I went birding at San Diguito Lagoon... and all I got was this lousy photo

Red-breasted Merganser. San Diguito Lagoon, San Diego Co., California. November 16, 2014. Greg Gillson.

A couple of weeks ago I visited the San Diguito Lagoon for about an hour. There had been a Pacific Golden-Plover reported there. It is a fairly common rarity--if that makes any sense--reported an average of about 10 times per year.

Well, I didn't see the plover there when I looked. And this merganser pic was the only photograph that was any good of only a very few I took. A female Red-breasted Merganser, a fairly common common bird, rather than a fairly common rare bird.

I had spent the early morning hiking up the Way Up Trail at the Elfin Forest. I don't have to do that again. It was a steep and rocky mile long trail gaining 500 feet elevation with chaparral--a rather common habitat. And fairly birdless. I did manage to hear a Varied Thrush in the parking lot. I should have spent the morning there, along the creek. Varied Thrush is also a rather rare bird with an average of about 10 reports per year. This year, however, they are being reported widely--as are Pine Siskins, though I haven't heard or seen any of these latter birds yet.