It was great weather the other day, do I took the scope out to Goleta Beach County Park to see if there was anything interesting to see. Yes, there was.
First, as I was driving past the airport on the way to the beach, I spied a Red-Shouldered Hawk sitting on the fence, looking for lunch. It was not bothered when I pulled off the road, stopped and got out with the scope, nor when cyclists, joggers, or walkers went past. In fact, it flew closer to me and took up another perch on the fence. Nice looking bird!
After the nice hawk detur, it was on to the beach. There was a good amount of activity there, here are some of the beach goers that day.
Willet
Black-necked Stilts napping
Killdeer
Killdeer
Great Blue Heron
For me, the most entertaining part of the afternoon was watching a small flock of Least Sandpipers. These tiny birds were busy probing the shallow water for lunch , and did not pay too much attention to me, which allowed for some nice photo opportunities.
