Jodie, Beccah, Jared and I rented a house in Joshua Tree for a week.

Running & Hiking

Did a number of short hiking loops:

• Barker Dam loop in the National Park (2k)
• Cap Rock circumnavigate and nature trail also in the Park (1.5k)
• Exploring Desert View (5k) out the back of our house, and again at sunset (2k)
• Palm Springs Alpine Region at the top of the Aerial Tramway, aborted due to ice (1k)
• High View nature trail in the Park out of Blackrock Canyon (2k)
• Tahquitz Canyon (3k)

Some longer runs:

• Lost Horse Mine loop from Ryan’s Campground (20k)
• Desert View MTB trails directly accessible from the house (12k)
• North and South Maze loops in the snow! (20k)

Birds

First time in the US since I started paying attention to birds, so these were all lifers.

	Rock Wren. First bird sighted in Joshua Tree National Park, a solo playing around the rocks at Quail Springs.
	Turkey Vulture. Flew close overhead at Barker's Dam and got a really good look at it. Spotted a few more over Joshua Tree town while driving. Then a flock of maybe a hundred(!) soaring over PSP airport.
	Cactus Wren. Number of them playing around Cap Rock.
	Red-tailed Hawk. Two of them buzzed us as we were pulling up to accommodation.
	American Crow. They are everywhere.
	Gambel's Quail. Quite common around the house. Flushed a heap of them walking out around the backyard. Sound like helicopters when they fly.
	White-crowned Sparrow. Spotted a few around the petting zoo at Pioneertown.
	House Sparrow. Mixed in with the White-crowned ones. Also saw plenty in and around the towns.
	Steller's Jay. Caught Palm Springs Aerial Tramway up to Alpine region. Was just about to turn back on a hike due to ice when I spotted movement in the trees. Ran through the snow to get a great look. Bird of the trip.
	Mountain Chickadee. Found a few buzzing around the trees near the visitor centre at the top of the Tramway.
	Northern Mockingbird. A frictionless birding experience: heard a nice song, sighted bird clearly in tree, ID'ed by sound then verified with pictures.
	Mountain Bluebird. Spotted from the car driving around Las Palmas checking out fancy houses. Likely a female or juvenile.
	Common Raven. In desperate need of a shavin' sitting on a wall along the highway out of Yucca Valley.
	Costa's Hummingbird. Really excited to get a good look at a pair in the Moorten Botanic Garden, only to find dozens at Tahquitz Canyon later that day. Couple at PSP airport on the way out.
	Verdin. Beautiful small bird that I appreciate for having easy to identify colour markings and song. Found in the Gardens.
	Eurasian Collared Dove. Another Garden get.
	Phainopepla. Single specimen flying then landing on a tree in Tahquitz Canyon.
	House Finch. Heard them everywhere but hard to spot. Got an OK look at one in flight around the house, then later got a spectacular view of one in a tree at PSP airport.
	California Thrasher. A number of them around the house, took a few days to ID though. Found one building a nest just outside the front door.
	Brewer's Blackbird Large number in the outdoor area past security at PSP airport.

Other Highlights