Bird watching at the beach

When we parked this morning, the first sight of the ocean was covered with bobbing black

wet suits with a few without along with them.  This small section of ocean looked as if it

was filled with surfers.  We don't actually know any surfers, but it seems that lots of local 

surfers try to catch the waves early before going on to the responsibilities of the day.

This bird has been puzzling me.  It has certainly proved to me how inept I am in identifying birds. It looks a lot like a brown seagull. I am basing my judgement on the fact that only two shorebirds are identified on the wall at La Jolle Shores.  A seagull and a sandpiper.  Most of the sites on the internet show a bird with a dark beak.  However this little guy is definitely yellow beaked.

Maybe this is what this one is:

Baird's sandpiper Baird's Sandpiper: This medium-sized bird has scaled gray-brown upperparts, white underparts and a dark-spotted gray-brown breast. The crown, face and neck are buff with fine brown streaks. It has a white rump with a dark central stripe and black legs and feet. Feeds on insects and spiders. Swift direct flight with rapid wing beats; long wings allow them to make long flights. Sexes are similar. Surfbirds living up to their name – in the surf! Posted on March 23, 2013 [All photographs copyright, Gary Nunn 2013] – After not finding too many new migrants around Point Loma this morning I decided to switch gears and take a look along the Mission Bay Jetty. The north side can be good for shorebirds so I decided to start there. Hopping rocks along the jetty is quite dangerous, so I was glad to find most birds right on the north side close to, or on, the beach. In addition to one Wandering Tattler and four Black Turnstone, a good find was a group of fifteen Surfbird together, excitedly milling around, yes, in the surf! They appeared to be searching for invertebrates as the waves receded, oddly keeping their distance from one another. This species does winter in small numbers on the jetty, with eight being found there on the SDFO 2013 New Year Pelagic. This group seemed a bit larger however, possibly including early migrants stopped off here on their journey north. Most of the group were advancing into alternate plumage, but one or two birds were still in basic plumage. As is usual for this species, they were very tame, allowing me to approach closely and obtain these photographs.

Birding California and beyond with Gary Nunn  a Pectoral SandpiperCalidris melanotos on 07 Sep 2012 feeding along the edge of the San Diego River flood control channel at Robb Field, Ocean Beach. I was in the neighborhood and went right over there to find the bird was quite close, feeding on the algae mats, allowing some 

detailed photography.

I am ready to accept defeat.  One source says that curlews and willets are both some of the largest birds on a shoreline.  

That does not describe this cute little bird that runs back and forth with the waves.  Much more than the sandpipers do.

Could it be a dowitcher? I suspect I may never know unless I meet and ornithologist on the beach one day.

Western sandpiper?  If the picture in this book by Joan Easton Lentz is correct this little bird is what our tiny friend is.

Initially when the wave comes in, it is usually filled with sand. Then comes a moment

in between the waves when the water is clear.  All that you can see is shadows of 

the bubbles floating on the surface and the uneven ocean floor.

Rock that seems as if it has a piece of petrified ocean trapped inside. 

I had been looking out at the ocean with people swimming and surfing when I saw

this small black dot pop out of the water.  I watched for awhile then finally realized

that what I was watching was a seal.