Created 1-Nov-25
Fishing this time of year is like shooting fish in a barrel. Searsville “Lake” is at seasonal low – and lows seem lower every year. Fish retreat into a shallow mud-bottomed pool, no place to hide.
Male Belted Kingfisher takes advantage, snagging a fish longer than his head. Flushed from shallow water above the dam, Green Heron withdraws to the lake margin. Sated, Great Egret and Great Blue Heron stand watch in the treetops, scanning the lake and practicing yoga. (Evolutionary cousins, they share the same genus: Ardea.) A large raft of Mallard Ducks erupts into a team in flight. Killdeer dabble in shallow water.
BONUS: Two days earlier, a Great Egret snags a fish. Poison Oak engulfs California Buckeye.
The first gallery outlines the day. Dry lakebed, oaks in morning light, a resting buck and active birds. In the second gallery, a photo shoot with the familiar Black Phoebe on the dam’s weather vane becomes a rare encounter with a Belted Kingfisher, flaunting his catch. Sated with fish for now, Great Egret and Great Blue Heron pose for the third gallery from high in the oak canopy. A bonus shows a Great Egret at work, fishing.
Waiting for the real rains...
Male Belted Kingfisher takes advantage, snagging a fish longer than his head. Flushed from shallow water above the dam, Green Heron withdraws to the lake margin. Sated, Great Egret and Great Blue Heron stand watch in the treetops, scanning the lake and practicing yoga. (Evolutionary cousins, they share the same genus: Ardea.) A large raft of Mallard Ducks erupts into a team in flight. Killdeer dabble in shallow water.
BONUS: Two days earlier, a Great Egret snags a fish. Poison Oak engulfs California Buckeye.
The first gallery outlines the day. Dry lakebed, oaks in morning light, a resting buck and active birds. In the second gallery, a photo shoot with the familiar Black Phoebe on the dam’s weather vane becomes a rare encounter with a Belted Kingfisher, flaunting his catch. Sated with fish for now, Great Egret and Great Blue Heron pose for the third gallery from high in the oak canopy. A bonus shows a Great Egret at work, fishing.
Waiting for the real rains...
10/26/2025 Around the Lake at Low Water: Green Heron, European Starling, and Resting Buck
Visitors 59
67 photos
Created 1-Nov-25
Modified 1-Nov-25
10/26/2026 Black Phoebe Sings; Belted Kingfisher Catches a Fish
Visitors 20
24 photos
Created 2-Nov-25
Modified 2-Nov-25
10/26/2025 Great Egret and Great Blue Heron
Visitors 8
24 photos
Created 1-Nov-25
Modified 1-Nov-25
Dan Quinn