Shy Albatross

Shy Albatross Biography

The Shy Albatross nests on islands in southern oceans and has been recorded only a handful of times north of the equator. It is about the same size as Short-tailed Albatross and somewhat larger than Laysan, and like them is basically black-and-white. The adult has white underparts, white underwings narrowly edged with black, grayish back, white rump, dark tail, and white to grayish head. The upperwing appears all-dark except for a white flash at the base of the primaries. The black notch on the underwing at the point where the leading edge of the wing joins the body is diagnostic. Bill color is also a useful field mark: gray (with yellow tip in adults) in Shy, yellow in Laysan, and pink in Short-tailed. See specialized field guides for other distinctions, including separation of the geographical races of Shy Albatross.

Albatross taxonomy is in a near-constant state of flux. The Shy Albatross, as currently recognized by the American Ornithologists’ Union, includes four subspecies, each of which has sometimes been accorded full species status by various other authorities. Two of these subspecies have been recorded in Washington waters; a third has occurred elsewhere in the northeastern Pacific and might easily turn up off the Washington coast some day. Nominate Shy Albatross (T.c. cauta) nests on islands off Tasmania. The closely similar T.c. steadi nests in the Auckland Islands about 300 miles south of the South Island of New Zealand; the common name White-capped Albatross has been suggested for this form if it is recognized as a full species. The first record of Shy Albatross in the northern hemisphere was a bird collected in Washington 39 miles off the mouth of the Quillayute River (Clallam County) on 1 September 1951, subsequently identified as T.c. steadi. The second of Washington’s two records was an individual of the T.c. cauta subspecies closely studied and photographed on a pelagic boat trip from Westport (Grays Harbor County) on 22 January 2000. A very similar bird found a few months earlier on a pelagic boat trip off Point Arena, California, on 24 August 1999, and also identified as T.c. cauta, may have been the same individual. Two records of Shy Albatross from Heceta Bank, Oregon (5 October 1996 and 7 October 2001) could be either T.c. cauta or T.c. stead.

The third subspecies, T.c. salvini (Salvin’s Albatross), breeds on three small subantarctic island groups—the Bounty Islands and the Snares southeast and south of the South Island of New Zealand, and the Crozet Islands about 1,400 miles south of Madagascar—and has been recorded five times since 2000 in California, Hawaii, and Alaska. The fourth subspecies is T.c. eremita, or Chatham Albatross, which nests on Chatham Island, New Zealand. It is markedly different from the other three (slightly smaller, gray-hooded, uniform yellow bill) and is not known to venture beyond the central South Pacific Ocean.

Shy Albatross

Shy Albatross

 Shy Albatross

Shy Albatross 

Shy Albatross

Shy Albatross

 Shy Albatross

Shy Albatross

 Shy Albatross

Albatross Tasmania 

Shy Albatross

Common Tern

Common Tern Biography

Common Terns frequent lakes, rivers, oceans, bays, and beaches. During the summer, they use a wide range of coastal and inland aquatic breeding habitats, but most are found in lowlands, with undisturbed flat islands or beaches surrounded by shallow water. In winter, they are more restricted to warm water coastlines.

The Common Tern forages in flight, flying over the water, hovering, and dropping out of the air to catch prey below the surface. They also occasionally steal food from other terns.

Small fish are the mainstay of the Common Tern's diet, along with insects, crustaceans, and other aquatic creatures.

Breeding starts at 3 to 4 years. Most nesting takes place in colonies, but some isolated pairs will breed as well. Both sexes help to make a shallow scrape in soil or sand, which they line with vegetation and other debris. Incubation of the 1 to 3 eggs lasts for about 3 weeks. After a few days, the young leave the nest, but stay nearby. Both parents help feed the young, which first fly at 3 to 4 weeks of age, but stay with the adults for another couple of months.

Common Tern

 Common Tern

 Common Tern

 Common Tern 

Common Tern 

Common Tern 

Common Tern 

Common Tern

 Common Tern

A Flight Of The Common Tern In Tokyo Bay 

Common Tern Feeding Small Young 09 June 2010

Black legged Kittiwake

Black Legged Kittiwake Biography 

A pelagic gull, this kittiwake spends most of the year at sea. The Black-legged Kittiwakes gather in areas of upwellings, sometimes over the edge of the continental shelf. They can be found from the coast to over a hundred miles offshore. They breed on narrow cliff ledges in the far north.

Black-legged Kittiwakes are surface feeders, dropping from flight to take items off the surface of the water, or plunging into the water for prey just below the surface, but not diving deeply. They also forage while swimming. They are generally silent when seen in Washington, but on their breeding grounds, Black-legged Kittiwakes are very vocal, repeating a call that sounds like their name.

Small surface-schooling fish make up the majority of the Black-legged Kittiwake's diet. When these fish aren't available, the kittiwakes eat krill and other sea creatures. They occasionally feed on waste from ships. Black-legged Kittiwakes do not feed at garbage dumps as do many other gull species.

Black-legged Kittiwakes are monogamous during the breeding season, but do not maintain their pair bonds during the non-breeding season. Many will, however, re-pair with the same mate in the following year. They first breed at 3-5 years of age. On a narrow cliff edge, both parents help build a nest of mud, seaweed, and grass with a shallow depression in the middle. The female lays 1-3 eggs, and both sexes help incubate for about 4 weeks. The young stay in the nest for 5-8 weeks, and both parents provide food. After fledging, the young may return to the nest for a few more weeks. The nest ledges are so narrow that the birds must face towards the cliff, with tails pointed out, to fit.

Black Legged Kittiwake

Black Legged Kittiwake

Black Legged Kittiwake

Black Legged Kittiwake 

Black Legged Kittiwake

Black Legged Kittiwake

Black Legged Kittiwake

Black Legged Kittiwake 

Black Legged Kittiwake 

Black Legged Kittiwake (Juv) Branched Oak Lake 

Black Legged Kittiwake Full HD 

Black Tern

Black Tern Biography

A marsh-breeding bird, the Black Tern nests in freshwater wetlands in Eastern Washington, mostly east of the Okanogan and Columbia Rivers. For nesting, it requires habitat with extensive, cover-providing, vegetation as well as open water. During migration, it uses large lakes and coastlines. In winter, it can be found along productive marine coastlines, lagoons and estuaries, especially off the Pacific Coast of Panama.

Black Terns swoop to pluck food from the water's surface; they rarely plunge-dive under the water. They will also forage in flight, snatching flying insects out of the air. Highly social, they often forage in flocks.

In the breeding season, insects are the primary food source, although small fish and other aquatic creatures are also eaten. During migration and in winter, small fish make up the bulk of the diet.

Breeding in scattered colonies, often associated with Forster's Terns, Black Terns nest low in marshes, on floating vegetation mats, muskrat houses, or on the ground near water. Both parents help build a nest which ranges from a substantial mound of vegetation to a simple depression with a little bit of vegetation added. When mixed with Forster's Terns, the Black Tern nests tend to be lower, closer to the water. In fact, the eggs of Black Terns are adapted to get wet (but not for extended periods of time), and are often moist. Both parents incubate the 2-4 eggs for about three weeks. After 2-3 days they may leave the nest, but stay close by. In approximately three weeks the young are ready to fly, but they may be fed by their parents for up to 2 more weeks. Typically only one brood is raised each year.

Black Tern

 Black Tern

Black Tern 

Black Tern

 Black Tern

 Black Tern

Black Tern

 Black Tern

Black Tern 
Black Terns

Guifette Noire (Chlidonias Niger) Black Tern

Anhinga

Anhinga Biography

The Anhinga (Anhinga anhinga) is commonly known as the snakebird, black darter or American darter, and it is closely related to the darter species. The Anhinga has a wingspan of about 4 feet, and is between 32 to 36 inches in length. They are black in color, with smallish heads (almost snakelike), long bills and have patches of almost a silver color on their wings. The most common areas to find the Anhinga, would be South America, between the southeastern United States up to Argentina, and in specific warmer areas of North America.

The Anhinga does have a preferred diet of fish, but will also eat water snakes, tadpoles, frog eggs and young alligators. Therefore, they will live near streams, water canals, fresh water swamps, bays, lagoons or any watery area that can provide them with food. Anhingas have an extraordinary way of hunting for their food. The feathers of an Anhinga are fully wettable; this enables them to dive underwater for their catch, staying under water for quite lengthy periods at a time. They will either swim with only their heads sticking out and dive into the water, or dive down from the air. This significant feature also has its negative side, chiefly a loss of body heat. It is not uncommon to find a snakebird sitting in the sun with its wings open for hours, as they dry their feathers and warm up again.

Prey is often speared with their bills and either tossed into the air so that fish can be swallowed head first, or at times, the catch can get stuck on their bills, forcing the Anhinga to return to shore and hit the fish off against the rocks. When Anhingas’ are heading toward their breeding time, a blue ring forms around their eyes. They build their nests in trees above the water, and construction materials are usually sticks, after which nests are lined with leaves or moss. The female snake-bird will lay about three to five eggs, and the eggs are light blue in color. The incubation period for the eggs is approximately a month.

Anhinga

Anhinga 

Anhinga 

Anhinga 

Anhinga

Anhinga

 Anhinga

Anhinga

Anhinga 

Anhinga Looking for Breakfast 

Anhinga Feeding 

American Flamingo

American Flamingo Biography
The American flamingo is most notable for its bright pink plumage, which is more intense along its neck and wings. Its flight feathers are black, and the bird has a long neck and a hooked, black-tipped bill.
Size The American flamingo is a large bird, with both males and females measuring between 40 and 48 inches in length. Adult males weigh 8 pounds, while females are a little lighter at 6 pounds. Adult flamingos have a wingspan of 5 feet.

Social Life American flamingos live in large flocks, and they communicate through a wide variety of honks and barks. They are diurnal birds and are mostly active during the day, feeding together in the water. The courtship of the American flamingo stars in winter as smaller groups join together in one large courtship flock. Courting behavior includes wing stretching, head turning and marching.

Diet In the wild, American flamingos eat a wide variety of food. They use their curved bills to strain food particles from the water, including protozoans, diatoms, algae and other lake organisms. They will also eat worms, mollusks and tiny crustaceans, as well as insect larvae and some aquatic plants.

Location Though American flamingos are no longer found wild in North America, there are still wild populations in the West Indies. They tend to congregate in shallow soda or salt lagoons and lakes. The draining of lagoons and marshes destroys the American flamingo's natural habitat and results in a smaller population.

American Flamingo

 American Flamingo

 American Flamingo 

American Flamingo 

American Flamingo

 American Flamingo

 American Flamingo

American Flamingo

 American Flamingo 

American Flamingo Bermuda Aquarium

American Flamingo Courtship Behavior

Aplomado Falcon

Aplomado Falcon Biography

Falco fusco-caerulescens, Northern Aplomado Falcon (septentrionalis).

Nearctic/Neotropical. Southern UNITED STATES (Texas, New Mexico) south through portions of the CARIBBEAN slope of MEXICO and Central America and South America on both sides of the Andes to TIERRA DEL FUEGO; absent from most of Amazonia; accidental in Puerto Rico.

Subspecies:   3 races. F. f. septentrionalis: Southern UNITED STATES (Texas; formerly Arizona and New Mexico) south through MEXICO (Chihuahua, Oaxaca, and formerly Sinaloa) to GUATEMALA; F. f. femoralis: BELIZE, eastern HONDURAS and NICARAGUA (Mosquitia), and PANAMA to COLOMBIA east to the GUIANAS and south through eastern BOLIVIA and BRAZIL to ARGENTINA and URUGUAY south to TIERRA DEL FUEGO; TRINIDAD; F. f. pichinchae: Southwestern COLOMBIA, ECUADOR, PERU, and western BOLIVIA to northern CHILE (Arico to Curicó and northwestern ARGENTINA (Tucumá).

Taxonomy:   This species was formerly called F. fusco-caerulescens (e.g., Hellmayr and Conover 1949), but see Peters and Griswold (1943) and Blake (1977) for the basis for the name change. It appears to be most closely related to F. rufigularis and F. deiroleucus (Bierregaard 1994).

Movements:   Partial migrant and also an altitudinal migrant in some areas (Bildstein 2006). Northernmost and southernmost populations are probably migratory, although the extent of movements is largely undocumented. Sick (1993) noted that migratory flocks, presumably from more southern populations, are seen periodically in Brazil. The race pichinchae descends seasonally to the coast in Peru and in the south to Curico, Chile from breeding areas in the Andes (Fjeldså and Krabbe 1990). At least some Argentine populations appear to be resident (Contreras et al. 1990, Di Giacomo 2005), but birds breeding on Tierra del Fuego migrate north to the South American mainland in the austral winter (Humphrey et al. 2004).

Habitat and Habits:   Throughout its range, it prefers open areas, including savannas, open woodland, pine savanna, and pastures with scattered trees. In the Andes, it is found in open country, ranging from savanna and bushland to rolling puna country or rugged mountains and is sometimes associated with Eucalyptus groves in the highlands (Fjeldså and Krabbe 1990). In austral South America, it even occurs in patches of open habitats in large cities. Occurs singly or in pairs, or sometimes in small migrant flocks (Sick 1993). Often unwary.

Food and Feeding Behavior:   Feeds mainly on birds (mostly bird-sized or smaller), small mammals (including bats), snakes, lizards, large insects, and swarming termites. Birds may hunt from an exposed perch, stooping with half-closed wings, or pursue aerial prey singly or in pairs, flying low off the ground. Aplomados often seek prey flushed by grass fires or grazing large mammals, and they sometimes hover.

Breeding:   Nests in an old raven or hawk nest, including some placed on power poles, and occasionally on the ground. Clutch size is 2-3 eggs, which have a white ground color and numerous brown spots and blotches, sometimes completely suffused over the surface of the shell. At Argentine nests, the incubation period averaged 32 days, and the nesting period varied from 33 to 37 days (Di Giacomo 2005)

Conservation:   Widespread, occurring in a wide variety of habitats and altitudinal zones, but generally rare or uncommon in most areas. However, it may be expanding its range in some regions, e.g., parts of Mexico and Central America, in response to deforestation. Although aplomados experienced significant DDE-induced eggshell thinning in eastern Mexico in the 1960s-1970s (Kiff et al. 1980), the species evidently had almost disappeared from the United States portion of its breeding range by the 1940s, prior to the advent of synthetic pesticides. The reasons for the decline are not clear, but are possibly related to land use changes which resulted in a decrease in the savanna-like habitat preferred by this species. Although it is still retained on the U.S. Federal Endangered Species list, an ambitious captive breeding and reintroduction program by The Peregrine Fund, beginning in the mid-1990s, resulted in the establishment of a breeding population of about 40 pairs in South Texas, and additional reintroductions are currently being conducted in West Texas and New Mexico. Categorized as a species of "Least Concern" by BirdLife International.

Aplomado Falcon

 Aplomado Falcon

Aplomado Falcon 

Aplomado Falcon

Aplomado Falcon 

Aplomado Falcon

Aplomado Falcon

Aplomado Falcon

Aplomado Falcon

Aplomado VS Quail 

Caza Con Halcon Aplomado