Pied-billed grebes in the marsh, Coyote Hills Regional Park

I believe this 2011 trip to Coyote Hills Regional Park is the only opportunity I've had to photograph pied-billed grebes. As I recall, I encountered them while crossing a boardwalk over the open water in the marsh. Thankfully the water management had the marsh at its high water mark, so it was possible to get reasonably close to eye-level when I went prone on the platform. I enjoyed the chance to spend a few brief moments with this adorable pair before they slipped back into the vegetation.

Black phoebe on cattails, Coyote Hills Regional Park

From the same lost trip in the archives as my previous post, here's a black phoebe perched on cattails in Coyote Hills Regional Park in California. It's hard to beat a morning spent in a wetland, but I had an impression that there was nothing to show from this particular trip to the South Bay and had often overlooked this folder. This past summer I was digging around a little bit in my archives and came across a few keepers buried in the wrack. A heavy evening fog had settled over the bay, casting a nice even light over the marsh.

Female red-winged blackbird on cattails, Coyote Hills Regional Park

I'm fortunate to have a handful of lovely cattail marshes along my daily commute, and its been wonderful to see them surrounded by beautiful autumn foliage recently. I haven't had an opportunity to attempt to capture their beauty, but it's made me think of the many times I went out looking for birds in the wetlands around San Francisco Bay when I lived in California. This particular trip to Coyote Hills Regional park was largely ignored on my hard drive, so it's nice to pull a few images out. Here's a lovely female red-winged black bird perched on some early spring cattails in the freshwater marsh.

Probing dowitchers

I had forgotten how beautiful Coyote Hills Regional Park is, and I hadn't taken a trip there in a few years. I didn't take many landscape shots while I was there, but I highly recommend taking a trip there if you're in the area. Not only are there gorgeous views of the South Bay from the tops of the hills, but the bird life is great.



There was very little water left in the freshwater marsh, but the dowitchers were out in full force making use of what was there. These guys are fascinating to watch as they feed, since they move like a sewing machine in high gear, probing in-and-out, in-and-out in the mud. I'm also fascinated by that wild black and white pattern on the tail.