access to BC wetlands from OceanRidge Drive

I turned left past the houses facing the reserve…

until I reached this feature and turned right down the slope towards the Wintersburg Channel

I started at the Brightwater trail, the red line at the top left and then down to the wintersburg channel to the north overlook, the turned left onto the inner bay loop to the south overlook and the nesting site. At this point is the long wooden bridge linking the nesting area to the south car park. I then walked on the outer bay loop along the PCH back up towrards the Tide Gates and the pocket loop trail before heading back along the north side of the channel to my start point….took 3.5 hours…

first bird of the morning…the mourning dove

there were literally thousands of these little snails crossing the trail….

in the dawn gloom, this beautiful black headed grosbeak glowed

california towhee

view along wintersburg channel looking to the north east with mallards in foreground

stark landscape

view from the bridge across the channel looking towards the Pacific Coast Highway in the southwest

Black necked stilt in the channel

Great egret and snowy egret

An Osprey in the distance

a pair of black skimmers doing what they do best…skim!

a pair of canadian geese on the water

from the north outlook we can look across to the famous wooden bridge where terns are aplently

on distant sandbanks Elegant terns gathered

and within the area fenced off for nesting least terns and snowy plovers, this horned lark was active

there were also a few Killdeer present

Song sparrow

and on to the wooden bridge at the south carpark

Fosters tern on wooden bridge

Fosters terns

4 white pelicans…reminiscent of Tchaikovsky’s 4 little swans dancing

white pelicans

from the undergrowth on the car park side of the bridge, nonchalantly strode the bird of our quest…

The magnificent Ridgeway’s Rail…an endangered species of Rail living from California to Mexico

Ridgeway’s Rail

and he waded off into the shallows…definitely the star bird of the morning

snowy egret by the bridge

heading back to the channel by the side of the PCH…heavy traffic and not many birds on this stretch

Song sparrow with breakfast

common yellowthroat

common yellowthroat with insect

and from afar, this raptor watched majestically…?northern harrier

and then I heard some very loud squawking from a palm tree….

A great blue heron feeding his chicks

a very wet Wrentit

the colourful red accented male house finch with the ladies

Brilliant yellow warbler

the pocket loop trail….there was lots to see near the fencing

?Lesser goldfinch

male housefinch

willett

Eared grebe

double crested cormorant cruising over the channel

California Towhee

and last bird of the morning….a black phoebe

the Bolsa Chica wetlands