February Buena Vista Lagoon

Yesterday was the monthly bird count.  The weather was pretty good, and we saw sixty-two species all together.  There were quite a few people today.  Below are two photos of the lagoon.

One of the first birds we saw was a snowy egret hunting for fish.  Below are two photos.  The first is of the snowy egret, and the second is of some small fish in shallow water.

Snowy Egret

There were many, many yellow-rumped warblers around.  Below is a male on some telephone wires.

Yellow-rumped Warbler

There were a couple of great egrets around.  There were more egrets yesterday than there have been the last few months, probably because the water level was lower.  Below are two great egrets.

Great Egret

Great Egret

A rather exciting bird was a white-tailed kite.  I hadn't seen one at the lagoon in quite a while.  White-tailed kites are found along the Pacific coast, southern Texas and Florida, and down through Mexico and South America all year round.  They can often be seen hovering over marshes and fields hunting for small mammals.  Adults are pure white below with gray wings, black shoulders, and red eyes.  Juveniles have light eyes and some brown on their chests and upper backs.  The one we saw at the lagoon just flew straight in and sat on a branch above the reeds.  Below is a photo of it.

White-tailed Kite

A duck I hadn't seen in a while was the gadwall.  Yesterday, I saw a few.  Gadwall are found in southern Canada and the central United States in the summer, and the southern United States and Mexico in the winter.  Along the Pacific coast, they are around all year.  Male gadwall are plain gray on their heads and sides, with white bellies, black rumps, and white underwings.  They also have a tan patch on their wings.  Females are similar to female mallards, but their have higher foreheads and mostly unmarked faces.  Gadwall are a little bit smaller than mallards.  Below is a male gadwall under a bridge.

Gadwall

There were several hawks around.  As we were leaving, there was a red-shouldered hawk sitting on a telephone wire eating something.  There were four upset crows sitting around it.  Below are two photos.  The first is of the hawk, and the second is of the hawk and three of the four crows (the hawk is at the bottom left).

Red-shouldered Hawk

Red-shouldered Hawk and American Crows

One man who was there spotted an Anna's hummingbird nest.  It was right next to the path, but it was very tiny and blended in very well.  We looked at it, but didn't stay too long, since the mother hummingbird was very upset.  As soon as we walked away, she went back to the nest.  Below is a photo of the nest.