Bufflehead ducks

I liked watching these Bufflehead ducks in the Goleta Slough.  They are in Santa Barbara for the winter and will migrate back to Canada for the summer breeding season.  They nest almost exclusively in holes excavated by Northern Flickers and on occasion, by Pileated Woodpeckers.

Bufflehead

Bufflehead

Bufflehead

Bufflehead

The larger Buffleheads with the white spot on their head are adult females.  The smaller ones are immature Bufflehead ducks.

Bufflehead

Bufflehead

Goleta Slough

Here are a few pictures of birds at the Goleta Slough.

Goleta Slough where it meets the ocean

Gulls and Stilts

Black-crowned Night Heron

Black-crowned Night Heron, Juvenile

American Coot

Double Crested Cormorant

Black-Necked Stilt

Black-Necked Stilt

Black-Necked Stilt

Mallard

Northern Mockingbird

Goleta Slough

One day in October I took the afternoon off from work, grabbed my 35mm digital SLR camera and went to the Goleta Slough where I photographed these birds.

Great Egret

Immature Black Crowned Night Heron

Snowy Egret

Double Crested Comorant

White-Crowned Sparrow