Birds of Pt. Reyes

A Great Egret Stops to Smell the Flowers: Abbotts Lagoon, Point Reyes NS… Pacific Coast Series 6

/ Curt Mekemson / 34 Comments
The great egret stopped to smell a flower. Just kidding. It was searching for a fish in the grass, which might seem even stranger— except it had dropped the fish there.
Peggy and I found the great egret, and a great blue heron, fishing in Abbotts Lagoon at Pt. Reyes National Seashore.
It was an easy and pleasant walk out to the lagoon from the trailhead. Flowers, birds and cows kept us amused along the way. Peggy fell in love with the poppies.
She took lots of photos.
A two-for-one shot.
And two with layered petals.
Large bunches of poppies added splashes of yellow to the scenery.
A pond proved to be a perfect location for nesting redwing blackbirds.
This one chose a post to sing his cheerful song from.
And this one, a convenient plant.
Several cows grazed over a hill above the pond like a 40-plus leg mowing machine. A number of dairy ranches are still functioning within the park.
This cow, backlit by the sun, had a bad case of cowlick. At first, we thought it might be a bull. Nope. I checked.
I spotted this plant and went searching in my memory for its name. The leaves gave it away.
It was yarrow. One of the names for this flower is Devil’s Plaything. An ancient superstition said the Devil would walk the streets at night and shake the flower at houses he wanted to curse. One can only wonder how the superstition got its start.
Neither Peggy nor I had any problems identifying this iris. Its name? Iris douglasiana ‘Pt Reyes’.
A colorful thistle caught my attention. You can look, but you best not touch! BTW, nettles were common along the trail as well. They are definitely ‘do not touch.’
Lupine has well over 200 species worldwide. Estimates range as high as 500! The beginning of the trail at Abbotts Lagoon is loaded with yellow lupine bushes (Lupinus aborius). It was a week or two early for most of them to bloom but one plant favored me with these.
Peggy found a striking red dragonfly along the trail that flew ahead of us and conveniently landed in front of her.
This white crowned sparrow wasn’t nearly as cooperative. The bushes alongside the trail were alive with them. One would think they would be easy to photograph. And they would be, if they were ever still longer than a second or two. Finally, we got lucky.
We were even luckier when crossing the bridge that separates the upper and lower lagoons. A white crowned sparrow was below the bridge getting a drink. it’s easy to see how the bird got its name.
The bridge and the lower lagoon. The ocean can be seen in the distance.
A pair of swallows landed on the bridge railing.
A close up of the colorful male.
Another view of the lower lagoon.
The main action was taking place on the upper lagoon just above the bridge where the great egret and the great blue heron were at work. The egret had spotted a fish and was heading out to get it.
It plunged its head into the water…
And caught a whopper! It’s the fish he dropped in the grass and had to retrieve.
The great blue heron was 50 feet below the egret.
A closer view.
Searching for fish, it looked to the right…
Straight ahead…
And glanced quickly to the left…
Before burying its head lightning fast in the water.
All the way up its neck. We’ll leave the heron trying to catch its fish. (We never saw the fish, but we did see the heron swallow it.) Next post: On to the historic Pierce Point Ranch.