Buena Vista Lagoon October

I'm very sorry for posting so late. October 31 was the bird count at the Buena Vista Lagoon. The weather was fairly nice. The highlight of the day was a very secretive Gray Catbird, which are rarely seen here (they're an East Coast bird). Unfortunately, the catbird wouldn't come out of the bush, so I wasn't able to take a photo. Below are two views of the lagoon.

There were quite a few Pied-billed Grebes swimming around the lagoon. Below are two photos of them.

Pied-billed Grebes

Pied-billed Grebe

There were also quite a few Northern Shovelers around. Below are two of them, a female and an immature male (immature males have entirely gray heads and dull plumage).

Northern Shovelers

There were a few Eared Grebes here and there, but not very many, and not very close to us. Below is one of them.

Eared Grebe

We saw a lot of American Coots on the lagoon, which was good, since we'd been seeing only a few each month for a long while. Below is a coot.

American Coot

There were quite a few Western Grebes as well, as usual. Most were too far away to take a picture, but one did come close enough for a shot. Below is the Western Grebe.

Western Grebe

There were several Black Phoebes around. Below is one of them sitting on a fence post at Maxton Brown Park. It was diving into the flowers for insects.

Black Phoebe

As we were standing by the lagoon, looking out over the reeds and water, a flock of birds appeared in the distance. As they came closer, we saw that they were White-faced Ibises, which we don't usually see. White-faced Ibises are found year round in the southwestern United States, the western side of the Gulf of Mexico, and the southern end of South America. They are found during the summer in the western United States, and they winter in Mexico and part of Central America. They are very distinctive with their reddish-brown heads, necks, and bodies, iridescent green wings, white face, and long, down-curved bills. When we do see them, they are almost always in flocks. I've never seen them actually land in the lagoon; it's probably too deep for them. Below are two photos of the flock of ibises.

White-faced Ibises

White-faced Ibis

Another bird we saw that we don't see that often was a Blue-gray Gnatcatcher. It was hopping up on top of the bushes and making a "wee!" sound. Blue-gray Gnatcatchers are found year round in the coastal southwestern and southeastern United States as well as most of Mexico. They are found in the southwestern and eastern United States in the summer, and along the western coast of Mexico and parts of Central America and the Caribbean in the winter. They are very small, often inconspicuous birds (unless they go "wee!"). They look like miniature mockingbirds. They have bluish-gray backs, grayish-white bellies, and black and white tails. Male Blue-gray Gnatcatchers have a black V on their foreheads. The one we saw was a female. They can be confused with the Black-tailed and California Gnatcatchers, but they can be identified by their paler plumage and, in the summer, the males of the other two species have entirely black crowns, while the Blue-gray has just the small V. Below is a photo of the gnatcatcher sitting in a bush.

Blue-gray Gnatcatcher

Oceanside Harbor and the San Luis Rey River

On the 26 and 27 of September, I volunteered to help set up the booth for the Buena Vista Audubon Society at the Oceanside Harbor Days. Unfortunately, that meant that I wasn't able to attend the monthly bird count at the lagoon.

I did, however, take a look at the Oceanside Harbor and the mouth of the San Luis Rey River. Just like the last time I went there, there was a large group of birds and hanging out together. There were mainly California Gulls and American Coots, but there were quite a few other birds hanging around at the edges of the flock.  Below are four photos. The first is of two Black-necked Stilts, a female Blue-winged Teal, and two American Coots. The second is of the large flock of California Gulls. There are American Coots in the background, a Black-necked Stilt near the bottom left, and a group of Double-crested Cormorants in the upper right. Third photo is of the cormorants and a few immature California Gulls. The fourth is of a Black-necked Stilt and a Killdeer.

Black-necked Stilts, Blue-winged Teal, and American Coots

California Gulls, American Coots, Double-crested Cormorants,
and Black-necked Stilt

Double-crested Cormorants and California Gulls

Black-necked Stilt and Killdeer

There was a little group of three Black-necked Stilts and a pair of Long-billed Dowitchers off to the side. The stilts were just standing and looking around, while the dowitchers foraged. Then, a Great Blue Heron started walking very slowly in their direction. At first, the birds didn't seem to pay any attention, but when the heron came too close, they scattered in all directions. The heron just continued on walking as if it hadn't noticed. Below are four photos. The first is of the little group of birds (the duck in the background is a female Northern Shoveler).  The second is of the birds with the heron coming up behind them, and the third is of the birds all fleeing the heron.  The fourth is of the Great Blue Heron by itself after the other birds had left.

Black-necked Stilts, Northern Shoveler, and
Long-billed Dowitchers

Black-necked Stilts, Long-billed Dowitchers, and
Great Blue Heron

Black-necked Stilts, Long-billed Dowitchers, and
Great Blue Heron

Great Blue Heron

The two Long-billed Dowitchers stayed with each other after fleeing the heron and walked and waded around the edge of the water together. Below are three photos of the pair of dowitchers.

Long-billed Dowitchers and Great Blue Heron

Long-billed Dowitchers

Long-billed Dowitchers

There were a few grebes around; Pied-billed and Eared. Below are three photos. The first two are of two different Pied-billed Grebes, and the third is of an Eared Grebe stretching its legs (notice its lobed toes - all grebes have them).

Pied-billed Grebe

Pied-billed Grebe

Eared Grebe

There were a couple of Willets wandering around. Below is one of them with an immature California Gull.

California Gull and Willet

On Sunday, there were quite a few birds in the harbor. In the early morning, an immature Black-crowned Night-heron was perched on the railing of a walkway. It sat there for a long while, looking around and preening. However, when people came swimming by, it flew away. Below are two photos of it.

Black-crowned Night-Heron

Black-crowned Night-Heron

There were a lot of Brown Pelicans and Double-crested Cormorants, as well as many other birds, hanging around the harbor looking for handouts from the fishermen. When the swimmers came by, the birds just watched from their platforms. Below are six photos. The first and last are of Brown Pelicans. The second is of two Double-crested Cormorants, the third is of a pelican and four Heermann's Gulls, the fourth is of five pelicans and a Great Blue Heron, and the fifth is of two Snowy Egrets and an immature Western Gull.

Brown Pelican

Double-crested Cormorants

Brown Pelican and Heermann's Gulls

Brown Pelicans and Great Blue Heron

Snowy Egrets and Western Gull

Brown Pelicans

There were quite a few Forster's Terns flying around the harbor. Some few in flocks, while others flew by themselves. Below is a Forster's Tern.

Forster's Tern

There was a very nice-looking Belted Kingfisher in the harbor. It was landing on top of the masts of the sailboats and looking around. Below is a photo of it.

Belted Kingfisher

Migrating Birds and Cooper's Hawks

A lot of birds have been visiting our backyard these past couple months. It's been especially hot this summer, and we put out several bowls of water outside, so many different birds have been coming down to drink, bathe, and cool off. Just sitting by the window, I can see quite a few species within a short period of time.

Most of the summer birds - the grosbeaks, tanagers, and orioles - are still here, and come down to the water from time to time. Below are three photos. The first is a female Black-headed Grosbeak. The second is of the same grosbeak, along with a female House Finch, both a male and a female Hooded Oriole, and a female House Sparrow. The third photo is of a female Western Tanager (which looks very similar to a female oriole, but is stockier with a thicker yellowish bill, shorter tail, and darker wings) and a California Towhee.

Black-headed Grosbeak

Black-headed Grosbeak, House Finch, Hooded Orioles, and
House Sparrow

Western Tanager and California Towhee

Little warblers have been visiting the water as well. Most often it's an Orange-crowned Warbler, but once or twice I've seen a Yellow Warbler taking a drink there. Below are three photos. The first is of an Orange-crowned Warbler and a California Towhee, and the second two are of the same Orange-crowned Warbler bathing and showing off its bright orange crown.

California Towhee and Orange-crowned Warbler

Orange-crowned Warbler

Orange-crowned Warbler

As I mentioned in my last post, a few winter birds have arrived very, very early. On Saturday, I spotted another new migrant in my yard, the Black-throated Gray Warbler. I've never seen them in my yard before, and I haven't seen them anywhere this early before. Like most of the birds in my yard, it came down to take a drink, though it didn't stay long. A couple of Mountain Chickadees also came by, though they didn't stay long enough for a photo. Although the chickadees don't migrate, I don't usually see them except in the winter. I'm still not sure why these birds have come here so early. Below are two photos of the Black-throated Gray Warbler in the jacaranda tree.

Black-throated Gray Warbler

Black-throated Gray Warbler

I also saw a couple of little flycatchers on Saturday, the Pacific-Slope Flycatcher and the Western Wood-Pewee. Because of their similar size and shape, they can be confused at a distance or in bad lighting. In good lighting, the Pacific-Slope Flycatcher is clearly very yellow, while the Western Wood-Pewee is grayish-brown (it does have a small bit of yellowish-gray on its belly). Below are two photos. The first is the Pacific-slope Flycatcher, and the second is the Western Wood-Pewee.

Pacific-Slope Flycatcher

Western Wood-Pewee

On Thursday, I was doing my homework and looked up to see an adult Cooper's Hawk standing in the middle of the yard. It was just standing in the grass, looking around. Then it raised its wings a couple of times, as if warding off anything that might be nearby. It ran to one of the clay water dishes, took a drink, and sat in the water. It stayed for quite a few minutes before taking off. However, it must have been weighed down by water or maybe it was difficult to take off from the ground, since it didn't quite make it over a bush and sort of fell into it. After it righted itself and sat for a minute or two, it flew away. Below are six photos of the Cooper's Hawk. The second and third are of it raising its wings, the fifth is it sitting in the water, and the sixth is the hawk when it fell into the bush.

Cooper's Hawk

Cooper's Hawk

Cooper's Hawk

Cooper's Hawk

Cooper's Hawk

Cooper's Hawk

On Saturday, a juvenile Cooper's Hawk came by. It was trying to hunt, and flew from perch to perch trying to find a way to get to a group of House Sparrows hiding in a bush. It was clearly very unexperienced, as it tried to jump into the bush and climb in after the birds. The hawk was way too big to fit into the dense bush, and so it fell out onto the ground. It tried a second time with the same result, then sat in an orange tree for a while before finally flying away. Below are three photos of the hawk. In the first, the hawk is sitting on a birdbath, in the second, it's on our roof, and in the third, it's in the orange tree (its bill is open because it was panting; it was very hot on Saturday).

Cooper's Hawk

Cooper's Hawk

Cooper's Hawk