Buena Vista Lagoon March

This past Saturday was the bird count at the Buena Vista Lagoon. It was sunny, but cool, and we saw quite a few birds. Below are four views around the lagoon.

The orioles have started to arrive, though many of the winter birds are still here (though they'll probably start leaving sometime soon). We saw large flocks of Cedar Waxwings throughout the day. They were singing loudly, and some were acting like flycatchers - flying out, hovering a little, then returning to their perch. We also saw a few Hooded Orioles; two pairs. Below are three photos of Cedar Waxwings, and two photos of a couple of male Hooded Orioles.

Cedar Waxwing

Cedar Waxwing

Cedar Waxwing

Hooded Oriole

Hooded Oriole

We saw a few Double-crested Cormorants here and there around the lagoon. Below is one flying over.

Double-crested Cormorant

As usual, there were several American Coots and some Mallards around. Below are two photos, the first of a coot, and the second of both a coot and a male Mallard.

American Coot

Mallard and American Coot

We didn't see very many members of the heron and egret family, but we did see a couple of Great Blue Herons. Below is one of them, sitting at the edge of the reeds.

Great Blue Heron

There were quite a few different birds singing in high in the trees and hidden in the bushes. White-crowned Sparrows, Song Sparrows, Orange-crowned Warblers, Common Yellowthroats, and Yellow-rumped Warblers were all calling and singing at the same time. Below are three photos, the first of an Orange-crowned Warbler, the second of a Song Sparrow, and the third of a Yellow-rumped Warbler.

Orange-crowned Warbler

Song Sparrow

Yellow-rumped Warbler

Besides the birds, there were quite a few other animals that were active as well. There were California Ground Squirrels and Western Fence-Lizards running through the bushes, and quite a few butterflies and dragonflies were flying around, enjoying the sun. Below is a Western Fence-Lizard sunning itself on a wooden post.

Western Fence-Lizard

We saw a few birds of prey, including a Red-shouldered Hawk in a eucalyptus tree. Below is the hawk, scanning the ground for a possible breakfast.

Red-shouldered Hawk

There were still quite a few American White Pelicans at the lagoon. They are entering the breeding season and have grown horns on their bills. Below is a photo of one of the pelicans with a horn, as well as a Double-crested Cormorant.

American White Pelican and Double-crested Cormorant

There is another pet store bird (like the Orange Bishop I mentioned in the last post) that has been spreading, and has established itself in California. It is the Scaly-breasted Munia, also call the Spotted Munia, Nutmeg Mannikin, and Spice Finch. The male has a dark brown back, darker face, and a scaled chest. The female looks very much like a muted version of the male. We saw them at the lagoon a couple of months ago, and saw them again this time. Below are two photos. The first is of a male at the lagoon. The second is a photo I took of one in San Luis Obispo that better shows the markings.

Scaly-breasted Munia

Scaly-breasted Munia

We saw several Western Grebes and one Clark's Grebe. The Clark's was swimming right alongside a Western, giving us a great view of the two species. Below is a photo of them. The Clark's is in front (white above the eye) and the Western is in back (black covering the eye).

Clark's Grebe and Western Grebe

We didn't see quite as many hummingbirds as we usually do, but we still saw several Anna's and Allen's hummingbirds around. Below is a very beautiful male Allen's Hummingbird that sat nice and still for everyone to see.

Allen's Hummingbird

That black domestic Mallard that appeared a couple months ago is still here, and it's not actually all black. The past couple months were cloudy, so we only saw that the duck was very dark. It actually has green iridescent feathers all over its body, and is very beautiful. It was hanging out with some wild Mallards. Below are two photos of the domestic Mallard (plus a wild Mallard).

Mallards

Mallard

There were a couple of Cassin's Kingbirds around. Below is one of them perched on a street light.

Cassin's Kingbird

Near the end, we all saw a Caspian Tern. It was flying back and forth over the lagoon in the distance. The other terns should be showing up soon. Below is the Caspian Tern.

Caspian Tern

Bonus: A large group of Cedar Waxwings came down to take baths and drink in my yard yesterday. They were all crowding each other and being very noisy, all trying to bathe and drink at the same time out of one small clay bowl. More birds were constantly joining or flying off. It was very chaotic. Below are two photos of some of the waxwings.

Cedar Waxwings

Cedar Waxwings

Buena Vista Lagoon February

I apologize for not posting about January's bird count. I was busy and sick and just didn't have the time. I will post a few photos here of some of the highlights. Early in the morning, on the trail behind the nature center, I saw a large flock of American Goldfinches (I'd never seen them at the lagoon before) and a female Orange Bishop (a weaver finch from Africa that has become established in parts of California). We also saw a flock of Bushtits that, surprisingly, stayed still long enough for me to take a few pictures. There was an entirely black domestic Mallard swimming around the lagoon; it was very pretty. There was also a large group of Northern Pintails and a huge flock of gulls (and a few Brown Pelicans among them). The first two photos are of the American Goldfinches, the third is the Orange Bishop, the fourth is a Bushtit, the fifth is the Mallard, the sixth is the group of Northern Pintails, and the seventh is a small part of the flock of gulls (and three of the pelicans).

American Goldfinch

American Goldfinch

Orange Bishop

Bushtit

Mallard (Domestic)

Northern Pintails

Gulls and Brown Pelicans

Yesterday was the February bird count. While last month was fairly cloudy, this month was bright, clear, and sunny. Below are four views around the lagoon.

Before heading onto the trail behind the nature center, I walked along the highway to look for birds in the water and reeds beside the road. As I was walking, I was surprised by a loud clacking call close by. A Ridgway's Rail poked it's head out of the reeds. It disappeared before I could take picture, but I could hear it rustling, and occasionally it called. I walked along the road with it and eventually reached the end of the reeds. I started to make a "pst" sound to see if it might be curious and come out. It did walk out into the open and stood there looking at me. I'd never seen a Ridgway's Rail so close before; it was very exciting. Ridgway's Rails were previously considered a subspecies of the Clapper Rail, but have now been declared their own species. They live along the Pacific Coast in salt and freshwater marshes. The Ridgway's Rail is grayish-brown overall with dark streaking on the back, white streaking on the belly, a reddish-brown chest, and a white rump. It has a bright orange bill and orange legs. Below are two photos of the Ridgway's Rail.

Ridgway's Rail

Ridgway's Rail

In the morning, there were a few Gadwall floating around on the lagoon. Below is a pair of them (the female is on the left, the male on the right).

Gadwall

We also saw a pair of Western Bluebirds checking out the bluebird house in front of the nature center. Below are two photos. The first is of the female sitting on the birdhouse. The second is of the male sitting in another part of the tree.

Western Bluebird

Western Bluebird

We saw quite a few Cedar Waxwings. They were singing very loudly and flying around or perching in flocks. Below is one of them.

Cedar Waxwing

There were also a few small groups of Lesser Goldfinches. Below is a male that was singing high up in a tree.

Lesser Goldfinch

The Song Sparrows were also singing from every bush. Below is one of them.

Song Sparrow

We were very surprised to see a large flock of American White Pelicans. They would fly up into the air and soar around for a while before settling back down on the lagoon. I don't remember seeing so many at the lagoon before; there were at least twenty-five of them. Below are three photos of the pelicans.

American White Pelicans

American White Pelicans

American White Pelicans

There weren't too many hummingbirds yesterday. There were a few Anna's and Allen's here and there, but there didn't seem to be as many as usual. Below are two photos of a very shiny male Allen's Hummingbird.

Allen's Hummingbird

Allen's Hummingbird

There were quite a few Northern Shovelers on the lagoon. It seemed like there was always another flock of them coming in to land. Below are two photos of the Northern Shovelers.

Northern Shovelers

Northern Shovelers

There were several Western Grebes around, but only one Clark's. Below is the Clark's Grebe (notice the black is above the eye).

Clark's Grebe

There was a Great Blue Heron sitting in the reeds, preening itself. There was one sitting in the exact same spot last month doing the exact same thing; perhaps it was the same one. Below is the heron.

Great Blue Heron

There were quite a few warblers hopping around, though not many different species. The most abundant were the Yellow-rumped Warblers (there are always huge numbers of them in the winter), followed by the Common Yellowthroats. There were also a few Orange-crowned Warblers and one Townsend's Warbler. Below is a photo of the one of the Common Yellowthroats.

Common Yellowthroat