May Buena Vista Lagoon

Today was the monthly Buena Vista Lagoon birding class and count.  The lagoon is doing very well in recovering from the fire.  All of the area that was burned is now covered in bright green new reeds.  Below is a photo I took of the reeds.

 

There were a lot of hummingbirds buzzing around.  Below is an Allen's hummingbird.

Allen's Hummingbird

There were many terns around today as well.  There were Forster's, Caspian, and least terns.  Least terns are found on the coasts of the United Sates and Mexico and in some areas of the Midwest around bodies of water in the summer.  They are found in northern South America in the winter.  Although they are relatively common in the areas they are found in, they are considered endangered because their preferred habitat and nesting areas are also favorable areas for recreation.  They are particularly vulnerable because their nests are often just eggs on sand or gravel on the ground without much protection.  Least terns can easily be told apart from other terns by their small size, black caps with white foreheads, and yellow legs and beaks.  Below is a least tern flying away.

Least Tern

There were also a couple of birds that we couldn't count on our list.  They were two parrots that flew over the nature center.  Below is a photo of the parrots.  I am not very good with parrots, so I do not know their species.  Whatever they are, there must be a small population of them because I've seen the same kind a few times around the lagoon.

A bird we could count was an ash-throated flycatcher.  Ash-throated flycatchers are found in the southwestern United States in the summer and winter south into Mexico and Central America.  They are fairly large flycatchers with gray heads, chests, and backs, yellow bellies, and reddish-brown tails and wingtips.  They are common in brushy areas, though are sometimes shy.  This was the closest I ever got to one and it only stayed for several seconds.  Below is a photo of it.

Ash-Throated Flycatcher

There was a strange sight at the lagoon today.  There was a great blue heron soaring high in the air.  Great blue herons seldom fly high up, and I've never heard of them soaring.  However, the one I saw today was circling around in the sky as if it were a hawk.  It was very odd.  Below is a photo of the heron.

Great Blue Heron

There was another unusual sight in the same little area.  There was a very large, rather messy-looking nest in a tree that had a bracket fungus growing on the bottom of it.  The fungus was very large, and before, I'd only seen them on tree trunks.  Below is the nest and the fungus.

A somewhat unusual bird (at least for the lagoon), was a warbling vireo.  They are found throughout the United States (except for the southeast) and southern Canada in the summer.  They winter in Central America.  They are small, gray birds with white eyebrows, darker gray eye-lines, paler chests and yellowish sides.  They have warbling songs, as their name suggests.  Below is a photo of the warbling vireo.

Warbling Vireo

Four Birds and a Swainson's Thrush

This week I've seen quite a few birds.  A few flocks of cedar waxwings are still hanging around, though I expect they'll be gone soon.  It's recently been getting a lot warmer here as summer moves in.  The orioles have been active, but I haven't seen any tanagers or grosbeaks yet, which also come in the summer.  They should be here soon.

Below are two mourning doves sitting on a telephone wire looking down at me.

Mourning Doves

Below are two photos of the same mockingbird (sorry they're a little blurry).  There is a mockingbird nest out in the front yard.  The nest is doing fine, despite being right next to the street.  The chicks cheep very loudly all day long.  The first photo is of the mockingbird on the ground below the nest, and second is of it sitting on a jade plant.

Northern Mockingbird



Northern Mockingbird

A lot of hummingbirds have been racing around and around everywhere.  Below is an Anna's hummingbird that was chasing, and being chased by, an Allen's hummingbird.

Anna's Hummingbird

The hooded orioles are still chasing each other around as well.  Below is a male sitting on a telephone wire.

Hooded Oriole

An exciting bird in my backyard yesterday was a Swainson's thrush, which I've never seen before.  Swainson's thrushes summer in Canada, southern Alaska, California, and the northwestern United States.  They winter in Central and South America.  They are found during migration in the rest of the United States and Mexico.  They are similar to Hermit thrushes, except that they are paler brown with tan faces and chests, and are a little bit larger.  Like Hermit thrushes, they have spotted chests.  The one I saw was taking a bath in a clay bowl on the ground.  Below is a photo of it.

Swainson's Thrush

Three Common Birds and Some Swallows

Below is a male Nuttall's woodpecker (red cap) climbing up a dead tree.  An easy way of telling a Nuttall's from a Downy or Hairy woodpecker is that they have striped backs.  Downy and hairy woodpeckers have white patches in the middle of their backs.

Nuttall's Woodpecker

Below is an Anna's hummingbird sitting in a dead tree.  It was making bottle cap noises: "zzz-pop! zzz-pop!"

Anna's Hummingbird

Below is a female house finch sitting on a telephone wire.  It was looking down at me.

House Finch

There seem to be a lot of northern rough-winged swallows in my area.  In particular, they are common in the city of Vista's downtown area, especially near the Wave Waterpark.  They are often in small groups and will fly right by your head.  Below are two photos of them; one sitting on a bar overlooking a flood-control ditch (which was swarming with flying insects) and another sitting on a telephone wire above the ditch.

Northern Rough-Winged Swallow

Northern Rough-Winged Swallow

Birds, a Squirrel, and a Coyote

I am seeing more and more young birds everywhere.  Yesterday I saw a young black phoebe making little cheep noises on a telephone wire.  I think it was calling for its parents.  It could fly a little, but was a bit clumsy.  Below is its picture.  Unlike adults, who have black beaks, the young have yellow beaks.

Black Phoebe

Below is a beautiful adult male hooded oriole.  There are tons of them everywhere.

Hooded Oriole

Below is a male Anna's hummingbird hovering over a flower.

Anna's Hummingbird

Yesterday I posted a photo of only part of the house finch family.  Below is a picture of the whole family; mother, father, and three chicks.  The mother is in the top left corner and the father is in the bottom right corner.

House Finches

Besides birds, there has been a California ground squirrel returning to the same spot in my neighbor's backyard every day.  It just sits out on the concrete and chips.  I'm not sure why it likes that yard, because there is no grass anywhere; just concrete.  Below is a picture of it.

California Ground Squirrel

Today my family also saw a very large coyote in the field across the street from my house.  It was a pretty nice, healthy-looking coyote.  It kept running away when I took my camera out, but fortunately I was able to get one good photo.  Below is the picture.

Coyote

Young Birds, Winter Birds, and Killdeer

Recently I've been seeing a lot of immature male hooded orioles.  They look like females because they are a sort of greenish-yellow instead of orange.  However, unlike females, they have a black throat.  On some, like the one below, the black is not on the face yet, while on others, it reaches the eye.  It just depends on how old they are.  The one below was taking a bath when it paused to look at me.  In the picture, though, it looks like it's looking at the tiny gnome in the grass.

Hooded Oriole

Despite being a few days into May, the cedar waxwings are still here.  I suspect that they'll be leaving soon, but they still gather in flocks every day to sing.  Below is a small flock of seven cedar waxwings.

Cedar Waxwings

There are so many young wrens in my yard!  There are young ones in the front yard and bunch in the backyard as well.  They travel around with their parents in small family flocks of four or five.  Below are two young wrens in my backyard.

Bewick's Wrens

 

The finches have also been moving their families.  Below is a male house finch with two young finches.

House Finches

The killdeer at school have been running all over.  They're always there in pairs.  They don't have a nest at the school; they must have one in the nearby farmland or fields.  They aren't just there in the morning, though they leave when too many people come.  I recently found out that they come back when all the kids go into their classrooms.  Then they leave again during passing periods.  Below is one of the killdeer.

Killdeer

The towhees have been rather quiet recently.  They were very aggressive several days ago, but now they seem to have calmed down.  Perhaps their chicks have grown enough to leave the nest like the other birds.  Below is a California towhee with a bug in its beak.

California Towhee