Birding Bonanza!

Yesterday, we decided to hike around the shores of Lake Hodges outside of Escondido.  We hadn't done the first 3 miles of this hike, and our expectations were low for good  wildlife sightings. Were we wrong!  It turned out that the bird life in particular was very abundant, it was a non-boat day, and the weather was perfect.

 From the pedestrian suspension bridge, we watched a Cooper's Hawk searching for prey.

 Directly below us, Gail spotted this well camouflaged buck.

 California Towhee.

 Red Shouldered Hawk looking for movement.

 In the far distance were a few American White Pelicans.

 Red-tailed Hawk

 Northern Harrier

There is a large population of Western Grebes at the lake.  These loon-like birds have an elaborate courtship.

 They rush across the water in unison by slapping their feet on the water around 20 times per second.  they go about 30 to 50 yards, then lower their heads and dive underwater.

 A Cassin's Kingbird, I believe.

 Acorn Woodpecker

 American Kestrel, male.

 Say's Phoebe

 Back to the grebes, part of their courtship involves bringing up presents from the bottom.

 Rushing across the water.

 The pairs of grebes also engage in head-bobbing.

 A Belted Kingfisher watching the water.

A pair of Northern Shovelers.

 More grebes dancing!

 Double-crested Cormorant

 Gotta love the grebes!

 End of the rush.

 There they go again!

 Great Blue Heron hunting for small animals.

 Great Blue Heron

 This G.B. Heron slowly tiptoed towards the sticks to blend in.

 Greater Roadrunner going for cover.

Back to where we started and possibly the same Cooper's Hawk.

We intend to go back and take better photos now that we know where to position for better light and closer views.  Most of the shoreline is not accessible and resulted in distances too great for detailed, quality photos.  Tripod next time!