Just six outings this month – rain, taxes and other things limited walks.

The title of this post could also be “Brown Pelican Study”, because there were many encounters with pelicans. In particular, a memorable occasion, when I walked a short distance on the beach-with-graffiti-jail, east of Sands Beach.  After finding no birds on the rocks, I suddenly noticed many Brown Pelicans arriving at an area of great activity in the ocean.

Then several groups of probable-cormorants, possibly from the platforms at Haskell’s Beach, were seen flying low over the waves in single file to the feeding area. There was just an amazing and mesmerizing amount of activity, with much pelican diving. One of the photos shows a stream of birds in the background flying north/west, while in the foreground cormorants were flying south/east to the feeding frenzy. Being caught by surprise, my position for taking photos was not very good – straight into  the sun. Later as the birds moved east, a semi-decent photo of diving pelicans was captured, with the cliffs as a background. A less than optimal photo was captured of a gull with a fish (sardine?) in its beak.

Two ringed pelicans were photographed – with numbers O68 and J46 – one at the feeding frenzy and another at Goleta Slough.

On Friday on a trip to Goleta Slough, the beginnings of breeding plumage were seen on  Greater Yellowlegs, Dowitchers (short-billed?) and Long-billed Curlew (masterfully handling what appears to be a Beach Hopper in its beak.)

To see a large version of the slideshow on Flickr, please click here.

Braving a Sunday at Goleta Beach at low tide in the of the middle day, I was rewarded with the discovery  of three of the six previously seen Hooded Mergansers (female) I had hope to refind – from the same viewing platform that had yielded no result. (The platform west of the Goleta Park entrance.)

The Mergansers certainly have flexible hairdos.

To see a large version of the slideshow on Flickr, please click here.

This set includes photos from UCSB Lagoon, Goleta Slough and Lake Los Carneros.

Goleta Slough was a very interesting place this month, because of the changes thanks to the King Tide, and also because a number of rarer species were close enough to be photographed. These species include Ring-necked Duck, Lesser Scaup, Common Goldeneye, male Red-breasted Merganser, and six female Hooded Mergansers. The latter were photographed late one evening in poor lighting, and return trips to the Slough for better shots were unsuccessful – the birds seemed to have moved on. Also photographed, was the Ward Drive pole-perching Red-tailed Hawk.

The Slough mouth was closed and at a not-abnormal height before the King Tide occurred.  The waves from high tide during the King Tide phase were such that they washed across the beach into the Slough and filled it much higher than normal. During this time, all of the usual avian residents were forced to take refuge against the cliffs of the Slough, which made for some really neat photo backdrops. A picture of the beach facing toward Santa Barbara shows the wet footprint of the waves that crossed over the sand to fill the Slough.

Bulldozers were used to reopen the Slough mouth, and apparently the water went out with some haste. At low tide the level was so low, that birds seen from the viewing platform included Black-necked Stilts wading in between diving and dabbling ducks. It was a scene of great activity – an open-air restaurant filled with busy beaks. Unfortunately, low tide coincided with dusk and the photos were not easy.

On Saturday, the UCSB lagoon was surrounded by Brown Pelicans – there were many on the ocean, several groups floating on the lagoon and a good number resting on the little island below the faculty club. The San Nicholas wetland is an area of the lagoon that is becoming very birdy, and a great and interesting improvement from the previous weedy field ( nicely done).

Of interest at Lake Los Carneros, were a California Thrasher and a Song Sparrow that seems to be without a tail (a baby?)

To see a large version of the slideshow on Flickr, please click here.

There are 72 photos in the “January 2012″ set. The photos include pictures of birds at home, Goleta Slough, Devereux Slough, AreaK, Coal Oil Point and a few from the eastern edge of OMGC (Ocean Meadows Golf Course)  yesterday when I walked by to get to the western edge of Devereux.

In the standing pools at OMGC, were many Pintails, a few Northern Shovelers, Great Egret, a Ruddy Duck and Pied-billed Grebe. On the course itself, there were lots of Coots. As I walked to my car parked on the street, I saw a line of Coots stretched all the way across the fairway of the ninth hole.

Shots from Devereux include before (very full)  and after (very empty) the last rain .  Because of the rain, the water rose sufficiently to break through to the ocean. After that happened, and the slough turned into a large mudflat, most of the birds hot-winged it out to pools on OMGC and Area K at UCSB. Area K had dried out to such an extent in the dry fall, that the vegetation (pickleweed?) turned to a bright red. Now, with the blue water, the color contrast is amazing.

On my walk along the western edge of Devereux yesterday, I saw two pairs of WTKs – a pair on a cypress a distance  behind the area where the bird interpretation signs are located (see photos). As I exited  from the western path onto the road that leads to the bridge, immediately ahead was a second pair perched on a plant, the name of which escapes me now.

I have taken photos at Goleta Slough for several years, and had never thought about the vegetation growing down the cliffs. Looking at a close-up of a Great Blue Heron, I noticed flowering Lemonadeberry – hence the shot of just the Lemonadeberry, that looks healthy and vigorous, and is a native.

Last Saturday, I went on a SBBG course to Haskell’s Beach to learn about its geology. The trip  included a very brisk walk there and back, and that knocked me out when I got home. Interesting area – need to revisit. At a stream outlet that was somewhat oily, there were quite a few birds happily feeding.  The new lens is a very strong motive to get out and walk, and with somewhat less of a workload, hopefully this year will be more “walkful”. Last year can only be described as “sitful”.

To view the slideshow on Flickr (larger and better), please click here.

Today, I went to buy at book at the Gift Shop at the Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History, on the way to Goleta Beach for photos.

I looked toward the courtyard, and saw a tiny owl in someone’s hand. After purchasing the book, I went back to the car, and returned with the camera and 400mm lens, paid the entrance fee, and then took photos of the Peregrine Falcon, Kestrel and the Western Screech Owl.

Since the lens is fixed 400mm, I had to stand more than 10 feet away, which must have been less stressful for the birds. I walked all around the courtyard trying to get the best backdrop for the birds – attempting to exclude signs, walls, and people, etc.

To see a larger, better slideshow on Flickr, please click here.