Buena Vista Lagoon May

This Saturday was the bird count at the Buena Vista Lagoon. It was cloudy and mostly cool all day. Not very many birds were out, and we just barely managed to see fifty species. I apologize for the graininess of some of my pictures (and also the lack of pictures); the lighting was very bad. Below are five views around the lagoon.

There were many, many terns at the lagoon; Least, Forster's, and Caspian. They were everywhere. For the first time that I can remember, there were more terns than gulls at the lagoon. Below are three photos of Caspian Terns.

Caspian Tern

Caspian Tern

Caspian Tern

We didn't see very many herons or egrets (although, we did see three Green Herons, which is far more than we usually see). Early in the morning, I saw a Black-crowned Night-Heron, crouched at the edge of the reeds. Below is a photo of it.

Black-crowned Night-Heron

There were hardly any gulls at the lagoon, which was very unusual. Usually, there are a lot of them floating out in the middle of the lagoon and flying around the shopping centers, but on Saturday, there was just a small group of California Gulls in the early morning and a few Western Gulls later on. I'm not sure why there were so few gulls. Below are two of the California Gulls.

California Gulls

There also weren't very many cormorants. Personally, I only saw one Double-crested Cormorant. Below is a photo of it, taking off from the water.

Double-crested Cormorant

There were some Ruddy Ducks scattered around. The males were in very nice plumage with bright blue bills. Below are two photos of Ruddy Ducks (in the second photo, the two on the left are males, and the one on the right is a female).

Ruddy Duck

Ruddy Ducks

There were a few Eared Grebes around. None came close enough for a good picture, but I got a photo of one far away. Below is the Eared Grebe.

Eared Grebe

Early in the morning, we saw a couple of Brown-headed Cowbirds in the Nature Center parking lot. Below is a male cowbird at the top of a tree (I thought I was taking a photo of a blackbird until I zoomed in and saw the brown head).

Brown-headed Cowbird

There weren't as many hummingbirds as usual, but we did see some Allen's and Anna's Hummingbirds. Below is a female Allen's Hummingbird. 

Allen's Hummingbird

Buena Vista Lagoon April

I apologize for my late posting. The weekend before last was the monthly bird count at the Buena Vista Lagoon. It was partly cloudy all day and went back and forth between warm and cool. Below are seven views around the lagoon.

When we first arrived at the lagoon, we were surprised to see a huge number of Vaux's Swifts flying around. There were hundreds of them. There were also White-throated Swifts, but not very many. Then, as we walked by the lagoon, we saw an even greater number of swallows, over a thousand, flying over the water. There were hundreds of each of the species we normally see; there were Cliff, Northern Rough-winged, Tree, and Barn Swallows. It was incredible to see so many birds. I don't think I've ever seen so many swifts or swallows before. Below are six photos of the swifts and swallows. The fifth one is a Vaux's Swift and the sixth is a Barn Swallow.

Vaux's Swift

Barn Swallow

There weren't very many hawks at the lagoon, probably because of the weather. Early in the morning, a Red-shouldered Hawk swooped low over the lagoon, then landed on a telephone pole. It only stayed for a minute before flying off again. Later on, a Red-tailed Hawk flew right above us. Below are two photos. The first is of the Red-shouldered Hawk. The second is of the Red-tailed Hawk.

Red-shouldered Hawk

Red-tailed Hawk

The Eared Grebes are in their summer plumage now. Rather than being white and gray, they are dark reddish-brown and have their little crests and fluffy yellow "ears." We saw a few of them at the lagoon. Below are two photos of them.

Eared Grebe

Eared Grebe

Besides birds, there were also numerous California Ground Squirrels and Western Fence-Lizards. They liked the warm weather and became more active when the sun was shining. Below are photos of each.

California Ground Squirrel

Western Fence-Lizard

As always, there were many House Finches around, singing at the tops of trees. Below is a male perched in a sycamore tree.

House Finch

There were a few Allen's Hummingbirds zipping around. Below are two male Allen's Hummingbirds.

Allen's Hummingbird

Allen's Hummingbird

In February we saw a Western and a Clark's Grebe swimming together, and this time we saw them again. They were likely the same two. It's possible that they're a pair, since two species, especially very closely related ones, do occasionally interbreed. They were behaving like a pair last month, such as bobbing their heads at each other, and the Clark's Grebe begged for food from the Western Grebe when it caught a fish. I'm not certain, though. Below are five photos of them. The first two are the Clark's Grebe, the third is the Western Grebe, and the last two are of the two together.

Clark's Grebe

Clark's Grebe

Western Grebe

Western and Clark's Grebes

Clark's and Western Grebes

Usually when we see cormorants, they are on the water, sitting on a perch, or flying very low over the water. This bird count, however, a Double-crested Cormorant was flying high above us, soaring around in a wide circles. It may have been stuck up there, or maybe it just wanted to fly around. Below is a photo of it.

Double-crested Cormorant

There were quite a few Common Yellowthroats around. One very pretty male came out of the reeds and sat out in the open for everyone to see. Below is a photo of it.

Common Yellowthroat

It's spring, and there are quite a few young birds around. Below is a young House Sparrow (notice the yellow corners of its beak).

House Sparrow