In the summer of 2024, we took a road trip to the USA. Our destination was the national parks between Los Angeles, Las Vegas and San Francisco.

On the way from Los Angeles to the Grand Canyon, we had a delicious meal at “Larry & Milt’s Western Cafe” (Yucca Valley). My daughter drew my attention to a bird standing on the table outside. It was the first roadrunner I had ever seen. I quickly took a few photos until it took off into the desert with the loot it had scored (meep meep).

We spent the night in Havasu City. I drove out in the morning before sunrise to take photos. I found Mesquite Bay by chance. A few anglers had already set up here. The shrill screaming birds hunting insects were striking. I later identified them as Nighthawks (falcon nightjars). On a jetty, I was able to take more photos of birds that are not found in Europe.

At the Grand Canyon, I took photos at sunrise and sunset. To my surprise, I spotted some birds even at the busy hotspots. Here, too, I was able to photograph many species that I hadn’t seen anywhere before.

The bird of prey “Turkey Vulture” was particularly common and I would encounter it more often later on. Not a beauty, but very impressive with its 2m wingspan.

Our hotel in Three Rivers was only seven miles from Sequioa National Park. Before we went to see the sequoia trees in the national park, I took a few photos in the forest outside the hotel.

I hadn’t expected to be able to take nature photos in San Francisco. I was very surprised when I saw a brown pelican flying along the coast near Fisherman’s Wharf. It soon turned out that this was not a rarity; they regularly fly in flocks of about ten towards the Golden Gate Bridge.

On the way from San Francisco to Monterey, we stopped off in Davenport. There were a few interesting cliffs here next to a restaurant. From here I was able to photograph black guillemots, brown pelicans and Hudsonian curlews.

In Monterey, we went on an exciting whale watching tour “see USA bird-free”. In addition to the humpback whales, we also encountered dark shearwaters and guillemots.

The last stop before we flew back was Santa Barbara. As I wasn’t in the mood for shopping and the beach, I drove to nearby Cachuma Lake. There was a large campsite here, which I was allowed to drive on to take photos. The lake was quite large. I found the “Western Grebe” the most interesting, unfortunately they were swimming some distance from the shore.