The weather was cloudy and cool. It wasn't great weather for birdwatching or taking photos, but we still saw plenty of birds, and the views were beautiful. Below is a view of the lagoon.
There were many red-winged blackbirds flying around. Below is a beautiful male who came fairly close to us.
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| Red-winged Blackbird |
There were quite a few herons and egrets around. There was one black-crowned night-heron in a tree and several great blue herons, great egrets, and snowy egrets. Below are two photos. The first is of a great blue heron, and the second is of a great egret and a great blue heron.
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| Great Blue Heron |
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| Great Egret and Great Blue Heron |
There were many, many American wigeon on the lagoon. The American wigeon is found in Alaska, Canada, and the northern United States in the summer, and southern United States, and Mexico, and northern South America in the winter. Males are reddish-brown above and white below with black tails. They have white wing patches, dark green eye patches, and white foreheads. Females have brown tails and unmarked brown heads. They are very common on ponds, and will also graze in fields. Below is a photo of a male (right) and a female (left). The white forehead is probably the most distinctive feature; there are no other common ducks in the United States with white foreheads.
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| American Wigeon |
There were a lot of different sandpipers around. There were least sandpipers, willet, and marbled godwit. Marbled godwit are found in the northern central United States and southern Canada in the summer, and along the southern coasts down into Mexico in the winter. They are large and brown with reddish-brown under their wings and dark eye stripes. They have long black legs and long, upturned bills. There were quite a few of them at the lagoon. Below are two photos of one.
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| Marbled Godwit |
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| Marbled Godwit |
As we were walking along a trail, there were quite a few sparrows and warblers flitting through the trees and bushes. Below is a rather dull-colored orange-crowned warbler.
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| Orange-crowned Warbler |
Out of all the many ducks we saw, only one was a northern pintail. It was swimming among the wigeon and coots. Northern pintails are found in Alaska, Canada, and the northern United States in the summer, the southern United States, Mexico, and northern South America in the winter, and parts of the western United States all year round. They are also found in parts of Asia, Europe, and Africa. They have very long, pointed tails and long necks. Females are brown on their heads and backs and white below. Males have dark brown heads, white necks, white bellies, gray backs, and black tails. They can be found in flocks, but I've only ever seen one or two at a time. Below is the male northern pintail.
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| Northern Pintail |
Most of the sandpipers at the lagoon today were willets. They were moving around in large flocks. Below is one of them.
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| Willet |
At one point, a flock of sandpipers (probably willets) joined a flock of pigeons. They flew together in a mixed flock for a while as if they were all the same species. Below is a photo of them just as they were joining together. The sandpipers are in the top right.
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| Rock Doves and Willets |
There was an osprey flying around the lagoon for a little while. There may have been two. Below is a photo of one flying.
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| Osprey |
There was a belted kingfisher hunting for fish as well as the osprey. I think it was a male. Below is the kingfisher sitting on a dead tree.
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| Belted Kingfisher |
At one point, the kingfisher and the osprey were sitting on the same telephone wire. It was a very long wire that stretched all the way across the lagoon from one hill to the other. It was very, very high above the water, so I think the two birds were just sitting; they weren't looking for fish at the moment. Below is a photo of the two fishing birds.
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| Belted Kingfisher and Osprey |
As the tide went out, groups of birds gathered on the mudflats. There was a group of gulls of different species, a group of double-crested cormorants, and a group of Caspian terns. Below are three photos of those groups in that order. Some terns are mixed in with the gulls, and there is a brown pelican in the middle of the cormorants.
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| Gulls and Caspian Terns |
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| Double-crested Cormorants and Brown Pelican |
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| Caspian Terns |
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