Palomar Lake

(looking cool)

Is it possible to look cool while birding? Not really, but you can try. This image was taken at the top of a long descent into a valley towards a lake in the Palomar mountains. The lake in the distance was the eventual destination of the birding group, which I hadn't fully appreciated when we started down the hillside. First off, cows had been there before. We didn't see any walking around munching on the dry grass that carpeted the area, but there was plenty of evidence that they had been there in the past. The recent past.
Fortunately the way wasn't completely through active pastureland. About half way down the slope is a small fence that the group shimmied through to get to the untouched side. That side of the valley was better for hiking, and that's where the birds are. Lots of birds. Pelicans were in abundance, Great Blue Herons and shorebirds aplenty.
And some bones.
Any fish unlucky enough to be swimming near the surface of the lake while a raptor was overhead quickly becomes a meal and ends up as a small pile of bones on the sand. The same can be said for birds as well. I'm not sure what predators were in the area, but there were a few sad mounds of feathers scattered around as well. It may be the circle of life and everything, but it's not pretty.
But the lake was beautiful, and it's a great hike.