September 15, 2020 Malibu Lagoon and Legacy Park

I'm gradually catching up on my observations after the massive uploads from Arizona. I have been out exploring some since we returned more than a week ago but have been behind.

On this day I made my way to Malibu Lagoon and looked a bit for shorebirds (most were very far away) as well as any sea creatures that had washed up on the sand. The "beach" area is still quite small but I like it that way in some ways as it keeps the crowds down. I was lucky enough to see a harbor seal poking his head out of the water as I made my way to the beach but he went under as I got closer for a better photo. There were several spiny lobsters on the beach including a couple that were rolled up like the one I posted in my observations. Otherwise I found just a few shells and crabs.

Then I made my way to Legacy Park. I used to go to this place a lot, but a few years ago it suddenly stopped attracting many interesting birds. However, this day was better in terms of water birds (I still couldn't find any migrants in the trees). I was surprised to see some sandpipers, a dowitcher and a greater yellowlegs, the latter of which was the only one who conveniently posed (though I have much better photos than what is posted here). I was even more surprised to see two black-necked stilts as they are rarely even in Malibu. And not photographed but seen was a black crowned night heron.

I also looked for pollinators and did find a couple of non honeybees. Since Legacy Park is a "managed" park, it is watered and maintained by volunteers and the flowers tend to bloom much longer than those in the wild.

Posted on September 18, 2020 02:03 AM by naturephotosuze