It's been a while since I went for my morning walk at the
San Elijo Lagoon nature center trail. The best part of going there is seeing the local photographers
and catching up on all the latest birding news in the area.
As soon as I walked to the south end of the trails, I saw Al and Nick, our local photographers with Steve Brad (volunteering for the lagoon's monthly bird count)... all with their cameras focused on something in the willows
nearby. I was told that there was a Yellow Warbler and a Wilson's Warbler that
had their attention but if I was interested, there was a new Woodpecker nest that
was being hollowed out and maybe I could see the woodpecker working on it. I
thanked Al for the info and headed for the east end of the San Elijo loop trail. I
found a male Nuttall's Woodpecker pecking away in the usual drumming sound that
accompanies his tap tapping of wood. I got a quick shot of the male as he hopped on a branch below.
Nuttall's Woodpecker, Picoides
nuttallii measures 7.5 inches long with a wingspan of 13 inches.
Males are the only ones with red plumage on their crown.
Found the female nearby... This photo shows that the back
is all black and white with no solid white on the back which
identifies this as a Nuttall's instead of a Downy Woodpecker.
A frontal shot of the female Nuttall's Woodpecker.
I finally found the woodpeckers' new nest.
Just past the woodpeckers' nest, I heard a Black-headed
Grosbeak singing his heart out and found him perched in a small
willow tree. As I was taking shots of this male Grosbeak, a
birder came up and told me that he had company in that tree right below. He said he just followed a Black-throated Gray Warbler to this
tree and sure enough we both spotted him right below this Grosbeak!
A life bird for me! What a surprise to find this little
guy right below the bird I was shooting! Black-throated Gray Warbler, Setophaga nigrescens measures
5 inches long with a wingspan of 7.75 inches.
A close-up of the black throat. Only the male
has the black throat. This is an adult male.
They glean insects from leaves and small branches.
Another good look at the markings of this Black-throated
Gray Warbler.
Like other Warblers, they are in constant motion as they
search for food.
There always seemed to be a branch in front of him as I
tried to get more shots.
A tail end look.
Found something to eat.
Constant movement.
A good look at the gray coloring on his back.
Found something interesting.
One last shot of this beauty before he flew off.
An American Crow lands on a post near where I was standing
and gives me a good look-over. Crows never seem to be afraid of people.
He is watching me and looking in the direction that I
point my camera, he thinks I am going to give him the location of a bird
nest! He hops forward into a branch that has an old hummingbird
nest and checks it out. Then hops down below to check for duck nests. Wow, I am never going to point my camera at a nest if one of these guys is watching!
Walking back to the parking lot I decide to take the
boardwalk and I found another Black-headed Grosbeak singing away.
This little Yellow Warbler made a quick appearance but
didn't stick around for a better photo.
Looks like an Orange-crowed Warbler foraging for insects.
Another one nearby was begging for food.
As I walked north on the boardwalk I found another
Black-headed Grosbeak who landed near another male, challenging him and chasing
him away from his tree.
Black-headed Grosbeak, Pheucticus
melanocephalus measures 8.25 inches long with a wingspan of 12.5
inches.
Only the males have the bright distinctive colors. Females
have brownish colored wings and pale body.
Usually the only time I can spot one is when they are
singing their hearts out for a mate. You can wait and hope that he will
eventually move to a branch out in the open and hopefully get a few shots
before he plunges back into the thick branches.
One last shot and I need to head home.
Have a great week everyone.
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