Tijuana Estuary
The Tijuana River National Estuarine Research Reserve forms the border of the United States with Mexico. After a short tour of the Tijuana Estuary Vistor Center, we walked on the North McCoy Trail, part of the only remaining coastal wetland habitat in southern California. Then we drove to the start point of the Tijuana Slough National Wildlife Refuge where we walked to the Tijuana River. The Estuary is an important breeding, feeding, and nesting area for resident and thousands of migratory birds moving along the Pacific Flyway twice each year. We observed a half dozen species of birds and two Navy helicopters on manuevers. Across the river were five horses and riders. In the distance was the city of Tijuana with a circular stadium, a bull ring, near the border. In Imperial Beach we walked on a pier shaped like an arrow extending into the Pacific. Boith sides of the pier were lined with fisherpeople. One fisherman had a bucket of grouper. Others were observed taking even the smallest of fish and stuffing them into a cooler. We enjoyed liquid refreshment from The Tin Fish with views of Coronada and San Diego in the distance and surrounded by hungry, demanding pigeons. Both Coronado and Imperial Beach are on the Pacific Ocean and only a few miles apart yet very different in socio-economic demographics.
