A handsome drake northern pintail waits for a southern breeze before departing for the Alaska interior. After you cross the water, you walk along dikes through the old oil fields. There are still some working oil wells. These flats provide great habitat for wintering shorebirds, and breeding terns. There are usually harriers working the crowd over.
Avocets are often about, doing their elegant strut.
There are also stilts and elegant terns and pretty elegant peeps at midday in late summer. In mid-winter, you can get some great flights of western sandpipers. Not a lot of contrast in the face. My friend Bob thinks it's a least with muddy legs. Back along some of the dikes you get nice marshy areas that are enjoyed by a variety of ducks and this cinnamon teal.