Family Beach Day

 Bufflehead trying to shake a clam out of its shell.

A lot of running for those little legs 

 Great blue heron

Getting off all that wet sand...

Dog's Day Out

 Brants, Branta bernicula, down from Alaska for the Winter.

 Enjoying the sun and the company.

 Quite the social pair!

 Western Grebe

Western Meadowlark

A bright sunny day after all that rain.  The parking lot was a muddy mess but the doggies were having a great time at the dog park as were the humans!  The migratory birds are down from Alaska and Canada for the Winter.  What's not to like.  Looks like more rain on Tuesday but clear sailing until then!

New Bird: Horned Lark!

Horned Lark, Eremophila alpestris, Fiesta Island, San Diego, California. Three of these adorable little birds were foraging for bugs in the sand between the cars at the dog park. This was another first sighting for me!

Fin Whale Washes Up on the Rocks of Point Loma

A 65 ft. Female Fin Whale, on the beach at Fiesta Island, San Diego, California. This female fin whale washed up on the rocks of Point Loma, just below the waste treatment plant roughly five days ago. A life guard boat was used to drag it to Fiesta Island, shown above, where it would be dissected to determine its cause of death. A young fetus was also present, ejected as the whale began to decay, at the point loma site; however, it was apparently lost in the process of towing the mother to Fiesta Island.

A large grading tractor was used to attempt to pull it up the beach and out of the water. However, after a large strap and two large chains snapped in a most spectacular fashion in the attempt, it was decided to process the whale where it lay. As the scientists started to cut open the whale, the smell, as you would expect, became rather extreme and this photographer left, generally relieved to not be living down-wind of the carcass. However, a small crowd of onlookers remained to watch the process. Apparently, samples are being brought to the Scripps Institute for further research.

Post script: The scientists reported today (11/24) that the cause of death appeared to be a collision with a boat that fractured several of her vertebrae. As fast as these mammals are, you would think that would never happen, but perhaps curiosity lured her in a little to close...

Aerial View of Seaworld and Fiesta Island

Aerial view of Seaworld San Diego (below), Mission Bay (center), and Fiesta Island (center).

Dogs Having Fun

Dogs having fun at Fiesta Island, San Diego, California. I swear that water was cold but the dogs didn't even flinch. In fact, they were all having a great time!

Fiesta Island has a leash-free dog area where the dogs can romp around and play with each other. There has been discussion about the City turning it into a city beach for swimmers instead. For the moment, however, it remains one of the last big patches of sand where dogs can run free in the City.

Coaching Crew

Coach and Crew Team, Fiesta Island. Notably the coach gets a motorboat! The crew team was out practicing and wasn't letting a little drizzle get in the way.

Getting Wet

Waterskiing, Fiesta Island, San Diego, California. A little drizzle didn't keep this waterskiing enthusiast at home. Why not anyhow, water is water right?