1/12/13 - First trip to Irvine Regional Park

Saturday, January 12, 2013 was our first visit to Irvine Regional Park. We parked in Lot 11.  When we got out of the car we were greeted almost immediately by a herd of Peacocks.  One of the males started approaching me at a faster pace than the rest of the group and Steven said he was attacking. For a few seconds I did wonder if that could be, and I guess it could be, but then I remembered I had brought some stale bread along and slowly went to the car to get it.  Once the birds heard the plastic bag, there was no stopping them, they rushed toward me and I hurriedly broke some into small pieces and threw them on the ground.  Sure enough, that is what they wanted.  I calmed down and started feeding them more slowly.  They were pretty laid back and did not rush, but waited till I tossed a piece. I got brave enough to offer a larger piece to one of the males, who took it from my hand.  The Peacocks at Irvine Regional look to be extremely well-feed and healthy.  We so much enjoyed this time with them, but we heard lots of birds calling from the trees and wanted to save the rest of the bread for the ponds. 

Here are a couple photos of the Peacocks.

We did not move too far from the Peacocks when we happened upon several ground feeding bird in a little tree shaded area on our way to the pond.  In this one little spot, and almost immediately visible, were an Oak Titmouse, a Spotted Towhee, Black-eyed Juncos, White-crowned Sparrow and many Acorn Woodpeckers. Photos follow.

Acorn Woodpecker

Spotted Towhee

Oak Titmouse

Oak Titmouse

Continuing to the ponds, we spotted one of my favs, Wood Ducks.

Wood Duck

Wood Duck, Female

Wood Ducks, Mallard, Ring-necked Duck

Also at the pond we spotted this guy, a Belted Kingfisher! Someday we will get a closer shot.

Belted Kingfisher

Moving on from the ponds we decided to visit the little zoo that is maintained at Irvine Regional. I like that they take care of animals that, for whatever reason, can't be released into the wild.

Ocelot

Bobcat

Mountain Lion

Mountain Lion

From the zoo we headed over to the biking/walking trail. It was a cool day and really nice for walking. Toward the end of the walk, just before we crossed the riverbed back into the park, Steve spotted one of his favorites, a White-Tailed Kite. While not a lifer bird for us, we were able to get a little closer than the first time we spotted one, and get better photos.

White-tailed Kite

We had a real fun day!  The entry fee for the park on weekends is $5, but we liked it so much, and plan to visit other OC parks this year, that we went to the park office and purchased a OC Parks Parking Pass for $55, and they were kind enough to refund the $5 we paid to get in that day.  Beautiful park, but we were warned at the park office that it is the most visited OC park and in the Summer can be very full, and in fact they have had to turn people away when the park fills up too much. Oh well, not to worry, we will just have to take a day off from work and go when everyone else is working away.

Happy Birding!