The Buena Vista Lagoon and a Swallows Video

Today was the monthly bird count at the Buena Vista Lagoon.  A very exciting bird we saw was the hermit warbler, which I had never seen before.  Sadly, I wasn't able to take a photo, because it was flitting around in a thick tree and I didn't have a good camera.  It was very pretty though.  They have bright yellow heads, black throats, and gray backs with white below.  They are usually found in coniferous forests, but the one we saw was in a conifer in a parking lot.

We also saw northern rough-winged swallows, which are not common.  They are found throughout the United States and southern Canada in the summer, though in southern Florida and Texas, they are around all year.  Compared to other swallows, they are very dull colored.  They are brown with white below.  They aren't found in big groups like other swallows, though they do mix with flocks of other swallow species.  Many swallows do this.  One of the northern rough-winged swallows was sitting on a telephone wire in the same parking lot the hermit warbler was in.  Below is a photo of it.

Northern Rough-Winged Swallow

 

We saw tons of brown pelicans flying over the lagoon.  Below are two photos of some of them.

Brown Pelicans

Brown Pelicans

 

Besides going around the lagoon, we went down to the beach to look for shorebirds.  Today was a very gray day, and the ocean was about the same color, so it looked like the ocean just blended into the sky.  Below is the beach.

 

 

At the beach we saw willets, whimbrels, a least sandpiper, and a killdeer.  Unfortunately, because of my camera, I was only able to get a photo of the whimbrels, and it isn't a great one.  Whimbrels are found only in the coastal areas of the east and west coast.  They summer in northern Canada and Alaska and winter in the southern United States and Mexico.  They are large sandpipers similar to long-billed curlews (both are in the curlew family), though they are smaller with shorter beaks.  They are streaked brown overall with brown stripes on their heads, and have bluish-gray beaks and legs.  Below are two of the whimbrels.

Whimbrels

There were an incredible number of cliff swallows at the lagoon today- over two hundred.  There are cliff swallow mud nests under a bridge by the lagoon that have been unused and decaying for a couple years, but today the swallows appeared to be using them again.  Every time the swallows flew out of the nests, it seemed like the whole sky was full of birds.  Below is a photo of some of the swallows flying.  Below the photo is a video of the swallows flying in and out of their nests (I'm sorry the video quality isn't the same as my other videos.  It's because of the different camera).

Cliff Swallows

Katydids, Birds, and Baby Wrens

Ladybugs are not the only bugs around.  Another nice-looking insect that had been appearing in my yard was the katydid.  There was one bright green katydid on my flowers every day.  Katydids eat flowers, but it was alright with me as there was only one and it was very pretty.  They always come in the spring, but recently, there haven't been as many.  A few years ago, they were all over, and I could hear them all buzzing like cicadas at night.  Each year since there have been less and less, and this year there was only one.  I'm not sure why there are less.  Below is the one that was on my flowers this year.

The western scrub-jays have been causing a great disturbance in my yard.  They love to eat the nuts, bugs, and especially catfood in my yard, but since scrub-jays also eat bird eggs, the mockingbirds do not want them around.  I don't believe the scrub-jays know where the nests are, because they only ever try to get catfood.  However, I think the mockingbirds have eggs, so whenever a jay comes to the catfood, they chase it away.  Below is a scrub-jay in my yard with an acorn.

Western Scrub-Jay

Below is one of the northern mockingbirds.  It was fighting with another mockingbird.  The two nests in the yard have caused rivalry between the two pairs.

Northern Mockingbird

I haven't seen the red-tailed hawks as much, but occasionally I see them fly over the yard. Below is one of the hawks.

Red-Tailed Hawk

The Bewick's wrens have already had chicks like the Anna's hummingbirds.  They've been a bit confusing, however.  There is a nest in the backyard with at least one chick.  There is also one in the front in a rosebush with at least three chicks.  What's puzzling is that the pair (not the chicks) go in and out of a birdhouse.  They also bring things into it, though I'm not sure what.  I don't know what they're doing in the birdhouse, since they have the chicks in the rosebush.  I suppose that the pair could have second nest, or the pair going into the birdhouse is a separate pair that also hangs around with the other pair's chicks, but it's still a little odd.  Below are two photos of the wrens.  The first photo is one of the adults going into the birdhouse.  The second is of one of the rosebush chicks.

Bewick's Wren

Bewick's Wren

Ladybugs, Birds, and a Baby Hummingbird

I'm sorry that for the past couple of weeks I haven't posted much, but I've been extremely busy.  I'll probably be only to post on weekends until school ends.

I had thought that our ladybugs had gone, but just today I saw several around the yard.  I've also been seeing young ladybugs at their various stages.  I've mostly been seeing the larvae that look like little Gila monsters (as my dad says).  Below are three small pictures of different ladybugs at different stages.


 

The house finches don't seem to have their nests yet, because they're still traveling in flocks.  Below are two male house finches.  They are different colors because of some difference in diet.  House finches can be yellow as well.

House Finches

The hooded orioles have not started their nests yet either.  The males are still fighting with each other, and I haven't seen a pair yet.  Below is male hooded oriole in a tree.

Hooded Oriole

 

I believe that the bushtits are building a nest or already have one, because I've seen them in pairs or small groups.  A pair of bushtits often has a small group of helpers (usually males).  Bushtits build large, hanging nests that are well camouflaged in thick bushes or trees.  The breeding pair as well as all of the helpers sleep inside of it.  Bushtits don't  usually chase other birds away from their nests and other bushtit nests can be close by.  They are very tolerant, social birds.  Below is a male bushtit.

Bushtit

I found the mockingbirds' nest; it's in a bush right in the middle of my yard.  Everyone walks by that bush a lot, and I can actually see the nest inside, but it doesn't seem to bother the birds.  They still go in and out with nest supplies, as in the photo below.

Northern Mockingbird

Some hummingbirds have already made a nest, laid eggs, and raised at least one chick without me ever noticing, because I found a baby Anna's hummingbird in the bottlebrush tree.  It was very small, fluffy, and gray and had a small beak.  A parent came by to feed it.  It didn't seem to notice me, because as I watched, its little head started to nod, its eyes closed, and it slept for a few minutes.  Below is a photo of it when it was awake.

Anna's Hummingbird

Ladybugs and Three Spring Birds

On Wednesday, my mom recieved 1500 ladybugs that she ordered over the mail.  All of them arrived alive, and my mom and I released them in our aphid-infested backyard Wednesday night.  They are still in the yard, and each one has a slightly different spot pattern.  Below is a photo I took of two of the ladybugs; one with eleven spots and the other with two very tiny spots.

 

There are tons of dandelions putting out their seeds in my backyard and the lesser goldfinches and house finches love it.  My yard seems to always be full of finches.  Below is a male house finch eating the seeds off a dandelion.



House Finch

Below is a beautiful male Anna's hummingbird.  It only stayed still for about several seconds before chasing after another hummingbird.  They've been whistling loudly and racing around every day nonstop.

Anna's Hummingbird

The northern mockingbirds have been busily working on building their nests.  Below is one of them with a small branch in its beak.  I think that they are building their nest in my yard or the yard right next to mine because I often see them fly into the bushes with the twigs.  I also believe towhees and bushtits are building nests, because I've been seeing pairs in the same bushes over and over again.

Northern Mockingbird

My Grandparents' Birds and Lizards

Yesterday I went to my grandparent's house, and there were many birds there (a lot of them I could hear, but not see).  Though in the neighborhood there were many manicured yards, there were also many seed and hummingbird feeders and thick trees.  The neighorhood is also very near Camp Pendleton, which is known as a very natural area.  Below is a view from my grandparents' yard of the neighborhood, some trees, and Camp Pendleton beyond.

There were tons of tree swallows flying around, probably because of the fields nearby.  Below is a photo of one of the tree swallows, and the first one I've ever taken.  Most often, tree swallows can be identified by the large amount of white underneath.  Violet-green swallows are also very white, but they are more likely found in small groups, while tree swallows are found in large groups.

Tree Swallow

There were also tons of birds of prey around.  Besides the red-tailed hawk below, there were two other red-tailed hawks, a Cooper's hawk, and a few turkey vultures.

Red-tailed Hawk

There were a few northern mockingbirds around that were hopping around in the bushes and singing.  Below is one of them.

Northern Mockingbird

There were also many house finches around.  Below are two photos of them.  The top one is a male, and the bottom is a female.

House Finch

House Finch

A few Anna's hummingbirds were attracted to the hummingbird feeders, such as the one below.


Anna's Hummingbird



I will finish with a southern alligator lizard, which isn't uncommon, but it's always exciting to see.  They are pretty big lizards and look like miniature alligators.  When they run, they wiggle and keep their legs close by their sides, making them look like snakes slithering along the ground.  There were two of them at my grandparents' house.  The one below was the smaller one.  It was only about a foot long.



 

Three Small Birds and One Large One

Spring is here, but the winter birds have not quite left yet.  There are still many white-crowned sparrows around, though they are often late to leave.

Below is a pretty good example of how members of the same species can look very different.  Below are two photos of female Anna's hummingbirds in different light.  The top one looks somehat messy and very brown, while the bottom one looks very clean, neat, and bright green.  When I saw it, I almost thought that the bottom hummingbird was a different species, but when I looked at a couple other photos I took of it, it looked more like the one above.

Anna's Hummingbird

Anna's Hummingbird

Below are a pair of common ravens that were flying around above my neighborhood.  I'm always surprised at how large they are.  They are the size of red-tailed hawks, or even sometimes larger, and I often confuse them with hawks when the light isn't good.  However, when I hear them croak (and they often do), I know they're ravens.

Common Ravens

Below is a mourning dove sitting on a telephone wire.  It looks somewhat proud and dramatic with the light shining on it and the blue sky behind it, but it was actually very nervous and flew away soon after I started taking photos.

Mourning Dove











Below is a northern mockingbird all fluffed up (he shook himself). I believe it is a he because I've seen him sit in the same spot every day and make small, almost cooing noises. Sometimes he is holding an insect when he makes them. I believe he is trying to find a mate to offer the insect to (which is usually something males do), but so far, he's always been alone. All of the other mockingbirds are in pairs but him. Perhaps his song wasn't long enough.

Northern Mockingbird



Spring Birds and the Pacific-Slope Flycatcher

I've seen many birds over the past few days, though I haven't been able to post because I've been busy.

The orioles are all over the place now.  The winter birds like white-crowned sparrows and cedar waxwings should be leaving soon.  Below are two photos of hooded orioles.  The first is of a female, and the second is of a male.

Hooded Oriole

Hooded Oriole

The red-tailed hawks have been flying around together a lot.  The pair at my school have been shrieking a lot as well.  Below is one of the ones in my neighborhood.

Red-Tailed Hawk

The hummingbirds have been very aggressive towards everyone.  The attack each other, other birds, and now me.  I was walking through my yard when, suddenly, above me I heard a noise like "zzz-pop!"  The "pop" sounded somewhat like a bottle being opened.  Then I heard it again and looked up.  I found that it was a lovely male Anna's hummingbird dive-bombing me.  He'd make the "zzz" noise as he went up, them the "pop" as he zoomed down a few inches above my head.  Then he perched on a wire and started buzzing at me.  Below are two photos of him.

Anna's Hummingbird

Anna's Hummingbird

 

A rather exciting bird in my yard was a Pacific-Slope flycatcher, because I don't think I've seen one before.  They are found in the summer in moist forests near water along the west coast of the United States and southern Canada.  They winter south into Mexico.  They are small and yellowish-green overall.  They are yellower underneath and have darker wings and white eye-rings.  They are common, though I've likely never seen one because I've never been in the right habitat.  I'm not sure why this one below was in my yard, as it's not near water.  It was probably just passing through.  Anyway, it was neat, and below is the only clear photo I took of it.

Pacific-Slope Flycatcher