BajaNomad - in flight grace

in flight grace

gringorio - 12-30-2005 at 12:21 AM

always the avain example of grace... :lol:

Ken Bondy - 12-30-2005 at 08:32 AM

Great shot, Greg. You see them feeding like that and you think "what a horrible design!" Then you see them gliding for miles a foot off the water in ground effect, without moving ANYTHING except those little feathers at their wingtips for directional control, and you begin to understand.

Happy New Year :biggrin:

++Ken++

Grace

tehag - 12-30-2005 at 06:30 PM

Speaking of pelican design, how do you absorb the shock of an eight-pound bird when it hits the water with its five-gallon mouth wide open at thirty mph without damaging its long skinny neck? The vertebra in its neck are arranged in a spiral. When the bird makes its final plunge, it is always with a twist to its left. Voila! High-tech shock absorber ala Mama Naychuh.

Frank - 12-30-2005 at 10:24 PM

These guys are pretty good too...

Cardon - 12-31-2005 at 12:17 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by tehag
Speaking of pelican design, how do you absorb the shock of an eight-pound bird when it hits the water with its five-gallon mouth wide open at thirty mph without damaging its long skinny neck? The vertebra in its neck are arranged in a spiral. When the bird makes its final plunge, it is always with a twist to its left. Voila! High-tech shock absorber ala Mama Naychuh.

They also throw their wings back just before impact to prevent their wings from snapping and I guess to make themselves more streamlined.

vandenberg - 12-31-2005 at 08:49 AM

Anybody ever gave a thought to why 2 dozen pelicans dive in unison ? Do they alldive for a fish or are they just practicing ?? :?:

turtleandtoad - 12-31-2005 at 10:55 AM

Yeah, and which one yells GO! :lol:

Frigates

gringorio - 1-2-2006 at 07:07 PM

Yeah, I love watching the Frigate birds too. Especially when they swoop low over the water and dip their hooked beak and snag some food...

Quote:

Originally posted by Frank
These guys are pretty good too...

Ken Bondy - 1-2-2006 at 07:36 PM

Greg

Frigates are amazing birds. They RARELY touch the water, most of their food is stolen from other sea birds.

++Ken++

Ken Bondy - 1-2-2006 at 07:45 PM

Wouldn't it be fascinating if human males had a big red sac on our necks that we could blow up and use to attract a female? Could you imagine the scene in a single's bar?

Natalie Ann - 1-2-2006 at 08:03 PM

Ken - your photo... wow! your images are so often just wonderful. :yes:

Thank you.

Standing on my head was the easy part.

Dave - 1-2-2006 at 08:19 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Ken Bondy
Wouldn't it be fascinating if human males had a big red sac on our necks that we could blow up and use to attract a female? Could you imagine the scene in a single's bar?

Now I'm working on throwing my voice.

Ken Bondy - 1-2-2006 at 08:20 PM

mil gracias Natalie Ann, I am very flattered.

++Ken++

With all due respect to our "own" Frigatebird...

vgabndo - 1-3-2006 at 12:14 AM

Here is proof that they will land and sleep it off when there's been a free lunch in the offing!!

bajajudy - 1-3-2006 at 09:48 AM

What an interesting thread!
I am handicapped at this moment. My vid driver is in a funk and only giving me blues and yellows. When I can see what I am posting, I have some interesting shots of a rookery north of Lopez Mateos with the red of the frigates sprinkled throughout.
I always heard that the reason frigates cant land on the water is their wing span which can reach 4 feet across and prevents them from taking off from the water.

neilm - 1-3-2006 at 03:06 PM

No, thanks... single bar scenes are bad enough as is....

Quote:

<G> Neil

Ken Bondy - 1-3-2006 at 04:22 PM

Frigates don't land on water because, unlike birds that do land on water, they produce very little oil to protect (waterproof) the feathers.

bugdude - 1-3-2006 at 07:41 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by vandenberg
Anybody ever gave a thought to why 2 dozen pelicans dive in unison? Do they all dive for a fish or are they just practicing?

I believe it is a behavioral phenomenon. Pelicans are extremely social and will fly, roost and fish together as a group.

In addition to the comments above regarding diving trauma, technique; special air sacs under the skin on the front of the body also protect the pelican from the impact with the water.

[Edited on 01/01/06 by bugdude]

ursidae69 - 1-5-2006 at 04:12 PM

Here is a frigatebird (female) I saw from my kayak in Punta Final last week. Got really close. :bounce:

Welcome back!

gringorio - 1-5-2006 at 11:29 PM

welcome back ursidae!

how was your trip?? when you have time please share!

gringorio

:bounce:

ursidae69 - 1-6-2006 at 09:02 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by gringorio
welcome back ursidae!

how was your trip?? when you have time please share!

gringorio

:bounce:

Hey Gringorio,

Thanks, the trip was superb! The weather was excellent for kayaking, just excellent. I'll have a full trip report on my webpage in a week or 2 and I'll either email you or post here someplace. :cool:

This was how calm the water was in Gonzaga Bay!

Found this dead green sea turtle on Isla Alcatraz. Looks so peaceful...

gringorio - 1-7-2006 at 06:36 PM

Cool Ursidae... Great photos! I can hardly wait to hear/read/see the details of your trip... That water looks so invitingly calm. You must have had great weather.

There's no place like Baja, there's no place like Baja, there's no place like Baja...

[Edited on 1-8-2006 by gringorio]