Tag Archives: bird

Biggest Tern I’ve Ever Seen

Terns are a pretty regular sight when hanging out by the sea. They are prodigious fishers with a seemingly unending appetite. They drift across the water looking down for the next snack. Then they spot something and tuck back the wings as they hit the water hard. I am amazed how often they will dive. They either miss a lot or they can fly when very full. Normally, they don’t appear to be the biggest birds around. While I was out with Roger at Linda Mar, a tern was flying round just below us. This was by far the largest tern I have seen. It was a really big bird. I am not a bird expert so this may not be unusual but we both commented on it. A photo won’t give much impression of size sadly. However, I assure you this thing was big. Maybe he has been eating extra portions of fish!

Black-Footed Albatross

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The albatross is a pretty amazing flyer. A large wing span and a very high aspect ratio make for an efficient cruiser. The wandering albatross is perhaps the most impressive with its ability to cruise the southern oceans for months at a time. I haven’t had a chance to go south to see one of those. However, while out in Monterey Bay on the whale watching trip we did have an encounter with a black footed albatross. It might be a bit smaller but it still has the same characteristics. Great efficiency and the ability to soar about the surface of the water with ease. What a cool bird.

Bird Versus Orca – I Don’t Think One of Them Was Trying

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While we were following the orcas, we saw a sudden display of power combined with a lack of interest on the part of the whale. We had passed a number of different creatures on the way included a baby fur seal and a sea lion which, while one of them had freaked out and bolted for safety, the whales had shown no interest in. Then, there were some birds sitting on the surface. One of the orcas decided this was a training exercise. It was alongside us and then dropped below the surface. I could see the silhouette under the surface and the acceleration was scary. A couple of pumps of its tail and it shot off towards the bird. It knew something bad was coming and tried to get away. It fluttered violently to try and escape but was overtaken by the whale and then vanished below the surface.

Just as suddenly as it went away, it suddenly popped up again and started fluttering in the onsite direction. I guess the whale had a bit of a play with chasing it and then lost interest. The bird survived to live another day but the whale probably never really cared about it in the first place. I guess if the bird could comprehend how little the attack had meant to the whale, it might be a touch annoyed!

Osprey Checks Us Out

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One fun aspect of shooting by San Francisco Bay is that you get a lot of wildlife while you are killing time. Roger and I were sitting by the shore waiting for a few movements when a bird started flying in our direction. We both paid attention when we realized that it was not a gull as is normally the case. Instead, it was an osprey. They are not a rarity but they are still noteworthy. It certainly wasn’t bothered by us as it flew right over us as it headed along the shoreline. Looking up you could stare straight into its eyes as it surveyed the scene looking for its next snack. Sadly, nothing was nearby for it to dive onto and it flew off. Even so, a brief moment like this with such a cool bird made me happy for a long time afterwards. Actually, I am still happy when I think about it.

Cormorant Takeoff Run

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My like for the cormorant is no secret if you read this blog. I think they are a cool bird with a prehistoric look to them. One thing I enjoy when seeing them is watching the way they take off from the water’s surface. They run across the water getting some speed up as they flap. I have wanted to get good shots of this for ages but they usually do it a fair distance from the shore. When they onshore, they launch from whatever they are on. Fortunately, when out whale watching, we got a cormorant that was very close to the boat before it decided to take off. I happened to be looking the right way at the time and got something close to what I had been after. It was backlit but still close. I’ll still be hoping for something better but this was a good result for me.

Hawk Hunting

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On occasions you get lucky and something comes right to you. However, that is not always the way and sometimes you are just never quite in the right place. A Hawk was running along a ridge-line next to a drainage channel near me. I saw it first from a distance and figured it would be long gone by the time I got to the area. Apparently not. As I came alongside the ridge, it flew towards me before gentling drifting along the ridge in the direction I was traveling, i.e. away from me. As it got the end of the ridge it wheeled around to the other side. I figured it would soon repeat the process given the way the wind was blowing onto the ridge. Next time I would be perfectly placed for it to come towards me. I guess it never read the plan. I didn’t see it again. Therefore, the only shots I got were a little distant.

Mallards Getting Frisky

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This is the time of year when the wildlife starts to get a bit interested in mating. This can result in some battles between competing individuals but, while walking alongside a river, I saw a couple of mallard ducks behaving pretty strangely. One was male and one female so I think they may have been interested in each other but their behavior was sufficiently strange that I couldn’t be sure that was actually the case.

Initially they were splashing around in the water. They would seem to dive just below the surface and flap around down there making a lot of noise and moving quite randomly – not necessarily towards each other. It would stop for a while and then start again. Very odd behavior to the uninitiated. After this had gone on for a while, one of them took off followed by the other. They then appeared to wheel around the sky with a tail chase underway. This also went on for quite a while before they landed back where they had started and everything seemed to revert to normal. Anyone who knows what was going on, please let me know in the comments.

Egrets in Hayward

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The marsh areas along the shore of San Francisco Bay in Hayward are a popular spot for birds. Egrets are certainly a common bird in this area so seeing some of them while walking along the trails in the area was no surprise. I was interested to see how close you could get without disturbing them. The area is popular with people so they probably are relatively used to having people around. Even so, I did not want to cause them any disturbance. As it was, they seemed far more focused on whatever they were going to eat next than they were of me.

Shoveler Ducks

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Nothing too dramatic or unusual today. San Francisco Bay has a lot of birds that live on its shores and one species that I have seen a lot of recently is Shoveler Ducks. I thought that they deserved their own post so here are a few of the residents.

Ridgeway’s Rail

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The shore of San Francisco Bay is home to many varieties of bird life. I was walking along the water’s edge with my friend Roger one afternoon when he asked me whether I had ever seen a Ridgeway’s Rail. I confessed I had no idea what it was so also had no idea whether I had ever seen one. He told me that it is a species that is not widespread and mainly confined to the Bay Area. They are shy birds and so not common to see.

It can’t have been too long after this conversation that Roger spots – you guessed it – a Ridgeway’s Rail. Not only did he spot this thing but it then decided to try and disprove any thoughts about it being shy. It wandered along in front of us feeding constantly. Occasionally it would go out of sight as it dropped into some thicker foliage but it would soon reappear and keep feeding, occasionally looking up at us to make sure we were taking its picture. We found the most demonstrative example of the species apparently.

If you have never seen a Ridgeway’s Rail, this is what it looks like. If you want to see one for real, meet up with Roger and have him tell you about how rare they are and this guy will surely show up shortly afterwards!