More Birds of Southern California
Nesting ibis |
White-faced ibis |
Ruddy Duck starting a dive |
A coot - they have weird legs and feet |
Spring at the San Diego Safari Park brings lots of native birds who enjoy nesting by the lagoon. There were a lot of very boisterous egrets. The ibises were also nesting. I took about 15 pictures trying to get a good one. They are dark brown and tend to conceal themselves in the trees. I got a photo of two of them out for a stroll (top picture).
I believe this is a Eurasian Collared Dove. It had a distinct ring-neck and was larger than a mourning dove.
I think this is a Townsend warbler. It had distinct patches of bright yellow and inky black.
On Sunday, I went to Lake Hodges. I was overjoyed to see that it was full of water and teeming with waterfowl.
Grebes, Western grebes |
The white dots are all pelicans |
A pair of pelicans and their reflection in the still water |
Mourning doves (Zenaida macroura) are common in our area, but I think they are always charming and interesting. They are usually in pairs or a small family group.
These brown pelicans flew overhead while I was a Cardiff State Beach on Friday:
I believe this is a California thrasher (Toxostoma redvivum). They perch and fly, but also enjoy some time on the ground. Their beaks have a distinct curve and they have a long, expressive tail. They are confident and it is a little easier to get closer to them than other birds.
California thrasher |
It's so hard to tell some of these sparrows apart. I thought the ones below were the same bird, but they actually look like different species. The top one looks like a song sparrow and the bottom more like a chipping sparrow. Both these birds get my vote for most likely to fly into your house. They often peer at my glass doors looking intently into the house.
I believe these are ravens below. They are much larger than crows and have thick bills. I often see crows on the ground, but never ravens. I see them flying or taking a break on the rooftops. They seem uninterested in people, unlike crows who seem to take notice of human activities. I used to live in a neighborhood where crows raided trash bags left out on trash day.
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