The morning was a bit gray but the rain had stopped. We started off for the San Joaquin Wildlife Sanctuary which is probably in Irvine but runs into Newport Beach. It is in fact a place with 12 miles of trails and a series of lagoons, ponds, and vegetated wetlands. And, no surprise, it is fed by treated wastewater. there is no aroma here and the trails are wide and hard-packed. We entered the office building and chatted with the staff, looked at the gift shop, and picked up a checklist. We then spent about four hours walking the trails. We had a very nice time of it – but as it was pretty gloomy still I didn’t carry the camera.
We had lunch and headed for the Bolsa Chica Ecological Reserve were we walked another four miles or so. Forty years ago there were dozens of oil pumps working this area and the surfers at Huntington Beach were just across the street. It was cold today, but I’d guess the surfers are still there; however, the oil fields have morphed into the reserve.
This is river water and tidal water. There are thousands of shorebirds, herons, egrets, terns, and gulls in this area. I did carry the camera all afternoon and the photos below are representative.
The willet is divided into two distinct populations. The Western Willet shows up in the east in September on occasion but out here they are all Western Willets. This one if walking marsh vegetation looking for anything that moves.
On The Road With DEC 