Santa Barbara County Birds

June 2008

Goleta Slough Rookery: nesting Great Blue Herons, Double-crested Cormorants, and Great Egrets, with a large flock of Brandt's Cormorants off the slough mouth — June 11, 2008.

Snowy Plover in the incubator at Coal Oil Point Reserve, about four hours old — June 7, 2008.

Coal Oil Point Reserve — June 2008: Snowy Plover Recovery Program, incubator chicks, waders in Devereux Slough, and a bird walk with Mark Holmgren.

Turkey Vultures feed on a seal carcass at Isla Vista Beach, just east of the “Jail House” — June 8, 2008.

Large flock of Brown Pelicans at Coal Oil Point Reserve and Turkey Vultures feeding on a Harbor Seal carcass at Isla Vista near the Jail House — June 8, 2008.

A large group of Brown Pelicans at the mouth of Devereux Slough — June 2, 2008.

May 2008

It's that time again! Snowy Plover chick in the Coal Oil Point Reserve nursery — May 24, 2008.

Coal Oil Point Reserve — May 2008: Red-necked Phalarope, Cliff Swallows, Least Tern, Snowy Plover chicks, Red-tailed Hawk chicks and parents with a squirrel, Mallard chicks, Gopher Snake, and Devereux Slough.

Red-necked Phalarope at Devereux Slough — May 18, 2008, with its food source. See the same bird without the rusty red in August 2007.

April 2008

Killdeer in the dunes at Coal Oil Point Reserve — April 12, 2008. View the April slideshow.

Pelagic Cormorant in breeding plumage, Santa Rosa Island — April 27, 2008.

Channel Islands trip to Santa Rosa Island — April 27, 2008. Sights included Humpback Whales, Common Loon, Common Murre, Dall's Porpoise, Pelagic Cormorant in breeding plumage, Black Oystercatcher, dunes, Torrey Pines, and Santa Cruz Island.

March 2008

Spring day — March 29, 2008: birds, sea otters, and wildflowers at Sands Beach, Coal Oil Point Reserve, Devereux Slough, and Devereux Point; Greater Scaup, Brandt's Cormorants in larger numbers, and Brown Pelicans.

Brown Pelicans at Coal Oil Point Reserve and Sands Beach — March 23, 2008.