Female American Kestrel Falco sparverius

Female American Kestrel, Falco sparverius, at the Tijuana River National Estuarine Research Reserve, resting on barbed wire while scanning the grass below for grasshoppers, lizards and other small prey.  It always amazes me how birds leisurely lounge on  barbed wire without ever apparently getting poked.  I've even seen birds on Chollas cactus (for example, the cactus wren), which is no small feat.

Broad-Winged Hawk

A Broad-Winged Hawk, Buteo platypterus, hunting for rabbits, mice, lizards and other small prey at the Tijuana River National Estuarine Research Reserve.  This particular, rather large hawk appears to be staring directly at me, or perhaps my small dog which was walking with us, deciding if we were an appropriate meal.  With some relief, I note that it decided that we were not.

Least Sandpipers

Least Sandpipers, Calidris minutilla, skimming over the waves, at The Tijuana River National Estuarine Research Reserve.

Red-Winged Blackbird

Red-Winged Blackbird, Agelaius phoeniceus, at the  Tijuana River National Estuarine Research Reserve, perching on barbed wire overlooking the cattails.

A Rare Sight: The California Clapper Rail

A California Clapper Rail, Rallus longirostris obsoletus (longirostris referring to its long beak), coming out of the water after a brief splash bath.  I have been hoping to see one of these for some years; however, they are elusive little birds.  Basically, the drill works like this.  The bird runs out of the dense, tall grass and into the open water; splashes about and thoroughly cleans itself off; gets up; runs out of the water and back into the dense grass.  No wonder I've never seen one before.  You have to be waiting there for it to pop out into the open at just the right moment.  Although they live on crustaceans, aquatic insects and small fish, there appears to be plenty enough of these within the cover of the tall grass.  At any rate, due to habitat loss (read that as multimillion dollar houses along the ocean), there are now only around 1000-1500 California Clapper rails left.  I consider myself pretty lucky to have seen one.

Sea Hare, Aplysia californica

Sea Hare, Aplysia californica, on a shallow, sandy flat, along with many of its brethren where they were grazing on kelp and other seaweed that was washed up by the tide.  It's called a sea hare for the two stalks that are vaguely reminiscent of a rabbit's ears as they flop around with the current.

Marbled Godwit with an Itch

Marbled Godwit, Limosa fedoa, with an itch. You ever get that itch that you just can't reach? Imagine if you had to scratch with your feet! This marbled godwit was taking a break from hunting for crustaceans and worms in the sand and was happily resting on one foot until...that itch came about...

Endangered Peregrine Falcon Off-Limits

Peregrine Falcon, Falco peregrinus, taking flight off of a National Park Service off-limits sign. It seems somehow appropriate that an endangered bird would be perched on an off-limits sign. The area in back of the sign is a nesting area for snowy plovers and California Least Terns in the Spring.

Tijuana River National Estuarine Research Reserve

Tijuana River National Estuarine Research Reserve. Miles of beach, birds, the wind and the sound of the waves.

Passing American Wigeon

American Wigeon, Anas americana, in flight. Sadly, it was flying away rather than posing for pictures but it's still a decent shot. Ducks are tough to ID from the underbelly but luckily the ID book has undershots and, given the number of wigeons in the park at the time, it seems like a good guess.

Hare Brained Idea?

The Black-tailed Jack Rabbit, Lepus californicus, is a true Hare, bearing it's young fully formed, with eyes wide open, and without a nest. Cottontails, on the otherhand, build nests for their young, who are born with their eyes shut. The Black-tailed Jack Rabbit is typically a low-land rabbit, favoring flat open areas and valleys. These rabbits bear several litters per year with up to 8 kits (baby rabbits) per litter.
These two rabbits appeared to be a pair, one keeping watch while the other attempted to hide under a bush. Rabbits are preyed upon by all sorts of predators including coyotes, owls and hawks. They typically rely on their speed (they can outrun a dog), thick brush and the pervasive cholla cactus as cover to escape from predators.

Pacific Mole Crab

Remnants of a Pacific Mole Crab, Emerita analoga, washed up on the beach at the Tijuana Estuary Preserve. Mole crabs live in the splash zone on sandy beaches, using their feathery antennae to filter feed on plankton and small debris.

Juvenile White-Tailed Kite

Juvenile White-tailed Kite, Elanus leucurus, perching on a newly sprouted panicle of Mexican Fan Palm (Washingtonia robusta) flowers. White-tailed kites are found from Oregon down through Chile and Argentina. While similar to falcons, kites can hover in mid-air, often up above a burrow or a bush that is hiding potential prey. Kites also spend much more time gliding on widespread wings, similar to sea gulls, than their more powerful flying falcon cousins.

Beach Primrose Still in Full Bloom

Beach Primrose, Camissoniopsis cheiranthifolia ssp. suffruticosa, grows in the coastal dunes along the California coast, blooming from April through August. Ironically, while the dry Winter resulted in a poor Spring showing for the desert wildflowers out East of San Diego, these lovely coastal wildflowers have been blooming non-stop.

Snowy Egret

Snowy Egret, Egretta thula, hunting in the shallows of Tijuana Slough. These very adaptable birds are found from the Northern United States clear down to Argentina. I've seen them eat a wide variety of foods including fish, shellfish, and crabs as well as the occasional insect, lizard or small mammal.

Least Tern Nests Washed Away

There is smooth sand and washed out nests and shelters where a thriving nesting colony of endangered Least Terns existed just a week ago along the shifting sands of the Tiuana National Estuarine Research Reserve. The water is gone, but the smooth sand is a sure sign that that the ocean washed up and over the entire nesting area. The terns were gone, parents and all. There will be no second try. Where just two weeks ago, there were a whole string of least tern nests being aggressively guarded from predating seagulls, now there is just sand. Smooth, water washed sand.

I had been timing my return, hoping to see lots of least tern chicks, the eggs having been in the nests for about 2-3 weeks. They should have hatched in the last week. In three more weeks, the fledgling terns would have been able to fly.

It is truly sad seeing a whole generation of terns wiped out, even if by natural causes. In a discussion after the fact, I asked a conservationist staffer on the beach when it happened. She noted that there was a particularly high tide a few days ago which was probably the culprit. She also noted that they are not set up or funded to rescue the eggs from the tides into the safety of incubators. There was simply nothing they could do. Thus, those weeks of erecting protective signs to keep people and pets out from the nesting area, of carefully labelling each nest with popsicle sticks and of building little wood shelters to protect the chicks from marauding gulls ultimately were for naught.

It is tempting to point to global warming and increasingly fickle, tempermental weather and tides or to all those condominiums on the beach that have relegated the least terns to the shifting, somewhat polluted sands of the Tijuana Estuary, a last bastion that developers simply do not want to build upon. Perhaps, it is just nature giving and taking away as it has always done. There is, I suppose, always next year.

Royal Tern Tete a Tete

Royal Terns, Sterna maxima, Tijuana River National Estuarine Research Reserve, flying straight towards the camera.  There must have been a thousand birds up in the air cutting hairpin turns in unison!  This giant flock flew right over my head (thankfully not leaving any gifts on my baseball hat) and out over the ocean where they turned and bobbed over the waves.  I cropped this photo so you can see the details of the individual birds although it doesn't have the same effect as the original photo which captured hundreds of birds flying directly at the camera!

California Brown Pelican Diving for Dinner

California Brown Pelican, Pelecanus occidentalis, Tijuana River National Estuarine Research Reserve, diving after fish far below.

California Least Tern Eggs

California Least Tern Eggs, Sterna antillarum browni, hatch at 3 weeks.  The eggs are laid in a small depression, in this case, in the sand, and blend in perfectly.  Fledglings can fly at 4 weeks.  Tijuana River National Estuarine Research Reserve. 

Common House Finch Eating Succulents

Common House Finch, Carpodacus mexicanus, Tijuana River National Estuarine Research Reserve, eating leaves off of a succulent growing in the sand dunes.