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!

Western Grebe and Reflection

Western Grebe on glassy water, Mission River, California.

Western Grebe on the Prowl

Western Grebe on the prowl for small fish in the Mission River. As I watched the grebe swim just under the surface of the water, I wondered if ancient pleiosaurs swam like it and if this little grebe was a link back to a magnificent past where the pleiosaurs ruled the seas.

Grebe Chasing Fish

Western Grebe, Aechmophorus occidentalis, San Diego Bay, California. This little grebe was zigging and zagging underwater with amazingly rapid speed and agility as it chased a school of fairly decent sized fish. It is very different from the wait and surprise technique used by herons and egrets. I could almost imagine ancient pleiosaurs zigging along in similar fashion but after the titanic fish of the time.

Having trouble seeing the bird and the school of fish? Click on the picture for a slightly larger view.

Duck Soup

Another picture from the Bay. It's been storming out. Windy, cold & rainy so this is from November. There were ducks everywhere. Most of these are Ruddy Ducks. It took me a while to realize that the telltale blue beaks were gone because it's winter. Go figure. There was one Western Grebe, Aechmophorus occidentalis, in the middle.