Last Saturday Libby and I went to Bolsa Chica for a little early winter/ late Fall birding. We started at Harriet Weider Park and enjoyed a couple of Blue-Gray Gnatcatchers, White-crowned Sparrows and a flock of Red-winged Blackbirds before moving along. I was hoping to see some Pipits in the field there, but there weren't any Pipits or Meadowlarks anywhere to be found.
Right after that we headed over to the main reserve with two goals. One, to enjoy the common birds of Bolsa Chica, and two, to see if we could find a Tricolored Heron that was seen there. I'm happy to say we accomplished both goals!
Most of the ducks have arrived in small numbers, and it was especially nice to see our first Buffleheads of the season bobbing about as they disappeared from time to time to feed. The tide was really high, so most of the shorebirds we saw were either flying by or perched in the bushes and eelgrass still above water. The only terns we saw were perched on poles butting out of the water or zipping about in pursuit of prey. Not only that, but we only saw Forster's Terns in winter plumage. Brown Pelicans were feeding conspicuously both at the tide gates and at the boardwalk.
The neatest moment came on our way back to the car when we saw a Merlin swoop in, spook a shorebird flock, and come out carrying a limp-winged bird. It proceeded to perch in a distant (but viewable through our scope) snag where its early lunch sent feathers floating off in the wind.
As I said earlier, we did find the Tricolored Heron. We almost missed it, and later some other birders told us we walked right by it without seeing it (funny), but we got some ok looks at the bird through our scope for a short while before it flew off. We were able to find it again pretty easily, and had more extensive looks. The bird was backlit and further away at that point, but there really wasn't anything to complain about. Still, I didn't get any pictures.
We also saw two Reddish Egrets at Bolsa Chica on the same trip. These used to be about as rare as Tricolored Herons (which have actually bred in the past near the Salton Sea), but there have been a few of them at Bolsa Chica almost continually since we started birding. They definitely appear to be on the northward march. I got a single distant picture of one on Saturday:
After all the excitement we could do nothing better than go to Disneyland for lunch! Which we did. And then we could do nothing better than to beat the heat on Splash Mountain. We got the full experience there, sitting in the very front and getting totally soaked. We even stood in line for Peter Pan, which is one of our favorite rides, so we had a good time. Actually, I guess you could say we had a good day!
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