Seriously, sunburn is incredibly annoying. The biting sun did not appear nearly strong as it really was, and the strain of carrying the lens masked my ability to feel the effects of its rays. Well, enough said regarding San Diego's sunshine, and now for the continuation of yesterday's trip:

On the way back south, I made a short stop at San Elijo Lagoon to see if I might see the green heron that had flown off before I could photograph it. I was first greeted by a strange dancing lizard. Although it was the commonly seen species of the chaparral environment, it had a very unusual sun-bathing dance. Once I reached the same pond as last time, I saw the green heron fluttering through the marsh and quickly took a picture or two before it flew off. Clearly, this bird had a much more sensitive comfort zone in comparison to the other pond inhabitants.

Slightly disappointed, I looked about the clearing to see if I had anything else to photograph since the green heron would probably not return for a very long time. In the distance there was one snowy egret unperturbed by the green heron's departure. It was later joined by a second snowy egret, but both were later scared away by loud clacking sounds from a little boy playing with sticks and twigs. I then remembered that the juvenile black-crowned night herons nested in this area. All three of them, with the same darkly colored upper mandible, could be distinguished by varying colored plumages.

A mallard decided to convert the quiet neighborhood into a party. It was a warm day and the duck decided to take a bath in the murky water. Due to its waterproof nature, it took a while for the water to soak into the feathers and repeated dunks were required.