Christmas Bird Count

Last Friday was the Christmas Bird Count at the Buena Vista Lagoon. It was a very gray, somewhat chilly morning, and it rained on and off. My dad wanted to start early, before it started raining (since birds usually hide away when it rains), so we got to the lagoon early and started at Hosp Grove Park. We saw quite a few species, including some warblers (including Townsend's) and two different woodpeckers (Nuttall's and Downy), though it did start raining while we were there. Below are three photos of Hosp Grove Park.

As we were walking along the trail, we heard a Red-shouldered Hawk calling in the distance (they're very loud and always sound upset). It flew over us and landed in a tree. A crow then came and started harassing it. It flew away just as another Red-shouldered Hawk (probably its mate) flew in. The second hawk landed in the same place as the first, and the crow harassed it for a little while, then flew away. Below is the second hawk.

Red-shouldered Hawk

Across from the park is a parking lot (there are restaurants and things over there). In the parking lot, there were quite a few crows and one raven. The crows didn't seem to mind the raven, and the raven didn't seem to mind hanging around with the crows. Below is a photo of the raven sitting in a tree (notice the very large bill).

Common Raven

At the pond at the edge of the park, there were quite a few Mallards and couple of American Coots. They didn't seem to mind the rain. Below is a photo of the pond and some of the Mallards.

Mallards

After Hosp Grove Park, we headed to the nature center. It was raining quite a lot, but there were still birds out. Below are four photos around the lagoon (the first two are of the same spot, during and after the rain).

I don't usually see bullfrogs out of the water, since they usually dive into the water when I walk by. However, on Friday there was a large bullfrog sitting on the reeds by the fishing bridge and it didn't seem to notice me (or it wasn't bothered by me), since it continued to sit there. Below is a photo of it.

Bullfrog

There were quite a few Northern Shovelers around the lagoon. They were more active than they usually seem to be in the early morning, even when it started raining. Below are three photos of some shovelers swimming in the rain. The first is a female and the second is a male. In the third photo, the one smaller bird in the middle going the opposite direction is a Pied-billed Grebe.

Northern Shoveler

Northern Shoveler

Northern Shovelers and Pied-billed Grebe

A female kestrel (probably the same one from last month) was sitting on the telephone line across the street from the nature center (same spot as last time). Below is a photo of the kestrel.

American Kestrel

In a sycamore tree along the trail behind the nature center was a Cooper's Hawk. It was all fluffed up because of the cold rain. Below is a photo of it.

Cooper's Hawk

Also behind the nature center were two Black-and-white Warblers. They were both scooting around the trunks of trees like woodpeckers and making their sharp little cheeping calls. Below are two photos of one of them.

Black-and-white Warbler

Black-and-white Warbler

We saw a couple of Red-tailed Hawks around the lagoon. Below is one of them in a palm tree. It was just sitting there and screeching over and over again.

Red-tailed Hawk

There were quite a few hummingbirds around, though a lot of them were up in the trees, so I wasn't able to identify many of them. I did see both Anna's and Allen's, though. Below is a very pretty male Anna's Hummingbird.

Anna's Hummingbird

There were also many, many Song Sparrows hopping around and singing in the bushes. Below is one of them.

Song Sparrow

Our last stop was the beach. The water was actually calmer than I'd expected, and we hoped we'd see some loons, but there weren't any. There were a lot of pelicans, gulls, and cormorants, though (and one dolphin). Below are three photos. The first two are of the ocean. The third is of a flock of Brown Pelicans flying over the ocean.

Brown Pelicans

The only sandpipers we saw at the beach were Sanderlings. There were quite a few of them, all running back and forth along the beach as the water came in and out. Below are three photos of the Sanderlings.

Sanderlings

Sanderlings

Sanderlings

Next to the weir (which was overflowing due to the rain) was a pretty little Snowy Egret. Below is a photo of it, with the weir behind it.

Snowy Egret

Just as my dad and I were about to leave the beach, we saw two unusual-looking birds flying over the ocean. We watched them and realized they were a pair of Peregrine Falcons. My dad had seen Peregrines at the lagoon when I was up at school, but before that, neither of us had ever seen them at the lagoon before. I guess the pair has moved in, though I don't know where they'd be nesting (there aren't any cliffs or anything nearby, as far as I know). It was very exciting to see them. Below is a photo of one of them standing on a telephone pole. It was making chirping noises.

Peregrine Falcon

Christmas Bird Count

Sorry for the late posting again. December 26 was the Christmas Bird Count at the Buena Vista Lagoon. It was a fairly chilly day. Overall, we counted seventy different species.

Before we headed to the lagoon, we stopped by the creek park where the Hooded Mergansers have been hanging around. Unfortunately, we didn't see them that day (but they are still around). We did see a female Belted Kingfisher, however. Below is a photo of the kingfisher.

Belted Kingfisher

We also stopped by Hosp Grove Park by the lagoon. We didn't see very many species there, though we did see quite a few Townsend's Warblers and heard a California Quail. The views were very nice along the trail, with the sunlight shining through the eucalyptus trees. Below are three photos of the views along the trail.

As we were walking, we heard an odd noise that at first we thought was a kingbird. It turned out to be a couple of Northern Flickers up in the trees. Below is a photo of one of them.

Northern Flicker

There was a male Nuttall's Woodpecker very high up in a tree as well. Below is a photo of the woodpecker.

Nuttall's Woodpecker

It must have been a bit too chilly for some birds, as they were all fluffed up. There were quite a few doves sitting like that, as well as a Red-shouldered Hawk. Below is the hawk sitting in a tree in a parking lot.

Red-shouldered Hawk

After briefly stopping by Maxton Brown Park, we headed over to the usual starting point at the lagoon. The sky was mostly clear, but it remained a bit chilly for the rest of the day. Below are four views around the lagoon.

As I was walking along the trail behind the Nature Center, I saw a Red-tailed Hawk up in a palm tree being harassed by several crows. It took off and flew right above me. The crows followed it. Below are two photos of the hawk.

Red-tailed Hawk

Red-tailed Hawk

There were several Pied-billed Grebes around the lagoon. Below are two of them.

Pied-billed Grebes

We saw a single American Kestrel. It was sitting on a streetlight above the freeway, looking around. Below is a photo of it.

American Kestrel

We also spotted a Great Egret sitting near some water right beside the road. Below is the egret.

Great Egret

At the next stop, a Great Blue Heron was crouching in the reeds, preening itself. Occasionally, it would pause and take a slow look around. Below is the heron.

Great Blue Heron

There were quite a few Western Grebes around, some sleeping and some diving. There were also a lot more Clark's Grebes than we usually see. There were a couple of Clark's Grebes with young that were nearly adults. However, the young were still pestering their parents; every time a parent came up with the fish, the young would come after it, making strange noises and begging to be fed. Below are five photos. The first two are of Western Grebes. The last three are of Clark's Grebes. The fifth photo shows one of the young following its parent.

Western Grebes

Western Grebe

Clark's Grebe

Clark's Grebe

Clark's Grebes

There were not as many warblers around as there usually are at this time of year. We did see several Orange-crowned Warblers flitting about. Below is one of them.

Orange-crowned Warbler

As usual, we saw a few Black Phoebes around. Below is one of them perched in a tree at Maxton Brown Park.

Black Phoebe

We went to the beach and saw several loons out on the ocean, as well as a couple of Eared Grebes. Below are two photos. In both photos there are two Pacific Loons on the left, and two Red-throated Loons on the right. In the first photo, the two round-looking birds in the back are Eared Grebes.

Pacific Loons, Red-throated Loons, and Eared Grebes

Pacific Loons and Red-throated Loons

There were a few Double-crested Cormorants out on the ocean. Below is a photo of one (although, in this photo, it happens to look somewhat like a Brandt's Cormorant because it has its head turned slightly).

Double-crested Cormorant

There were several Brown Pelicans flying around. Below is one of them, a very colorful adult.

Brown Pelican

We didn't see all the shorebirds that we had hoped to see by the ocean, but we did see couple of cute little Sanderlings running along the beach. Below are two photos of the tiny shorebirds.

Sanderling

Sanderling

There were a few different species of gulls at the beach. Many were clustered around a stream of water coming from the lagoon. Below are two photos. In the first photo, the four smaller gulls are Ring-billed Gulls, while the two larger ones are Western Gulls. In the second photos, the gull to the far left is a Ring-billed Gull, the two large gulls are Western Gulls, and the rest are Heermann's Gulls. there is also a Sanderling running by in the background.

Ring-billed Gulls and Western Gulls

Ring-billed Gull, Western Gulls, Heermann's Gulls, and
Sanderling