Views of the river valley (click on any image to start slideshow)
Birds and other creatures of the river Valley (click on any image to start slideshow)
Diving Forster’s Tern / Photo: John Weare 
Forster’s Tern with catch / Photo: John Weare 
Spotted Sandpiper and Pacific Oysters in the San Dieguito Lagoon / Photo: John Weare 
Cliff swallows along the riverbank / Photo: John Weare 
Cliff swallow / Photo: John Weare 
Cliff swallows gathering mud for nests under the I-5 overpass above the San Dieguito River / Photo: John Weare 
Juvenile Osprey / Photo: Paul Haydu 
Red-winged blackbird / Photo: John Weare 
Great Blue Heron fledglings awating dinner / Photo: John Weare 
Osprey chicks ready for flight training above the Coast to Crest Trail in Del Mar / Photo: John Weare 
Juvenile Northern Rough-winged Swallow flying amongst Cliff Swallows near the I-5 overpass / Photo: John Weare 
Black Phoebe on final approach / Photo: John Weare 
Black Phoebe resting on a rock along the river / Photo: John Weare 
Cliff Swallows constructing mud nests on concrete buttress of I-5 overpass in Del Mar / Photo: John Weare 
Cliff Swallows at mealtime / Photo: John Weare 
Perched Anna’s Hummingbird along the San Dieguito River / Photo: John Weare 
Great Egret fledglings roughhouse in their nest before going back to sleep. Such aggression is common and large chicks often kill their smaller siblings – a behavior known as siblicide / Photo: John Weare 
Juvenile Egrets scanning the sky / Photo: John Weare 
Confusion in the nest as three juvenile Great Egrets jockey for position / Photo: John Weare 
Fledgling Egret launches – on a wing and a prayer / Photo: John Weare 
Fledgling Egret tests wings in pre-flight / Photo: John Weare 
Great Egret, symbol of the National Audubon Society, on final approach / Photo: John Weare 
Great Egret feeding young / Photo: John Weare 
A male Anna’s Hummingird hovers for a drink from a Bladderpod bush near the Del Mar Lagoon / Photo: John Weare 
A hungry Double-crested Cormorant, with its distinctive orange throat patch, nabs a Diamond Turbot in the San Dieguito Lagoon / Photo: John Weare 
Double-crested Cormorant and Diamond Turbot down the gullet / Photo: John Weare 
Killdeer gathering bugs along the river bank / Photo: John Weare 
Feeding time for Cliff Swallows nesting beneath the I-5 overpass / Photo: John Weare 
A flight of Cliff swallows over the San Dieguito River / Photo: John Weare 
Juvenile Egrets in their Torrey Pine tree nest / Photo: John Weare 
Male House finch among the grasses and weeds along the river / Photo: John Weare 
A charm of House finches catching up on the latest news / Photo: John Weare 
Monarch butterfly along the riverbank / Photo: John Weare 
Young Egrets in their Torrey Pine home preparing for their first flight / Photo: John Weare 
Juvenile Egrets in their Torrey Pine tree nest / Photo: John Weare 
Juvenile Egrets limbering up for thier first flight / Photo: John Weare 
And they’re off! Young Egrets finally launch from their Torrey Pine tree nest – observed by Great blue heron / Photo: John Weare 
Whimbrel on final approach for a water landing / Photo: John Weare 
Whimbrels bathe at the edge of the river / Photo: John Weare 
Long-billed Curlew wading in the shallow waters of the San Dieguito River / Photo: John Weare 
A Yellow-crowned Night Heron waits patiently for an unsuspecting fish or frog to pass by / Photo: John Weare 
Female Anna’s Hummingbird / Photo: John Weare 
Kildeer chicks like this one hatch with their eyes open and start scurrying around as soon as their feathers dry / Photo: John Weare 
Female Anna’s Hummingbird takes a sip from a bladderpod bush along the Coast to Crest Trail in Del Mar / Photo: John Weare 
A small crab is nabbed in the mudflats by a Long-billed Curlew / Photo: John Weare 
Anna’s Hummingbird showing off her head plumage / Photo: John Weare 
A juvenile Black Phoebe keeping an eye out for next insect meal / Photo: John Weare 
Juvenile Black Phoebe takes flight / Photo: John Weare 
Baby Cliff Swallow getting ready to take a first flight / Photo: John Weare 
Intricate patterns and colors in the plumage of an Anna’s Hummingbird / Photo: John Weare 
Cliff Swallow with a beakful of mud to shore up its nest under the I-5 bridge / Photo: John Weare 
Snowy Egret spies a small crab just beneath the surface / Photo: John Weare 
An elegant Kildeer reflected in the river / Photo: John Weare 
Young Osprey surveys the river and trail for an afternoon snack / Photo: John Weare 
Cassin’s Kingbird performs a high-wire act / Photo: John Weare 
Long-billed Curlew stalks its prey in the Del Mar Lagoon / Photo: John Weare 
Female Osprey soars above the Coast to Crest Trail near the Del Mar Lagoon / Photo: John Weare 
Cliff Swallow chicks on the lookout for returning mother with food / Photo: John Weare 
Cliff Swallow demands its dinner / Photo: John Weare 
Tasty Mayfly delivery to a Cliff Swallow chick beneath the I-5 bridge / Photo: John Weare 
Black Phoebe scanning surroundings for a tasty insect / Photo: John Weare 
California Towhee perched on a trail post near the San Dieguito River / Photo: John Weare 
Afternoon bladderpod snack for an Anna’s Hummingbird in the Del Mar Lagoon / Photo: John Weare 
An elegant Whimbrel pauses in the pickleweed for a moment of reflection / Photo: John Weare 
A Yellow-crowned Night-Heron intently watches its prey along the river bank / Photo: John Weare 
A pair of young Snowy Egrets reflect upon an imminent meal from the Del Mar Lagoon / Photo: John Weare 
A hungry Western Willet uses its sensitive bill tip to pull up a small fiddler crab from the Del Mar Lagoon / Photo: John Weare 
Double-crested Cormorants getting ready to spend the night on the wires / Photo: John Weare 
A juvenile Black-crowned Night-Heron prepares for a crab dinner along the river bank / Photo: John Weare 
Great Blue Heron standing proud in a grassy area along the banks of the river / Photo: John Weare 
A regal Great Blue Heron along the San Dieguito River / Photo: John Weare 
Curlew calisthenics / Photo: John Weare 
Watchful female Mallard / Photo: John Weare 
Mallard drake paddles around the Del Mar Lagoon / Photo: John Weare 
A female Northern Harrier keeps an eagle eye on her surroundings / Photo: John Weare 
Adult Green Heron hunting in the shallows / Photo: John Weare 
Western Willets discuss dinner plans at dusk / Photo: John Weare 
Immature White-crowned Sparrow pauses momentarily for a portrait / Photo: John Weare 
Snowy Egret cruises past oyster shells clinging to the I-5 bridge pilings / Photo: John Weare 
Great Blue Heron glides gracefully over the lagoon on a winter afternoon / Photo: John Weare 
Kestrel on the job, overlooking the Del Mar Lagoon / Photo: John Weare 
Male Belted Kingfisher spies his afternoon snack from a wire high above the Del Mar Lagoon… / Photo: John Weare 
…and dives down to retrieve it from the water’s surface / Photo: John Weare 
Gone fishing: male Belted Kingfisher dives toward the river / Photo: John Weare 
Osprey with catch of the day / Photo: John Weare 
Red-breasted Merganser on a bad hair day / Photo: John Weare 
Female American Wigeon cruising the Del Mar Lagoon / Photo: John Weare 
Male American Wigeon catches rare ray of sunshine on a January afternoon / Photo: John Weare 
A regal Snowy Egret on point / Photo: John Weare 
All-you-can-eat-buffet in the Del Mar Lagoon / Photo: John Weare 
A resplendent Mallard drake and his better half / Photo: John Weare 
Curved-bill Thrasher in mid-aria / Photo: John Weare 
The Yellow-crowned Night-Heron forages during the day and at night for crabs and other small crustaceans / Photo: John Weare 
The Yellow-crowned Night-Heron is the rarest heron to migrate north to our coastal wetlands from Mexico / Photo: John Weare 
A patch of sun between rain showers brings a Bush Sunflower to life / Photo: John Weare 
Curved-bill Thrasher on short final – once on the ground, it will use its curved beak to sweep under leaves for food / Photo: John Weare 
The eyes have it: Intense scrutiny from a male Osprey perched above the bridge on Jimmy Durante Blvd. / Photo: John Weare 
Juvenile Yellow-crowned Night-Heron foraging along the river’s edge / Photo: John Weare 
Juvenile Yellow-crowned Night-Heron catches late afternoon light and dinner / Photo: John Weare 
Female American Kestrel intently surveying the ground for a meal. Kestrels feed chiefly on House Sparrows which is why they are also known as Sparrow Hawks / Photo: John Weare 
A gaggle of Canada Geese caught gaggling in the Del Mar Lagoon. These noble birds are named after John Canada, the ornithologist who separated the species from other geese / Photo: John Weare 
An eagle-eyed Osprey Intently watches the water for signs of fish while showing off balancing on one talon / Photo: John Weare 
Pretty pair of paddling Northern Pintails / Photo: John Weare 
Anna’s Hummingbird gracefully executes a two-point landing / Photo: John Weare 
Anna’s Hummingbird caught in takeoff mode / Photo: John Weare 
Anna’s Hummingbird flits off to more important tasks than posing for the camera / Photo: John Weare 
Osprey returning to her nest above the Coast to Crest Trail in Del Mar / Photo: John Weare 
Spotted Sandpiper sans spots in its non-breeding plumage / Photo: John Weare 
Willet in winter plumage / Photo: John Weare 
Greater Yellowlegs shows off how it got its name / Photo: John Weare 
Greater Yellowlegs pokes along in the tidal mudflats / Photo: John Weare 
A California Thrasher sits for her portrait on a handy post / Photo: John Weare 
Anna’s Hummingbird in full display of brilliant acrobatics / Photo: John Weare 
White-crowned Sparrow gathering seeds along the river / Photo: John Weare 
An American Kestrel or Sparrow Hawk keeping an eye out for something tasty on the ground / Photo: John Weare 
Quite the mouthful for this Great Blue Heron / Photo: John Weare 
Greater Yellowlegs with sharp eyes on the prize / Photo: John Weare 
Spotted Sandpiper searching for small crustaceans in the mud flats / Photo: John Weare 
Song Sparrow enjoys spring bloom in the Del Mar Lagoon / Photo: John Weare 
Song Sparrow in mid-wingbeat / Photo: John Weare 
Song Sparrow belts out an avian hit / Photo: John Weare 
Mr. and Mrs. Gadwall dabble in Del Mar Lagoon / Photo: John Weare 
Anna’s Hummingbird among the Bladderpod / Photo: John Weare 
Green Heron on the hunt for insects or small fish along the river’s edge / Photo: John Weare 
Green Heron on final mudflat approach / Photo: John Weare 
Lesser Goldfinch sticks the landing / Photo: John Weare 
Getting an eyeful from a resident Osprey along the San Dieguito River / Photo: John Weare 
The Black-crowned Night-Heron is a relative newcomer to the lagoon / Photo: John Weare 
Great Blue Heron chicks patiently waiting for lunch / Photo: John Weare 
Osprey returning home from a fishing trip / Photo: John Weare 
A common but brightly colored House Sparrow / Photo: John Weare 
Up close and personal with a male Western Bluebird / Photo: John Weare 
Male Western Bluebird whose brilliant coloring attracts females / Photo: John Weare 
Female Redhead on patrol / Photo: John Weare 
A male Redhead, a local diving duck in the lagoon / Photo: John Weare 
Male Gadwall knee-deep in mud and algae / Photo: John Weare 
Anna’s Hummingbird darts off in search of nectar / Photo: John Weare 
Anna’s Hummingbird eye-to-eye / Photo: John Weare 
Say’s Phoebe thinking of something to say / Photo: John Weare 
Peregrine Falcon surveys activity in the Del Mar Lagoon / Photo: John Weare 
Four Osprey chicks (with red eyes) under their father’s supervision / Photo: John Weare 
Mother Osprey leaves the nest in search of food for fledglings / Photo: John Weare 
Osprey chick knows the drill even if not ready for flight / Photo: John Weare 
A regal Great Egret / Photo: John Weare 
Osprey chick surveys the nearby Del Mar Fair / Photo: John Weare 
Great Blue Heron chicks discuss the day ahead under the watchful eye of a parent / Photo: John Weare 
Peregrine Falcon sits for its portrait / Photo: John Weare 
California Thrasher belts out a throaty song / Photo: John Weare 
A Great Blue Heron spies its lunch – and takes the plunge / Photo: John Weare 
Success! Great Blue Heron comes up with a prize / Photo: John Weare 
Great Blue Heron shows off its catch / Photo: John Weare 
A young Black-crowned Night Heron waits for something edible to pass by / Photo: John Weare 
The I-5 freeway bridge over the San Dieguito River is reflected in the eye of a young Black-crowned Night Heron / Photo: John Weare 
A young Black-crowned Night Heron on point / Photo: John Weare 
Iconic Great Blue Heron in its natural habitat / Photo: John Weare 
An elegant Osprey poses above the Del Mar Lagoon / Photo: John Weare 
Great Blue Heron on patrol / Photo: John Weare 
Great Blue Heron with fresh catch / Photo: John Weare 
Great Blue Heron with a tiny Needle Fish in the Del Mar Lagoon / Photo: John Weare 
Snowy Egret hunting in the mud / Photo: John Weare 
Up close and personal with a Rufous Hummingbird on her nest / Photo: John Weare 
Rufous Hummingbird sits on her nest / Photo: John Weare 
Into the gullet of a Yellow-crowned Night Heron / Photo: John Weare 
A rather rare Yellow-crowned Night Heron for our region nabs a crab / Photo: John Weare 
A couple of Snowy Egrets reflecting on their dinner choices / Photo: John Weare 
Double-crested Cormorant with an emerald-like eye / Photo: John Weare 
Young Osprey ready to dive from the high wire / Photo: John Weare 
Red-tailed Hawk keeping vigil near the Del Mar Lagoon / Photo: John Weare 
California Scrub-Jay on the high wire / Photo: John Weare 
Brown Pelican soars over the Del Mar Lagoon / Photo: John Weare 
Avian sunset in Del Mar / Photo: John Weare 
Double-crested Cormorant does a little housekeeping / Photo: John Weare 
Red-tailed Hawk practicing the art of not being seen / Photo: John Weare 
Osprey playing chicken; who will blink first? / Photo: John Weare 
Green Heron blending into its surroundings / Photo: John Weare 
Great Blue Heron on final approach / Photo: John Weare 
Juvenile Black-crowned Night Heron on a winter’s afternoon in the lagoon / Photo: John Weare 
Green Heron in fine form on water takeoff / Photo: John Weare 
A regal Great Blue Heron along the San Dieguito River / Photo: John Weare 
Great Egret on a late winter’s afternoon / Photo: John Weare 
Nature’s perfection on display in this Snowy Egret / Photo: John Weare 
A Great Blue Heron passes with flying colors / Photo: John Weare 
A Great Egret reflects over next meal / Photo: John Weare 
This Osprey nest comes with an additional charge / Photo: John Weare 
Snowy Egret on final approach / Photo: John Weare 
A pair of Ospreys – SDG&E’s new tenants above the Del Mar Lagoon / Photo: John Weare 
Pied-billed Grebes like this one patrolling the San Dieguito River have earned the nickname “hell diver” for the speed at which they can disappear underwater / Photo: John Weare 
A female Osprey unable to finds its nest after SDG&E removed it from a utility pole near the Del Mar Lagoon / Photo: John Weare 
Male Osprey brings in building materials to shore up the family nest / Photo: John Weare 
Brown Pelican skims the San Dieguito River seeking sustenance / Photo: John Weare 
Twilight waders: A pair of Snowy Egrets feed in the shallows / Photo: John Weare 
A regal Snowy Egret shows off its plumage as it wades along the riverbank / Photo: John Weare 
Pair of Ospreys rebuild their nest a day after SDG&E removed previous home / Photo: John Weare 
Breeding season is near for this Brown Pelican whose throat pouch has turned a bright coral while the iris has lightened to yellowish white / Photo: John Weare 
A juvenile Great Blue Heron ponders next caper / Photo: John Weare 
Ospreys to SDG&E: You take our home one day, we’ll rebuild the next / Photo: John Weare 
A Brown Pelican wondering what happened to his feet / Photo: John Weare 
Nest building never ends for this Osprey / Photo: John Weare 
Yellow-crested Night Heron visits mussel shoals / Photo: John Weare 
A male American Wigeon dabbles in the Del Mar Lagoon / Photo: John Weare 
A Reddish Egret forages in shallows, illuminated by the late afternoon light. A rare sighting of this solo visitor to the San Dieguito River with its rusty-colored neck and two-toned bill / Photo: John Weare 
Female Lesser Scaup (in non-breeding plumage), a fairly rare winter duck that feeds on small clams, crabs, or oysters that can be found in the Del Mar Lagoon / Photo: John Weare 
An Osprey captured in the middle of lunch / Photo: John Weare 
Not a good day for this Turbot when it became in-flight sushi for a hungry Osprey / Photo: John Weare 
Bay pipefish rarely stray far from the eelgrass bed where they were born – unless snagged by a clever Snowy Egret / Photo: John Weare 
Great Egrets building nests in a Torrey Pine just west of the Del Mar Lagoon / Photo: John Weare 
Cinnamon Teal (non-breeding plumage) dabbling in search of floating vascular plants on which to nibble / Photo: John Weare 
Tentative Green Heron (Butorides virescens tentativum) tests the water / Photo: John Weare 
Allen’s Hummingbird sits on her eggs; the female does all the work without any help from the male / Photo: John Weare 
American Avocet, elegance in flight defined / Photo: John Weare 
Snowy Egrets in late afterooon flight / Photo: John Weare 
American Avocets make their first appearance of the spring / Photo: John Weare 
Pied-billed Grebe with black ring around its beak indicating breeding season / Photo: John Weare 
Allen’s Hummingbird puts food in the table / Photo: John Weare 
Two Allen’s Hummingbird chicks waiting for their lunch / Photo: John Weare 
Allen’s Hummingbird: Down the hatch / Photo: John Weare 
Allen’s Hummingbird prepares to feed her chicks / Photo: John Weare 
Immature Snowy Egret stalks away in a huff / Photo: John Weare 
Snowy Egret does a little housekeeping / Photo: John Weare 
During mating season, one good Forster’s Tern deserves another / Photo: John Weare 
Osprey parents feed and watch over newborn chicks / Photo: John Weare 
Anna’s Hummingbird sits on her tiny nest woven with twigs and lichen / Photo: John Weare 
Snowy Egret among the oyster shoals in the Del Mar Lagoon / Photo: John Weare 
Clark’s Grebe, not to be confused with a Western Grebe, with its black cap that does not reach the eyes / Photo: John Weare 
A Great Egret wades slowly through the Lagoon at dusk / Photo: John Weare 
Anna’s Hummingbird at moment of landing / Photo: John Weare 
Red-breasted Merganser calisthenics / Photo: John Weare 
Snowy Egret on final approach / Photo: John Weare 
American Avocets swim in shallow water sweeping their bills from side to side at the surface of the water to feed on aquatic invertebrates, insects, and seeds / Photo: John Weare 
Forster’s Terns calling in turn; these birds plunge dive for fish with their bills pointed downward / Photo: John Weare 
Brown Pelican shows off its brown neck and colored gular pouch / Photo: John Weare 
Forster’s Tern begins its dive / Photo: John Weare 
Forster’s Tern comes up with a meal / Photo: John Weare 
Anna’s Hummingbird coming in for a landing / Photo: John Weare 
House Finch visits the Del Mar Lagoon / Photo: John Weare 
Mother Osprey with three chicks in the SDG&E utility pole nest near the Grand Avenue bridge in the Del Mar Lagoon / Photo: John Weare 
Caspian Tern, the largest tern, usually feeds singly / Photo: John Weare 
Three Osprey chicks line up for lunch / Photo: John Weare 
Osprey parents and fledglings at the dinner table / Photo: John Weare 
“What, we have to learn how to fish by ourselves?” / Photo: John Weare 
Anna’s Hummingbird feeds on a Red-flowering gum tree blossom (Corymbia ficifolia) / Photo: John Weare 
Anna’s Hummingbird delivers lunch to hungry fledglings / Photo: John Weare 
Osprey parent dries off after fish delivery to the nest while youngster works on balance / Photo: John Weare 
Juvenile Osprey still learning how to land / Photo: John Weare 
A skewer of juvenile Great Egrets in the San Dieguito Lagoon / Photo: John Weare 
Young Osprey showing off their new flight skills / Photo: John Weare 
Yellow Crowned Night Heron wades along the shore of the San Dieguito River / Photo: John Weare 
A rare, juvenile Reddish Egret in the marsh / Photo: John Weare 
An American kestrel dines out from one of the higher perches in the river valley / Photo: John Weare 
Anna’s Hummingbird heading for a tasty Bladderpod cluster / Photo: John Weare 
A shy Green Heron, up close and personal / Photo: John Weare 
A handsome Great Blue Heron shows off his plumage / Photo: John Weare 
An Osprey’s well-balanced dinner / Photo: John Weare 
Wading Willits by the Grand Avenue bridge / Photo: John Weare 
Willets separate while feeding but if one bird takes flight, all will join / Photo: John Weare 
Rare Reddish Egret foraging for minnows in the lagoon / Photo: John Weare 
Reddish Egret in flight. Global breeding population is estimated at 15,000, with some 2,400 breeding in the United States, so while not endangered, they are on the watch list / Photo: John Weare 
An American Kestrel, the smallest and most common falcon in North America / Photo: John Weare 
The American Kestrel; a cute little falcon, until dinner time / Photo: John Weare 
A Greater Yellowlegs uses its slightly upturned bill to skim small creatures from the surface of the water as it swings from side to side / Photo: John Weare 
Pied-billed Grebe, a fast diving water bird that is fond of crayfish in particular / Photo: John Weare 
Western Grebe grooming / Photo: John Weare 
Willet wades in the salt marsh / Photo: John Weare 
A pair of Northern Pintails practice their synchronized swimming routine / Photo: John Weare 
The eyes have it; Juvenile double-crested cormorant watching over the Del Mar Lagoon / Photo: John Weare 
American Wigeon rides a December king tide in the newly restored area of the Del Mar Lagoon / Photo: John Weare 
Eared Grebe in its winter plumage, a rare visitor to the area / Photo: John Weare 
Unflappable Great Blue Heron in early morning light / Photo: Jeff Carmel 
Dead Ridgway’s Rail beneath un-permitted chain link fence that surrounds Surf Sports Park. Populations are declining largely due to wetland loss and degradation, and the species is listed in the U.S. as federally endangered.