Finding a good Audubon trip is quite difficult. Not that they are not good but good to attend. They have a tendency to be during the week when you cannot attend or to be full when on the weekend. So we are happy we found this one during the weekend and are quite excited to explore a new wetland area we haven’t visited before. We find the parking lot relatively easy even though the driving directions were misleading and then are ready to start the exploration with the small group of birders gathered there.
The first lake is full of ducks but the vast majority are with their heads under water. Like all the time. Whenever one pops the head up you don’t have time to take a photo or look at it as almost immediately it decides again to search underwater. Quite weird so we decide to move on and explore the rest of the preserve especially as the whole group gathered together by this time.
The next section is between a pond and a canal with some nice cottonwoods lining the trail. This allows for an opportunity to look for birds in the trees also, there are quite a few of them but difficult to see.
The Black Phoebes at least always sit in the open however the chipping sparrow are a pain to follow and take a photo off. Somehow we manage one but come on, they can afford to be more chill :).
In this area we also see the first Northern Pintails with their head above water. Likely because they are swimming fast to the other group that has their heads perpetually submerged. As they get there of course they start the same behavior…oh well.
We continue exploring the trees lining the path, one of the birds which is quite common here is the Anna’s Hummingbird. There are lots of them sitting, flying and buzzing us as we make our way along the trail.
We soon arrive in the middle of the park, it is clear where it is as all the canals meet here. There are lots of flowers all around and we enjoy the short break here as we look at the flowers and search for birds.
One of the flowers that we didn’t expect to see this early in the season is Mexican poppies. There are clumps of them especially in this middle section but they are not fully open yet this early in the morning unfortunately so we have to wait a bit more for them to fully open.
The canal here is quite productive with shovelers and green-winged teals. Finally we can see many of the birds with the heads above water which is cool.
On the next stretch we find the first and only black-necked stilts group for today. The light is especially good and they relax close to the trail so we sit for quite some time to admire them until someone shows eagle so on we go.
The eagle in question is a bald eagle who assumes it is quite well hidden. He actually is as multiple people passed it without seeing before we gather around the tree (at a distance) to study it for a while. Nearby a female shoveler duck passes, we wonder if it is not scared or if she didn’t see the eagle. This is especially as in another pond close by we see what looks to be a killing site, lots of feathers on the ground.
Not all ponds are full as they are managed by the water authority. The ones that are not full are still good for shorebirds and especially killdeers. We hear their call almost constantly and a few of them even fly above us, fun.
As we return towards the parking lot we stop quite often as there are quite a few birds even in this stretch. The highlight is an active hummingbird nest. The female hummingbird comes and sits on the nest multiple times. We wonder if there are any eggs in it but of course no one would approach the nest to scare the bird, even though the location is quite bad, right above the trail.
In the parking lot our tour is done but the decision is made that if anyone wants we can go to look at the shorebirds. And we want to. Unfortunately at this point only Least sandpipers are seen and not that many. At least they do not scare easily and stay close to the shore. This area also has quite a few tamarisks in flower which makes for some great color contrast.
Especially if you contrast them against the now fully open Mexican Poppies. They are quite beautiful and impressive looking, we really like them and when the meadows are covered by poppies.
Afterwards we walk around a bit on our own to find a nearby cache and at this point the shovelers are really near the shore. They are really active and it is a joy to watch them search for food in the reeds especially as one gets caught in the reeds and gets a bit annoyed trying to extricate itself.
After our early morning hike we are quite tired and hungry so we decide to eat at a nearby Hawaiian BBQ restaurant.
It takes a bit to get the food and it is reasonably good especially the Kahlua Pork while the ribs are just average really. Still we are really full afterwards and ready to return home to rest and prepare for our next trip…tomorrow.
