Baja California Sur

A few other images from our visit to BCS:

Scott's oriole

One of a loose flock of ten (!) Scott’s orioles working the reeds at Todos Santos.

And another bizarre icterid:

yellow-headed blackbird

a hypomelanistic yellow-headed blackbird on the beach at the Estero San José; I couldn’t remember ever having seen an “abnormal” plumage in this species.

Everybody wants to see the Big Three species-level endemics in Baja, but the small, rather darkish Gila woodpeckers were just as striking to my eye. 

Gila woodpecker

Non-avian vertebrates were surprisingly scarce. I got to see a single jackrabbit, and the highlight of our whale “watch” were the close views of California sea-lions.

California sea lion

Common birds all, but great to see them at the Estero San José:

Estero San Jose cinnamon teal, blue-winged teal, northern shoveler, white-faced ibis]

I’m very glad iguanas are vegetarian.

iguana

This was my first opportunity to see California scrub jays after the resplit this past summer.

California scrub-jay

With an astronomical telescope and some luck, I could have been watching Baird’s juncos and royal terns all at once.

Sierra Laguna

This photo — below even my usual low standard — at least shows the brown nape patch said to be shown by almost all Baird’s juncos.

Baird's junco

Tourists come to Baja for the sun. So do white-faced ibis, apparently.

white-faced ibis sunning

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