
With every visit I make to the Tijuana River Mouth I’m rewarded with a sense of renewal. Fresh air blown over the waves of the Pacific Ocean, sun and sand all around … Just thinking about it now, I’m uplifted by the memories. This particular Saturday was no exception.
As with many of my trips to enjoy the birds in this region, my first stop was at 7th Street in Chula Vista where Gull-Billed Terns captured my attention. Gull-Billed Terns raise babies in the Saltworks to the south and share the nesting areas with Black Skimmers, Snowy Plovers, Least Terns, Elegant Terns, Royal Terns, Forster’s Terns, Black-Necked Stilts, Avocets, Killdeer and other species. There are mixed reactions about Gull-Billed Terns from the biologists charged with monitoring the nesting of this location. There is joy this threatened species is nesting in the area, and frustration due to the terrestrial feeding this bird specializes in. When these terns forage on mole crabs along the sandy beaches, everyone is happy, but when their appetites turn to the endangered Least Tern and Snowy Plover chicks, there is angst and conflict. I don’t believe there has been any agreeable strategy how to deal with the problem.
The birds I met this day were Gull-Billed Tern, Brown Pelican, Black-Bellied Plover, Willet, Sanderling. The birds I most enjoyed this morning were the Sanderlings

Gull-Billed Tern(Gelochelidon nilotica) |
Description: Chula Vista Bayfront Park, Chula Vista, California. San Diego County. |
Date Taken: 2013:05:11 6:17 |
Location:
J-Street |
Camera Information: NIKON D3X, 800 mm, f/7.1, 1/320 |
File Name: D3X6945-GullBilledTern |
© 2013 Jack Daynes, shadeTree-Imaging |


Gull-Billed Tern(Gelochelidon nilotica) |
Description: Chula Vista Bayfront Park, Chula Vista, California. San Diego County. |
Date Taken: 2013:05:11 6:21 |
Location:
J-Street |
Camera Information: NIKON D3X, 800 mm, f/5.6, 1/640 |
File Name: D3X6983-GullBilledTern |
© 2013 Jack Daynes, shadeTree-Imaging |


Brown Pelican(Pelecanus occidentalis) |
Description: First year bird at the Tijuana River Mouth in Imperial Beach, California. San Diego County. |
Date Taken: 2013:05:11 7:46 |
Location:
Tijuana River Mouth |
Camera Information: NIKON D3X, 800 mm, f/5.6, 1/6400 |
File Name: D3X7009-BrownPelican |
© 2013 Jack Daynes, shadeTree-Imaging |


Brown Pelican(Pelecanus occidentalis) |
Description: Tijuana River Mouth in Imperial Beach, California. San Diego County. |
Date Taken: 2013:05:11 7:49 |
Location:
Tijuana River Mouth |
Camera Information: NIKON D3X, 800 mm, f/5.6, 1/6400 |
File Name: D3X7022-BrownPelican |
© 2013 Jack Daynes, shadeTree-Imaging |


Black-Bellied Plover(Pluvialis squatarola) |
Description: Tijuana River Mouth in Imperial Beach, California. San Diego County. |
Date Taken: 2013:05:11 8:11 |
Location:
Tijuana River Mouth |
Camera Information: NIKON D3X, 800 mm, f/5.6, 1/5000 |
File Name: D3X7036-BlackBelliedPlover |
© 2013 Jack Daynes, shadeTree-Imaging |


Willet(Tringa semipalmata) |
Description: Tijuana River Mouth in Imperial Beach, California. San Diego County. |
Date Taken: 2013:05:11 8:24 |
Location:
Tijuana River Mouth |
Camera Information: NIKON D3X, 800 mm, f/5.6, 1/5000 |
File Name: D3X7050-Willet |
© 2013 Jack Daynes, shadeTree-Imaging |


Description: The diagonal line from the parking lot at Border Field to the Bird & Butterfly Garden is imaginary. |
Date Taken: 2013:05:11 20:46 |
Camera Information: |
File Name: Map-2013-05-11 |
© 2013 - Jack Daynes - shadeTree Imaging |


Sanderling(Calidris alba) |
Description: (Calidris alba) Sailing over the beach at the Tijuana River Mouth in Imperial Beach, California. San Diego County USA 2013-05-11. |
Date Taken: 2013:05:11 8:28 |
Location:
Tijuana River Mouth |
Camera Information: NIKON D3X, 800 mm, f/5.6, 1/8000 |
File Name: D3X7075-Sanderling |
© 2013 Jack Daynes, shadeTree-Imaging |


Sanderling(Calidris alba) |
Description: (Calidris alba) Sailing over the beach at the Tijuana River Mouth in Imperial Beach, California. San Diego County USA 2013-05-11. |
Date Taken: 2013:05:11 8:28 |
Location:
Tijuana River Mouth |
Camera Information: NIKON D3X, 800 mm, f/5.6, 1/8000 |
File Name: D3X7076-Sanderling |
© 2013 Jack Daynes, shadeTree-Imaging |

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