We took a quick trip to the Carpinteria Salt Marsh on Saturday. Most of the marsh is part of the University of California Natural Reserve system, and is closed to the public; however a portion of it is owned by the Land Trust for Santa Barbara County and is open to the public. I had heard reports of a red fox in the area, and with all the recent rains we hoped to at least find some tracks. No luck on that front, but we were rewarded with so nice light and cooperative birds. The highlights were seeing every kind of Teal, a couple Northern Pintails, and even a Surf Scoter preening very close to the beach. A couple dolphins were also seen lounging and barely moving just offshore. All in all, it was a very nice morning trip.
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“Cinnamon Teal” - Carpinteria Salt Marsh
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“Dowitcher Feeding Party”
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“On Golden Water” - Green-winged Teal
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“Jumping for Joy” - Green-winged Teal
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“Surf Scoter” - Carpinteria Beach
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I saw the Fox 09/08/2011 at 3:00 pm near the driving rage and at 9:15 and 9:30 pm on 09/09/2011 just north of the pier