American Avocet, Silver Strand, San Diego, CA. There were several of these beautiful birds. 

Scaup, Mission Bay, San Diego, CA. There are always scaup around on my first-thing-in-the morning walks. No sunrise this morning as the aftermath of the morning rains lingered. 

Mission Trails Regional Park

California Towhee, Mission Trails Regional Park, San Diego, CA. In addition to the towhee and the Anna's hummer, we saw:
yellow rumped warbler
white-throated swift
red-tailed hawk
turkey vulture
ground squirrel
two different kinds of lizards

Anna's Hummingbird, Mission Trails Regional Park, San Diego, CA. Unfortunately, the sun was not at the right angle to light up his gorgeous hot pink gorget!

San Elijo Lagoon, Feb 13, 2006

San Elijo Lagoon, San Diego, CA. This is a beautiful and peaceful place. In addition to the other birds listed, we saw an American Avocet, Double-crested cormorants, great blue herons, and an osprey.

Northern Pintail, San Diego, CA. This is one of the most elegants ducks one can see. So beautiful! 

Greater Yellowlegs, San Diego, CA. 

Northern Shoveler, San Diego, CA. 

Greater Yellowlegs and Marbled Godwit, San Diego, CA. 

American Kestral, Lake Hodges, San Diego, CA. Saw several of these elegant little raptors sitting on the wires.

American Coot, Mission Bay, San Diego, CA. This one coot was swimming with the Scaup. There's a large raft of coots that swim in another part of Mission Bay; perhaps he got confused?

Lesser Scaup, Mission Bay, San Diego, CA.

Surf scoters, San Diego, CA.

San Diego, CA. Another morning in paradise. An unidentified gull and a willet watch the sunrise over Mission Bay.

San Diego, CA. House finch. I've seen these before, of course, but this one was so orange! He and some friends were hitting a backyard feeder on the Mission Bay side of the street one morning.

San Diego, CA. Two willets watch the sunset near the Mission Beach jetty.

San Diego, CA. Other years we've seen loons and grebes swim in the surf. This year, it's surf scoters, whole flotillas of them. They just duck under the waves as they approach.

Golden crowned sparrow, Point Loma, San Diego, CA.

Western Scrub Jay, Point Loma, San Diego, CA.

White crowned sparrow, Point Loma, San Diego, CA. The thing about birding Point Loma is that the birds come to you, especially if you're eating a sandwich at the time.

Ladybug, Point Loma, San Diego, CA.

Orange crowned warbler, Point Loma, San Diego, CA.

Snowy Egret, Point Loma tidepools, San Diego, CA.

California Thrasher, Pt Loma, San Diego, CA. A very bold Thrasher.

California Thrasher, Point Loma, San Diego, CA. This thrasher was so bold he would come up between my feet (shadow at lower left corner).

Wandering Tattler, Point Loma Tidepools, San Diego, CA.

Heerman's Gulls, La Jolla, CA. I had two goals for this trip to La Jolla--a Heerman's Gull and the Brandt's Cormorant. Both official life birds for me although I know I saw them both before I began birding. The Heerman's is a gorgeous gull, with it's dark wings and red beak.

Double crested Cormorant, La Jolla, CA. This was the second of my cormorant trifecta. I saw the Brandt's, the double-crested and a pelagic cormorant in flight all within about an hour in La Jolla. Then it was time for lunch!

Brand'ts Cormorants, La Jolla, CA. These guys were having a "pouch off." "My throat pouch's prettier than yours is!" Flowers in foreground.

Cormorants, La Jolla, CA. Mostly, if not all, Brandt's Cormorants. Drying their wings.

San Diego, CA. Little Blue Heron. Perhaps surprisingly, this was a life bird for me. He flew and landed right in front of me as I was walking along Mission Bay watching the sunrise.

Our first day in San Diego; everyone including the birds stops to watch the sunset.