San Diego area

Jim Rose - November 2003

San Diego
There is plenty of opportunity for birding in and around San Diego.  The pictures below were taken within a fairly short drive of downtown San Diego.

La Jolla
Having read that the cliffs at La Jolla was a site for wintering Wandering Tattler and Black Turnstone, I expected a fairly remote site. However it is in fact a rather nice seaside resort which attracts hundreds of people on sunny Sunday afternoons (like when I was there!) and parking was difficult on the seafront.  However, the birds were obliging and I had the added bonus of seeing a beach full of basking seals, just out of reach of and quite unperturbed by the hordes of people.

 

 

The Brown Pelican is one of the most striking birds of the San Diego coastline.  Small parties were often seen flying low along the coast or fishing on the ocean.  An immature bird is shown flying in the above photo.
	Snowy Egret - Seen regularly in small numbers both on the coast and around the Salton Sea.
Western Gull - Common on the coast.
	Heermann's Gull - Common on the coast.
Ring-billed Gull - Very common everywhere.

This Least Sandpiper was feeding on the mudflats in the Coronado area of San Diego. Many more were seen inland on the Salton Sea.
	This was one of two Wandering Tattlers that were roosting on the cliffs at La Jolla just below hoards of people enjoying a pleasant Sunday afternoon.
Also at La Jolla were at least two Ruddy Turnstones.
	Of more rarity value was this Black Turnstone, also a La Jolla.

 

This Brewer's Blackbird was one of a flock of about eight birds that were feeding outside my hotel room in San Diego.

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