Tag: birds

Loma Alta Creek Nature Trail in Oceanside.

The Loma Alta Creek Nature Trail is a short, easy path in Oceanside where people in the city can see many birds.

Also known as the Loma Alta Marsh Footpath, the urban nature trail extends west from South Coast Highway (just north of Paradise by the Sea Beach RV Resort) to Buccaneer Park. The distance is about one quarter mile.

I walked the nature trail several days ago and took these photographs. I began at South Coast Highway where it passes over Loma Alta Creek. You’ll see the following sign at the trailhead.

As part of the Pacific Flyway bird migration route, the Loma Alta Creek and Watershed makes up part of the northern section of the Carlsbad Hydrologic Unit. Gathering water runoff as far as 7 miles inland and following much of Oceanside Boulevard, this watershed provides a habitat for seabirds, waterfowl, and shorebirds that migrate to its outlet at Buccaneer Beach. A vast array of salt marsh plant species flourish in the tidal area near the coast to provide nesting and foraging for birds.

Following the trailhead from South Coast Highway toward Buccaneer Beach, you will find many wonderful and diverse species that depend on you to keep their Coastal Wetland Habitat clean and free from pollution.

I observed a Great Blue Heron perched in a tree across the water. My camera on its automatic setting didn’t take such a great picture, unfortunately.

An old sign (I increased the image contrast) indicates that bird species one might see while walking along the Loma Alta Nature Trail include Snowy Egret, Great Blue Heron, American Coot and Black-Necked Stilt.

The trail passes under railroad tracks.

A northbound Coaster train rumbles by…

There are two beautiful murals painted under the railroad bridge. You can glimpse part of one in the next photograph. To see both murals, click here!

In the next photo, I continue to head west toward grassy Buccaneer Park, a popular spot for families. That bridge in the distance is where South Pacific Street passes over the creek. On the other side is Buccaneer Beach.

Lots of birds on the rocks!

…

I post new blogs pretty often. If you like discovering new things, bookmark coolsandiegosights.com and swing on by occasionally!

I live in downtown San Diego and love to walk around with my camera! You can follow Cool San Diego Sights via Facebook or X.

Thank you for sharing!

Hidden murals in Oceanside under train tracks.

These two murals in Oceanside are seen by relatively few people. They were painted fifteen years ago along a little used nature trail, under a shadowy bridge that supports train tracks.

One of the murals seems to depict nearby Buccaneer Beach, with a view of Oceanside Pier in the distance. The opposite mural appears to show Loma Alta Creek that the nature trail–Loma Alta Marsh Footpath–follows. (I’ll be blogging about this short trail soon.)

I noticed an artist signature: Betty Gilroy 2010.

I walked under the railroad tracks last Friday. These two murals are like weather-beaten hidden treasures.

The following photos are of the Loma Alta Creek mural. You can see the actual creek beyond it. The artwork is filled with many of the birds one can see from the trail…

The next group of photos show the opposite mural, depicting people at the beach. The art was behind a chain link fence, making photography a challenge…

…

I post new blogs pretty often. If you like discovering new things, bookmark coolsandiegosights.com and swing on by occasionally!

I live in downtown San Diego and love to walk around with my camera! You can follow Cool San Diego Sights via Facebook or X.

Thank you for sharing!

Morning beauty on a Buena Vista Lagoon walk.

The sun had risen above a distant hill. The morning air was warming. Buena Vista Lagoon, separating coastal Carlsbad from Oceanside, was alive with light and life.

This morning I walked a short distance down the nature trail near the Buena Vista Audubon Nature Center. I enjoyed a similar hike several years ago.

This time the looping trail was flooded in at least one spot, so my adventure was a very short there-and-back. But just as peaceful and beautiful as before.

This small walk was part of a much longer, meandering walk today, from the Carlsbad train station to the Oceanside Civic Center. I had the day off from work.

I’ve captured so many photographs from my long walk that Cool San Diego Sights will be including wonderful North County discoveries (including art, historic buildings, and another nature walk) for the next week or two.

To get things started…

…

I post new blogs pretty often. If you like discovering new things, bookmark coolsandiegosights.com and swing on by occasionally!

I live in downtown San Diego and love to walk around with my camera! You can follow Cool San Diego Sights via Facebook or X.

Thank you for sharing!

Sea life mosaics installed at Chula Vista trolley station!

Gorgeous glass mosaics depicting sea life were recently installed at the E Street trolley station in Chula Vista. The artwork was created by Rainforest Art Project (@rainforestartproject). The mosaics are meant to inspire people traveling through San Diego’s South Bay. Eyes are encouraged to look out at the world with a sense of wonder.

The mosaics are part of the Metropolitan Transit System (MTS) Color the Corridor project. You might recall that a long mural has been painted on a wall just north of the same trolley station. See my blog post concerning that by clicking here.

A short video concerning these new sea life mosaics can be viewed here.

Many of the glass mosaics aren’t readily visible to passengers waiting for a trolley on the E Street station platform. As you can see from my next photograph, most of the fish, whales, birds and turtles overlook Interstate 5 below.

Hopefully drivers whizzing down the busy freeway or heading up the nearby off-ramp observe this incredible public art!

…

I post new blogs pretty often. If you like discovering new things, bookmark coolsandiegosights.com and swing on by occasionally!

I live in downtown San Diego and love to walk around with my camera! You can follow Cool San Diego Sights via Facebook or X.

Thank you for sharing!

Hummingbird Jubilee painted at Escondido’s Maple Street Plaza!

Feast your eyes on this!

An absolutely amazing mural is being painted in Escondido. It’s on the side of a building at Maple Street Plaza, and appears to be almost completed. I spotted the new mural behind a fence today as I walked down Grand Avenue. Information posted on the fence tells the story of this colorful artwork, which is titled Hummingbird Jubilee!

The artist is teacher and small business owner Brenda Gunderson Townsend. She operates Brilliant Spectrum Art. Here’s her Instagram page.

According to the posted info, she’s an Art Educator at the Center for the Arts Escondido, as well as the center’s lead Scenic Artist. The mural is her special gift to the entire Escondido community!

Brenda started painting Hummingbird Jubilee in late September. It’s in a stained glass style, in a nod to the Arts & Crafts movement. It measures 100 feet long by 14 feet tall. According to what I read, the City of Escondido will host a big unveiling event for the finished mural.

Wow!

I took photographs through the surrounding chain link fence…

…

I post new blogs pretty often. If you like discovering new things, bookmark coolsandiegosights.com and swing on by occasionally!

I live in downtown San Diego and love to walk around with my camera! You can follow Cool San Diego Sights via Facebook or X.

Thank you for sharing!

The new City Heights mural in Swan Canyon!

In September, this amazing new mural was painted on a long wall in San Diego’s City Heights neighborhood, down in Swan Canyon.

Local muralist Shayne M. Oseguera (with the help of other artists and community volunteers, San Diego Parks and Recreation, and San Diego Canyonlands) created colorful scenes of nature in a place that is often beset by graffiti.

I hiked along trails through Swan Canyon to get close up photographs this afternoon. I’ll soon be posting a blog about my hike, with directions on how to get to the mural.

In the next two photographs, you can see the long mural from across the canyon. You can also see how concrete surfaces beneath and beside the mural have been tagged with graffiti.

Now, after my short hike, I’m standing right next to the artwork. The sun was very low, making photography a bit challenging, so most of my shots are at an angle.

Enjoy these beautifully painted images of native plants, birds and other life in Swan Canyon!

…

Thanks for visiting Cool San Diego Sights!

I post new blogs pretty often. If you like discovering new things, bookmark coolsandiegosights.com and swing on by occasionally!

I live in downtown San Diego and love to walk around with my camera! You can follow Cool San Diego Sights via Facebook or X.

San Diego Bird Alliance celebrates 75 years!

A great event was held today at Liberty Station in San Diego. The San Diego Bird Alliance (formerly the San Diego Audubon Society) celebrated their 75th Anniversary! For 75 years they’ve been working to educate the public, protect birds and restore natural habitat!

The event brought in many community organizations that have worked with the San Diego Bird Alliance to make a brighter and birdier future!

The program began with Kumeyaay traditional Bird Songs performed by youth from the Barona Band of Mission Indians. Their songs were of birds and journeying, and respect for all Creation.

A presentation was then made by San Diego City Council President Pro Tem Joe LaCava.

Young kids in the audience would then became excited as they took center stage. Ms. Smarty Plants had them excitedly learning about the critically endangered California condor, protecting our environment, and singing!

A little later the Accipiter Dance Company performed. I posted photos of their beautiful dance here.

I left before the program was completed, so I missed more dancing and what promised to be a colorful Parade of the Species. But I did walk around, checking out the many participating organizations and learning more about this precious world we all live in.

Enjoy some random photos!

…

Thanks for visiting Cool San Diego Sights!

I post new blogs pretty often. If you like discovering new things, bookmark coolsandiegosights.com and swing on by occasionally!

I live in downtown San Diego and love to walk around with my camera! You can follow Cool San Diego Sights via Facebook or X.

Accipiter Dance creates beauty at Liberty Station.

Accipiter Dance brought beauty to San Diego’s Liberty Station today. Their dance performance was a part of the San Diego Bird Alliance’s 75th anniversary celebration!

Accipiter Dance is a group led by Brianna Pilkinton. The performance I viewed today seemed a mixture of ballet and a more contemporary freestyle. The dancers moved almost as one, but each individual expressed unique freedom and energy. Their birdlike gracefulness defied often very strenuous movement.

As the group’s website explains, Accipiter Dance’s work communicates the complexity of nature and human connection. They’ve danced at previous San Diego Audubon Society (now called San Diego Bird Alliance) events. If you’d like to support the group’s mostly self-funded projects, check out their website here.

The dance this sunny afternoon was so wonderful I thought I’d share some photographs.

…

Thanks for visiting Cool San Diego Sights!

I post new blogs pretty often. If you like discovering new things, bookmark coolsandiegosights.com and swing on by occasionally!

I live in downtown San Diego and love to walk around with my camera! You can follow Cool San Diego Sights via Facebook or X.

Walking around Webb Lake in Rancho Bernardo.

Have you driven up Interstate 15 through Rancho Bernardo and glimpsed a small lake below the freeway to the east, tucked among several buildings? That’s Webb Lake.

The beautiful little lake is located in Webb Park. The private park, owned and managed by the Bernardo Town Center Property Owners Association, welcomes the public from sunrise to sunset.

The last time I was in Rancho Bernardo, I strolled around Webb Lake to see what I might discover. I found the Rancho Bernardo Veterans’ Memorial (which I’ll blog about soon) and green grass and benches and many birds in a place of tranquil beauty. I saw ducks, pigeons, egrets and more. I was surprised to see so many red-winged blackbirds.

Yes, going around the small lake is a very easy walk.

These photographs trace a clockwise walk. I started at the walkway that approaches Webb Park from the east side of the Courtyard Marriott hotel.

An old plaque under a tree refers to Schurr Lake, In Memory of William C. Schurr. Was that a past name for this lake? Please leave a comment if you know some of the history.

On a park bench… In Memory of Boyd H. Graeber

On a park bench… In Loving Memory Of Tyne Long, President, Rancho Bernardo Historical Society, 1989-1999

Looking back…

Webb Lake 2000. Thank you to the friends of Webb Lake for their generous contributions which have made it possible for all of us to share the joys of Webb Lake for years to come.

Pathway of Pride – Rancho Bernardo Community Foundation

One last look back…

Dedicated June 29, 2013 – Bob Wells – for establishing this Pathway of Pride which has helped and will continue to help fund hundreds of community projects that have been of enormous benefit to the community of Rancho Bernardo.

…

Thanks for visiting Cool San Diego Sights!

I post new blogs pretty often. If you like discovering new things, bookmark coolsandiegosights.com and swing on by occasionally!

I live in downtown San Diego and love to walk around with my camera! You can follow Cool San Diego Sights via Facebook or X.

Birds, Stars, Our Lands represented in La Jolla.

A large, very beautiful mural in La Jolla shows three birds–a Black-throated Sparrow, a Rock Wren, and a Cactus Wren–in their native habitat. It’s titled Mukikmalim, Su’ulim, Chem-tema-ki’ay, which is in the Kupa language. It translates as Birds, Stars, Our Lands.

According to this article, it’s the first public display of the Kupa language. The artist, Gail Werner, who descends from three of the county’s native peoples, Kupa (or Cupeño), Luiseño and Kumeyaay, received her inspiration for the mural from her hikes in the Anza-Borrego desert, beyond the mountains east of San Diego.

The public art debuted in downtown La Jolla in 2023, and is part of the ongoing Murals of La Jolla project. I saw the artwork last weekend on Herschel Avenue as I approached the bus stop on Silverado Street.

According to the Murals of La Jolla website: The bird imagery is inspired by traditional Southern California Native American songs, called Bird Songs, and the accompanying dance, the Bird Dance. These songs and dance weave a story of how the people came to be where they are and the accompanying journey that brought them to this land, which is said to parallel the migration of the birds.

In my own opinion, Mukikmalim, Su’ulim, Chem-tema-ki’ay is one of the most beautiful murals I’ve ever encountered in La Jolla

The imagery transports me to wilder places around San Diego . . . to hikes I’ve enjoyed.

With all its buildings, streets and parking lots, it’s hard to imagine how La Jolla (or any San Diego neighborhood) might have appeared before the first Europeans and settlers transformed the natural world they found.

And now for my photographs–of unspoiled nature represented on a building, taken from across an asphalt parking lot…

…

Thanks for visiting Cool San Diego Sights!

I post new blogs pretty often. If you like discovering new things, bookmark coolsandiegosights.com and swing on by occasionally!

I live in downtown San Diego and love to walk around with my camera! You can follow Cool San Diego Sights via Facebook or X.