Ernie's Great Outdoors

ERNIE COWAN OUTDOORS Wildlife photographer a finalist in state contest It began as a world tour for a young Scottish lad, but he only got as far as Del Dios, which is hardly an international travel destination. But in this tiny enclave, tucked away against the reedy shores of Lake Hodges, Brian Caldwell found several passions that changed his life’s direction. He left Glasgow after earning a degree in information engineering, but today, if Del Dios had one, Caldwell might be considered the local artist-in-residence for his broad talents as a nature and wildlife photographer, environmental activist and popular musician. His latest honor was notification recently that one of his bird photographs is a contender for California Wildlife Photo of the Year. This annual contest is conducted by the California Watchable Wildlife Committee, a coalition of federal and state agencies, nonprofits, destination marketing organizations and private-sector businesses. Each quarter, two or three images ar

I’ve always believed that even a rut is a road to somewhere, but never realized that a weathered old log could be a wildlife freeway. I was in a rambling mode, wandering along a nearly dry creek in a remote area near Palomar Mountain enjoying the solitude of nature when I spotted animal tracks in the sand. The tracks appeared to be headed toward an old log that had fallen across the creek, and I wondered if animals use the log to cross, especially during the rainy season when more water might be flowing down the cobblestoned ravine. Readers may recall that I often put out wildlife cameras in remote places in hopes of capturing images of our wildlife neighbors as they go about their daily or nightly tasks. It was summer now, and not much water was running in the creek, but I wondered if this would be a good place to set up the camera. My camera traps are not the simple all-in-one trail cameras often used by wildlife enthusiasts to capture the nightly antics of neighborhood critters. Whi