Category Archives: Beach

Bird of the Week — Willet

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A Western Willet foraging for food along the California coast. There is also an Eastern Willet, but my photos and focus is on the Western Willet.

Willet —
Tringa semipalmata

Willets belong to the shore birds more commonly called Sandpipers. I see several types of Sandpipers at the beach, but so far the only one I’ve successfully identified is the Willet.

SIZE:

Length: 13.0-16.1 in (33-41 cm)
Weight: 7.0-11.6 oz (200-330 g)
Wingspan: 27.6 in (70 cm)

LOCATION:

From All About Birds

DIET:

Willets forage along the shore, often alone. The tips of their beaks are sensitive and used to find food. They can forage at night as well as in the daytime. They eat crabs, insects, mollusks and worms. They feed along the mudflats, beaches and rocky shores.

A Willet getting a bite to eat along the shore.

NESTING:

Western Willets move inland from the shore for breeding along wetlands, grasslands or fresh water lakes. They nest on the ground and the male will scrape out a nest from the mud or grass. They line their nest with grasses or other soft materials. A typical clutch is four eggs. Males and females incubate their eggs, but the male takes over at night.

Although they are monogamous, they may separate after breeding season and reunite the next breeding season.

CALLS:

https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Willet/sounds

Friday Photos

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This is the view from our airbnb living room. The little cottage we have rented for nine summers has the feel of a tree house. The living room is upstairs at tree level overlooking the ocean. This is the one photo I took in this grouping with my Nikon and telephoto lens. The rest of the photos were taken with my iphone walking on the beach. I hope you enjoy a taste of California beach life.

This is our favorite beach to take walks and sit and watch the waves. This view is looking north.

There’s a canal along the walk and I caught this gull relaxing on a piece of drftwood.

This is the glimpse of the beach from the walkway that takes us to the beach. Ellen Degeneres used to own the house to the right of the fence, but sold it to have more privacy. It’s a gorgeous house by the way and sold last year for $35 million. Click on the link for a news story and photos.

The white house at the end of the beach is Kevin Costner’s estate. The tide gives him plenty of privacy because the beach is under water near his property.

We went out to dinner with friends and came back to our cottage to see this sunset out the side window.

I caught a Snowy Egret in action

A southward view of the beach.

I believe these are Willets but not quite sure. There are so many similar looking shore birds.

Father and son walking and talking.

I made them stop and pose. It’s such a joy to have our son and daughter-in-law join us for some relaxing beach time.

Which photos do you like the best? What are your plans for the weekend?

Bird of the Week — Snowy Egret

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A Snowy Egret I spotted during our beach vacation near Santa Barbara, California. Photos were taken with my iPhone during a beach walk.

Scientific name: Egretta thula
Genus: Ardea

I learned that herons and egrets both belong to the genus Ardea and that there is no scientific difference between the two. Egrets are white and herons are blue or other colors. That’s it.

The Snowy Egret has white plumage with a black beak and legs. They have a yellow streak on their faces behind their beaks. Their feet are bright yellow and called golden slippers. The brightly colored feet are helpful in herding small aquatic creatures while the Snowy Egret forages in shallow waters.

When they are breeding, the adults grow wispy long plumes which were in demand for ladies’ hats in the 1880s. The plumes were valued at twice the price of gold. Many Snowy Egrets lost their lives because of their valuable feathers.

SIZE and SHAPE:

Snowy Egrets are long, thin herons with a long neck, long legs and beak.

  • Length: 22.1-26.0 in (56-66 cm)
  • Weight: 13.1 oz (370 g)
  • Wingspan: 39.4 in (100 cm)

RANGE:

FOOD:

They eat aquatic animals including fish, crustaceans, frogs, worms and insects. They forage in mud flats, along the shore, marshes and tidal flats and eat while standing up.

NESTING:

The male will start building a nest before finding a mate. He’ll select a location at the top of a tree, shrub or vines. When the male finds a mate, the two will finish building the nest together. It’s a shallow oval of grasses, twigs, rushes and moss from 14 to 18 inches across and eight to 13 inches high.

The male and female share the job of incubating their eggs. A Snowy Egret clutch usually has three to five eggs. They also share feeding their chicks. Snowy Egrets do not mate for life, but are monogamous for each breeding season.

CALLS:

https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Snowy_Egret/sounds

Day One

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The photos were taken with my iphone on our first beach walk. I haven’t taken my Nikon to the beach yet, but will soon! This bird is a Willet and part of the Sandpiper family.

We finally made it to the beach! It was a long drive and we stopped along the way to visit our old home town and friends from my husband’s childhood and earlier days of married life. We hadn’t seen them in years, so it was a nice way to break up a long drive.

This is a Snowy Egret known for their golden slippers.

This beauty is a juvenile Gull. The specific type of gull will be known in a couple years when it loses its brown colors and turns white with markings and features of its species.

Another photo of a Willet. They were gathered along the shore catching a bite to eat between waves.

We walked on our favorite beach early in the morning before the sun broke through the clouds and fog. I can’t tell you how good it feels to take beach walks. Next, our son and daughter-in-law will be joining us. They met in college at UC Santa Barbara and love to visit and stay with us when we’re here. Our DIL surfs, so it will be a delight to sit at the beach with a book and watch her in the waves.

Evening Photos:

What a change from the morning to the afternoon. The sun is out. People are on the beach, but it’s not crowded at all. It never is.

Look at the American flags. Love it!

Is that a gorgeous view or what? All I need is a few dolphins leaping through the surf.

What is on your agenda this week?

Friday Photos

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Red stayed away for another five days, but Mrs. was here every day. I wonder if Red got into a fight because he has a black spot on the side of his head he didn’t have before. But I did read that Cardinals molt once a year, so maybe that’s it. Or, I have a new bird altogether. Fortunately, he stopped by this week several times a day. My neighbor has promised to keep the birds fed while we’re out of town.

Good news. Red is looking more normal each day and keeps on visiting our backyard.

At least Mrs. is always around which makes me feel good!

A neighbor told me I should name this quail dad “Lucky.”

Lucky visits every day with his wife and three babies. Somehow he lost his tail, but he is still standing strong. That’s how he earned his name.

This is a Mourning Dove at our new bird bath. I left the old one empty when we visited our son and daughter-in-law because I didn’t want it to become a breeding ground for mosquitos. Normally I change the water every day. So the end of the story is that the old bird bath didn’t survive in the heat being dry. A resin coating splintered and peeled leaving an unhealthy mess for the birds.

A Gila Woodpecker hopped on for a ride.

Another look at Red and Mrs. before we leave for our beach vacation.

Last but not least, it was Waffles the pug’s 10th birthday this week. It seems like yesterday he celebrated birthday number one while we were on our beach vacation! These two photos were taken at our friends’ house in Santa Barbara for Waffles first birthday.

My daughter made flyers and held a party for Waffles in a park near her apartment. She gave flyers to friends, co-workers, her favorite coffee shop and hung them on telephone poles in her neighborhood. She invited everyone with dogs or not and promised dog treats for all dogs. She had a crowd that included her friends and families and even a group of eight-year-old boys she didn’t know who wrapped presents for Waffles. Everyone thought it was a perfect family-friendly evening at the park and want to meet every week.

The old man Waffles with gray hair at age 10.

What photos do you like? What do you think is up with Red’s head?

What are your plans for the weekend?

Looking back on this week five and 10 years ago…

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This is a photo I took last August at the beach.

What was I doing five years ago today? I took my last morning walk in the desert. Then we were on our way to our annual beach vacation.

You can read the 8/10/21 post HERE.

Ten years ago I was looking back on my summer vacations before we had kids. I’d visit my home state Washington and schedule way too much stuff using a Daytimer to keep track. I also posted photos from our 2016 beach vacation and noticed how much more relaxed I was.

You can read that post HERE. I was contemplating whether I should swim in the ocean with several sightings of great white sharks. Yikes.

We’ll be heading to the beach later this week. I’m ready to get out of this terribly hot summer in the desert and enjoy some fresh air!

What are your plans for the week?

The Final Project

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It’s time to turn in my final project for photography class. I’ve been taking photos of sea glass that I’ve shared along the way HERE and HERE.

Sea glass has both Meaning and Memory for me (FYI, that’s the theme of this semester’s final project.) My memories are from summers at the beach which were my favorite days of being a mom. As for meaning, one is that change always happens. For example, the purpose and original form of bottles change through time. Bottles turn into beautiful glass pieces tumbled in the sea. We also change — but it doesn’t mean that we no longer have purpose or beauty.

I took photos for the past few months of sea glass. Outside by the pool at different times of day. On glass tables by the pool, inside in jars, glasses and on glass with light coming from different directions.

For this project, I looked through photo albums and found pictures from our summers at the beach. Every year, I took photos of our kids and used them for Christmas cards. I scanned old photos and improved them using Adobe Camera Raw. The quality of the old photos taken with film are fuzzy compared to the new photos using a DSLR. But they have memory and meaning as well.

Here are the photos for my final project:

The Palm Springs gang on a beach day.

In the original photo, the hand looked like it was boiled bright red. A little Adobe Camera Raw and it’s more natural looking.

One of my favorite sea glass photos.

All that’s needed for entertainment is sand, the ocean and big stick.

Two more sea glass photos I took by our pool in the morning light.

I never heard the end of making my kids sit on this rocky outcropping. They asked me, “Why did you make us sit on an ashtray?” I didn’t know that this was a favorite place to smoke for locals. It was covered with cigarette butts!

Our daughter with a fist full of sea glass.

College age kids.

The final sea glass photo taken on a glass table with a light underneath.

I hope you enjoyed my final project.

Which photos do you like and why?