Fall Birding - A Little Here and a Little There

Sweet Sweet Springs - The tide was high and the fog was meditating on its power to grant the people of peaceful Baywood the unique privilege of experiencing the sun's warmth.  

Nuttall's Woodpecker was active in a tall Cypress; Chickadees, Oak Titmouse were flitting through a stand of low growing oak.  In the pond numerous Mallards slept, preened and chatted about their recent travels; Song Sparrow darted through pond-side vegetation, and a great and Snowy Egret, perched high in a tall Eucalyptus, watched the action.

A noisy Belted Kingfisher (photo by Gary O'Neill) searched for lunch.

In a Channel, carved by time and tides, 26 Blue-winged Teal fed.  I consider them the "Early Birds," as every year they are the first small migratory duck to arrive in Sweet Springs.

Estero Bluffs State Park - Vila Creek - Blooming along the path to the beach and pond was Tar Weed and Mock Heather.  My friend Phoebe and I were hoping to see a migrant species that is seen only occasionally on the Central Coast, a Black-necked Stilt.  It would be a first sighting for Phoebe.

A few migratory shorebirds, Western Sandpiper, Godwit, Whimbrel and a few Long-billed Curlew were feeding along the edge of the beach.  Higher up the beach, Killdeer, a pair of Pectoral Sandpiper and four Turkey Vultures.  Numerous Snowy Plover were busy chasing kelp flies.  In the background of the top image in the collage, symbolic fencing can be seen.  The fencing, along with signage, encourages people to respect the Snowy Plover nesting grounds.   https://www.mbnep.org/2016/03/04/symbolic-fencing-helps-morro-bays-snowy-plovers/ 

We finally reached the pond where there had been several recent sightings of a juvenile Black-necked Stilt.  At the bend in the creek perched a Great Egret; a few feet out from the Egret was a pair of Mallards.  A few feet from the Mallards strode a black and white, pink legged Black-necked Stilt.  They can swim and dive but prefer to wade in shallow water.

The photo was taken by local birder/photographer Maggie Smith about two hours before we arrived at Villa Creek pond.  

WINDY WEATHER

Fall winds were churning up the bay this morning.  At the Audubon Overlook was a assortment of shorebirds.  Most notable was a Black-necked Stilt (photo taken on Parkfield Road in SLO County).  The Stilt was a beauty; her graceful long legs were very pink.  She was among a mixed flock of Greater Yellowlegs, Long-billed Dowitcher (photo), Western Sandpiper, and two Black-bellied Plovers.

The wind was such, that as the graceful Stilt attempted to move and feed in the shallow water, the wind blew her sideways.  The other birds, not having the height of the stilt were not blown about.  Black-necked Stilts have the second-longest legs in proportion to their body of any bird, exceeded only by Flamingos.

 Working my way through the Los Osos sewer construction, managed to get to Cuesta Inlet and Pecho Willows.  Although quite windy on the west facing side of the bay, it did nothing to hamper a feeding frenzy that had just begun.  The first to arrive were the Terns, next Double-crested Cormorant, and finally Brown Pelican.

I find the intense noise of the sewer construction extremely distracting on my limited birding skills.  Tomorrow morning; no later that 8:00, I am promising myself, that I will bird in peace and quiet, Islay Creek mouth, and the campground at Montana de Oro St. Park.