Saturday morning, I visited the San Elijo lagoon, where the extensive construction projects that block access were shut down for the weekend. I saw lots of wonderful birds which I’ll post about later – and saw my first Ridgeway’s Rail, an endangered species.

Like most rails, these were furtive and hiding in the reeds most of the time. It was a nice treat to see them and grab a couple of photos. It’s also nice to know that their riparian home here is being preserved and protected as part of the massive rail and highway projects underway.