San Diego: Batiquitos Lagoon

Dark clouds threatened rain, and there were light showers

Thinking we were getting away from the cold temperatures in Vancouver by flying to San Diego, we were shocked to discover it was chilly in this part of California. Temperatures ranged from 17 degrees Celsius during the day and 7 degrees Celsius at night -- it was the wind that made it feel cold.

On the day I went for a walk along Batiquitos Lagoon, it was a bit overcast and then light showers! Luckily I had brought my mini umbrella with me and pulled it out a few times.

A tree shedding its bark

First off it's good to know that batiquitos means "little watering hole" in Spanish, and the one here dates back 9,000 years ago. The area is looked after by the Batiquitos Lagoon Foundation, where volunteers help maintain it with help from sponsors. 

The lagoon is a short walk from where I was staying and the path is a long thin strip along a lagoon that's 1.6 miles (2.57km). People are walking their dogs, or with friends, or jogging. There are one or two avid bird watchers with long-lens cameras and binoculars. 

Perhaps because it's winter, in terms of greenery there wasn't much to see and the birds that were out there in the lagoon were too far to see clearly. 

Some of the birds that can be found in the lagoon include "swimming divers" that swim into deep water to find fish. These include ruddy ducks, buffleheads, and redheads.

There are "surface swimmers" who feed near shallow water, like mallards, northern shovelers, northern pintail, green-winged teal and American wigeon.

"Flight feeders" forage over deep water and then when they spy their prey, they plunge into the water. Examples are osprey and phoebes.

Osprey (left) and great blue heron on chairs

Another kind of bird are "walkers/runners" who search for food while they walk or run across mud or sand flats, or through shallow water. Sandpipers like western and least sandpipers, willets, long-billed curlews, and marbled godwits are spotted at this lagoon.

Finally "waders/fishers" are herons like great egret, snowy egret, and great blue heron.

Funnily enough as I was walking back to where I was staying, I saw a flock of ducks hanging out on the golf course!

The path for walkers is mostly sandy, and towards one end of the walk is the Nature Center where visitors can have a bathroom break and check out souvenirs; they are also encouraged to make a donation to the lagoon via buying a brick and there are many with people's and family's names on them.

There's also a pair of wooden beach chairs that are beautifully painted birds, one with an osprey, the other with a great blue heron.

While it's nice there is a protected area for these birds, it's sad to see just across from the lagoon a very busy highway and the noise from the fast-moving vehicles must detract many more birds from going there... 

Dismaying to see birds so close to the highway

Batiquitos Lagoon

It's located east of Interstate 5 at the end of Gabbiano Lane and goes most of the way to El Camino Real on the east end of the lagoon. Visitors can park in one of five parking lots, one by the Nature Center and four on Batiquitos Drive.