The Ventura Settling Ponds are located just north of Surfer’s knoll in Ventura, our favorite beach in LA. The 20-acre site is called the settling ponds because the manmade beds collect treated water discharged from an adjacent wastewater plant.
The discharged water flows through three storage ponds named Snoopy, Lucy and, because of its shape, Bone. Eventually, the water seeps into the Santa Clara River estuary.
There is an ominous chain-link fence that you pass through to enter the site. If not for the Birders Welcome sign, I probably would have hesitated to enter since you feel like you are trespassing on the facility! The smell doesn’t help either.
We arrived early in the morning on June 13, 2021.
We were hoping to catch a glimpse of the Yellow-breasted Chat. With clear instructions and a map from my sister, we set off down the sandy path.
The air was filled with birdsong! The solemn beauty reminded me of the serene Camargue region in France, my favorite birding spot in the world.
Of course, there were no flamingos in Ventura. And we did not see the Chat nor could we find the marsh wren.
But we saw these below (Yellow Warbler and Tree Swallow were lifers)
Mallard
Pied-billed Grebe
American Coot
Western Gull
Least Tern
Brown Pelican
White Pelican
Great Blue Heron
Snowy Egret
Black-crowned Night-Heron
Turkey Vulture
Black Phoebe
American Crow
Tree Swallow
Barn Swallow
Bushtit
European Starling
House Finch
Lesser Goldfinch
American Goldfinch
Song Sparrow
California Towhee
Spotted Towhee
Great-tailed Grackle
Yellow Warbler
Anna’s Hummingbird
Allen’s Hummingbird
Dark-eyed Junco
Red-winged Blackbird
Double-crested Cormorant
Bewick’s Wren
Yellow Warbler
Tree Swallow
I have become really fond of swallows lately. Like a painting in the fog.
The fog made for some magical pictures–here a double-crested cormorant, which I called double breasted cormorant until Liz corrected me.
Another recent favorite are the grackles… Ever since Texas….
Pictures became more vivid when we went back after the fog burned off around 2pm.
Least Terns
We saw a glorious snowy egret–look at those golden slippers!
The Black-crowned Night-Heron. Dai calls him the “old man of the pond.”
Juvenile below
Merlin says Mallard, but she seemed big for a mallard.
Spotted Towhee
European Starling with caterpillar.
I hated to leave you, my love! Puppy in the Window.
Dewdrop World 
