ICABird: Huntington Beach, San Elijo, and Batiquitos

Today we went up to Huntington Beach to visit relatives and have brunch. After we ate, we walked out onto the pier to have a look at the ocean. It was a warm, clear day (clear enough to see Catalina Island), though we could see clouds approaching in the distance. Within minutes, the clouds were much closer and it soon became so foggy we couldn't see the end of the pier. Below are a few photos to show how quickly the fog moved.

As I was taking photos of the ocean, an immature California Gull snuck into one of the pictures. Below is the gull.

California Gull

Looking over the edge of the pier, I saw a group of dark birds in the distance that I thought were gulls at first. However, as I looked more closely, I realized they were Surf Scoters. Some more flew in right below me, and looking over the other side of the pier, there were many more. Below are three photos of Surf Scoters.

Surf Scoter

Yesterday we went to the San Elijo and Batiquitos Lagoons. We didn't walk very far, but we saw a surprisingly large number of birds within a small area. Below are three views from the second floor of the San Elijo nature center (in the second and third photos, the rooftop garden is visible).

The first bird I saw was right in front of the nature center making "wee" sounds. It was a little California Gnatcatcher hopping around inside a bush. California Gnatcatchers are found in coastal sagebrush scrub in southern California and Baja California. They are tiny gray birds with black tails and white eye-rings. In breeding plumage, males have a black cap. The California Gnatcatcher is currently listed as Threatened due to habitat loss. Below are two photos of the gnatcatcher (sorry they aren't very good; it refused to come out into the open).

California Gnatcatcher

California Gnatcher

One bird we saw that we hadn't seen in a long while was a Blue-winged Teal. Blue-winged Teals are found in Alaska, Canada, and the northern United States in the summer. In the winter, they're found in the southern United States down to northern South America. Males have reddish brown bodies spotted with black, black tails, white hip-patches, and gray heads with a white crescent shape near the bill. Females are patterned brown with dark eye-lines and pale around the bill. Below are two photos. The first is of a male and female, and the second is just the male.

Blue-winged Teals

Blue-winged Teal

We saw a couple of Orange-crowned Warblers up in a tree above us. Below is a photo of one.

Orange-crowned Warbler

Because it was a warm day, a lot of lizards were running around. Most were Western Fence-Lizards. There is a surprisingly large amount of variation between the individual Western Fence-Lizards. They can range from brown to gray to almost black and have stripes or spots or just be plain. Below are three photos of very different Western Fence-Lizards (the third was a particularly beautiful one).

Western Fence-Lizard

There were also a lot of grasshoppers jumping around. I never noticed them until they hopped out from under me. Below are two photos of them.

There were a few hummingbirds buzzing about. Below is an Anna's Hummingbird.

Anna's Hummingbird

There were also a few egrets crouching along the shore hunting or just sitting. Below are two Snowy Egrets.

Snowy Egret

There was a group of swallows and White-throated Swifts flying together at the Batiquitos Lagoon. I believe the swallows were all Northern Rough-winged Swallows. One of them flew down to land in a dead tree. Below is a photo of it.

Northern Rough-winged Swallow

There were a few Caspian Terns flying around. Below are three photos of them.

Caspian Tern

There was one male Bufflehead right near us that dove over and over and over again. It probably spent more time underwater than it did above water. Below are two photos of it.

Bufflehead

There were two Cinnamon Teals, a male and female. They were pretty far away, but even from a distance we could see the male's beautiful cinnamon feathers. However, I was not close enough to take a great photo. Below are two photos of the male.

Cinnamon Teal

There was one lone Long-billed Curlew on the shore near some ducks. It just stood there and for a short while it stretched its wings and legs. Below are two photos. The first is of it stretching, and the second is of it with a American Wigeon.

Long-billed Curlew

Long-billed Curlew and American Wigeon

There were groups of Double-crested Cormorants at both lagoons. Below are two photos. The first is of a cormorant swimming, and the second is of cormorants and Western Gulls.