Yellowlegs and Bonaparte's

Jan 3, 2015

Hope everyone had a fun New Year's Day. It's 2015 and we are having the most beautiful weather in the world to start the new year. I am going to check out Rios Pole Trail today because I received an email yesterday from Eve saying that she has spotted a male Northern Harrier on Rios side of the Lagoon. That is one bird that has been so elusive to me. I have been trying to get a shot of the "Gray Ghost" ever since I started birding. Once I spotted one hunting a rabbit but too far away for any photos.

With a triple layer of clothing to ward off the chill I headed for the Pole Trail on Rios. The first bird of interest was a Sora walking by at the base of the trail I was standing on just past the earth dam in front of the pumphouse. He was almost too close, having to aim the camera straight down, the angle was not ideal for capturing the detail of this cute little Rail.

Hoping that the little Sora would stick around and not spook, I stood quietly not moving. Only my trigger finger moving as I clicked away watching him step out into the open.  

The Sora stops and snips a piece of new growth off the pickleweed. Like all Rallids, Soras are omnivores. They eat much more plant materials during winter and mostly animal matter during warmer weather. According to The Sibley Guide to Bird Life and Behavior... Ornithologists believe that the adults feed mostly animal matter to their young.

This angle shows the brown cap marking on his crown. The black mask-like marking on his face and under his chin shows that this is an adult Sora and appears to be coming into breeding plumage.

  

You can see why it is so easy for this bird to blend in and not be spotted once he enters the weeds... the coloring of his plumage is beautifully suited to make him invisible once he steps into the surrounding vegetation.

  

A close-up look. Only the adults have the reddish brown colored eyes.

  

Sora... Porzana carolina measures 8.75 inches and has a wing span of 14 inches.

He poses for one more shot and I leave him to his foraging. Time to see what else is on the Pole Trail.

Walking all around on the berm of the salt flats, I spot a Greater Yellowlegs foraging in a very shallow pond that is next to the pole trail.

He spots me but doesn't seem concerned. I look around and spot the Peregrine on a nearby telephone pole dozing in the warmth of the sun with a full crop. No wonder everyone appears more relaxed.

Greater Yellowlegs... Tringa melanoleuca measures 14 inches with a wing span of 28 inches. I wondered how I could be sure if this was a greater and not a lesser yellowlegs... but according to the Cornell Lab of Ornithology the lesser's beak is always dark and straight and sharp-pointed. The Greater Yellowlegs has a slight upturn and blunt at the end. In non-breeding adults, the base of the bill may be grayish as we can see in this shot below.

As I was focused on shooting the Yellowlegs, imagine my surprise when this cute gull flew in landing only a few feet away from the Yellowlegs. This is a young Bonaparte's Gull. Larus philadelphia measures 13.5 inches with a wing span of 33 inches.

  

Bonaparte's Gull is named after Charles Lucien Bonaparte, a man that made important contributions to American ornithology. According to the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, this is the only Gull that regularly nests in trees.

The Yellowlegs kept foraging, going in and out of my camera frame.

Bonaparte's Gull do not eat garbage or carrion. They eat small fish and large invertebrates. They often hunt insects on the wing... flying along the surface of the water plucking them or plunging into the water after prey.

During breeding season, they consume mostly insects caught on the wing. This photo showing the black slender bill. These gulls are described looking more tern-like in appearance.

This shot shows the pink colored legs.

Getting to see the upper wing and tail markings as he takes flight. The markings on this gull appear to indicate that this is a first winter sub adult and the white on his tail is adult plumage coming in. In an adult Bonaparte's gull the tail feathers will be pure white.

The markings on the wing will also change when he becomes a full adult. The upper wings will be all white except for the outer edge of his primary flight feathers.

One last look at this beautiful gull as he flies past the sleeping Peregrine.

Back to a few more shots of the Greater Yellowlegs.

One last shot and I am ready to head for home. Even though I didn't see the "Gray Ghost", the male Northern Harrier, it still was a great day of birding and a wonderful start of this New Year!

Have a great day everyone.