Rios East Reloaded

Lately, there have been days when it was very difficult just to find one or two shorebirds or ducks in the tide channel at our lagoon but it's amazing what a difference a day can make. I had visited the San Elijo Lagoon on the northern Cardiff side first but saw only a lone Western Grebe and a few Willets probing the mud flats for prey. Wanting to check and see if there were more bird subjects to photograph over at Rios East, I headed to the Solana Beach side of our lagoon. I was rewarded with a view of the tide channel near the freeway completely loaded with a wonderful variety of shorebirds and ducks.

First stop was at the Cardiff side of the San Elijo Lagoon on the Nature Center trail and I spot a lone Western Grebe swimming by the first lookout by the visitor center. 

A Northern Harrier flies in. What a beautifully marked female Harrier. She doesn't stay long and heads towards the Solana Beach side of the lagoon. I decide that is where I am going to go too.

Arriving on the Solana Beach side of the lagoon, I take the Rios trail east towards the freeway. As soon as I get close to the tide channel, I spot an Eared Grebe. LOL... They always appear to have a surprised look. I think it's those orange round bulls-eye-looking eyes that give them that look. 

 

Slightly further east, the beautiful sight of shorebirds flying in. Looks like a flock of Short-billed Dowitchers.

 

What a great sight to see! So many birds enjoying our beautiful lagoon. Can you spot how many types of ducks and shorebirds are in this photo?

 

A male Mallard struts by showing off his beautiful metallic-colored plumage.

Another male dries his wings after a bath. 

 

Mallards may be the most common duck in the world but I think he is one of the most beautiful of all the ducks. 

 

A male Green-winged Teal is seen on the mud flats. 

A female Green-winged Teal is close by. Green-winged Teal, Anas crecca are the smallest of the Teal ducks measuring only 14 inches long with a wingspan of 23 inches.

A pair of Blue-winged Teal swims by. Looks like a juvenile is tagging along. 

 

High up in the sky, I spot a Red-tailed Hawk checking out the target rich lagoon. 

 

The male Blue-winged Teal flaps in an agitated display. He is easy to identify by the white crescent on his face. 

The presence of a hawk makes many of the visitors a little nervous. Here a pair of Northern Pintails look as though they are going to fly. 

 A male American Wigeon sits up and flaps his wings in a display adding to the tension. 

The Pintails are quite nervous and they take flight. When the migrating ducks arrive they are quite guarded for a few weeks and anything can trigger them to take flight. Soon they seem to settle down and get used to their surroundings, feeling more confident that no one is going to shoot them here in the nature reserve. 

The male Northern Pintail in breeding plumage leads the way as a young male still in non-breeding plumage follows.

Now a American Wigeon starts her flight. 

 

She takes a few steps and becomes airborne.

The male American Wigeon follows.

 

A cute shot of a pair of Northern Pintails. The male is in front followed by the female. She looks drab compared to the striking looks of the male. 

 

A Long-billed Curlew flies in. Numenius americanus measures 23 inches long with a wingspan of 35 inches. 

His long bill is perfectly designed to poke into the mud flats and find the crabs. Here he has himself a little crab snack. 

He takes the muddy crab to the water and dips it to clean off the mud.

His snack cleaned, he proceeds to quickly swallow it. 

A while later, I find the Curlew focused on something in the little tide pool.

 

Wow, he grabs for a fish but it flips out of his grasp. 

With his super long bill, he tries to grab the slimy fish. 

The fish escapes between his legs and gets back into the tide pool.

 

The Curlew is not giving up on this nice sized snack and grabs again for the fish.

LOL... try using a super long chopstick to pick up a slimy wiggling fish and you can see how difficult it must be for this Curlew! How is he going to manage this?

The Curlew grabs and it escapes again. Now they appear to be checking each other out. 

Another grab... but it slips out again.

Maybe if he grabbed it belly up?

Nope, the "slippery one" gets away again. 

Finally he gets a good grip and the Curlew starts to walk out of the tide pool .

But nope, the fish wiggles out of his grip. 

The Curlew is determined to get his meal. 

 

A good firm grip and once again heading out of the tide pool.

Looks like he has a good grip this time and his bill is locked around the gill area of the fish for maximum control, finally managing to toss it up into his mouth to swallow his prize. 

Look at those flashy yellow colored legs. Yes, that is his name, Greater Yellowlegs. Tringa melanoleuca measures 14 inches long with a wingspan of 28 inches. 

What a wonderful walk it has been today to see all the new visitors to our beautiful lagoon. Here is one last shot showing some Least Sandpipers flying in as I spot a shorebird that may be a life bird for me... a Curlew Sandpiper? Is it just wishful thinking? I will have to get one of our experts to verify this bird! Time for me to head for home. 

Have a super week everyone.