The winter ducks seem to have all left. There were only Mallards and Ruddy Ducks. One of the first birds I saw in the morning was a sleeping male Mallard. Below is a photo of the Mallard.
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| Mallard |
There were several grebes around the lagoon; mainly Westerns, a few Pied-billed. Below is a beautiful Western Grebe that came fairly close to me.
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| Western Grebe |
There were many, many Song Sparrows around, scratching at the ground and singing on top of the bushes. There were a few young, fluffy Song Sparrows cheeping in the bushes, being fed by their parents. Below are two photos of Song Sparrows.
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| Song Sparrow |
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| Song Sparrow |
There were also quite a few Eurasian Collared-Doves flying around. On our way home, we saw one being chased by an American Crow. Crows seem to really dislike them, though I don't know why. Below is a collared-dove sitting high up in a tree.
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| Eurasian Collared-Dove |
There were many Common Yellowthroats around, rustling in the reeds. One came out into the open, but would not sit still. I only managed to take one clear photo. Below is the yellowthroat.
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| Common Yellowthroat |
In a parking lot, we saw two little male Wilson's Warblers hopping around from tree to tree. They were very secretive at first, but then came right out in the open in front of me. Below is one of the Wilson's Warblers.
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| Wilson's Warbler |
In a ditch beside a road, there was a family of Killdeer. At first, there was only one parent and two little fluffy chicks, which looked a lot like miniature adults. The parent was scolding us, making loud "kee" noises. It hurried to a slope and called to its chicks to follow. The other parent then appeared, landing in the middle of the road (it's a mostly empty little side road). It began to call, walking back and forth and squatting once or twice, trying to distract us while the other parent gathered the chicks. It then joined the other parent and the family hurried away. Below are four photos. The first is the parent calling in the ditch. The second and third are of the parent and each of the chicks. The fourth is the other parent in the road, creating a distraction.
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| Killdeer |
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| Killdeer |
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| Killdeer |
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| Killdeer |
Also in the ditch was a Snowy Egret that, unlike the Killdeer family, completely ignored us. It was walking along the edge, doing its "wiggly-leg" fishing. Below is a photo of it (notice the ripples in the water made by its leg).
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| Snowy Egret |
There were more swifts on Saturday than I've ever seen. We used to be just lucky to see a few swifts, but on Saturday, there were probably well over one hundred. They were mostly Vaux's Swifts (which we hardly ever saw before), though there were several White-throated Swifts here and there. Vaux's Swifts are found in the northwestern United States in the summer, Central America year round, and in between during migration. They are very small swifts with pointed, scythe-shaped wings and short, square tails. They are grayish-brown overall with paler throats. Like other swifts, they have a distinctive flight pattern, which is the easiest way to distinguish them from swallows; they have sharp, stiff wingbeats followed by short periods of gliding. Below is a Vaux's Swift (paler throat very slightly visible).
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| Vaux's Swift |
There numerous hummingbirds around. It seemed like there were more Allen's Hummingbirds than Anna's. Below is a male Allen's.
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| Allen's Hummingbird |
There were quite a few swallows around, mostly Northern Rough-winged Swallows. A pair of them were nesting in a hole under the bridge that the Cliff Swallows used to nest under. Below is a Northern Rough-winged Swallow perching on a streetlight.
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| Northern Rough-winged Swallow |
There were quite a few House Finches around. Below is a pair of them.
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| House Finches |
There were several American Coots swimming around here and there. Below is a photo of a coot.
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| American Coot |
We didn't see too many flycatchers. I know that the Ash-throated Flycatchers are here (I saw one in my yard), but we didn't see any at the lagoon. We did see the Black Phoebe. Below is a photo of one perching on a fence at Maxton Brown Park. It was diving into a flowerbed after insects.
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| Black Phoebe |
We went down to the beach. We didn't see as many birds there as we usually do, but we saw a few species. The usual American Kestrel was not there, but many, many Brown Pelicans were. Below are two photos of the beach, and three of the Brown Pelicans.
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| Brown Pelican |
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| Brown Pelicans |
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| Brown Pelicans |
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