Blackbrfffds and Diet

One other interesting Blackbird fact I learned from Gordon Orians' Blackbirds of the Americas is that Blackbirds have a uniquely powerful beak. Most birds, somewhat like alligators, can bite fairly hard but are weak when it comes to opening their mouths. That's why Steve Irwin, the Crocodile Hunter, could hold the crocs' mouths closed with just his hands. Blackbirds are the opposite--they are great at opening their beaks, which is called "gaping." Since they're unlikely to encounter a spirited Australian who holds their mouths closed for fun, why do they have this ability? The answer is that they use their superpowers to pry open gaps in grass stems or curled leaves and pick out bugs from inside.

That's why when I saw this blackbird by the lake's edge, I was surprised to see it filling its beak with tiny yellow flowers from the burr-clover, Medicago polymorpha.

What was this bird doing? Eating the flowers? bringing them back for its young to eat? After I watched the bird, it flew across the lake and landed in a tree which definitely has a blackbird nest in it. I read about another potential explanation in a book called Wild Health by Cindy Engel. She mentions several studies which show some birds, including starlings, line their nests with fresh greenery, especially if they are re-using an old nest. The idea is that an older nest may have more parasites, and the green plants fumigate the nest for a new year of use. Do blackbirds re-use their nests? Birder's Handbook didn't say, so let's ask the blackbird:

"Mpph mmmph mmmph, mppph mppphhhh moppphh!"

Well, there you have it.

Forster's Terns Again

I've been practicing my tern photography. Even though they are screeching past at rocket-like ninja speeds, I've figured out a few things that helped me get some slightly better shots.

First, the terns are somewhat predictable. They fly in big loops around a certain area (often the bird islands) again and again. So if you miss once, just wait a bit and you'll get a second chance.

Second, the camera's autofocus is way too slow. So to compensate, hold the button halfway and keep on holding it, locking in the focus at the right depth. Even if it takes 5 minutes for the tern to come back.

Third, do not attempt to photograph terns when there are geese nearby.

I also got some blurry photos that serve to illustrate how terns hunt:

Scope out the scene. Fly in a big loop.

Look straight down. There's gotta be a fish somewhere in all that algae.


Swoop down and investigate. Nope, that's not a fish.

Back up for another look. Hover. Oh THERE it is!


And SPLASH!

Gloat. Nyeh-nyeh, I got you fishy!

Pelican Fishing

I was lucky enough to catch the resident white pelican doing a little late-afternoon fishing.

I mentioned before that white pelicans usually fish as a flock, herding the fish into a tight school of easily scooped-up morsels. This one is all alone, but still manages to catch lunch. It uses its beak like a net, sweeping it in an arc and scooping up anything in its path. In the shallow water near shore, each time it scooped, the pelican scraped the muddy bottom and stirred up a lot of silt in the process. Was it searching specifically for bottom-dwelling fish? It didn't seem to mind eating a bit of mud in the process. I noticed that this pelican seems to be right-beaked: it always scooped to the right.


Got one!

The hazards of scooping are, of course, that sometimes you get a bit of algae stuck to your face.