A development appears to be growing this summer season, of birds with actually placing faces. First there used to be the Lesser Flooring-Cuckoo, a species I had lengthy sought after to peer. The easiest perspectives it gave us made the wait smartly profitable. I wrote about this stumble upon a month in the past.
The next week, I in the end were given some nice footage of a male Ruddy Duck with its implausible reproductive blue invoice. I had already had dozens of encounters with the species, a couple of with men of their summer season finery. However by no means ahead of had I controlled pictures that left me totally happy.
And now, simply remaining week, I were given to peer any other duck with an implausible face. My spouse and I needed to make a lightning logistics travel to California, and the place the seafaring Surf Scoter is rather not unusual. I had noticed those geese on two earlier journeys, however each instances, they have been driving the, you guessed it, surf. The consistent motion of the waves, and vicious glare mirrored off the water, supposed that my footage have been slightly just right sufficient for ID functions. Plus, I best gave the impression to see them from at the back of.
However this travel, even if I had even much less time to head birding, my day trip used to be to the quiet waters of San Francisco Bay. In particular, I went to a space referred to as Redwood Shores, which confirmed some promise at the eBird map.
Radio Highway, as it’s identified, didn’t in reality appear to me to be one of these birdy position. However I’m nonetheless lovely new at eBird-ing California, and I stopped the morning with a shocking 10 new species for the state… Even though none of them have been true lifers. Some appear lovely unexplainable to me. Truly? I had now not but indexed any Californian Rock Pigeons or Area Finches? Others, similar to a unmarried Black-necked Stilt, Snowy Egrets, Black-crowned Herons, and Black Phoebes, fall inside of a spread of reasonable passion. A far off Osprey, wearing both nesting subject matter or an overly lengthy snake, used to be a little bit of a thrill. As have been early-arriving Forster’s Terns and a Willet, and a bunch of White-throated Swifts wheeling overhead. (Even though I will be able to see White-throated Swifts any day of the 12 months in downtown Morelia.)
However the principle appeal for this travel used to be a unmarried Surf Scoter, fortunately, a male. For the reason that Bay has little or no in waves, and this duck used to be very patiently operating his approach alongside the shore, I in the end were given a actually just right have a look at its face. And what a face it’s!
My footage would had been higher if I had my heavy “house” digital camera, with its 600 mm lens. My used mirrorless digital camera can most likely take footage of equivalent high quality, however it’s one sophisticated piece of equipment. I nonetheless have a lot to be told about its use. However those footage are an actual enhancements on my earlier makes an attempt, and I think fortunate to have them.
Because it does now not actually benefit a separate publish, I’ll end off right here with an stumble upon two days later, at Moss Seashore, at the Pacific aspect of the San Francisco Peninsula. Right here my spouse and I got here throughout 18 Black-bellied Plovers, all chilling (pun supposed) at the rocky seaside. I imagine myself fortunate if I see one or two of those plovers each and every 12 months in Mexico. So for me it used to be thrilling to peer a complete crowd of them.
I may have long gone nearer to the plovers, if this weren’t a Harbor Seal Resting House. Which they did, in a while ahead of we left.
