Incredibly Cute Coots

Yesterday, I stumbled upon an incredibly cute American Coot family!

Four newly hatched chicks paddled their legs and fluttered their tiny wings with noticeable yellow feathers when one of the attentive adults came near.

  If you look closely, it appears that their beaks still have the egg tooth at the tip. It's like a chisel that they use when it's time to emerge from the egg.

It's incredible when you find something in Nature unexpectedly!

On the previous day, we went to the Penasquitoes Lagoon near Torrey Pines near sunset. We watched a few Snowy Egrets, Black Night herons and Great Egrets fishing. This lagoon is in between the beach and a heavily developed neighborhood.

As the sun was disappearing, so were the birds. I watched one of the Snowy Egrets to see where it was headed. To my surprise, it landed in this prominent tree in a residential area.

When we got closer to the tree, we discovered it was full of big, beautiful shorebirds - Snowy Egrets, Great Egrets and a Great Blue Heron. I counted 20 but their could have been more hidden behind the needles of this majestic tree. I wonder if the neighbors realize the importance of this tree! It needs a Wildlife plaque!

Keep your eyes open! You never know what you may find!

Click on photos to enlarge.
 

Coronado Island With My Little Buddy

There are so many fantastic ways to get out and enjoy Nature! Recently, I spent the day outdoors with a very special little buddy of mine. This energetic, curious guy is a keen observer with a very creative imagination - A perfect companion for a day outdoors.

We started our day with a bike ride around Coronado Island. Since there were 5 adults and 1 preschooler, we rented a bike carriage. Our "leader" was in the primo seat up front. You sure don't go very fast but it brings lots of laughs while you try. Good thing about going 5 mph is that you can hop off when something interesting catches your eye.

We decided to take a short ferry ride across to the mainland just for the fun of being on a boat. It gave my binocular toting buddy a chance to see some cool stuff like the Midway, a high flying kite and some swimming orange crawfish.

The highlight for everyone though was going to the tidal pools along the beach in front of the famous Coronado Island Hotel where Marilyn Monroe, Tony Curtis and Jack Lemmon starred in Some Like it Hot.

Now, it's popular with brides and grooms.

We weren't there for the hotel or a wedding. We were there for sea anemones and crabs. My astute buddy was THE EXPERT at finding both!

 When the rays of the sun peeked through the gray clouds, the sand glittered. Golden flecks were everywhere! Absolutely beautiful sight that I couldn't quite capture.

What a day! Thanks, Buddy!

Two Pots of Gold

It's not too often you get a chance to see a rainbow and even less often, you get to see two rainbows. When the storm clouds moved in, we could also see glimpses of the sun....ingredients needed for a rainbow.

Wow! We have never been so close to such a vibrant rainbow!

Just as quickly as they appeared, they disappeared. Special and unexpected.

Prevent a Death Trap

For someone who spends her free time studying birds, "chasing" birds, and photographing them whenever possible, it was quite upsetting to find a bird in jeopardy in her own backyard bird feeder! I feel compelled to share my story so noone else has the same experience!

This past week as I gazed out the window, I noticed strange behavior at one of the bird feeders. A House Finch fluttered its wings while eating but wasn't going anywhere. I went outside to investigate and immediately discovered that its head was trapped in the feeder.

First of all, do not buy this feeder! It was a good deal at a national hardware store but it definitely has faults!

Instead of the small hole designed for the beak of the bird, a piece had fallen off creating this huge gaping hole which was not intended to accommodate a birds head. I knew from my bird banding class that birds get stressed easily when trapped or handled so I needed to react quickly but carefully! I removed the feeding perch and gently removed the helpless bird from the "death trap". I was expecting a well deserved "nip" from this little guy but he must have sensed I was trying to help and refrained himself.

He was stressed from the ordeal. I was afraid he wouldn't survive but after about an hour of just resting in the grass, he started to hop about. A few other House Finches started calling to him from a nearby fence when he started moving. It seemed to motivate him into action for shortly afterwards, he flew up to this "safe" feeder. Whew! He survived another day! The lesson in this story is to take care of your bird feeders. Clean them regularly and when you do, inspect them for sharp edges or faulty feeder perches like the one I mentioned.

Another preventable hazard to birds is window collisions. If you have bird feeders, assess the nearby windows. If they reflect the environment, birds may unknowingly fly into them resulting in death. I just put up some new decals in most of my windows. This style claims to refract the light spreading UV colors beyond the actual sticker giving greater protection. There are other designs available.

Trust me, it is far better to obscure the view out your window then to find a dead bird on the ground!

Enjoy the birds that visit your yard but be diligent in preventing potential death traps!!!