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March 18, 2007
Año Nuevo Birds: Shore Bird Bonanza
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Brown Pelicans & gulls |
Monterey Bay has lots of different kinds of shore birds. Some, like the Brown Pelican and the Snowy Plover, nest here. Other birds, like the loons, grebes and terns, migrate through.
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Heermann's Gull (Larus heermanni) |
You'll often see the shore birds splashing in the freshwater in the morning, washing the salt from their wings. The pelicans and cormorants like to nest in great colonies on the high cliffs overlooking the ocean.
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Western Gull (Larus occidentalis) |
Not all gulls are created equal. There are many different types. It's often confusing to identify them, since their coloring changes from when they are young, to adolescent, to adult.
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Sanderlings(Calidris alba) |
Sanderlings are known to hang out along the surf feeding. They are fun to watch as they running down to the water during the ebb of a wave, and then when the surf comes back up on the beach, the sanderlings run back up along with it.
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Brown Pelicans (Pelecanus occidentalis) |
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Pelican Roost |
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Sandpiper, Most Likely A Marbled Godwit (Limosa Fedoa) |
I am clearly the most pitiful bird identifier, because even after pouring over Sibley's Field Guide To Birds of Western North America, I cannot positively identify exactly which member of the Sanderlings group this bird belongs to! Admittedly, the book does state that, because of the closeness of species, sanderlings are rather difficult to ID... so at least I'm not the only one who thinks so.
 | Another similar-looking bird, the Snowy Plover, is an endangered species. In the habitats remaining for the snowy plover, human activity is a key factor adversely affecting coastal breeding sites and breeding populations. |
Sanderling (Calidris alba) |
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California Gull (Larus Californicus) |
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California Gull (Larus Californicus) |
Posted by sorsha at March 18, 2007 9:41 PM
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