I am familiar with black oystercatchers found locally here. What kind is he and what is he called? Thanks.
Cypress - 1-26-2007 at 11:57 AM
Are there any oysters for Oyster Catchers to catch in San Quintin?Great
pictures!!ursidae69 - 1-26-2007 at 12:01 PM
Looks like a black skimmer to me.
Here are some images off google. LINKSkipjack Joe - 1-26-2007 at 12:18 PM
Those are cool birds, vagabond. I've seen them in the Yucatan. They'll make a pass over the water's surface with the bill open and the lower half
raking the water. The fish come up from the bottom to investigate and bam, he gets them on the second pass.
My guess is that the bill is so massive to be able to hold up to the drag of all that water at such a great speed. My guess is that they're doing at
least 30 with part of the bill submerged. That bird must have great neck muscles.
I believe they occur all the way north to Salton Sea but I've never encountered one there.Cypress - 1-26-2007 at 12:22 PM
Skimmers are something else!!! Late in the evening, just before dark, slick water.Vince - 1-26-2007 at 02:35 PM
I would agree, that is a black skimmer. I have seen them here in San Diego bay.DanO - 1-26-2007 at 03:26 PM
Quote:
Originally posted by Cypress
Are there any oysters for Oyster Catchers to catch in San Quintin?Great
pictures!!
The road next to the military base out to the bay leads to several oyster farming operations. Maybe the birds sneak a few when the fishermen aren't
watching.Tomas Tierra - 1-26-2007 at 03:29 PM
I wonder how an oyster catcher would shuck an oyster if he(or she) caught one???Hook - 1-26-2007 at 03:33 PM
Quote:
Originally posted by Tomas Tierra
I wonder how an oyster catcher would shuck an oyster if he(or she) caught one???
I think many birds that feed on hard shell organisms often drop them onto rocks from heights. I saw a conventional Western Gull do this with a large
crab it had found last Sunday. We were walking the beach at low tide along Crystal Cove State Park.Cincodemayo - 1-26-2007 at 05:55 PM
Hook...when I was living in Laguna there was NOTHING from Emerald Bay to Five Crowns in Corona Del Mar. The last time I went down it was solid from
Laguna to Newport. Real Shame but at least the ocean side has been salvaged. I remember that was the deal with the Irvine Company that they'd give the
beach to the State for developing the other side and hills.
The gulls and crows leave clams and mussels all over our bulkhead and boat launch smashed on the cement and dock.
[Edited on 1-27-2007 by Cincodemayo]Wiles - 1-26-2007 at 05:57 PM
Vagabond....great picture. Did you notice what appears to be a band on the right leg? By the way, the bird so nicely photographed is a black
skimmer......not an oystercatcher.
Sharksbaja....yes, you do have black oystercatchers on the coast of Oregon, however, the picture you posted is of an American oystercatcher which is
common to Baja...both species are beautiful shorebirds.
Hook....you are right....many bird species use tools & techniques to access food sources. Skipjack Joe's vivid description shows the specialized
technique of skimmers and are truly fascinating to watch. Have seen them fish in Mission Bay late in the afternoon. Oystercatchers use their long
pointed beaks to dislodge limpets from rocks, and pry open mussel and oyster shells...................I have always wondered why they don't carry
limes and hot sauce to accent the feast.
Thanx Wiles
Sharksbaja - 1-26-2007 at 06:10 PM
You're right, DUH! I got the wrong photo from Wiki. Here is one,
skimmer
gringorio - 1-28-2007 at 07:05 AM
nice shot - i've always wanted to capture a photo of skimmers as they fly by soooo close to the water... the first time i ever saw them was a few
years back at El Golfo de Santa Clara. great birds! thanks for sharing...
gringorio
[Edited on 1-28-2007 by gringorio]Hook - 1-28-2007 at 01:34 PM
Quote:
Originally posted by Cincodemayo
Hook...when I was living in Laguna there was NOTHING from Emerald Bay to Five Crowns in Corona Del Mar. The last time I went down it was solid from
Laguna to Newport. Real Shame but at least the ocean side has been salvaged. I remember that was the deal with the Irvine Company that they'd give the
beach to the State for developing the other side and hills.
The gulls and crows leave clams and mussels all over our bulkhead and boat launch smashed on the cement and dock.
[Edited on 1-27-2007 by Cincodemayo]
Sometimes I think that it makes more sense to encourage development in areas like Orange County; an area with really very little natural areas left.
It might take the pressure off of developing other, more pristine areas in California. In the grand scheme of things, I find coastal scrub hills to be
some of the least interesting areas for recreation. Much better suited to development, it is very comfortable geography to live in.
The shoreline, of course, is another story. Glad it is preserved. It's easy access has added new value to the annual State Park pass we buy almost
every year.Cypress - 1-28-2007 at 03:50 PM
Welcome back Pompano!
Wiles. About the leg band. You've got a good eye! Paula - 1-28-2007 at 03:56 PM
"Welcome back Pompano!"
DITTO!Wiles - 1-28-2007 at 09:48 PM
Pompano....
Had a really cool Professor in college for ornithology and field biology classes and have enjoyed birding ever since.
Very nice pic of the Am. O.C. as they are normally quite human/camera wary.
Your ability to associate 'call with the bird' tells me you are scaling the learning curve quite nicely. You've progressed from 'hey, I wonder what
that cool looking bird is?' then to ' hey, there is that cool Am. O.C. I identified and wow what a cool call that bird has' to the point now of 'hey,
I hear the call of an Am O.C., where is it? Good observation skills are not limited to just what you see, but also what you hear. Works for finding
whales and fish too. Cut the engine and drift for 10 minutes. You can hear a whale on the calm cortez for miles long before you see them. It is
difficult to see 3 birds sitting on a ball of bait a mile off but in the stillness you can hear them.
Guess that's one of the reasons I've enjoyed Baja and the Cortez so much. A quiet walk in the desert, the silent drift on the water or the peaceful
sit on the beach. It tunes up your senses, the Baja way.Wiles - 1-28-2007 at 09:54 PM
Cypress....
Thanks, but my BIG computer screen deserves most of the credit for spotting the leg band.gringorio - 1-29-2007 at 06:51 AM
Yeah, good eye Wiles!
here's some interesting info banded skimmers in Baja:
OCCURRENCE
OF BLACK SKIMMERS
IN BAJA CALIFORNIA
EDUARDO PALACIOS and LUCIA ALFARO, Centro de Investigaci6n Cientifica y Educaci6n Superior de Ensenada (CICESE), P.O. Box 434844, San Diego, Califor-
nia 92143-4844 (USA mailing address)
Although the Black Skimmer, Rynchops niger, is a familiar bird along the Pacific coast of mainland Mexico and southern California (AOU 1983), little
is known of its occurrence on the peninsula of Baja California. Black Skimmers were not reported from Baja California until 1979 (Wilbur 1987) but now
are observed regularly in winter along the northwestern coast (Wilbur 1987, Escofet et al. 1988).
This colonial waterbird has recently established nesting colonies at San Diego Bay, in 1976 (McCaskie 1976, Unitt 1984), and at Bolsa Chica, Orange
County, in 1985 (C. T. Collins, pers. comm.), so nesting is likely also in Baja California. In this area, Wilbur's supportive records, mostly for
winter, are from only three locations (near Maneadero, Bahia de San Quintin, and Isla San Martin) and of between two and 44 individuals.
At present, we know of 57 additional records of R. niger for Baja California, including our observations
and those of eight other colleagues, made from 1982 to
1992, at nine locations around the peninsula (Figure 1). These are summarized by location in Appendix 1. At Bahia de San Quintin we, with other
observers, counted the numbers of skimmers during coordinated counts of the entire bay by Point Reyes Bird Observatory (PRBO). On most occasions, the
Black Skimmers were resting with dozens of gulls, terns, and feeding shorebirds in the main coastal lagoons of Baja
California. The observations encompass a total of 4517 individual skimmers.
Ensenada: In this location the birds roost at the mouth of Arroyo Ensenada and 800 m south of it, on the municipal beach. All of the 15 records are
for autumn and winter, but the number of skimmers in fall was higher than in winter (Appendix 1), suggesting that this segment of beach is used mainly
by birds dispersing after the April-August breeding season. We recorded the numbers of immature skimmers on
five occasions: 25 October 1990, 26; 26 October 1990, 18; 28 December 1990, 5; 24 January 1991, 41; 2 February 1991, 5.
We also observed banded birds, including adults and iramatures, with aluminum and/or color bands: 26 October 1990, 25; 5 November 1990, 13; 28
December 1990, 27; 24 January 1991, 12; 2 February 1991, 4; 11 February 1991, 1; 22 February 1991, 4. These birds were banded at colonies in southern
California. Some of them, with color bands, were banded as chicks at the Bolsa Chica colony between 1988 and 1990 (C. T. Collins pers. comm.).
Estero de Punta Banda: This is probably the location mentioned by Wilbur (1987) as "near Maneadero" because it is the typical habitat for skimmers
nearest Maneadero. We have made (Palacios et al. 1991, S. Gonzalez unpubl. data) regular weekly visits to this location since 1988. Fourteen of our 17
records (82%) for this site are for spring or summer; only three are for winter (Appendix 1). Only adults
were observed at this location. We also observed banded birds.
On the night of 17 April 1990, during a workshop on shorebirds (MBO-CICESE), we netted a skimmer
that had been banded as a fledgling at Bolsa Chica on 8 August 1989. On 18 February 1991 we counted 10 banded birds among a flock of 44 individuals.
These banded birds could be the same as those seen at Ensenada, dispersing to feed at the estuary and along the shoreline between the two locations.
We noted skimmers feeding at Estero de Punta Banda and Ensenada on 14 occasions, mainly near low tide. Nine observations were of one individual, two
were
of two individuals, and three were of three individuals. Erwin (1977) also found that skimmers frequently feed singly on their breeding grounds in
Virginia. Western Birds 23:173-176, 1992
Quote:
Originally posted by Wiles
Cypress....
Thanks, but my BIG computer screen deserves most of the credit for spotting the leg band.
Crusoe - 1-29-2007 at 10:05 AM
Vagabond.......Thanks so much for such a great shot of the Black Skimmer.You were lucky to get so close. They are amazing birds.Even more fun to watch
for hours and hours.Wiles..... How can we tell the females from the males??Wiles - 1-29-2007 at 10:25 AM
Crusoe.....
Size, with males being noticably larger.Wiles - 1-29-2007 at 12:36 PM
Gringorio....
Thanks for sharing the article. Answers some questions we all had, doesn't it.AmoPescar - 1-29-2007 at 08:59 PM
HEY BIRD LOVER’S…
Here’s a good Bird web site…the Cornell Lab of Ornithology
I use it all the tim to identify birds. Has good pictures and facts.
Amo
vagabond - 1-30-2007 at 01:26 PM
It was just a lucky shot by Gypsy's taken on the flats behind the dunes after a very high tide.I was going over to pull out a stuck local, and he told
me it was an oyster catcher.
Feeding Skimmer
Skipjack Joe - 1-30-2007 at 01:32 PM
Cypress - 1-30-2007 at 01:39 PM
Skipjack Joe! Thanks! No doubt about it, that's Skimmer.
feeding behavior
Skipjack Joe - 1-30-2007 at 01:52 PM
Looks as though my information is dated. They don't skim to attract baitfish. They actually fish while skimming. Described as tactile behavior (they
often feed during dark hours) the beak shuts on a baitfish as it comes in contact with it.
Still, it can't just be random feeding as it would do the same for any floating twig or algae it comes across. There must be some form of targeting.gringorio - 1-30-2007 at 02:03 PM
That's an awesome shot Skipjack!
Quote:
Originally posted by Skipjack Joe
Looks as though my information is dated. They don't skim to attract baitfish. They actually fish while skimming. Described as tactile behavior (they
often feed during dark hours) the beak shuts on a baitfish as it comes in contact with it.
Still, it can't just be random feeding as it would do the same for any floating twig or algae it comes across. There must be some form of targeting.
Skipjack Joe - 1-30-2007 at 02:14 PM
Quote:
Originally posted by gringorio
That's an awesome shot Skipjack!
Great
pictures!!
