Sorry for the poor quality but I have been seeing these birds in the estero and was wondering if someone knew what they were. The ones I am trying to
identify are the 3 largest birds in this pic. They all showed up about a week ago. I think that they might be male and female Kingfishers. There
are many of them and I have never seen them before.
Since the estero broke through the bird population has exploded. I am working on a photo essay of all the birds and the difference in their habitat.
Maybe next week.
Thanks for your help
DENNIS - 12-25-2007 at 04:02 PM
I think I see a duck and a mud-hen. No idea what those other guys are, maybe eagles.Wiles - 12-25-2007 at 04:24 PM
Black-crowned night herons. The one on the left is adult, two on the right are juveniles.bajajudy - 12-25-2007 at 04:34 PM
Thank you, Wiles.
There must be 30 or 40 of them in the estero right now.
Speaking of ducks, Dennis.
Here is one with a white pelican that I saw last week
[Edited on 12-25-2007 by bajajudy]
DENNIS - 12-25-2007 at 04:57 PM
Judy.....
That looks like the mud-hen.
I guess they're sometimes called a Coot.
[Edited on 12-26-2007 by DENNIS]bajajudy - 12-25-2007 at 05:07 PM
Might just be. I dont have the original photo to look at but I remember thinking that it was a duck..but if it walks like a coot.......Bob H - 12-25-2007 at 05:10 PM
Quote:
Originally posted by DENNIS
Judy.....
That looks like the mud-hen.
I guess they're sometimes called a Coot.
[Edited on 12-26-2007 by DENNIS]
I was called an "old coot" once!
Bob HWiles - 12-25-2007 at 05:17 PM
"Since the estero broke through the bird population has exploded."
Build it and they will come...glad you are taking the interest and the time to watch it grow. You should start keeping a checklist of all the
critters who visit.
Enjoy.DENNIS - 12-25-2007 at 06:10 PM
Quote:
Originally posted by Bob H
I was called an "old coot" once!
Bob H
Bob....Were you smoking a stogie at the time?The Gull - 12-25-2007 at 06:23 PM
Dennis, it IS a duck. Get an eye exam.
Wiles, if they are night herons what are they doing out in the daytime?
Nice pic of this GBH. Looks like this fella stayed a bit too long at the office Christmas party last night.
That leaves ten to go!!vgabndo - 12-26-2007 at 12:46 PM
Judy...there is a very good chance that Kingfishers will also be residents. We have them at the estero at San Nicolas. They are very easy to
identify. The big difference from your photo is that they are not wading birds. They are about Mourning Dove sized, with a fierce beak, and a
prominant "belt" across their chests. What fun that you get to be in on the "ground floor" of a new eco-system.
bajajudy - 12-26-2007 at 01:42 PM
Yep I have seen those too. Sitting on the telephone wires in the arroyo. I havent seen any lately though. I was thinking that the ones in the first
photo might be a relative but I didnt know that Kingfisher didnt wade.
Today I saw the white pelican again but couldnt get a photo because my battery was dead...duh. I have some photos of the old water line which I will
post to show just how much water was in the estero. It was the fullest we had ever seen it.
Now all the scavengers are out...buzzards, cara caras, crows. There are plenty of dead fish that got stranded when the mouth opened. The force of
the water actually flattened some carrizo bamboo.Pappy Jon - 12-26-2007 at 07:02 PM
Quote:
Originally posted by The Gull
Wiles, if they are night herons what are they doing out in the daytime?
Cool bird (the night heron). They flock in trees. Not what you would expect.DENNIS - 12-26-2007 at 07:07 PM
Quote:
Originally posted by Pappy Jon
They flock in trees. Not what you would expect.
I tried to flauk in a tree one time. It still hurts.BajaHawk - 12-28-2007 at 07:17 PM
I think I am seeing Black crowned night herons or possibly yellow crowned night herons (the pale ones are imature). Also in the pic. are possible
tree duckes(?) and coots.
[Edited on 12-29-2007 by BajaHawk]bajajudy - 12-28-2007 at 09:16 PM
Bajahawk
do you think that the bird in the white pelican pic is a coot/mud hen or a duck?
Did someone say HERON?
bajajudy - 12-29-2007 at 03:47 PM
Concern for the estero
bajajudy - 12-29-2007 at 03:48 PM
This picture was taken 4 days ago.
There are some herons in this one also
This one taken this morning
bajajudy - 12-29-2007 at 03:51 PM
Since we have had no rain, the estero depends on underground springs to fill back up. The mouth is still breached and the water is down to a
trickle. The habitat for the birds shrinks daily.
Any ideas on this?
That is why
bajajudy - 12-29-2007 at 03:55 PM
all the birds are in this small pool
DENNIS - 12-29-2007 at 06:11 PM
Quote:
Originally posted by bajajudy
Since we have had no rain, the estero depends on underground springs to fill back up. The mouth is still breached and the water is down to a
trickle. The habitat for the birds shrinks daily.
Any ideas on this?
Pray.......BajaHawk - 12-30-2007 at 10:36 AM
Hard to say what we are looking at here (White Pelican Photo). It is running across the water to take off (presumably) which is what Coots must do to
start flying - they can't take off from a stand still on land or water.
Ducks can take off from a stand still but will run on water to get a start.
All that said...I would guess this is a female Bufflehead - a small duck species.
Here is a close-up
bajajudy - 1-1-2008 at 11:19 AM
Fuzzy but maybe we can solve the coot/duck mystery
bajajudy - 1-1-2008 at 11:27 AM
more fuzz
but this is a duck
Still not much water in the estero.
bajajudy - 1-1-2008 at 11:27 AM
Dry
If you look closely, you can see the water line.
[Edited on 1-1-2008 by bajajudy]
DENNIS - 1-1-2008 at 12:53 PM
Quote:
Originally posted by bajajudy
Fuzzy but maybe we can solve the coot/duck mystery
Those are ducks. Fuzzy ducks.DENNIS - 1-1-2008 at 01:00 PM
Judy....
In your first foto, the two birds swimming at the rear of the shot, gray with a white stripe across the face, are mud hens.bajajudy - 1-1-2008 at 01:49 PM
Hey those definitely walk like a coot.Skipjack Joe - 1-1-2008 at 04:49 PM
Quote:
Originally posted by bajajudy
more fuzz
but this is a duck
Still not much water in the estero.
That one's a pintail.Skipjack Joe - 1-1-2008 at 04:53 PM
Quote:
Originally posted by bajajudy
Fuzzy but maybe we can solve the coot/duck mystery
These are canvasbacks or readheads. Most likely the latter.
They both winter in Mexico.
[Edited on 1-1-2008 by Skipjack Joe]Cypress - 1-1-2008 at 04:54 PM
Coots are black.bajajudy - 1-1-2008 at 05:22 PM
Coots have white beaks dont they?
Thanks skip...pintails, eh? The redhead fits. They are much redder in personBajaHawk - 1-3-2008 at 06:27 PM
The ducks with red heads are Red Heads and the othe is a Pintail - as pointed out by Skipjack Joe. Looks like a GREAT bird spot!
