Rock Wren at Kern River County Park near Bakersfield

I spent last week in Death Valley National Park, and although logic would seem to dictate that there would be few birds about in the driest place in North America, but there are in fact a few. In fact, in the right circumstance, there are a great many species, many of whom are passing through on their migrations elsewhere. But I didn't see all that many of them.

Before we reached Death Valley, we made a stop at Kern River County Park to look for a few fossils. While I was scouring the hillside, I noticed that there was a bird doing some "people-watching". It turned out to be a Rock Wren (Salpinctes obsoletus). I've seen them a few times back home around Turlock Lake, but that's about it.

The Rock Wrens range across the west from the Canadian border to deep into Mexico and Central America. They eat mostly insects that they glean from spider webs or catch on the fly. They are declining in number because of habitat loss.