San Diego River

The San Diego River runs throughout San Diego.  This is the "mouth" of the river. This water comes directly from the ocean and my little journey this day was that little grassy/marshy area off in the distance.

This whole area is loaded with Great Egrets, Great Blue Herons, Snowy Egrets, Cormorants, Brown Pelicans and more.  However, all these birds tend to be shy and usually photos need to be taken from a far distance.

as i was walking through the grassy area, this Little Blue Heron popped up his head.  I was more than delighted!  I love these little guys!!

right after this little guy flew away, i saw this:

BAD picture, but the fact that's it's not a blurry blob is good for me.

i am quite proud of this photo!  this Osprey landed about 300 feet from where i was "hiding" in the grass. after taking several photos he turned to look at me as if to say, "WHAT?!?!?!"

He then proceeded to bath for the next 10 minutes or so.

he was very tolerant of my presence and i was very thankful to him.

This is one of the areas that is closed off for the California Least Tern.  they are the sweetest little birds that squawk and yell at each other while they fly.  the flutter/hover over the water and then will dive bomb to catch a fish.  I have been trying to photograph them for over a week, but those little suckers are fast and my camera is just not up to par.  I really don't think they ever land.  I managed to get a few pictures today.  WARNING!!! these pictures are not good!!!

these guys look like a regular Tern, but they are at least half the size.  They are fast and full of attitude.  it is not a wonder that i have become obsessed with them.

This is a Long-Billed Curlew. How can you NOT love a bird with this beak?

Little Guy hanging out with the Great Egrets (these pictures once again not so good, they were pretty far away)

I was sitting here watching the birds and i heard some rustling near my feet and i saw this:

I thought this (clearly pregnant) squirrel wanted food and then i saw this little plastic container near my feet.

she just needed a drink of fresh water.  VERY cute!  I made sure to fill up this container before i left.  I had to make sure the little mamma had plenty of water.

this BAD picture was one of the last things i saw before i left.  This Brown Pelican flew in and eventually scared away these poor Black Skimmers.  I don't think the Pelican meant any harm, they just tend to be a little "Oafy" when they land.  I was waiting for this Pelican to get closer to me so i could get a decent picture, but it never happened.  That's OK, there's always next time. 

Coronado

Welcome to Coronado!  Coronado is pseudo island along the coast. It is home to white sand beaches, expensive homes and one cannot forget the Famous Hotel Del Coronado.

That is the Hotel Del off in the distance.  I came out to Coronado last week and this week.  the only difference was last week, we were having some "june gloom" so it was a bit overcast.

However when it's gloomy (and a weekday) this is your view.  Not a soul in sight. Today was another story.  and when there are a lot of people, the one thing you will not find are birds everywhere,but that's ok.  I can still enjoy the beauty.

unfortunately this gate is stretched across the beach and water, since this area belongs to the US Navy, so it was time to turn around.

this little gull managed to snatch a little fish even though there were quite a few people along the shore.

i mentioned the expensive homes.  Well some of them are so beautiful i took a few pictures of some of my favs.  Just a note, ALL of these houses face the beach (about 100 feet away)

(this is the view most of these houses have)

is the hotel??  No, that's a house....

while all these homes are absolutely gorgeous they all lack one thing....peace and quiet.  there is no way to live this close to the beach and not have the noise and traffic that comes with it.  But i certainly don't think that's a bad thing, just for me, i like the quiet.

as i headed home, i drove toward the Coronado Bridge and i was driving through the residential streets and they were beautiful, tree lined, gorgeous yards and homes and then i drove by this and had to stop:

it was a huge version of a Hobbit House. too cute!

i hoppd on the Bridge and headed home. The beach is not usually my go to place in the summer months (too many people) but considering Coronado is very close to my house, i figure i will be going more often.