Buena Vista Lagoon June

This past Saturday was the bird count at the Buena Vista Lagoon. It was overcast in the morning, then cleared up, then got a bit cloudy again later on. It was pretty warm, but there was a breeze. Below are seven views around the lagoon (the first five are of the trail behind the nature center).

There were quite a few bullfrogs around, making their bull sounds. Below are two of the bullfrogs.

Bullfrog

Bullfrog

There were quite a few young birds, including some young Pied-billed Grebes. Below are two photos of the grebes, as well as a male Ruddy Duck in the first photo.

Pied-billed Grebe and Ruddy Duck

Pied-billed Grebes

We didn't see as many Western Grebes as we usually do, but there were a few around. Below is one of them.

Western Grebe

There were a lot of Least Terns flying around the lagoon. There were more of them than any other terns, though there were some Forster's and Caspian. Below are two photos. The first is of a Least Tern. The second is of a Caspian Tern.

Least Tern

Caspian Tern

As usual, there were several Double-crested Cormorants perched on the telephone lines. Below are four of them.

Double-crested Cormorants

On the trail behind the nature center, there were a lot of Monarch butterflies flying around. It seemed like one flew out of every bush I passed. There were also a lot of other insects and arachnids out and about. There were numerous dragonflies flying around the reeds and some wasps hovering above the ground, probably looking for spiders. There were even a couple of fishing spiders, which I'd never seen before, hurrying away into the water (fishing spiders are somewhat large spiders that swim and eat insects, tadpoles, and small fish). Although, I was only able to take photos of the butterflies. Below are two Monarchs.

Monarch

Monarch

There was also a bright red crayfish walking backwards along the trail. I was a bit worried that it wouldn't be able to find the water again, especially since a lot of people with their dogs go down that trail, so my dad picked it up and put it in the water. It then crawled away into the lagoon. Below is the crayfish.

Crayfish

I don't often see Marsh Wrens out in the open, but on Saturday I saw three of them, and heard two young ones in their nest in the reeds. Below is a Marsh Wren that was singing at the top of the reeds for a while.

Marsh Wren

Because it was warm, there were quite a few lizards running around, mostly Western Fence-Lizards. Below are three photos of a few of them (notice the blue throat in the third photo).

Western Fence-Lizard

Western Fence-Lizards

Western Fence-Lizard

In front of the nature center, a female Brown-headed Cowbird sat in a sycamore tree for a little while. It might have been one of two we saw last month. Below is the cowbird.

Brown-headed Cowbird

I didn't expect to see anything in the ditch beside the road that we usually drive by, since the water is currently covered in a thick layer of bright green algae, but there was actually a lot of activity there. There was a little Killdeer family with a chick. They were a bit upset with us being there. Below are three photos. The first two are of the Killdeer chick walking through the algae (it was struggling a little, but made it across). The third is of one of the parents.

Killdeer

Killdeer

Killdeer

In the ditch on the other side of the road, there were four baby turtles. Unfortunately, they were Red-eared Sliders (not native), but they were still very cute. Below are two photos of them (a lot of people seem to dump trash around this spot, which is why there's a beer can in the second photo).

Red-eared Sliders

Red-eared Sliders

There were also a couple of Cliff Swallows landing on a patch of dirt in the ditch. They were picking up bits of mud and flying away with them. It seems a bit late for Cliff Swallows to be building nests, but I guess some of them are. Below are two photos of one of the Cliff Swallows.

Cliff Swallow

Cliff Swallow

While we were there, a Red-tailed Hawk was flying around above us. First, it was being dive-bombed by a Caspian Tern, and then by a male Great-tailed Grackle. There was also a pair of Red-tailed Hawks that flew above us, screeching. One (a male) had something in its talons, probably a squirrel. The other (a female) was following the male with its talons out. Eventually, after circling around for a bit, they came together and the male handed the squirrel to the female, then they flew off together. Below are four photos. The first is of the hawk being attacked by the grackle, and the next three are of the pair (the fourth photo is after the squirrel was given to the female).

Great-tailed Grackle and Red-tailed Hawk

Red-tailed Hawks

Red-tailed Hawks

Red-tailed Hawks

Speaking of squirrels, there were a lot of them (like the lizards, they seem to love warm weather). Below are a few California Ground Squirrels hanging out on a wooden fence at Hosp Grove Park.

California Ground Squirrel

California Ground Squirrel

California Ground Squirrel