Showing posts with label double-crested cormorant. Show all posts
Showing posts with label double-crested cormorant. Show all posts
Saturday, February 20, 2010
Feeding Frenzy!
The west side of the island seems to have two levels of bird activity: dead and absolutely teeming. Of late, it's been rare to observe more than a few dozen birds fishing off the west side of the island, but a bit earlier in the year we saw some very epic feeding frenzies.
In the above video from the first of February, we see innumerable western gulls, western grebes, brandt's and double-crested cormorants competing for their share of a fish run. Brown pelicans could be seen plunge diving among them.
click on the image for a larger size
The next day, there were still countless birds fishing between Alcatraz and the Golden Gate Bridge. Nearly all were cormorants.
click on the image for a larger size
The ways of the bay are mysterious indeed.
Labels:
Wednesday, February 3, 2010
MAGANRORD BIRD CENSUS: Double-Crested Cormorant
We spied this individual swimming in the waters off the west side of Alcatraz.
Likes: Diving underwater. Swimming fleetly after small fish. Tasty amphibians. Occasional crustaceans. Crunchy insects.
Dislikes: DDT. Mean population management policies aimed at protecting fisheries. Gulls.
Sunday, January 31, 2010
The gulls return
click on the image to view it in a larger size
We'll see if they brought their dancing shoes. The gull population is swelling rapidly with courtship and territorial marking behavior now common among them.
Odds, ends
- There are several hundred cormorants in the waters to the west and north-west. Some of them were clearly of the double-crested variety. We saw western grebes and western gulls in their midst, and we're very interested in identifying members of other cormorant species in the mob.
click on the image to view it in a larger size
- Several porpoises were seen surfacing east of the island today.
- Last week, a heermann's gull was spotted on the dock. Though I missed it, I was able to positively identify it because one conservancy employee, thinking the gull was "funny looking", took a cellphone photo.
- For only the second time in two years, I observed a black oystercatcher on Alcatraz. Early last year, I spotted one near the dock. This time, I saw one flying over the bay near the island's east side.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)