Buena Vista Lagoon April

Saturday was the bird count at the Buena Vista Lagoon. It was very cloudy and cool. We saw an amazing total of seventy-four different species. I don't believe we've ever gotten such a high count on a regular bird count; we usually get that sort of number on a Christmas count. Below are four views around the lagoon.

The winter ducks seem to have all left. There were only Mallards and Ruddy Ducks. One of the first birds I saw in the morning was a sleeping male Mallard. Below is a photo of the Mallard.

Mallard

There were several grebes around the lagoon; mainly Westerns, a few Pied-billed. Below is a beautiful Western Grebe that came fairly close to me.

Western Grebe

There were many, many Song Sparrows around, scratching at the ground and singing on top of the bushes. There were a few young, fluffy Song Sparrows cheeping in the bushes, being fed by their parents. Below are two photos of Song Sparrows.

Song Sparrow

Song Sparrow

There were also quite a few Eurasian Collared-Doves flying around. On our way home, we saw one being chased by an American Crow. Crows seem to really dislike them, though I don't know why. Below is a collared-dove sitting high up in a tree.

Eurasian Collared-Dove

There were many Common Yellowthroats around, rustling in the reeds. One came out into the open, but would not sit still. I only managed to take one clear photo. Below is the yellowthroat.

Common Yellowthroat

In a parking lot, we saw two little male Wilson's Warblers hopping around from tree to tree. They were very secretive at first, but then came right out in the open in front of me. Below is one of the Wilson's Warblers.

Wilson's Warbler

In a ditch beside a road, there was a family of Killdeer. At first, there was only one parent and two little fluffy chicks, which looked a lot like miniature adults. The parent was scolding us, making loud "kee" noises. It hurried to a slope and called to its chicks to follow. The other parent then appeared, landing in the middle of the road (it's a mostly empty little side road). It began to call, walking back and forth and squatting once or twice, trying to distract us while the other parent gathered the chicks. It then joined the other parent and the family hurried away. Below are four photos. The first is the parent calling in the ditch. The second and third are of the parent and each of the chicks. The fourth is the other parent in the road, creating a distraction.

Killdeer

Killdeer

Killdeer

Killdeer

Also in the ditch was a Snowy Egret that, unlike the Killdeer family, completely ignored us. It was walking along the edge, doing its "wiggly-leg" fishing. Below is a photo of it (notice the ripples in the water made by its leg).

Snowy Egret

There were more swifts on Saturday than I've ever seen. We used to be just lucky to see a few swifts, but on Saturday, there were probably well over one hundred. They were mostly Vaux's Swifts (which we hardly ever saw before), though there were several White-throated Swifts here and there. Vaux's Swifts are found in the northwestern United States in the summer, Central America year round, and in between during migration. They are very small swifts with pointed, scythe-shaped wings and short, square tails. They are grayish-brown overall with paler throats. Like other swifts, they have a distinctive flight pattern, which is the easiest way to distinguish them from swallows; they have sharp, stiff wingbeats followed by short periods of gliding. Below is a Vaux's Swift (paler throat very slightly visible).

Vaux's Swift

There numerous hummingbirds around. It seemed like there were more Allen's Hummingbirds than Anna's. Below is a male Allen's.

Allen's Hummingbird

There were quite a few swallows around, mostly Northern Rough-winged Swallows. A pair of them were nesting in a hole under the bridge that the Cliff Swallows used to nest under. Below is a Northern Rough-winged Swallow perching on a streetlight.

Northern Rough-winged Swallow

There were quite a few House Finches around. Below is a pair of them.

House Finches

There were several American Coots swimming around here and there. Below is a photo of a coot.

American Coot

We didn't see too many flycatchers. I know that the Ash-throated Flycatchers are here (I saw one in my yard), but we didn't see any at the lagoon. We did see the Black Phoebe. Below is a photo of one perching on a fence at Maxton Brown Park. It was diving into a flowerbed after insects.

Black Phoebe

We went down to the beach. We didn't see as many birds there as we usually do, but we saw a few species. The usual American Kestrel was not there, but many, many Brown Pelicans were. Below are two photos of the beach, and three of the Brown Pelicans.

Brown Pelican

Brown Pelicans

Brown Pelicans

Buena Vista Lagoon March

Today was the bird count at the Buena Vista Lagoon. We saw fifty-eight different species of birds. It was very foggy in the early morning, then cleared up and became warmer later on. Below are five views around the lagoon.

There were quite a few Mallards at the lagoon today. There was a pair feeding together in the ditch beside the road, and several other pairs scattered around the lagoon. Below are two photos. The first is a male Mallard in the ditch. The second is of three Mallards in flight.

Mallard

Mallards

There were also quite a few Western Bluebirds around the nature center. I had never seen them there before. They appear to be using the bluebird boxes that were put up around the area. Below are three photos of the Western Bluebirds (the first is a female, the second two are males).

Western Bluebird

Western Bluebird

Western Bluebird

There were many, many Song Sparrows sitting atop bushes and trees, singing and establishing their territories. Below are two photos of Song Sparrows.

Song Sparrow

Song Sparrow

There were several American Coots here and there around the lagoon. Below is a photo of one.

American Coot

Today we saw a few different hawks: Red-tailed, Cooper's, and Red-shouldered. One Red-shouldered Hawk was sitting on top of a sign. I happened to be standing right below it, and it peered over the edge at me. After it had flown into a eucalyptus tree, I was able to take a photo. It was later mobbed by a horde of Hooded Orioles. Below is the Red-shouldered Hawk.

Red-shouldered Hawk

There were hundreds of swallows today, most of which were Northern Rough-winged Swallows. Two Northern Rough-winged Swallows came down and sat on a telephone wire for a while, preening themselves. Rough-winged Swallows seem to be more willing to perch on wires than any of the other swallows, though I'm not sure why. Below are three photos of the swallows.

Northern Rough-winged Swallow

Northern Rough-winged Swallow

Northern Rough-winged Swallow

There were quite a few hummingbirds at the lagoon, both Anna's and Allen's. Below are two photos. The first is of an Anna's Hummingbird. The second is an Allen's.

Anna's Hummingbird

Allen's Hummingbird

Once it became a bit warmer, a few Western Fence-Lizards came out to bask in the sunshine. Below are two photos of one of the lizards (with a nice view of the blue throat).

Western Fence-Lizard

Western Fence-Lizard

There were a few Mourning Doves around. One sat very still in a tree and let me come very close. Below is a photo of it.

Mourning Dove

The most unusual sight of the day was a very large Common Snapping Turtle laying eggs. Snapping turtles are not native to California, and were probably introduced as escaped or released pets. In my research, I found that on this website: http://nas.er.usgs.gov/queries/factsheet.aspx?speciesID=1225 (run by the U.S. Geological Survey) the Buena Vista Lagoon is listed specifically as one of the sites where a snapping turtle was found (under the heading "Nonindigenous Occurrences"). Snapping turtles are very distinctive. They are most easily identified by their large size (they look too big for their shells), their hooked beak, and their very long, spiny tail. Young snapping turtles have sharp ridges on their backs, which become less prominent as they age (older turtles appear to have almost flat shells - the one we saw was old). They will eat aquatic plants, carrion, and pretty much any small creature they can catch. As suggested by their name, they bite. Below are two photos of the snapping turtle.

Snapping Turtle

Snapping Turtle

There weren't very many herons or egrets. There were only a couple of Great Blue Herons and Great Egrets. Below is a Great Blue Heron flying over the lagoon.

Great Blue Heron

Most of the Cliff Swallow nests along the bridge have fallen to pieces. The swallows haven't nested there in quite a long while. Today, there was a single pair flying to and from a nest, though I don't know if they'll continue using it. A couple of years, Cliff Swallows rebuilt the nests, but never actually used them. Well, this year could be different. We'll see next month, I suppose. Below are the two Cliff Swallows in their nest.

Cliff Swallows