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