Growing Up Ring-Billed

Speaking of changing looks when it's time to breed, here's an example of nature's makeup...

Ring Billed Gull, year 1: Pink beak and legs, brownish eye.

After another year, they get the classic gull look: grey back, white body. The bottom gull is, I think, younger or at least more pathetic than the one above. Its legs and bill are a duller yellow than the one on top. Note that the one on top has a slightly streaky, mottled head. It's not quite in breeding shape yet. I noticed that the tip of the beak on both of these birds isn't a "ring" but a solid tip, so I'll make a guess that both of them are second years and not quite mature. (Gosh, do NOT tell me I'm going to have to buy one of those special guides to the 1001 indistinguishable looks of one kind of gull.)

Now this dude or lady is getting there. The head looks all clean and smooth, the bill is properly ringy.


Finally, check out fatty mcPiggerson here: See the red eyering and mouth? I guess it's kind of like having a face boner.

Sass Factor 5: American Coots

If you are an animal, spring usually means it's time to get your breeding on. Coots are no exception, and they're particularly visible when it comes to reproductive madness. GW Gullion, whose paper on coot displays I also read, has another paper on the red bump of coots. Apparently most migratory coots don't have one during winter, when they are away from their home territory:

But in spring, the testosterone of both males and females sparks the growth of a reddish callus:

...which can get gigantic and menacing.

I took all these coot pictures on the same day. So, why do they have different sized bumps? Gullion says that the most dominant coots--those defending a territory--are the ones with the biggest bumps, and the others are lower on the pecking order. Some coots stay on a territory year-round, and keep their red shield, too. I am wondering, do coots on Lake Merrit have a territory? Do they actually nest there? They are supposed to prefer freshwater. I've never seen a baby coot at the Lake. What are they defending if not nest sites? Are they just testosterone fueled jerks that will fight regardless?

Gullion also argues that coots may recognize each other by the callus, as well, since sometimes they will try to fight their mates until they see their partner's face.

Next time I'm out I'll see if I can compare the faces of the attacking coots and the fleeing coots.

Twitterpated?

"Nearly everybody gets twitterpated in the springtime. For example: You're walking along, minding your own business. You're looking neither to the left, nor to the right, when all of a sudden you run smack into a pretty face. Woo-woo!"



Ok, seriously though, *what* is this gull doing? I've never heard one make this noise like a baby crying. My first guess was that it was some kind of breeding display type of thing, but if it's displaying for the other gull in the shot, it's surely robbing the cradle! Er, the nest? The... rocky patch?

Ad that's not the only sign of ring-billed gull madness around the lake these days:



My guess is that it's trying to drum up some business. For its mouth. And by business I mean worms.

Borges Ranch

Borges Ranch is a mini-park, part of Mt. Diablo. It was mostly very muddy, and I forgot the camera, but got this nice image of the farm with the trusty cel-phone cam. And see that area where the fence's shadow makes kind of a grid? There's a bunny there:

See? (Binoculars to cel-phone picture, that is SO 2010)


Based on the range maps in the Peterson guide to mammals, I will guess that this is a brush rabbit.