Bruce and I decided to walk off lunch along the freshwater
marsh at Huntington Beach
State Park. I don’t know what angel was guiding us, but
it definitely was a day to remember for bird-watching. In addition to the regular summer flocks of
Woodstork, Ibis, Egrets, Moorhens, etc,
we spotted three rare bird sightings
Driving in across the causeway, I told Bruce” look theirs some Ibis right by the road … PINK ibis??? (my voice
rising ) Those are Spoonbills” Bruce slammed on the brakes so I could hop
out with my camera to grab some shots while he parked the car. Sure enough there were two juvenile Roseated
Spoonbills feeding in the mudflats. We
watched them for a long time. They are
beautiful birds with strange wide bills that they sweep rapidly back and forth
through the pluff mud seeking small crabs and shrimp. Normally these beautiful birds are found in
the marshes of Florida
and the Gulf coast. I don’t know what
brought them so far north, but there they were posing for my camera. (An hour
later, when we drove back out of the park they were no where to be seen)
Continuing on our walk, we walked out onto the observation
deck over the fresh water march. There
almost at out feet was a Red Necked Egret ( a Dark Morph). Again it hung around long enough for me to
admire its beautiful coloring, swift hunting action, and beautiful colors, and
again it was no where to be seen when we drove out.
