Great Blue Heron
The Carpinteria Salt Marsh is set between the salt water of the Pacific and the fresh water from the Santa Ynez Mountains watershed just south of Santa Barbara. As in most salt marshes the water is brackish and home to many birds.
Ocean from the primary dune bordering the marsh
We visited on a beautiful winter morning when the colors in the marsh were muted and the birds were in residence. We sighted a Great Blue Heron, Great Egret, Coot, Bufflehead and Green-Winged Teal duck, California Gull and Fox Sparrow.
We also spotted a small flock of flamingos on a strange flight path. It must be global warming.
Errant flamingos
We saw wildflowers and flowering shrubs hidden in the marsh grasses. Neither Dede and Jon nor Dana and I could identify them. Maybe you can.
The beauty of the salt marsh lay in the muted colors of dormancy in the winter morning sun.
MedFlies 
those flamingos are a very special sighting !
Thank goodness we had our recognition rating system. I think this was a 10.
Nice photos Dana! This reminds me of the Batiquitos Lagoon where we lived for 10 years in Carlsbad, CA. Millions of birds would pass through here during their winter and summer migrations.
Sounds like a great place to live…