Waking up early and driving to Lake Cuyamaca hoping to get
another glimpse of the Bald Eagle today.
Stopping at the Bait and Tackle store to buy my all-day
parking pass. I drove straight over to my favorite spot on the lake's south
parking area. Today looked as if it was going to be sunny but there have been
some reports of more rain showers to come. I decided to check out the fruit
grove on the west side of the parking lot to see what new visitors I could
capture there. Wow, a tree with several Cedar Waxwings. They appeared quite busy
chasing insects. Finally got a shot with two perched close-by.
Cedar Waxwing, Bombycilla
cedrorum measures 7.25 inches long with a wingspan of 12 inches.
A brief viewing of the Black-throated Gray Warbler in a
nearby shrub.
Looking towards the boat docks I spot a Red-winged Blackbird. Agelaius phoeniceus measures 8.75 inches long with a wingspan of 13 inches.
Looks like this guy is going through some feather changes.
Notice the edges of his worn black feather makes it look like a fish scale
pattern. He has already molted but has grown feathers
that have broad edges that appear to be buff to rufous in color. This gives the
bird a different appearance and provides some protective advantage to the birds'
black feathers. During the winter months, the paler edges will wear off and
by spring, the male will have a beautiful uniform
glossy black plumage.
A sleepy looking Pied-billed Grebe is hunting for breakfast
near the fishing docks.
Looks like there is already a fisherman eager to see what
he can catch out at the deep end of the lake. With the summer being so dry, the
staff has told me that most of the deep part of the lake
is only about 5 to 6 ft deep. Hopefully according to a pro fisherman, after a
good wet winter, it should go back to about 10 to
12 ft deep at the deepest part.
The ever aggressive Great Blue Heron making his presence
known to the others that he has arrived and they need
to move out of his way.
This photo shows a very aggressive posturing flight by the
heron. He almost looks like a large gray harpoon flying
across the lake. No one wants to mess with this aggressive bird!
About a dozen Canada Goose are swimming around looking to
come ashore to forage in the nearby grassy patches.
A beautiful Great Egret walks by checking out the
shoreline near the docks.
Yes, the area is full of Yellow-rumped Warblers but I
couldn't resist taking a shot of this one with a nice big bug in his beak.
Finished with his nice meal, the Yellow-rumped Warbler is
suddenly on high alert.
Wow, we have a juvenile Bald Eagle that has just entered
the Lake area and appears to be escorted by lots of crows. But the shape of the tails on most of the escorting birds suggest that those are Common Ravens.
The crows and ravens appear to constantly harass the Eagle. I think
they are hoping that he will be hungry enough to grab a prey or find a carrion
and/or steal something from other raptors and that the
crows will ultimately get some table scraps from this awesome Eagle that is at
the top of the food chain in their world. Eagles and
other raptors can rip and tear into fresh carrion's tough skin and crows cannot so
they have to wait until the dead animal is
rotted and soft before they can open it up and get to the good stuff. Even the Turkey
Vulture will wait for a few days for the skin to soften
up and split open. LOL... Well that got my appetite going. I'm going back to
the campsite to rest and have some snacks.
Finished with my snack, I decided to keep an eye out for
visitors that fly near the campsite as I relaxed in the shade of the scrub oaks
that surrounded my camper van. Quite a few Ruby-crowned Kinglets were spotted.
A shot of one in flight. They appear to be fluttering and hovering constantly.
A Ruby-crowned Kinglet hovering over a plant to glean
insects.
Got one!
A nice pose by the Kinglet on the split rail fence. I
watched this little guy for quite a while and enjoyed the cool mountain breeze
but it was time to go and check out the lake again.
Hoping to see the adult Bald Eagle make an appearance but the beauty of the
lake was reward enough for the
drive over.
As I pulled up at the south end of the parking lot and
looked across the lake, I spot an unusual sight. A Red-shouldered Hawk has
decided to take a bath in the lake and had just flown to
the edge. The two American Coots are just as surprised as I at this sighting.
LOL... the Coots decide not to take any chances and head
the other way away from the Hawk.
The Red-shouldered Hawk takes the plunge. A quick bath.
There were lots of Ruddy Ducks in the lake, this little guy was
near the boat dock.
And this appeared to be an Eared Grebe also hunting near the
fishing dock area.
I spot a little island on the far south side of the lake.
Let's call it "Turtle Island" : ))
The first Cormorant that I spotted today flew in from the
north side of the lake.
Here comes the Great Blue Heron making threats against the
Great Egret. In this photo, you can see where the water has receded this summer
and how the reeds are exposed. When the lake fills back
up it should go way past this clump of reeds.
The Great Blue Heron is serious about claiming his
territory. Certain fishing hole is his to take.
The Great Egret is crying out. Probably saying "leave me alone
you can have your fishing spot".
Great Blue Heron slows down and the Egret flies north
putting more distance from the Great Blue.
It appears that the distance that the Great Egret put
between himself and the Great Blue Heron is good enough to bring peace to this
shoreline for a while.
As the dispute between the Egret and the Heron has calmed
down at the shoreline, the middle of the lake erupts with splashing and a quick
chase across the water by a
couple of Gadwall drakes (male ducks).
As quick as the aggressive activity started it also ended
just as fast. Soon the ducks were busy dabbling and the Coots were busy diving
for dinner. Well, I didn't get to see the adult Bald Eagle today but did see the
juvenile earlier.
This has been a wonderful day of enjoying the sun and the
cool mountain breeze and to watch all the activities
that happen at this wonderful reservoir called "Lake Cuyamaca". It's now time
for me to head back to the campsite. Tomorrow I head for
home... Part 3 soon.
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