So yesterday i went to a lake in the high desert near Apple Valley/Hesparia area. I hadn't been there in a long time and it's one of those lakes that for me, i don't go to often because I'm more use to the lushness of the forest in the mountain lakes near me so I find it less appealing at this lake. But, the thing is, there are more ducks, seagulls and other shore birds here than I usually see at our lakes in the mountains.
I was so surprised (thanks Mike for the suggestion to go there yesterday)... to see about 30 pelicans at the lake. I took a WHOLE lot of photos and it was so exciting to just observe them in action. There were two cormorants that appeared to be showing off to the pelicans trying to get their attention and one of the gulls was loudly voicing his disdain about the cormorant.
There are lots more pelican pics in the line up that i'll be posting. I did learn that BOTH the male and female pelicans develop a bump on their beak during mating season. Up until i just checked google this morning, I thought it was only the males that formed that bump on the beak. In March and April the birds travel to their breeding grounds so I guess this is either a stop over for them on their way to somewhere else or this area is a breeding ground area. I will be making a few more trips over the next month just to see if they are still around.
It was a great day and I enjoyed so much the warmer temps in the high desert .
