| Summer Bird Watch by Vic Leipzig with Information from Peter Knapp, Department of Fish & Game It’s June, and mating season is well underway at Bolsa Chica. Peter Knapp reports that Least Terns have established 180 nests already, with plenty of time left to exceed last year’s number of 220 nests. This has been a very impressive season for Least Terns. I’ve seen more of them this spring than in any year I can remember. And this year, they’re not just nesting out of sight on one of the tern nesting islands way south of the boardwalk. There are several highly visible nests on the other side of the chain link fence at the end of the boardwalk. Look for them on your next visit. Elegant Terns got off to a bad start earlier this spring, but are making up for it now with a spectacular 6,100 nests counted on the north tern island. Assuming that each nest is produced by a separate pair of adults, the total number of Elegant Terns must be over 12,000. On the other hand, small shorebirds have largely departed from Bolsa Chica, migrating to their arctic breeding grounds. On several recent visits, I was unable to find even a single Western Sandpiper or Least Sandpiper. Although many individuals of these species leave early, usually a few linger at Bolsa Chica until later in the summer. Not this year. They seem to have all migrated at once. The birding thrill of recent weeks has been a Little Blue Heron. This heron is about the size of a Snowy Egret. Most of its plumage is a uniform dark blue-gray color with a hint of reddish in the head. It is NOT just a little version of the Great Blue Heron! Although there is an established population down at the mouth of the San Diego River, not many of them seem to make it up to Orange County. I haven’t seen one at Bolsa Chica since 2003. A small but potentially significant change in Bolsa bird life has occurred recently with the first ever nesting of Great-tailed Grackles. These large, noisy, and aggressive blackbirds have expanded their range into California from Texas in just the past few years. This year for the first time, they are nesting in the tules and cattails at the south end of Bolsa and are easily observed from Wieder Park. Will their population grow? Time will tell. |