Whimbrels and Willets!

Today's Birding with Bob was at the Ballona saltwater marsh area in Playa del Rey. We parked on Pacific and walked to "the bridge" which is a famous bicycle route according to John.

We saw this unfortunate red-eyed Western Grebe. Being out of the water tells you he's in trouble and he kept poking at that stuff on his left side. One of our group called a rescue  organization and we hope he will get picked up.

 Lots of Western gulls like this guy, as well as pelicans. We saw a number of birds I couldn't get photos of: Caspian terns which are the largest terns and have gorgeous red beaks, least terns diving for fish, and Elegant terns (yes that's really the name).

 There were a lot of snowy egrets.

 Young black phoebe below on the beach.

 One star of the show was this whimbrel hanging out and fishing off the rocks. These puppies migrate thousands of miles, flapping all the way (no gliding) nonstop, arriving with all their internal organs shrunken except the heart and lungs. They have the downcurved beak and lined faces.

Below is the Willet, another migrating shore bird which is in breeding plumage now. In flight the black and white contrasting feathers are very visible. His beak is straight.

 Above is a gaggle of Graylag geese.

Meanwhile at home we've been dealing with breeding Allen's hummingbirds in the yard, a few goldfinches, and a million new baby house sparrows and house finches.