This morning I was on the beach at 7:00 A.M., hoping to see the Peregrine Falcon we saw two weeks ago, or at least an Osprey. Gail had to attend to her immediate family today, so unfortunately couldn't come along. You can greatly enlarge each picture by left clicking on it, which I'm sure you'll want to do for some of the bird pictures below.
Warm air, Santa Ana winds, and water in the 60's had the surfers out in force.
A Common Merganser was diving for fish close to shore.
Wouldn't you love to be a Brown Pelican for a day?
After almost two hours of stalking the cliffs, I didn't find the Peregrine or Osprey. A jogger confirmed, however, that she sees a pair of falcons in the area most mornings, and sometimes gets buzzed by them.
I decided to drive over to San Elijo Lagoon, and hike along the shore trail.
Immediately, I was presented a pair of Hooded Mergansers, a first for me!
Nearby was this sweet pair of Gadwalls dabbling for aquatic plants.
Two striking American Wigeon males looking sharp.
Another Hooded Merganser with his hammerhead crest raised (mouth open).
(mouth closed)
On the left is a male Green-winged Teal.
A lone Snowy Egret waits patiently.
A Great Blue Heron came quite close...
... and waded into the water.
Another Green-winged Teal dabbling.
Two female American Wigeons.
A group of Northern Pintails were off in the distance.
From an elevated vantage point I spotted this Northern Flicker in a tree. Had me thinking hawk until I saw its straight bill.
A White-tailed Kite waits for a small mammal to appear.
There were four deer out in a grassy part of the marsh. I never would have seen them if not for their white butts.
A pair of Northern Shovelers doing their thang.
An Osprey did fly over, but right in front of the sun.
A closer Northern Pintail.
And lastly, a Clark's Grebe. Gail and I have handled literally hundreds of these when we did bird rehab, and we both still have our eyeballs!
Well, San Elijo Lagoon is a special sanctuary amid the hustle and bustle of San Diego County. I'll be back!
1 comment:
That's some good birding! Those hooded mergansers are pretty neat.
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