Bennington Lake on Tuesday

Summer birds continued to arrive at the lake.  New birds we saw were eastern kingbirds, gray catbirds, and a western tanager.  They joined those who arrived in the past two weeks – lazuli bunting, black-headed grosbeak, Bullock's oriole, western wood peewee, yellow-breasted chat, and more.  The chats were noisy and visible as was the male calliope hummingbird that we always look for on the west side of the canal.  The fuzzy young great horned owls are always fun to watch, and we saw two.  The sights and the sounds at the lake are what make the walk so interesting in the summer.  Soon it will be hot, and we will be scurrying from shade to shade, but Tuesday it was a pleasant walk – looking at birds and enjoying the wildflowers and butterflies along the way.