Count birds on Saturday and a word about Chollas Lake

Global Big Day:

So, apparently tomorrow is some kind of global bird counting day. It is hoped that everyone around the world will count birds tomorrow. It's called the Global Big Day and it's also a fundraiser for the Cornell Lab of Ornithology. It's a lot like the Great Backyard Bird Count. Click on that link and it will take you to a page where you can submit your data.



International Migratory Bird Day:

Head on out to the Tijuana River National Estuarine Research Reserve tomorrow, May 9th,  for fun activities for the whole family at their visitor's center. They're located at 301 Caspian Way in Imperial Beach. They will have birdwatching tours, educational games and activities for adults and children. It's a nice reserve with lots of interesting native plants and animals.

May 16th, Explore Mission Trails Day:

Mission Trails Regional Park will have a ton of activities all over the park for Explore Mission Trails Day next Saturday, May 16th.. Most of the activities will either be at the visitor's center at 1 Junipero Serra Way, East Fortuna Staging Area, or Kumeyaay Lake Campground.  Your kids can ride a pony, get a close-up look at raptors and do crafts. There are also several walks, including a birding walk and a starlight walk. It runs mostly from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. with the night-time activities at Kumeyaay Lake starting at 7 p.m. Call the Mission Trails Regional Park for more details at 619-668-3281.

A word about Chollas Lake:

Recently, news stories have started jumping on the city for dumping water into Chollas Lake. For those who don't know, Chollas Lake is a small pond that used to be a fully functioning reservoir. Currently, kids under 15 fish there and there's camps for underprivileged children and other activities. The residential area nearby is an ethnically diverse, low income area. It's an extremely nice park and it's extremely nice to have a park like that in a low income area. 

The news media is making out that they're only dumping water into the lake so that people can fish. Trust me, it's not a prime fishing spot. But, it's nice for the kids. It's also home to dozens of domestic waterfowl who can't travel anywhere if the lake were to dry up. They would have to be re-homed or even euthanized if that lake dried up. I'm sure the staff there would do their best to get them new homes if that happens, but I don't think that all of them will be able to be able to be rehomed. Other wildlife may also suffer as other areas get drier and drier.

Chollas Lake is also a backup source for water to put out brush fires in the area. And, it can still function as a backup reservoir. The problem is that, I guess, a lot of it evaporates and those eucalyptus trees suck up a lot of water. I say that they need to do more research on this instead of criticizing the situation and making it look like a bunch of privileged people are being selfish.

Birdy weekend with a bird festival

OK, it's the weekend again!  And, it's birdy and the weather is awesome! If you want to help the least tern and visit an island in Mission Bay that you usually can't visit, then contact Christina Hirt of the San Diego Audubon Society at hirt@sandiegoaudubon.org or call 858-273-7800 x106 ASAP.

Basically, what you will be doing is removing trash and invasive plants from FAA island on Mission Bay. It's a known least tern nesting area that has been having some success since it started to be maintained. The event takes place THIS SUNDAY, March 8th, probably in the morning. You have to contact Christina to find out the time and location of where the boat will pick you up. Once you are there, you can't leave until everyone's done, which will be in about three hours. There's no restroom or anything you can use as a restroom, so don't drink any coffee or juice that morning. But, do bring a water bottle and sunscreen.

Unfortunately, I've been sick a lot lately and haven't had the energy to work on the least tern sites this year. But, I may go to the San Diego Bird Festival at Mariner's Point. This year, not only Sunday set aside as a family fun day, THE WHOLE WEEKEND is going to have free family-friendly events. Friday and Saturday's free events go on throughout the day. There will be a couple of free bird walks in the area as well as kid's art classes, a class on attracting birds to your garden, and an expo with optics and live birds. On Sunday, most activities start around noon, but the 'Big Sit' along the bicycle path starts early in the morning. There are some events that might require a fee.

The Big Sit bird numbers around mid-day last year

Mission Trails Regional Park will have an art reception on Saturday, March 7th from 1-4 p.m. in their visitor's center. They are currently exhibiting work for the Pastel Society of San Diego. They are located at 1 Junipero Serra Trail near Mission Gorge Road.

Unfortunately, I posted too late for an upcoming hike on March 7th from 9 AM to 1 PM at the Rancho Jamul Ecological Reserve. They required RSVPs on March 5th, so it's too late to reserve a spot. I'm just mentioning it because I want people to be informed about the Reserve and keep their eyes open for the next hike. They usually have a hike at least once a month. They're located in Southeast-Central San Diego County (east of Spring Valley). If you want to ask what hikes they will be having next time, call 619-654-3793.

Beach Birds of Mission Bay

In May of 2013, I wrote this article about the birds I see around Mission Bay, an easy place for people to visit here in San Diego.  Now that it's fall, it's a great time to go see these birds.

Assorted shorebirds

Godwits and Willets

I don't know how many people go to the beach or bay not to hang out, but to check out the local wildlife. In San Diego, there is a recreational area called Mission Bay where people don't usually sunbathe or swim (though a few can be seen doing so). This bay was dredged out so people can use jet skis, boats, fly kites, row or kayak, run their dogs loose (on Fiesta Island only), or play a game call "Over the Line" among other activities and events. But, Mission Bay is also a place for the birds-literally. 

Brant

Thousands of birds call the bay their home as they have done for thousands of years.

Before the bay was dredged for human use, it was more marsh-like and many birds populated and bred in it. There are still pockets of these marshes preserved throughout the bay and one of them, the Kendall-Frost Marsh, is fenced off from people. However, a good variety of birds can be found on the beach just outside the marsh. Other areas that are fenced off include several least tern nesting sites which are managed by the city of San Diego and the San Diego Audubon Society. Each year, the nesting sites have to be weeded because the disturbance of the soil from dredging allowed many invasive plants to take root. The California subspecies of least tern is endangered mostly due to loss of breeding habitat.  

Willet

Even in more disturbed areas, birds are abundant. Despite the fact that loose dogs run all over Fiesta Island, many birds don't seem too bothered by them. In the water, brant geese, ducks, and grebes continue to feed among the speeding watercraft. Willets and marbled godwits seem to be the most common type of shorebird along the beaches. Killdeer often nest in the least tern nesting habitats, usually well before the terns arrive.

Horned larks

When visiting the bay, be mindful of the birds around and don't intentionally harass them. Winter is the best time to see the most variety of birds with just about every type of shorebird that usually visits the San Diego area can be seen. In the summer, most of the birds seen are terns, gulls, raptors, sparrows, horned larks, and other small birds.

While I based this article on my own experiences, here's a few links that might be of interest to readers:

Natural Reserve System: Kendall-Frost Marsh 
San Diego History: Mission Bay Aquatic Park 
Mission Bay (Wikipedia)