Buena Vista Lagoon March

Today was the bird count at the Buena Vista Lagoon. We saw fifty-eight different species of birds. It was very foggy in the early morning, then cleared up and became warmer later on. Below are five views around the lagoon.

There were quite a few Mallards at the lagoon today. There was a pair feeding together in the ditch beside the road, and several other pairs scattered around the lagoon. Below are two photos. The first is a male Mallard in the ditch. The second is of three Mallards in flight.

Mallard

Mallards

There were also quite a few Western Bluebirds around the nature center. I had never seen them there before. They appear to be using the bluebird boxes that were put up around the area. Below are three photos of the Western Bluebirds (the first is a female, the second two are males).

Western Bluebird

Western Bluebird

Western Bluebird

There were many, many Song Sparrows sitting atop bushes and trees, singing and establishing their territories. Below are two photos of Song Sparrows.

Song Sparrow

Song Sparrow

There were several American Coots here and there around the lagoon. Below is a photo of one.

American Coot

Today we saw a few different hawks: Red-tailed, Cooper's, and Red-shouldered. One Red-shouldered Hawk was sitting on top of a sign. I happened to be standing right below it, and it peered over the edge at me. After it had flown into a eucalyptus tree, I was able to take a photo. It was later mobbed by a horde of Hooded Orioles. Below is the Red-shouldered Hawk.

Red-shouldered Hawk

There were hundreds of swallows today, most of which were Northern Rough-winged Swallows. Two Northern Rough-winged Swallows came down and sat on a telephone wire for a while, preening themselves. Rough-winged Swallows seem to be more willing to perch on wires than any of the other swallows, though I'm not sure why. Below are three photos of the swallows.

Northern Rough-winged Swallow

Northern Rough-winged Swallow

Northern Rough-winged Swallow

There were quite a few hummingbirds at the lagoon, both Anna's and Allen's. Below are two photos. The first is of an Anna's Hummingbird. The second is an Allen's.

Anna's Hummingbird

Allen's Hummingbird

Once it became a bit warmer, a few Western Fence-Lizards came out to bask in the sunshine. Below are two photos of one of the lizards (with a nice view of the blue throat).

Western Fence-Lizard

Western Fence-Lizard

There were a few Mourning Doves around. One sat very still in a tree and let me come very close. Below is a photo of it.

Mourning Dove

The most unusual sight of the day was a very large Common Snapping Turtle laying eggs. Snapping turtles are not native to California, and were probably introduced as escaped or released pets. In my research, I found that on this website: http://nas.er.usgs.gov/queries/factsheet.aspx?speciesID=1225 (run by the U.S. Geological Survey) the Buena Vista Lagoon is listed specifically as one of the sites where a snapping turtle was found (under the heading "Nonindigenous Occurrences"). Snapping turtles are very distinctive. They are most easily identified by their large size (they look too big for their shells), their hooked beak, and their very long, spiny tail. Young snapping turtles have sharp ridges on their backs, which become less prominent as they age (older turtles appear to have almost flat shells - the one we saw was old). They will eat aquatic plants, carrion, and pretty much any small creature they can catch. As suggested by their name, they bite. Below are two photos of the snapping turtle.

Snapping Turtle

Snapping Turtle

There weren't very many herons or egrets. There were only a couple of Great Blue Herons and Great Egrets. Below is a Great Blue Heron flying over the lagoon.

Great Blue Heron

Most of the Cliff Swallow nests along the bridge have fallen to pieces. The swallows haven't nested there in quite a long while. Today, there was a single pair flying to and from a nest, though I don't know if they'll continue using it. A couple of years, Cliff Swallows rebuilt the nests, but never actually used them. Well, this year could be different. We'll see next month, I suppose. Below are the two Cliff Swallows in their nest.

Cliff Swallows

Buena Vista Lagoon February

Yesterday was the bird count at the Buena Vista Lagoon. It had showered a little during the night, so the water level in the lagoon was a bit higher than usual (it can be seen in the third photo - the path isn't usually that flooded). We didn't see very many birds, though we still managed to spot fifty species. Below are five views around the lagoon.

One of the first animals I saw when we arrived was a large bullfrog sitting in the water. Below is a photo of it.

Bullfrog

At the fishing bridge, I saw an American Coot floating along. Suddenly, a Pied-billed Grebe came up out of the water underneath the coot. The coot was very startled and grebe got angry. Although the grebe was much smaller than the coot, it fluffed itself up and charged. The coot flew away. Below are two photos. The first is of the grebe about to charge, and the second is the grebe after the coot had flown away.

American Coot and Pied-billed Grebe

Pied-billed Grebe

I saw another coot later on. It remained in the reeds when I walked up, then all of a sudden decided to burst out of the reeds into the water. It didn't seem to be afraid, because it swam very near me, so I don't know why it jumped out like that (it really startled me). Below is the coot.

American Coot

There were quite a few Anna's Hummingbirds around the lagoon. There weren't very many Allen's Hummingbirds, however. Below is an Anna's Hummingbird.

Anna's Hummingbird

I spotted a number of birds gathering nesting material. Along the trail behind the nature center, there were groups of House Finches gathering fluff from the cattails. They were so busy, they didn't seem to notice me at all. Below is a female finch gathering fluff.

House Finch

Unlike last month, I didn't see very many White-crowned Sparrows. I didn't even hear them singing. I don't believe they're migrating yet, because there are still a lot of them in my backyard. Below is a White-crowned Sparrow that had just taken a bath.

White-crowned Sparrow

There was one little Nuttall's Woodpecker behind the nature center, singing its trilling song high up in a sycamore tree. Below is a photo of it.

Nuttall's Woodpecker

There were many more Orange-crowned Warblers around than usual. There seemed to be one or two in every bush. Below is one of the Orange-crowned Warblers.

Orange-crowned Warbler

American Crows were also gathering material for nests. I saw a few crows carrying large sticks into pine trees. The crow below was gathering some material from a palm tree, though was having quite a bit of difficulty trying to pull anything off the tree. Eventually, it gave up and pulled a few twigs off a sycamore tree instead.

American Crow

There were a few Mourning Doves here and there. Below is one climbing a little hill.

Mourning Dove

Because it was warm for a little while, a bunch of California Ground-Squirrels and Western Fence-Lizards came out. Below are two photos of a ground-squirrel, and one of a very blue Western Fence-Lizard.

California Ground Squirrel

California Ground Squirrel

Western Fence-Lizard

We saw hundreds of gulls; more gulls than I think I've ever seen. There were a few large flocks that occasionally flew together and became one giant group, circling high above the lagoon. Most of them were California Gulls. There were Ring-billed Gulls, too, but they stayed separate for the most part. Below are four photos. The first is of Ring-billed Gulls in a parking lot. The next three are of giant flocks, probably made up of mostly California Gulls.

Ring-billed Gulls

California Gulls

California Gulls

California Gulls

Unfortunately, we did not see many of the herons and egrets we usually see. There were a few Snowy Egrets, but I think that's all. Below is one of them standing beside the road.

Snowy Egret

There were a lot of Northern Shovelers at the lagoon. Some were swimming around, but most were sleeping along the shore. Below are some male shovelers sleeping.

Northern Shovelers

There are never large numbers of Mallards at the lagoon, but there are always a few. There were some yesterday, and they seemed to be paired up now. Below is a pair of Mallards.

Mallard

There was one Hermit Thrush at Maxton Brown Park. It perched in a tree for a while, then hopped around on the ground. The thrushes at that park don't seem to mind being out in the open, though anywhere else they refuse to come out of the bushes. Below are two photos of the Hermit Thrush.

Hermit Thrush

Hermit Thrush

There were quite a few Song Sparrows around, singing up in the bushes. Below is one gathering material for a nest.

Song Sparrow

While we were at the park, a Brown Pelican flew over from the ocean and landed in the lagoon. Then it seemed to change its mind and took off again toward the ocean, startling a group of seagulls floating on the lagoon. Below is a photo of the pelican flying.

Brown Pelican

After the count was over, I went for a short walk behind the nature center. Though I didn't see any birds, I did see Mourning Cloak and Monarch butterflies. They were very large and beautiful. Below is one of the Monarchs.

Monarch