HIGH HOPES

American Avocet, San Joaquin Wildlife Sanctuary, Irvine, California ---------

Every local birder I met in the San Joaquin Wildlife Sanctuary in Orange County, California a few days ago was excited to talk about the possibility that the American Avocets may breed this year at the ponds of the bird sanctuary. Someone must had posted something on social media because several people asked me where to find the avocets. That wasn’t really difficult to answer, since they were present right at the pond next to one of the parking lots. In the morning I saw only three, but later in the day I counted five birds. They bend down and sweep their bills from side to side in a scything motion along the bottom to stir up aquatic insects. Their diet also consists crustaceans and aquatic plants.

I started to understand the excitement of other bird lovers while watching a pair of avocets preparing a nest side or at least pretending to. Remember, this sanctuary is next to an airport and between extremely busy freeways and residential areas.

BLUE SHOW OFF

Male Western Fence Lizard, San Joaquin Wildlife Sanctuary, Irvine, California -------

I don’t know if this male Western Fence Lizard displayed to attract a female or maybe tried to keep an intruder at distance. I saw only him between the rocks at the San Joaquin Wildlife Sanctuary in Irvine, California. Commonly called the blue-belly, it was showing off his blue patches on throat and belly right in front of me. I was actually focussing on the birds in the shallow water behind the lizard and therefor had the 1.4 tele extender added to the Sigma 150-600. This was the right combination to make this click without sacrificing any pixels because of the distance.

NATURE CLICKS #369 - ALLEN’S HUMMINGBIRD

Male Allen's Hummingbird, San Joaquin Wildlife Sanctuary, Orange County, California ----

Last Saturday in the Bolsa Chica Ecological Reserve I met a German pilot from Lufthansa, who did exactly the same like me, shooting pictures and enjoying it. He recommended another location that I wasn’t familiar with, the San Joaquin Wildlife Sanctuary. This unique freshwater marsh is only a few blocks away from John Wayne Airport and as you can imagine not the quietest place on the planet. I changed my plans for Easter Sunday and decided to give it a try. All what I can say is that it was a great tip from the pilot. The checklist from the Audubon Society tells that over 282 bird species have been documented in the sanctuary. Before I even pointed my lens at any of the shore birds, I saw this Allen’s Hummingbird. This is a first sighting for me and I was eager to make a photo of it, perching high up in a tree.