Mission Trails Hike

Today, we met my nephew Logan and his girlfriend Alison for a hike at Mission Trails Regional Park.  They were visiting friends in La Jolla for a couple days and made time to visit with us, too.  It was great to catch up with Logan and to meet Alison!

Orioles

We have had a pair of Hooded Orioles hanging around our backyard the past month.  They like the nectar in the morning glories and honeysuckle, as well as drinking from the hummingbird feeders.

The pictures below are of the male.

San Clemente Beach Walk

This morning we walked a few miles from San Clemente State Beach south to San Onofre and back.  We took advantage of the low tide and warm sunny weather.

 We saw many California Sea Hares that feed on algae.

 They can grow up to 30 inches in length!

 A near perfect conch shell.

 An Elegant Tern looking quite punk.

 Elegant Terns

 Elegant Tern

 Snowy Egret

 Gail communicating with tide pool creatures.

Heermann's Gull

The always awesome Brown Pelicans.

Gail has been enjoying her volunteer service at the wonderful Rancho Coastal Humane Society.  She reports the staff and volunteers are likable and the care the animals receive is top notch.  They even receive frequent reiki sessions!

Little Blue Heron

While biking around Mission Bay this morning, we spotted an unfamiliar heron type bird.  Was it an escapee from Safari Park or the zoo?  After looking it up in Sibley's and getting confirmation from iNaturalist.org, it turns out it was a Little Blue Heron, normally found in the Southeastern U.S., and Mexico.  Technically out of it's range, it is spotted sometimes in the San Diego wetland areas.

 Little Blue Heron

Breeding plumage is apparent.

Ringneck Snake

This morning while hiking at Calavera, we found a San Diego Ringneck Snake on the trail.  I had almost stepped on it, when Gail spotted it.

They are small, reaching an adult length of about one to two feet.

 Ringnecks are venomous in order to subdue prey, but are harmless to humans.

Also, on Tuesday, we saw a baby Southern Pacific Rattlesnake while hiking at Calavera.

Young Southern Pacific Rattlesnake.

I gave it a little nudge to move it off the trail and safely into the bushes.

Biking Around San Diego Bay

Yesterday, Sunday, we got up at 4:30 to go biking around San Diego Bay.  We arrived at Coronado around 6:30, enjoying no traffic, easy parking, and cool temperatures.  We didn't  actually go all around the bay like a couple years ago, but rode down the ocean side, around the southern end, and up to Chula Vista to the Living Coast Discovery Center.  We stopped numerous times along the way to look at birds in particular.

Most of the route has dedicated bike paths with frequent view points and interpretive signs.

 After just a few minutes we spotted this Osprey perched on a sign.

 Western Grebes resting near shore.  This species we treated frequently at IBR as they seemed to have a knack for getting oiled and washing up on beaches.

 A Great Egret stalking the shallow mud flats.

 Clark's Grebe.

 Snowy Egret

 American Avocet

 The San Diego Bay from the southern end looking northward.

 A Snowy Egret taking flight.

 A resting flock of  Black Skimmers.  Skimmers fly low over the water at night, skimming the water for small fish with their lower mandibles.

 Black Skimmers are in the tern family.  They often rest with their heads stretched forward on the ground.

We saw numerous terns diving for fish, and hundreds of them gathered around distant levees.  We saw several species of terns, including the small Least Tern.  The Navy has done a remarkable job of creating large fenced off areas for endangered Least Terns and Snowy Plovers to nest.  Breeding pairs of Least Terns have made a comeback because of this effort, and San Diego County now supports 60% of  the breeding population of  Least Terns.

 Gail spotted this spider with a wrapped up catch.

 Another Osprey, this time on a light pole.

 Barn Swallows made their nests on the walls of the Discovery Center.

Next to the swallows this Mourning Dove had her nest.

 Black-necked Stilt

Here's a rare bird, the Rufous-crowned Nightingale.

Paused for a snack with our 42 year old Schwinns.

An American Avocet above, and an unidentified shorebird below.

A Great Egret keeping an eye on us, while we pretend we're not looking at it - never works, they know!

Woodson Mountain

Today, we decided to hike somewhere new, and after dropping off some donations to the American Cancer Society in Rancho Bernardo, we drove a few more miles to Lake Poway.

Lake Poway

Tiger Whiptail Lizard

 The trail to the top of  Woodson Mountain climbs 2,300 feet and is 6.8 miles round trip.

 Red flowers

 The trail passes up a boulder strewn mountainside.

Killed by fire?

 We had lunch at the top.  It was a very pleasant day for hiking - the temperatures are supposed to be about 30 degrees warmer here on Sunday and Monday.

 Granite Spiny Lizard

 Like many mountain peaks these days, Woodson Mountain is festooned with microwave towers.

 Near the top is Potato Chip Rock.

 Purple Flowers

 An unusually colorful Granite Spiny Lizard.

 Potato Chip Rock

 Gail

 Yellow flower

 Raven

Side-blotched Lizard

Gail was a real trail hero, picking up garbage that was mostly toilet paper.  Big peeve - if you think to bring toilet paper, ladies, how much harder would it be to bring a little zip lock bag to put it in when you're done?  It lasts a long time sitting on the trail or in the bushes!  This is almost as irritating as people putting dog waste in a plastic bag, then leaving it on the trail, or worse, throwing the bag into the bushes. Grrrr...