BajaNomad

Artic terns and North American Pelicans (the big guys)

Pompano - 2-10-2012 at 09:43 AM



I took these photos of migrating terns in one of their rare moments on the ground. Lake of the Woody, MN/Ontario
ARTIC TERN







The arctic tern is a relatively small bird. It is also one of the most determined. Even though it is small it is still able to accomplish the remarkable feat of migrating over 22,000 miles (35,000 km) each year. It flys pretty much nonstop from pole to pole. Try that sometime....

The distance that it migrates is the longest of any bird....even our Canadian snowbirds...:rolleyes:

This mileage would be accurate if it flew in a straight line to where it was migrating to and from, but since it takes a lot of detours, like certain other nomads, the distance it flies each year is even greater.

In fact the arctic tern almost never lands and is known to be in daylight more than dark because of its migration schedule. Breeds up in my territory, north of the 50th parallel.






Mixed in with the flock of terns were some awesome giant North American pelicans. When these are standing on the shore they look big...but when they fly low over your head with those 10-foot wingspans, you are IMPRESSED!

WHITE PELICAN

As one of the largest birds in North America, the white pelican is easy to spot and to identify. Its distinct, long orange bill, long neck and bright white feathers are hard to miss. These pelicans feed and spend time in shallow lakes, ponds, rivers, bays and estuaries.

Average life span in the wild:10 to 25 years or more

Size:Body, 5.8 ft (1.8 m)

Wingspan, 10 ft (3 m) :wow:

Weight:30 lbs (13 kg)

Hunting as they swim, they dunk their heads under the water to catch their prey. The American White Pelican does not dive for their catch like the Brown Pelican we see here in the Cortez and Pacific shores.

Pelican points:

The White Pelican does not dive for its prey, it dunks its head underwater to hunt.

White and brown pelicans can both hold up to 3 gallons of water or Pacifico in their throat sac.

Pelicans fly with their necks tucked back, unlike geese and swans. Thus the huge bill is counterbalanced...or not? Anyway, it makes them look more relaxed.





[Edited on 2-10-2012 by Pompano]

Cypress - 2-10-2012 at 10:45 AM

Pompano, Thanks for the pics and the info. Appreciate your investigative reporting from Playa Buenaventura.;D

wessongroup - 2-10-2012 at 10:58 AM

Same here... thanks...

Skipjack Joe - 2-10-2012 at 11:13 AM
Quote:
Originally posted by Pompano

Even though it is small it is still able to accomplish the remarkable feat of migrating over 22,000 miles (35,000 km) each year. It flys pretty much nonstop from pole to pole. Try that sometime...




Roger. It's 12,500 miles from pole to pole. And that's a straight line.

Maybe they don't actually reach the poles themselves.

Pompano - 2-10-2012 at 11:15 AM

Igor....they migrate...it's not a one-way ticket. Hmmm...?

Skipjack Joe - 2-10-2012 at 11:21 AM

Oh, my mistake.

They do 20,000 miles from one pole to another.

I thought you meant that their NP->SP->NP flight took 20,000 miles.

I try to catch people like that. It makes me feel superior somehow.

[Edited on 2-10-2012 by Skipjack Joe]

BigOly - 2-10-2012 at 11:44 AM

Pompano, nice post and pics. One good Tern deserves another.

Pompano - 2-10-2012 at 11:57 AM

Terns, like nomads I know, never travel in straight lines....their lives are full of detours, peaks, and valleys. :rolleyes:

Cypress - 2-10-2012 at 12:08 PM

I always liked to watch the "Skimmers". They drop their lower beak and skim across the flat, calm water, scooping up their prey. Wish I had a picture or two to share.;)

Rhea - 2-10-2012 at 12:15 PM

BEAUTIFUL thanks

Pompano - 2-10-2012 at 01:40 PM

Feeding my flock...they came with the ministry.

Pompano - 2-10-2012 at 01:48 PM

Civilization stops at the water's edge. After that, you become part of the food chain.





Santiago - 2-10-2012 at 02:04 PM

Ponder a moment, the Pelican,
Holds more food in his bill than his belly-can,
Keeps more fish in his beak
than he'll eat in a week,
I just don't know how the hell-he-can?

O. Nash

Pompano - 2-10-2012 at 05:53 PM

That has always been a favorite of mine, Santiago...The Pelican.

I also very much like this poem by Australian poet, Mary Hannay Foott. It is short but gives a good sense of the interplay between nature and men's fortunes.

Where the pelican builds its nest is considered the best country, fertile and well-watered. They prefer large expanses of open water without too much aquatic vegetation which provides perfect breeding conditions for fish, their main source of food.

More pelicans implies more fish, which implies more clean water and a better natural environment.

Mary Hannay Foott wrote this poem while she was living in south-west Queensland, an area of the country prone to the classic "droughts and flooding rains". When the pelican arrived in the area everyone would have been acutely aware that good times had returned, and you are left in no doubt that this is what is indicated in this work.



"The horses were ready, the rails were down,
But the riders lingered still --
One had a parting word to say,
And one had his pipe to fill.
Then they mounted, one with a granted prayer,
And one with a grief unguessed.
"We are going," they said, as they rode away --
"Where the pelican builds her nest!"

They had told us of pastures wide and green,
To be sought past the sunset's glow;
Of rifts in the ranges by opal lit;
And gold 'neath the river's flow.
And thirst and hunger were banished words
When they spoke of that unknown West;
No drought they dreaded, no flood they feared,
Where the pelican builds her nest!

The creek at the ford was but fetlock deep
When we watched them crossing there;
The rains have replenished it thrice since then,
And thrice has the rock lain bare.
But the waters of Hope have flowed and fled,
And never from blue hill's breast
Come back -- by the sun and the sands devoured --
Where the pelican builds her nest."

- Mary Hannay Foott

GrOUper-GAr - 2-10-2012 at 08:46 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by Pompano

WHITE PELICAN

Hunting as they swim, they dunk their heads under the water to catch their prey. The American White Pelican does not dive for their catch like the Brown Pelican we see here in the Cortez and Pacific shores.

Pelican points: The White Pelican does not dive for its prey, it dunks its head underwater to hunt.


I had never seen a White Pelican, until I saw these in the back of San Diego Bay(close to shore/2006).

I remember thinking:

"hmmmmmm, Giant ALbino Pelicans?, eating off the bottom?...
I better lay off the 'stuff'"

White-Pelican.jpg - 46kB

Islandbuilder - 2-10-2012 at 08:56 PM

Great pictures Pompano!

The Arctic Terns are among my favorite birds. While in Alaska we walk in a couple of areas where they nest. They build nests in the gravel and small rocks near the fronts of glaciers, where they feed on krill and isopods brought to the surface by the upwelling currents where the ice meets the ocean. Their eggs are varied in color, and speckeled tomatch the rocks that the nests are built of.
As soon as a tern gets agitated we start watching where we step, and retreat so not to disturb the nests.
Beautiful flight pattern, deep, long wing beats that cover lots of ground with seemingly little effort.