Buena Vista Lagoon August

Yesterday was the bird count at the Buena Vista Lagoon.  Even though it's August (quite possibly the worst month for birdwatching), we saw fifty-one different species.  It was cloudy in the early morning, but soon cleared up and got very hot and humid.  Below are three photos of the lagoon.

There were quite a few American crows around.  Below is a photo of four of them sitting in a tree.

American Crows

There were not as many hummingbirds around as usual, but there were a few.  I heard more than I saw.  Below is a female Anna's hummingbird.

Anna's Hummingbird

There were many bullfrogs around, sitting in the water.  A few were grunting loudly like bulls.  Below is one of them.

Bullfrog

There were a few Cassin's kingbirds, but I didn't notice any western kingbirds, which was unusual.  Below is one of the Cassin's kingbirds.  Notice the very small, white throat patch.  Western kingbirds have entirely white throats.

Cassin's Kingbird

Since it was a warm day, the western fence lizards were out and about.  I saw several of them around.  Below are two photos of them.  Although it's hard to tell the difference from the photos, the first one was very tiny, while the second was quite large for a fence lizard.

Western Fence Lizard

Western Fence Lizard

We saw most of the herons and egrets: black-crowned night-heron, green heron, great egret, and snowy egret.  Oddly, we didn't see any great blue herons.  Below is a great egret.

Great Egret

There were several mallards around.  Below is a group of three females sitting on what is possibly a pipe sticking out of the water.

Mallards

There were many ruddy ducks around.  Below is a photo of some of them out on the water.

Ruddy Ducks

The Muscovy ducks are still around, and the ducklings have grown quite a bit.  They look like small adults.  The fishermen seem to have been feeding them.  There was one fisherman there yesterday who tossed them bits of fish.  Wherever he went, all of the ducks would follow him.  Below is a photo of some of the ducks.

Muscovy Ducks

There was a sandpiper under the bridge where the cliff swallows used to nest.  It may have been a pectoral sandpiper, but, unfortunately, I wasn't able to get a good enough look at it before it flew away.  Below are two photos of the mysterious sandpiper.

There were many, many dragonflies at the lagoon.  I don't know what species they were, but most seemed to be the same species.  Below is one of them.

There were convergent lady beetles all over the plants in the empty lot overlooking the lagoon.  Most were adults, but I saw a few larvae as well.  One lady beetle was being harassed by Argentine ants, which would come up behind it and bite its legs.  Below are two photos.  The first is a lady beetle larvae, and the second is the adult and an ant that bit it.

Convergent Lady Beetle

Convergent Lady Beetle and Argentine Ant

Skunks, Cats, and Many Birds

There is a young cat living in our yard that is fascinated by the skunks (there are now four or five skunks that come every night).  She doesn't interact with them, but sits a few feet away or hides in the bushes and watches them.  Sometimes she follows them around.  The cat is always there when the the skunks are.  Below is a photo of a skunk and the cat.

Whenever Cooper's hawks are on the move, they always fly quickly and often crazily.  They never seem to sit still for very long.  Below is a photo of one sitting on a telephone pole.

Cooper's Hawk

The California towhees must be molting, because all of them are very patchy.  The one below isn't too bad, but some of them look like small patches of feathers are missing.

California Towhee

Every day, a lot of birds come down to take baths in the various water bowls.  Orioles, towhees, finches, house sparrows, mockingbirds, goldfinches, doves, and jays all come down and bathe there.  Below are six photos of birds that came down to bathe.  The first two are of both house finches and house sparrows.  The third is a northern mockingbird, and the four and fifth are hooded orioles.  The sixth is a mourning dove (it may have been a young one, because of the patchy marks on the face and barring on the chest and back).

House Sparrows and House Finches

House Sparrows and House Finches

Northern Mockingbird

Hooded Oriole

Hooded Oriole

Mourning Dove

A rather odd incident occurred at the metal water dish.  There was a fluffy young lesser goldfinch sitting there on the edge.  Then a female house sparrow came down and sat beside it.  The goldfinch began to cheep and flap at the house sparrow, begging it for food.  Surprisingly, the house sparrow did feed it.  Perhaps, because house sparrows are very small, it resembled an adult goldfinch to the baby, and because the behavior of most young birds is very similar, the house sparrow automatically wanted to feed the baby.  I'm not sure, but that's the best I can think of.  It was very strange, but cute, too.  Below are three photos.  The first is the house sparrow (the goldfinch can be seen in the background), the second is the young lesser goldfinch, and the third is the house sparrow feeding the goldfinch.

House Sparrow

Lesser Goldfinch

Lesser Goldfinch and House Sparrow