Teenage Birds at Oceanside, Part 1

Eve said she could go birding and she would drive but I could pick the area... so I suggested checking out Oceanside Harbor at the San Luis Rey River Mouth. Arriving early to pick me up, we were soon at the river mouth area in Oceanside before the sun got too hot for good birding.  We soon spotted several fledglings learning to forage for food but still dependent on their parents to supplement their food. I call them "teenage birds" as they are in an in-between stage where they are not quite independent enough to provide for themselves, very much like our human teenagers. 

The first subject as we approach the bridge was an adult Black-necked Stilt. As usual, he appeared protective and wondered where his offspring were. 

A close-up of this beautiful male Black-necked Stilt.

Looking around for the young stilts, we spotted two teenagers searching and foraging for breakfast.

Here is a close-up of one of the youngsters.

They are such elegant birds.

As we searched the reeds for possible Least Bittern fledglings on the west side of the bridge, we were treated to a feeding of a teenage Snowy Egret. Here an adult lands near the teen bird and is immediately chased as the juvenile begs to be fed.

Close-up.

 

The youngster goes into his begging stance and chases the parent. Notice that the juvenile has greenish looking feet and the adult has the bright yellow feet.

The begging triggers the adult to start to regurgitate.

Close-up of the youngster begging.

The young Snowy almost wraps himself around his mom constantly begging.

 

Now he pokes his mom on the crop to encourage the regurgitation reflex. 

 

Grabs mom's beak pulling for more encouragement. The adult is in the process of regurgitation. Bringing up the stored food from his crop.

Here comes breakfast. The youngster eagerly gobbles up the food.

Close-up of the food exchange.

As the adult pulls back for a break from feeding the youngster refuses to let go.

 "More! I want more!"

The parent takes a slight break by moving away from the demanding teen to prepare for another food exchange. Bringing up more regurgitated food from the crop.

The youngster flaps his wings in a begging gesture.

 

Chases the parent down.

"I'm still hungry mom!" The adult looks a little alarmed as the youngster appears more demanding.

The juvenile spreads his wings out begging for more food and the adult complies with the request and gives up more regurgitated food.

This juvenile Black-crowned Night-heron looks hungry too as he watches the feeding of the Snowy.

Just past the feeding action on the shore, a juvenile Mallard duck pretends she is a grebe as she chases a school of tiny fish.

 

LOL, she is chasing the school of fish but swimming on the surface as a duck. The grebe would be chasing these fish underwater.

 

The tiny fish all seem to get airborne at the same time as they appear to be having fun with the dabbling duck.

The young duck looks quite frustrated as the many fish jump all around.

 

Here is a bird built perfectly for picking off these tiny fish. The adult Snowy Egret spots all the fish around the duck and makes his move.

 

Nearby a young Ruddy Duck takes a nap. As a diving duck, he is perfectly designed for hunting those tiny schools of fish. I bet he is full and needs to take a nap.

We notice that the Great-tailed Grackle were busy catching and devouring those metallic green beetles the whole time we were there.

A juvenile Black-crowned Night-Heron appears to be intent on hunting for breakfast. But he's a little far from the water even though his neck will extend to twice the length shown here.

 

The young Snowy is still hungry too.

 

He decides to try out his fishing skills.

We are treated to a fly in by a first summer juvenile Black-crowned Night-Heron.

A jumping fish gets a Black-necked Stilt's attention.

He sweeps the surface of the water more like an Avocet trying to grab a few of the tiny fish.

One last shot of the Stilt.

It was exciting to see a juvenile Green Heron looking healthy and alert perched on a dead palm.

Off he goes.

Our attention goes to the sandbar on the west side of the bridge. A young Double-crested Cormorant begs for food from one of his parents.

The parent opens his beak wide and the youngster dives head first to reach into the throat to get the regurgitated food.

 

Food exchange... Food pours into the youngsters mouth.

The whole time the youngster has his wings flapping. It is a begging gesture.

As the adult pulls away to get a break from the demanding youngster, the juvenile keeps up the begging. 

The adult turns away and walks off .

The youngster keeps up the begging wing flaps but the adult has given enough and leaves the area. It's time for us to leave too. We start our walk back to the parking area. 

As we get to the northeast side of the bridge, Eve spots a Sora walking out of the reeds. 

He appears to be a youngster too. Quite a beauty. 

Close-up.

He hears the camera and comes closer to investigate. 

Nice frontal shot. Lol with very muddy feet! Notice his beak is turning yellow but still has some dark.

What a cute bird.

A close-up of this beauty. It's been a fun morning looking at the juveniles and seeing how fast they grow. I will be coming back tomorrow to look for more youngsters. Hopefully I will spot the elusive Least Bittern fledglings too. 

Have a fun filled day everyone!