March Buena Vista Lagoon

Today's post is a long one.  Today was the monthly bird class and count at the Buena Vista Lagoon.  We saw many birds, including the first Caspian tern of spring, a Bullock's oriole, and a Wilson's warbler.  Sadly, I didn't get photos of any of these, but none of them stayed long enough for one.

Below is a view of the lagoon. The burnt cattails are still visible. Some new cattails have begun to grow, though.

Below is a common yellowthroat.  They are found throughout most of the United States and southern Canada in the summer, though in the southeastern United States nd southern California, they are around all year.  They winter in southern Arizona and Texas down into Mexico.  They are very common in marshy areas and brushy areas near water.  They are small, noisy, chattery yellow warblers.  The females are entirely yellowish-green.  The males are similar in color, though they also have a white line across the front of their head and a black mask.  There were tons of them at the lagoon today.

Common Yellowthroat

Below was a very nicely colored yellow-rumped warbler.  It's too bad the photo turned out a little dark.  There were many of these warblers around.

Yellow-Rumped Warbler

Below is an Allen's hummingbird.  Although it is hard to see, it has green on its head and it had green on its back as well.

Allen's Hummingbird

Below are two northern shovelers (a female and a male) in flight.  They are found in the northern United States, Canada, and Alaska in the summer, and the southern United States dow into Mexico in the winter.  In a small part of the northwestern United States, they are around all year.  They are common on ponds and are often found in large flocks.  Females are plain brown and streaked.  Males have white chests, rufous sides, and green heads.  All northern shovelers have very large beaks, which they use to scoop up small creatures and seeds from the surface of the water.

Northern Shovelers

Below is a western kingbird.  Western kingbirds are found in the western United States and southern Canada in the summer and in southern Florida, Mexico, and Central America in the winter.  They are very similar to Cassin's kingbirds.  However, they can be distinguished by their paler head and chest, darker wings, white throat, and white edges on the tail.  They are common here in the summer, and there were quite a few of them around today.  They mostly feed on flying insects, but today, I saw one dive at the water and catch a small fish.

Western Kingbird

Below is a northern mockingbird singing atop a tree.  There usually aren't many of them at the lagoon, but today there were a bunch.

Northern Mockingbird

Below is a flock of cliff swallows.  This is only a small part of a huge flock of them.  They summer in all of North America except the very far north and winter in nothern South America.  They are common swallows that build mud nests on the sides of cliffs, buildings, bridges, and other man-made structures.  They are off-white below and around their neck with rufous and blue heads, white foreheads, black throats, and blue-gray backs and wings.  They feed on flying insects and are often found in large groups.

Cliff Swallows

Below is a male ruddy duck.  They are found all year round in the western United States, in the winter in the southeast, and in the summer in the midwest and southern Canada.  They are common diving ducks found on ponds and lakes.  Males are rufous-colored with a black cap and nape, white face, and bright blue beak.  Females are brown with white striped cheeks and grayish beaks.  Both males and females have tails that stick up, though sometimes their tails are down.

Ruddy Duck

Below is a male lesser goldfinch eating weed seeds.

Lesser Goldfinch

Whale-Watching Part II

Here are more of the creatures I saw on my whale-watching trip!

Below are two eared grebes.  They winter in the southwestern United States and Mexico.  They summer in the northwestrn United States and southern Canada.  They are fairly small grebes found from marshes to ponds to open ocean.  The one below on the left is in breeding plumage, but the one on the right is in nonbreeding plumage.  Although it can't be seen in the picture, the birds in breeding plumage have yellow plumes on the sides of their heads, hence the name "eared" grebe.

Eared Grebe

Below is a royal tern.  Royal tern are found along the coast of southern California, the eastern United States coast, and down the coasts of Mexico.  They are found on beaches and over the ocean.  There were tons and tons of them over the ocean and they were very loud.  They are similar to Caspian terns, though they can be told apart by their slimmer bodies, wings, and beaks, and in the winter, royal terns have white foreheads, which Caspian terns lack.

Royal Tern

Below are two photos of brown pelicans.  They are found along the southern east and west coasts and the coasts of Mexico.  They are common on beaches, piers, and over the ocean where they dive from the sky for fish.  They are very large and brown, and birds in breeding plumage have bright red, yellow, and white faces.  The first photo I took on the sailboat.  The second I took an earlier day at the Oceanside Harbor (it shows the pelican better).

 

Brown Pelican

Brown Pelicans

Below are not birds, but California sea lions.  There were tons of them everywhere lying around or swimming.

California Sea Lions

Below is a common bottlenose dolphin.  This, below, was one of the dolphins in a small group that swam alongside the boat.  They really startled me because they were very far away, then suddenly they jumped out of the water near enough that I could have touched them.

Common Bottlenose Dolphin

Below are two photos I took of Point Loma.  On the right in both pictures, a little bit of the city of San Diego can be seen.

Point Loma

Point Loma

Whale-Watching Part I

I'm sorry I haven't posted in a while, but I've been sick and busy with midterms at school.

Yesterday, I went whale-watching on a sailboat at Point Loma.  There were many birds there, and also a couple of whales and some dolphins.  Unfortunately, I didn't get any photos of the whales, but I took a few of the dolphins, though I mostly just got their fins.  I took too many photos to put on one post, so I'll post half of them today and half tomorrow.

Below is a willet.  They are found along the western coast of the United Sates in the winter, in the northern middle in the summer and during migration, and all year round on the east coast.  Only their summer range extends into Canada and only their coastal ranges extend into Mexico.  They are common, plain gray sandpipers that forage though the mud for prey along beaches and coastal saltmarshes.  When they fly, they have bright black and white wings.

Willet

Below is a long-billed curlew.  In the winter they are found on the west coast, some parts of the east coast and down into Mexico.  They summer in the western middle United States.  In the summer, they are found in dry grasslands, and in the winter they are found on marshes, fields, and beaches.  They are almost unmistakable because of their large size (they are the largest sandpiper in the United States) and their extremely long beaks.

Long-Billed Curlew

Below is a least sandpiper, the smallest sandpiper in the United States.  In the summer, they ae found in Alaska and northern Canada, and in the summer they are found in the southern United States down into Mexico.  In the rest of Canada and the United States, they are found in migration.  They can be distinguished from other sandpipers by their tiny size and yellow legs.

Least Sandpiper

Below was a pretty exciting bird.  It is a little blue heron.  They are most commonly found on the southern east coast, and are not common anywhere else.  However, this one was there, looking for fish.  They are small herons and are blue and purplish all over.  Young ones are entirely white and resemble egrets.

Little Blue Heron

Below is a surf scoter.  They are found along the east and west coasts in the winter and they summer in Canada and Alaska.  They are found mostly on the ocean.  They are mostly black  with a white patch on the back of their necks and on their foreheads.  They have large, thick, multi-colored beaks.

Surf Scoter

Below are two photos of Brandt's cormorants, though in the first one there is a great blue heron on the far left.  Brandt's cormorants are found all year round on the Pacific coast from southern Canada down into Mexico.  They are common in groups on the ocean.  They are told from other cormorants by their range and the white spot under their chins.  They, like other cormorants, dive for fish and do not have water-proof feathers, so they have to dry their wings before they fly.

Great Blue Heron and Brandt's Cormorants

Brandt's Cormorants

Starlings, Hawks, Mockingbirds, and Kingbirds

Today I saw the same birds that I saw yesterday.  I saw the hooded oriole again, and I heard the spotted towhee, but I didn't see it.

Below is a European starling.  This one and another were making slide-whistle noises together.  They make a lot of strange whistling noises, and at first I thought they were children playing, because that's what they sounded like.  They are very noisy birds, especially when they gather in big groups.

European Starling

Below is a red-tailed hawk that was soaring around above my yard.

Red-Tailed Hawk

Below is a very ruffled northern mockingbird looking down at me.  It was all fluffed up because it was preening itself.

Northern Mockingbird

Below is a Cassin's kingbird flying with something in its mouth.  I don't think it was an insect, because it was big, white, and fluffy, and the bird didn't eat it.  I think it was a nest material of some sort.

Cassin's Kingbird

Three Birds, a Spotted Towhee, and a Hooded Oriole

Today was a very exciting day!  I saw a lot of neat birds!

I'll start with an unsually good photo I took of a bushtit.  They usually don't pose so well for pictures.

Bushtit

Below is a photo of the two most common finches in my area- the house finch and the lesser goldfinch.  There aren't often just one of each sitting right next to each other, so it was pretty neat.

House Finch and Lesser Goldfinch

Below is a spotted towhee.  They are common in brushy areas and open woods in the western United States down into Mexico.  They summer in the northern middle states, and winter in the southern ones.  In the rest of their range, they are around all year.  Like other towhees, they scratch the ground to look for bugs.  They are often shy and can be hard to find when they hide in thick bushes.  However, they are often singing their very noisy, buzzing songs, which can make it easier to find them.  They are similar to Eastern towhees, and in fact the two species were once considered to be the same species- the rufous-sided towhee.  Like the Eastern towhee, the spotted towhee has a black head, back, and tail, reddish-brown sides, a white belly, and red eyes.  However, spotted towhees have white spots on their backs, which Eastern towhees lack.  The one below was not in my yard, but in a tree just down the street from my house.

Spotted Towhee

Spring is officially here in my backyard with the arrival of the first oriole!  Below is a hooded oriole, the most common oriole in my area.  They are found in the summer in the coastal and southern part of California, and southern Arizona, New Mexico, and Texas.  They are also found in Mexico, and I believe they winter in South America.  They are common in areas with trees and are particularly common where there are palm trees, where they build their nests.  Males have black faces, backs, and tails, white spots on their wings, and orange bodies.  Females are greenish-yellow all over.  They eat nectar and fruit, and are often attracted to hummingbird feeders and oriole feeders.  The male below was eating nectar from the red flowers.

Hooded Oriole

Fog, Four Normal Birds, and A Couple Bluebirds

This morning it was very, very foggy.  The birds seem to like foggy days, though, probably because it's cool, dark, and quiet.  I saw house finches, western bluebirds, and a tree swallow flying around through the fog at school.  I saw and heard many others, though I couldn't identify them all.

Below is a northern mockingbird that was eating the berries off a tree.  It was in my backyard.

Northern Mockingbird

Below is an Anna's hummingbird that was perched high atop a tree in my yard.

Anna's Hummingbird

Below is a mourning dove sitting on a telephone wire in my yard.

Mourning Dove

Below is a female house finch at school.

House Finch

Below are two photos of the same western bluebird that was at school this morning.  It was hard to take photos of them because the fog was so thick.  In the pictures below, the entire view behind the bird is white, but if it weren't foggy, there'd be trees and buildings.  The first picture is to show how foggy it was (the bird was only several feet away).  The second is to show how beautiful the bird was.

Western Bluebird

 

Western Bluebird

Birdhouse Advice and Five Birds

Advice

Nesting season is coming up.  Even if it's still snowing in some areas, it's just about time to start thinking about getting birdhouses.

 

When buying a birdhouse, don't buy one with paint.  A painted birdhouse may look nice, but paint isn't good for birds.  Plain, wooden birdhouses are the best.  If you are putting up an owl house, don't put it only a few feet above the ground, or you'll never get any owls.  Put it high up in a tall tree.  Also, when placing a birdhouse, try to keep it out of the reach of cats and other creatures that might catch the birds as they fly in and out.  Don't place it in some place that's often disturbed either, like near a door.  The birds will likely abandon it if you do.

 

In the United States there are some non-native birds that may try to invade your birdhouse, preventing native species like bluebirds and wrens from nesting.  Two are house sparrows and European starlings.  To prevent these birds from stealing the birdhouses, buy birdhouses without a perch below the hole, or cut the perch off.  I'm not sure why, but house sparrows and starlings need perches.  Native birds do not.  I don't know why, but it's true.

Below is one of the non-native birds- a European starling.

European Starling

Below is a Bewick's wren.

Bewick's Wren

Below are a male and female house finch.  I'm guessing they are a pair, because they weren't in a flock.

House Finches

Below is an orange-crowned warbler in one of its favorite flower bushes.

Orange-Crowned Warbler

Below is a black phoebe.  It landed on a pole right in front of me.

Black Phoebe

Six Birds and a Bewick's Wren Video

I've taken more pictures of the two common doves in my backyard.  Below are a photo of a mourning dove and of a Eurasian collared-dove.  As one can see, the mourning dove has many more spots on its wings and has a pointed tail.  It also has bright red feet, which the collared dove does not.

Mourning Dove

Eurasian Collared-Dove

Below is a photo of two crows dive-bombing a hawk (I'm not sure what kind of hawk).  The hawk is in the bottom left corner.  Crows often mob hawks.  Kingbirds and mockingbirds are also often found doing this.  Listening for mobbing birds, which are usually screeching, is a good way to find hawks.

A Hawk and Two Crows

Below is a female Allen's hummingbird that sat right in front of me.

Allen's Hummingbird

Below is a black phoebe sitting on a telephone wire.

Black Phoebe

Below is a video of a Bewick's wren singing.  I'm sorry that it's short, but wrens hardly ever seem to stay in one place for long.

Six Common Birds and a Ruby-Crowned Kinglet

I saw tons of birds today- over twenty different species!

Below is a western scrub-jay.

Western Scrub-Jay

Below is an Anna's hummingbird picking bugs off of the bark of the jacaranda tree.  Hummingbirds, especially Anna's hummingbirds, seem to do this a lot.  I suppose that's how they get a lot of their protein.

Anna's Hummingbird

Below is a black phoebe sitting on the back of a plastic chair.

Black Phoebe

Below is a northern mockingbird.  It is flashing its wings to scare bugs out of the grass.  Mockingbirds do that and then they run at the bugs and pick them up.

Northern Mockingbird

Below is a yellow-rumped warbler.  This one's very plain.  It doesn't have the usual yellow chin.  It may be worn, or immature.

Yellow-Rumped Warbler

Below is a Bewick's wren.  They don't usually just sit out in the open, but this one did for a few minutes, so I was able to get a few good photos of it.

Bewick's Wren

Below is a ruby-crowned kinglet.  They are found in the summer in Alaska and Canada and they winter in the southern United States down into Mexico.  In a part of the middle United States, they are around all year.  They are found in areas with thicker trees, such as woods.  They are very tiny birds- a little smaller than bushtits.  They are also very active little birds, hopping and fluttering around.  It was really hard to take a photo because it was so quick.  They are greenish-yellow with black and white wing bars, a white eye-ring, and a red spot on their crown.  The photo below is the first picture I've ever taken of a ruby-crowned kinglet.  I hardly ever see them, though they are common.  Because they are so small, they can be hard to see.

Ruby-Crowned Kinglet