This is a free post. If you'd like to access the other 3 weekly blog posts, please check out my membership program for as little as $2.99 per month! Thanks friends!

Hello hello hello everyone! I hope everyone has been having a fantastic week! It's nearly finals for me so I have been so busy with schoolwork, but the nice thing is, it's all over in about 2 weeks. 

Birding Story of the Week

This weeks story takes place at Bolsa Chica Ecological Reserve in Huntington Beach, California. If you have been following the channel for a while, you know that I absolutely LOVE Bolsa Chica. When I arrived I quickly found some staples to take photos of including some Brown Pelicans that were flying directly over head. 

Brown Pelicans are a strictly coastal bird and we don't have them regularly in the state of Utah. It was fun to see them fly by at such a close distance. 

Next I spotted another great bird for my list, the Brant. Brants are another coastal bird species and are a refreshing sight to see.

As I walked along the sandy trail winding around the preserve I found a Horned Grebe that I could get great photos of. In addition, I got distant views of a Reddish Egret, Long-billed Curlew, and American White Pelicans. 

Bolsa Chica is pretty large and you can easily see 50+ species in just an hour or two. I came across many more species including Blue-winged Teal, Belted Kingfishers, and Bufflehead. 

As I approached the end of my journey I was pleasantly surprised to see a bird I had missed earlier and one of my favorites, the Osprey. 

As I approached the bridge that crosses the water to get to the visitors center, and the end of my journey I noticed a few things in the water including a California Corbina (a type of fish species that likes shallow water) and hundreds of Moon Jellies floating by. 

If you'd like to see the full adventure you can check out the video here.

Question of the Week --

How do you choose where to go birding? 

For me it's simple, I like to go to places that have a variety of species available to be found, but also I want to keep things fresh and new. I try not to go birding at the same spot too many times, mostly for the viewers. I use eBird's fantastic "explore" tool to help find suitable spots and places that I have never been before that might have an abundance of species. 

Sneak Peak into the Future --

• BEB - A new Antelope Island adventure featuring Hawk in the Lens (it was his birthday) as well as 3 species of owl.
• BEBL - An overview video about the Greater Sage-Grouse

Thank you for joining me this week, I hope to see you all next time on Bright-Eyed Birding.