Sunday, June 24, 2007

Sunday, June 17, 2007

Great Egret

Elkhorn Slough. June 17, 2007

Elkhorn Slough. June 17, 2007

Notes
Formerly known as the "American Egret," "Common Egret," "Large Egret," "White Egret," "Great White Egret," and "Great White Heron," this bird's official name in North America is now Great Egret. One of the most magnificent of our herons, it has fortunately recovered from historic persecution by plume hunters. But it is still not out of danger: The destruction of wetlands, especially in the West where colonies are few and widely scattered, poses a current threat to these majestic birds. Like the Great Blue Heron, it usually feeds alone, stalking fish, frogs, snakes, and crayfish in shallow water. Each summer many individuals, especially young ones, wander far north of the breeding grounds.

Snowy Egret

Elkhorn Slough. June 17, 2007

Notes
These delicate, agile birds often feed by sprinting rapidly through shallow water, chasing schools of minnows and shrimp. This habit makes them easy to identify without seeing their bills and feet. Often several Snowies will be found feeding together, and it is thought that their white color, visible at great distances, lets other birds know where the feeding is good; the sprinting behavior also attracts other birds that then join in the feast. There is evidence that members of a pair of Snowy Egrets, like other large waders, cannot recognize one another except at the nest. Even there, a bird arriving to relieve its mate must perform an elaborate greeting ceremony in order to avoid being attacked as an intruder. During this display the plumes on the head are raised and the incoming bird bows to the one that is sitting. Appeased by this display, the sitting bird leaves and the other takes over.

White-tailed Kite

Elkhorn Slough. June 17, 2007

Elkhorn Slough. June 17, 2007

Friday, June 15, 2007

Mallard (female) [?]

Frog Pond. June 15, 2007

Frog Pond. June 15, 2007

Dark-Eyed Junco [?]

Frog Pond. June 15, 2007

Red-Tailed Hawk

Frog Pond. June 15, 2007

Frog Pond. June 15, 2007

Friday, June 8, 2007

Nuttall's Woodpecker

Toro Park. June 8, 2007

Turkey Vulture

Toro Park. June 8, 2007

Toro Park. June 8, 2007

Salinas River Reserve (farm entrance). June 17, 2007

House Sparrow (female)

Salinas Backyard. June 8, 2007

Sunday, June 3, 2007

Brown Pelican [?]


Salinas River State Beach. June 3, 2007

Caspian Tern & Black Skimmer

Salinas River State Beach. June 3, 2007

American Avocet

Salinas River State Beach. June 3, 2007

Salinas River State Beach. June 3, 2007 - Dive bombing my head.

Friday, June 1, 2007

American Crow

Asilomar State Beach. June 1, 2007

Asilomar State Beach. June 1, 2007

Asilomar State Beach. June 1, 2007

Adult American crows are completely black birds weighing on average 450 g. The feathers have a glossy and slightly iridescent look. Crows have strong legs and toes. The bill is also black with a slight hook on the end. Stiff bristles cover their nostrils. About 20% of male birds are slightly larger than the females.

Young crows are about the same size as adults, but have blue eyes and pink inside the mouth. Both the eyes and mouth darken as the bird becomes an adult. In young birds, the ends of tail feathers are symmetrical and are more pointed than the wide, flat-ended feathers of adults. The wing and tail feathers of the young can become quite brown and ragged through the first winter and spring and only become darker and more glossy like adult feathers after the first molt.

American crows are often confused with common ravens. American crows can be distinguished from common ravens (Corvus corax) most easily by size (ravens are much larger), by voice (ravens are hoarser), by the bill (ravens have heavier, "roman-nosed" bills), and by the shape of the wings and tails, which come to a point in ravens but not crows.

More Details:

http://animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu/site/accounts/information/Corvus_brachyrhynchos.html

Brewer's Blackbird (male)

My backyard in Salinas. June 1, 2007

Brewer's Blackbirds are colonial nesters that sometimes practice polygamy when a surplus of females are available. Even so, primary pairs are formed. They reunite each spring after spending the winter separately in migrating flocks.

More Details

http://www.birds.cornell.edu/BOW/BREBLA/