Lake San Marcos

Lake San Marcos is an unincorporated residential area surrounded by the City of San Marcos, which itself surrounds the 55 acre Lake San Marcos reservoir. We have friends with a home next to the reservoir and a dock in their front yard. In July 2022 we visited and got a tour of the reservoir by boat. The reservoir attracts a lot of water birds and the boat is a great way to get close to the wildlife. 

Following are photos I took on an approximate one hour boat ride:

American coot

A black crowned night heron on a boat docked in the water. 

Common gallinule, also known as a common moorhen. 

An immature common gallinule.

Gadwall

Great blue heron

Great-tailed grackle

Green heron

Mallard

Pied-billed grebe

Western grebe

One of many black swans, the only black swans I've ever seen. 

Black swans originated in Australia. 

Wikipedia notes that black swans have been introduced to several areas in Southern California. These are breeding birds, raising their young on a small island in the reservoir. 

We visited our friends a number of months earlier, during the winter, when the reservoir had many, many ducks.