This evening, I took a short trip to Fiesta Island in Mission Bay. The location had always seemed synonymous with partying (hence the name), bon fires, fireworks and jet skis, and so I had little motivation to visit. Recently, with my peaked interest in birding, I found that a portion of Fiesta Island is recognized and protected as a nesting ground for the California Least Tern.

I arrived shortly before sunset and only had a few minutes to observe the birds. Around me, I saw a few gulls, namely Heermann's gulls and Western gulls. Less obvious were the terns that flew over the bay. The larger Forster's terns were more distinct as they flew toward the sunset carrying fresh fish. I managed to only see one small tern, most likely a Common tern.

Along the shoreline small killdeer ran about making their "kill-deer" sounds. Actually, I really do not think their call fits the phonetics, but then again I do not specialize in interpretation of their bird language.