San Elijo Lagoon

Yesterday my dad and I visited the San Elijo Lagoon in Encinitas. It started out fairly cool and breezy in the morning, but it became rather hot in the afternoon. There are several different trails around the lagoon, and it's a very nice walk if the weather is good. The San Elijo Lagoon is a great place to see ducks and shorebirds (when the tide is low). There are also numerous songbirds in the brush as well as rails, raptors, egrets, and herons in and over the marsh. Below are five views around the lagoon.

Some of the first animals we saw when we arrived were Mule Deer. There was a herd of eight and one lone deer further away. They were all females and young. Below is a photo of six of the deer.

Mule Deer

There were quite a few Black Phoebes around, especially near the water. Below is one balancing on a very skinny reed.

Black Phoebe

There were large groups of Gadwalls throughout the lagoon; they were one of the most numerous ducks there. Below are three photos of Gadwalls.

Gadwalls

Gadwalls

Gadwall

There were also a lot of Killdeer. There seemed to be small groups of them wherever there was mud or shallow water, and we could hear their calls throughout the lagoon and see them flying over. Below are two photos of Killdeer.

Killdeer

Killdeer

The second most numerous duck on the lagoon was probably the Green-winged Teal. Green-winged Teals are found throughout Canada and Alaska in the summer, and most of the United States, Mexico, and Central America in the winter. In breeding plumage, males have gray bodies, white bellies, speckled tan chests, dark reddish-brown heads, and green eye-patches. They have black and yellowish-white tails and a white bar on either side of their chests. Females are dark brown overall with dark bills and dark eye-lines. Males in nonbreeding plumage resemble females but have darker heads. They are very small, but very beautiful ducks. Below are two photos of males.

Green-winged Teal

Green-winged Teal

There were some small flocks of Least Sandpipers that once or twice flew up and circled around in the air, peeping. There were also a few Spotted Sandpipers near them, which did not fly up in the air or stay with a flock. They are very hard to tell apart because most sandpipers tend to look very similar, especially the small ones. However, the Spotted Sandpipers (besides not gathering in flocks) were slightly larger with plain backs and white reaching up near the shoulder, while Least Sandpipers were smaller with streaked backs. Below are three photos of Least Sandpipers. In the third photo, the second bird in the line of four in a Spotted Sandpiper.

Least Sandpipers

Least Sandpipers

Least Sandpipers and Spotted Sandpiper

There were two Ospreys, a male and a female, flying around the lagoon, probably courting. Below is a photo of one of them.

Osprey

There were two little Buffleheads on the lagoon, a male and a female. The male was all by himself, sleeping with his head tucked in. The female was in a crowd of other ducks, diving over and over again. Buffleheads are found in southern Canada and Alaska in the summer, and most of the United States and Mexico in the winter. They are very small ducks with large heads. Males have white bodies, black wingtips and backs, iridescent black faces and white patches on the back of their heads. Females are plain dark overall with white bellies and white patches on their cheeks. Below is a photo of the sleeping male Bufflehead.

Bufflehead

There were quite a few American Wigeons on the lagoon. Below are two photos of them.

American Wigeons

American Wigeon

There were more Northern Pintails at the lagoon yesterday than I've ever seen in one place. There were a few flocks of them, dabbling in the water together. Below are two photos of the pintails.

Northern Pintails

Northern Pintails

There were two Hooded Mergansers on the lagoon, a male and a female. They were very far away and kept diving, so I was only able to take one photo of the male. Below is the photo.

Hooded Merganser

There was one Greater Scaup on the lagoon, a female. The Greater Scaup is found in northern Canada and Alaska in the summer, and the east and west coasts of Canada and the United States in the winter. Males have white bodies, gray wings and backs, black chests and tails, and dark green heads. Females are brown overall with lighter brown sides, white bellies, and a white patch around the bill. Both males and females have yellow eyes and blue bills. They are very similar in appearance to Lesser Scaups, but they are larger with more rounded heads. They also tend to prefer saltwater, while Lesser Scaups prefer fresh water. Below is the Greater Scaup.

Greater Scaup

There were several Wrentits hopping around in the bushes. Wrentits have a very small range; they are found only along the Pacific coast from the southern tip of Washington down to the northern tip of Baja California. They are brown overall with slightly grayer heads and slightly reddish chests and bellies. They have short bills, long tails, and yellow eyes. In appearance, they made me think of over-sized female bushtits, but in behavior, they reminded me of wrens. They were very shy and I wasn't able to take a great photo of one. Below is a photo of one of them hiding behind some white flowers.

Wrentit

There was one tree (I'm not sure what kind it was) that was full of Lesser Goldfinches. The House Finches seemed to like it as well. Below are a couple of Lesser Goldfinches in the tree.

Lesser Goldfinches

As we were walking along the trail, we heard what sounded like a mockingbird singing, but we couldn't see a mockingbird anywhere. It turned out to be a California thrasher, which are in the same family as mockingbirds, and, like mockingbirds, they mimic other sounds. California thrashers are only found in California and the northern tip of Baja California. They are brown overall with slightly streaked faces, light-colored throats, reddish-brown bellies, long tails, and long, down-curved bills. The other thrashers I've seen were always hiding, but this one was sitting right out in the open near the trail. Below is the thrasher.

California Thrasher

We did see a Northern Mockingbird later on, but it did not sing at all.  It just sat there quietly on a branch.  Below is a photo of it.

Northern Mockingbird

There were a couple of Soras at the lagoon. They walked right out in the open, though, unfortunately, they were too far away for a good photo. Below is one of the Soras.

Sora

There were several Great and Snowy Egrets and Great Blue Herons around, crouching down or standing straight like poles. Below are two photos of Great Egrets.

Great Egret

Great Egret

There weren't very many Say's phoebes around, probably because they prefer more open, grassy fields. Below is a Say's phoebe on a fence.

Say's Phoebe

There were quite a few Willets around. I often saw them flying by, their black and white wings flashing as they went. However, none of them were very close. Below is one of the Willets with a Gadwall behind it.

Willet and Gadwall

As it grew warmer, the lizards started to come out. Below is a Western Fence-Lizard on a tree.

Western Fence Lizard

When we stopped to eat lunch, there was a California Gull right in front of us, struggling with its own lunch, a rather large fish. I don't know how it found the fish, but I'm fairly certain it didn't catch it; the gull could hardly even pick it up. It was trying to drag it out of the current, but still keep it in the water so that it was hidden. It was very cautious and was constantly looking around. When another gull flew over, it crouched protectively over the fish. California Gulls are found in southwestern Canada and the northwestern United States in the summer, and along the Pacific Coast from southern Canada to Mexico in the winter. They are medium-sized gulls (larger than a Ring-billed, but smaller than a Western). Adults are white with gray backs, gray wings with black tips, yellowish-green legs, dark eyes, and yellow bills with red and black markings. In nonbreeding plumage, they have brown streaks on their necks. Young California Gulls are splotchy brown with pink legs, whitish chests, and pink bills with black tips. Below are two photos of the California Gull with its fish.

California Gull

California Gull

After we finished walking around the lagoon, we went down to the beach. The tide was very low. There were a lot of people there, but not very many birds. It was a pretty beach, though. Below are three views of it.

There were quite a few Western and Ring-billed Gulls around. They didn't mind the people; they stole their lunches when they went down to swim.  Below is a Western Gull.

Western Gull

There were a few Brandt's Cormorants swimming around and standing on the rocks. They didn't seem to mind the people, either. One cormorant hardly did anything when two little girls kept running up to it trying to scare it away; eventually, it walked slowly over to the water and swam away. Another cormorant seemed to be hanging around in the water with a group of people. Below is one of the Brandt's Cormorants (notice the black bill and white spot on the cheek).

Brandt's Cormorant

There was a small group of Sanderlings foraging on a rock. Unlike the other birds, they did mind the people and flew to another rock when anyone got near. Below are two photos of them.

Sanderling

Sanderlings