During our yurt stay at Cachuma Lake, we made advanced reservations to take a nature cruise. Since it happened in December, it was called the Eagle Cruise. Cachuma Lake in Santa Barbara County is man-made, but it is quite large. We were told that the cruise would take about two hours (it ended up being about 1 hour and 45 minutes).
The weather was nice and clear. It was a lot colder when we were in the middle of the lake than when we were on shore, so be sure to bundle up!
The boat is quite spacious. There are thirty swivel seats which are quite convenient for bird-spotting. There is no restroom onboard, so make sure to go before boarding.
If you are age 12 or under, you are required to wear a life jacket while on the boat. If you are over 12, you just need to keep it nearby. n was not too happy about this rule, but it is a good precaution.
They had enough binoculars for all the passengers to borrow. They were good ones, too!
Our tour guide was a park ranger who was quite knowledgeable about all of the birds and other wildlife that we saw. We also happened to go during their annual bird-counting day, so there was another ranger who recorded all of the birds that we saw.
Here are just a few of the birds that we spotted. We also saw multiple hawks, coots, and many others I do not remember the names of. I do not believe we saw any eagles, however.
On the way back to our campsite, there was a flock of what I think are turkey vultures?