Buena Vista Lagoon June

Saturday was the bird count at the Buena Vista Lagoon. It was supposed to be hot and sunny, but it stayed mostly cool and overcast throughout the morning. Summer is almost never a great time for birdwatching here, but we did manage to see over forty species. Below are five views around the lagoon.

The Pied-billed Grebe that had been sitting on its nest last month now has a few tiny chicks. Below are two photos of the grebe on its nest. In the first photo, a stripy little chick's head is poking out behind the mother.

Pied-billed Grebe

Pied-billed Grebe

There were a few Desert Cottontail rabbits hopping around behind the nature center. One sat right in the middle of the path, holding very still until I was a few feet away. Then it bolted into the bushes. Below is that rabbit.

Desert Cottontail

There were a lot of terns at the lagoon; Least, Forster's, and Caspian. They seemed to be everywhere, squawking and diving for fish. Below is a Caspian Tern flying in the distance.

Caspian Tern

There were quite a few very vividly colored Monarch butterflies floating around among the trees along the trail behind the nature center. Below is one that sat still for a few seconds in the grass.

Monarch

It wasn't quite warm enough for the lizards. I only saw a few of them running around. Below is one of them blending in very well with the rocks.

Western Fence-Lizard

There were a couple of Red-tailed Hawks, but (like the lizards) it wasn't warm enough for them to be very active. Below is a very dark-colored Red-tailed Hawk.

Red-tailed Hawk

There were a few Mourning Doves hanging out here and there. Below is one of them.

Mourning Dove

There is a single intact Cliff Swallow nest underneath the bridge, and a pair of swallows are using it. I don't know where the others are nesting, or why this pair chose to nest alone, but it's nice to see that the Cliff Swallows haven't completely given up on the bridge nests. Below is the nest with a swallow peeking out.

Cliff Swallow

There were quite a few Northern Rough-winged Swallows and a couple of Barn Swallows flying around with the flocks of Cliff Swallows. Below is a Northern Rough-winged Swallow gliding through the air.

Northern Rough-winged Swallow

There were a lot of Great-tailed Grackles at the lagoon. They were flying everywhere and all of the males were fluffing up and singing very loudly. Below are two photos of a group of three males sitting on top of a lightpost.

Great-tailed Grackles

Great-tailed Grackles

There were quite a few Common Yellowthroats around. Most of them didn't stay still for more than a second, but one of them sat still long enough for me to take a few photos. Below are two photos of the yellowthroat.

Common Yellowthroat

Common Yellowthroat

San Luis Rey River

Sorry that this post is really late (and out of order). I was very busy.

On Monday, May 25, my dad and I went birdwatching at the mouth of the San Luis Rey River. It was very cloudy for much of the day. We walked along a bike trail. Below are five views from a bridge and along the trail.

There were a lot of Black-crowned Night-Herons. They were all crouched in the reeds along the shoreline. Below are three Night-Herons (the third one is immature).

Black-crowned Night-Heron

Black-crowned Night-Heron

Black-crowned Night-Heron

There were a few Ruddy Ducks swimming along. They were very difficult to photograph, as they seemed to dive underwater every few seconds. However, I did manage to photograph them. Below are two photos. The first is a male in very striking breeding plumage, and the second is a female.

Ruddy Duck

Ruddy Duck

A Cooper's Hawk flew over the river and a large flock of blackbirds, grackles, and a few others chased it. In the end, only one red-winged blackbird continued chasing it. Below are three photos of the blackbird following the hawk.

Cooper's Hawk and Red-winged Blackbird

Cooper's Hawk and Red-winged Blackbird

Cooper's Hawk and Red-winged Blackbird

There were quite a few Great-tailed grackles. Male grackles look surprisingly large up close. They're a lot larger than females (a few inches longer and about twice the weight). Their iridescent plumage is also very beautiful up close. Below are two photos of male Great-tailed Grackles.

Great-tailed Grackle

Great-tailed Grackle

There were a few Pied-billed Grebes floating around, including a couple of young ones with striped faces. Below are two photos of Pied-billed Grebes. The first is a young one, and the second is an adult.

Pied-billed Grebe

Pied-billed Grebe

There was a large flock of Western Gulls standing in the water. A few other birds were moving around in the flock as well. Below are two photos. In the first are twenty-eight Western Gulls, an American Avocet (bottom left), and a Black-necked Stilt (bottom right). In the second are ten gulls and an American Coot.

Western Gulls, Black-necked Stilt, and American Avocet

Western Gulls and American Coot

A large flock of Brown Pelicans flew over the ocean in a long V shape. There were probably about twenty-five to thirty pelicans in the flock. Below are three photos of them.

Brown Pelicans

Brown Pelicans

Brown Pelicans

There were a couple of American Avocets. They seemed to be a pair, and had a couple of fluffy gray chicks, one of which became confused and followed a Killdeer around for a while. One of the adult avocets seemed very determined to make a wide open space for itself and chased away all of the stilts and gulls from that space. American Avocets are found in the western United States and southern Canada in the summer, and in the southeastern United States, Mexico, and part of Central America in the winter. They are found in southern California and southeastern Texas all year round. They are very distinctive with their white bodies, black and white wings, long bluish-gray legs, and thin, upturned bills. In the summer, their heads and necks are reddish colored, and in the winter they are gray. Below are seven photos of the avocets. The first two are the two adults (the darker-colored one was the more aggressive one). The next three photos are of one of the adults chasing away three different gulls. The last two are of the chicks (in the very last photo, the chick is following the Killdeer).

American Avocet

American Avocet

American Avocet and Western Gull

American Avocet and Western Gulls

American Avocets and Western Gulls

American Avocet

Killdeer and American Avocet

There were also several Double-crested Cormorants and Caspian Terns. Two of the terns appeared to be in a pair. Below is a photo of a couple of gulls, three cormorants, and two terns (the terns are only barely visible behind the bushes to the right of the photo).

Double-crested Cormorants, Caspian Terns, and Western Gulls

Looking back over my photos, I discovered an odd bird in one of them that I hadn't noticed before. It was a Brant, a type of goose. When I took the picture, it had blended in with the Double-crested Cormorants so I hadn't noticed it. Brants are found along the east and west coasts of the United States and northern Mexico in the winter, and in the Arctic Circle in the summer. They are fairly distinctive geese with mostly dark bodies and wings, white "necklaces," and white tails. The amount of gray and white varies from bird to bird. Some have grayish wings and sides, or white patches. The one in my photo had white patches on its sides. Below is the photo. The Brant is the bird at the far right. Also in the photo are two Western Gulls, the pair of Caspian Terns, three Double-crested Cormorants, and a Black-necked Stilt (its head is poking out from behind the piece of wood near the top of the photo). This may have been the most species I've ever captured in one photo.

Western Gulls, Caspian Terns, Double-crested Cormorants,
Black-necked Stilt, and Brant

There were only a couple of Gadwalls at the river, a male and a female. Below is a photo of them.

Gadwalls

There were a few Snowy Egrets around. Two of them may have been a pair, since they seemed to be foraging together. Below are three photos of them. In the second photo, there is a Northern Rough-winged Swallow flying by in the corner.

Snowy Egret

Snowy Egret and Northern Rough-winged Swallow

Snowy Egrets

There were quite a few Northern Rough-winged Swallows, as well as some other swallows. Some of them may have had nests under a bridge. Below is one of the Northern Rough-winged Swallows perching in the reeds.

Northern Rough-winged Swallow

There were a few Song Sparrows around, and I took a photo of what I thought were Song Sparrows, but turned out to be Lincoln's Sparrows (I made mistakes like this one and the one with the Brant because I wasn't really using my binoculars). Below are two Lincoln's Sparrows.

Lincoln's Sparrows

There were quite a few Black-necked Stilts at the river. Two of them were in a pair and had a little fluffy chick. One of the parents was scolding my dad and me very loudly. Black-necked Stilts are found in the western and southern United States in the summer and parts of Central America in the winter. They are found along the southern coasts of the United States as well as much of Mexico and parts of South America all year round. They have a very striking black and white plumage. They have black backs and wings, white fronts, and a white spot above either eye. To me, their pattern is somewhat reminiscent of an orca. They also have black, needle-like bills and extremely long, thin red legs. Below are seven photos of the stilts. The last three are of the chick.

Black-necked Stilt

Black-necked Stilt

Black-necked Stilt

Black-necked Stilt

Black-necked Stilt

Black-necked Stilt

Black-necked Stilt