This is why they call it a Spotted Sandpiper!
Birds in breeding plumage (from about April-August) have these wonderful spots.
I photographed this bird on Saturday in La Jolla.
Many or most will fly north during breeding season, but we continue to see a few in Southern California.
Now matter how many photos of Spotted Sandpipers I have, one more is always welcome!
Here is one photographed in La Jolla in April of this year.
I expect that if I see a Spotted Sandpiper this weekend it should be full of spots!
Wrentits are more often heard than seen.
This one shows itself in La Jolla in early April of this year:
An Orange-crowned Warbler sings. Its orange crown is barely visible.
Photographed in La Jolla in early April of this year.
It's spring in Southern California, which means the Song Sparrows are singing their distinctive song.
Here are some photographed in La Jolla in early April of this year:
My shutter speed was fine for a perched bird, but not fast enough when the bird flew. I don't mind the blur, though:
Most people who engage in birding consider it a relaxing pursuit.
What we often forget is that the birds we are watching are engaged in life-or-death activities every minute of every day.
Their survival depends on feeding, breeding, raising their young, and avoiding predators.
The life of a predatory bird is not a simple one, since other birds recognize it as such and will mob it, especially if they should happen to have a nest or youngsters nearby.
Earlier this month I was exiting my car in Escondido, California, when I looked up and saw a Red-tailed Hawk being mobbed by an American Crow.
Luckily I had my camera, and spent the next five minutes watching the crow repeatedly attack the hawk, not deterred by the hawk's piercing screams.
Eventually I had to go, but the sight of the crow mobbing the hawk was a thrilling to me, perhaps less so for the hawk!
A Black-bellied Plover, photographed in La Jolla, California, in January of this year.
The Black-bellied Plover only has a black belly during breeding season. They breed in Arctic tundra, but if we are lucky we can see them in breeding plumage just before they depart for the arctic or just after their return.
A Willet takes flight in Coronado.
Photographed in early April of this year.
A Surfbird faces an oncoming wave in a similar manner to a body-surfer heading out into the surf.
Photographed in early April of this year.
More Surfbird pictures from early April:
