Marina del Rey
After a few days in Hollywood Hills, we made the 30 minute drive to Marina del Rey to stay at the Beach retreat in Marina del Rey. We choose this spot for its location, literally being right on the beach. For its location it was a great bargain.
The location really was a perfect beach retreat. Wake up early enough and you can enjoy the beach by yourself and watch the birds and the ocean. We spent our mornings doing just that.
The sandpipers feed by probing the soft beach sand for prey.
Willets are often seen alone. They walk deliberately, pausing to probe for crabs, worms and other prey in sand and mudflats, or to pick at insects and mollusks. When startled, they react with a piercing call, often opening their wings and running rather than taking flight.
Western Grebes nest in colonies of hundreds on large inland lakes, sometimes using coastal marshes, in western North America. It has a spectacular courtship display; two birds will rear up and patter across the water's surface. Northern birds migrate west to coastal ocean in winter; birds in the southwest and Mexico may be permanent residents.
Among the most elegant of the herons, the slender Snowy Egret sets off immaculate white plumage with black legs and brilliant yellow feet.
The Pelagic Cormorant is smaller and more delicate than the other Pacific Cormorants. It is slender with a tiny head no wider than its neck, a very thin dark bill that appears to be pushed into its face. It has dark chin and throat feathers and a much longer tail than the Red-Faced Cormorant. The adult Pelagic Cormorant is a glossy black. It has yellow-green to deep sea green eyes, black legs and feet. When breeding it shows two white oval patches on its flanks and a small dull red facial patch. Like the Red-Faced Cormorant, it develops two white plumes on its neck. Its back and neck become an iridescent greenish-black. It also has 2 crests on its head front and back. The males are slightly larger than the females. In winter, the adult lacks the red face and flank patches. The immature Pelagic Cormorants are dark black-brown with no facial skin and have brown eyes.
The gangly Double-crested Cormorant is a prehistoric-looking, matte-black fishing bird with yellow-orange facial skin. Though they look like a combination of a goose and a loon, they are relatives of frigatebirds and boobies and are a common sight around fresh and salt water across North America—perhaps attracting the most attention when they stand on docks, rocky islands, and channel markers, their wings spread out to dry. These solid, heavy-boned birds are experts at diving to catch small fish.
Adults have light-gray backs, black wingtips, and white heads and underparts. In winter, dusky streaks mark their heads. Herring Gulls take four years to reach adult plumage. Juveniles are mottled brown; second-year birds are brown but show gray on the back. Third-years have more gray on the back and more white on the head and underparts. The legs are dull pink at all ages.
Adult Brown Pelicans are gray-brown birds with yellow heads and white necks. In breeding plumage, the back and sides of the neck turn a rich, dark reddish-brown. Immatures are gray-brown above including the head and neck with pale whitish belly and breast.
Our trip continues to Venice Beach!
*fin*
