car and said Good-bye to the sea, little realizing this would be my last look at it. The next day we packed the car and headed for home, but not before one last stop to bird at a park in the town of Brawley.

• The Salton Sea Stories (click this link to read all posts)

Note: A lot has been going on this past week which I am not ready to talk about yet. Suffice it to say that it has kept me busy and emotionally exhausted. Chris Rohrer and I had a great time birding last Sunday and tomorrow we are headed out for yet another adventure. I hope that things will calm down this week and I will be able to do more writing. We had 5 days of brutal cold where even my hummingbird nectar froze! The cold snap finally broke yesterday and today I was able to wear sandals and Capri's again! I am so glad for the return of the warmth!