Rock down to...Laguna Avenue
Eddy Grant may have been really excited about rocking down to Electric Avenue, but I'm sure whatever that is pales in comparison to a little country road south of San Jose called Laguna Avenue. Despite being just a dead end road surrounded by agriculture lots, Milly and I have always found it a hopping place indeed. It's in the middle of Coyote Valley, which is an area just on the outskirts of Silicon Valley that is either ripe for development or ripe for preservation, depending on who you ask.
When watching birds becomes a hobby (or more than a hobby), you end up in some weird places. Sewage treatment plants and landfills are not uncommon places to see birders. Since people who watch birds tend to go where the birds are, and birds don't have an eye for property values or crime rates, you end up in some interesting places. Like Laguna Ave!
Coyote Valley, and Laguna Ave in particular, is one of those places that is blessed with birds. It seems like every time Milly and I make the drive out there, we are given something that makes the trip worthwhile. Sometimes it's a Golden Eagle hunting ground squirrels, sometimes it's a Burrowing Owl staring at you with heavily lidded yellow eyes, and sometimes it's a renegade pony trotting down the road (true story).
I like how the lighting makes this Kestrel's moustache look lopsided. Birds are so funny when they look straight at you!
This Red-Tailed Hawk agrees.
It really boggles my mind how many birds turn up at Laguna. Flocks of hundreds or thousands of blackbirds are not uncommon. This past week we estimated about 300 pigeons in the fields, and probably 20 Great Egrets. Ever see an Egret in a drought-stricken field? You're about to!
Nothing says Laguna like a harrier on an irrigation pipe. Pony pictures to follow (at some point).
