Bolsa Chica Birds and Beasts

I've tentatively tagged this as a Black-Necked Grebe in non-breeding plumage. The size and coloration seem right. They were busy diving down and chasing fish. You can see the drops beading up on the back of this bird.

I still don't know why grebes have red eyes.

A ring-beaked gull watches me watch it.

I love seagulls; they're so contradictory. On land, they're sort of ordinary looking, squabbling birds. Once they're in the air, they are graceful fliers, some of the most beautiful around, and the sunlight catches their wings.

I'm not really clear on the precise differences between a Clark's Grebe and a Western Grebe. This is one or the other.

Edit: A friend tells me "In Clark's Grebes, the black on the head doesn't hit the eyes. In Western Grebes, it goes to the eyes," so this one is probably a Western Grebe, since the black does hit the eyes.

A cottontail thinks about waking up. She sat there for quite a while considering the matter before an egret flew down nearby and started her into diving for the bushes.