Tag Archives: breeding plumage

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Craig Tooley recently spent some time photographing the birds on an offshore rock at The Sea Ranch. He found some Brown Pelicans in breeding plumage - yellow on the top of their white heads, and red skin on their throat patch. It certainly does seem early!

Those black birds are Brandt's Cormorants, and the dark brown bird is a juvenile Brandt's. At the very top of Craig's photo looks to be the bottom parts of a Western Gull. Nice to see everybody getting along!

Below is a video Craig took showing the pelicans preening themselves. They are resting on the journey southward.

I will miss their comings and goings during the winter months, and look forward to seeing them again in late spring.

Thanks to Craig for allowing me to share his photo and video with you here. To see much more of Craig's nature photography, here is his website: http://www.ruffimage.com

A beautiful cool day here today. Fog rolled in over the ocean this afternoon and it's a sea of white. A storm is arriving early tomorrow.

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Brandt's Cormorants are nesting along the Mendonoma Coast. Jon Shiu photographed this group at the Mendocino Headlands.

From the Cornell Lab of Ornithology: “The largest cormorant on the Pacific Coast, Brandt’s Cormorant is an expert diver that can swim deeper than 200 feet in pursuit of fish and shellfish. In addition to standard cormorant black, Brandt’s sports a vivid cobalt-blue throat patch and eyes during breeding season, along with wispy white feathers on the head. This species nests and forages in the California Current, an area of rich upwelling between British Columbia, Canada, and Baja California, Mexico.”

How great to see the blue throat patch in Jon’s photo!

Thanks to Jon for allowing me to share his photo.

It’s sunny with a gentle breeze…a beautiful day on the Mendonoma coast!

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Brown Pelicans continue to be seen in large numbers. Paul Brewer recently photographed a flock flying north.

The white-headed pelicans are the adults and the brown-headed pelicans are the juveniles. I just received the first photo of a brown pelican in breeding plumage, and that male's head is yellow. Here's an example from a previous  year, photographed by Craig Tooley. These males are now heading south.

Thanks to Paul and Craig for allowing me to share their photos with you here. To see much more of Paul's nature photography, here is the link to his website: http://www.capturingnatureswonders.com/ and Craig's website is: http://www.ruffimage.com

We had another vigorous storm today. We sailed past 17 inches season to date, a marvelous amount of rain by the first day of November!

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Mike Reinhart found four Tom Turkeys displaying recently. The Toms are hoping to impress the hens nearby.

Just look at their beautiful breeding plumage. There is a LOT of different colors going on!

Fun Fact: Wild turkeys can swim if they have to. They pull their wings in close to their bodies, extend their tail feathers and kick!

Thanks to Mike for allowing me to share his photo with you here.

Breathtakingly beautiful day here today, with temps in the mid-60s. sigh...

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Brown Pelicans are headed south and some of the males are in breeding plumage. Shirley Arora photographed one such Brown Pelican down by the Point Arena Pier.

To hear the call of this bird, here's the link to the Cornell Lab of Ornithology: http://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Brown_Pelican/id

Thanks to Shirley for allowing me to share her photo with you here.