Sunday is dog day afternoon in Moro Bay California in winter time!
Squirrels come from all across America for their annual beach convention in Cambria California.
Peli can cage fish from the fishermen,
and is on the lookout for handouts.
Vain egret keeps her feathers looking lovely.
Oystercatcher snoozes in the sun,
while pied billed grebe scouts the sea for supper.
Winter sunset sends you cheers from Oxnard California~
Snowy Egret hunting for dinner,
plunges his beak,
and pulls out a fish!
Night Herons, White Faced Ibis, Snowy Egrets and Great White Herons, block my path!
424 different bird species have been identified at The Salton Sea, including this handsome Snowy Egret with striped stocking legs.
The placid Black Bellied Plover eats bugs in the sand,
while White Pelicans lumber off as I near.
They soon skid back,
flashing irked looks my way!
Great Blue Herons watch as if saying, “I’m a very big bird, you better be careful, if you come my way!”
Cheers to you from the wintering shorebirds at The Salton Sea~
The Salton Sea near Anza Borrego Desert in Southern California is one of the crucial wetland stops on The Pacific Flyway for birds migrating between Alaska and Latin America.
6 million birds rest here every year. (Snow Geese, Glossy Ibis)
424 different bird species have been counted at The Salton Sea. (Snowy Egret)
San Diego County hosts more than 500 different bird species, more than any other location in the continental United States. (White Pelicans)
The Salton Sea sits 228 feet below sea level, its salinity percentage is greater than The Pacific Ocean, and it is California’s largest lake.
The sea has been steadily evaporating for the past fifteen years, and this evaporation is accelerating due to Southern California’s prolonged drought.
If the sea evaporates, 6 million migratory birds could be brutally affected. (American Avocet)
90% of California wetlands are already gone! (Black-Necked Stilt)
95% of the US population of Eared Grebes rely on The Salton Sea, as well as 90% of White Pelicans, 50% of ruddy ducks, and 40% of Clapper Rails. Several threatened and endangered species also shelter here. (Sand Hill Cranes)
Cheers to you from the millions of beautiful, but at-risk birds at The Salton Sea (Sand Hill Cranes)~
