Signs of summer: "molten" geese, but no hot lava

As if to flaunt the fact that feathers are unique to them, birds use their feathers almost constantly, mostly to fly away from people who are jealous of their featheriness and trying to take some for themselves. Although feathers are durable, all that evasive action takes its toll, and eventually the feathers get all ratty. The edges fray and the fibers don't clump together so well anymore. Birds that get their food from the local sandpaper factory need to replace their feathers constantly, but for most birds, the process happens one or two times a year. Some birds molt into and out of breeding plumage, like renting a tux for prom night. Others look the same before and after, replacing a few worn feathers at a time until they have an all new set.

Ducks and geese undergo "synchronous molting," which is something like going on What Not to Wear, where they throw all your old clothes away into a giant trash can, your closet is empty, and you feel Very Cranky. Geese take about two to three weeks to fill the metaphorical trash can with their old feathers, but you can bet that they are also Very Cranky while it's happening.

Each summer, the number of geese at the lake increases from a few hundred to almost 2,000, according to surveys by the Lake Merritt Institute. They come seeking to leave their gloppy green poop on our clean sidewalks. Also they need a safe place to hang out while Stacey and Clinton pick out their new outfits for them.

How can you tell if a goose is molting, or how likely it is to hiss at you and make fun of your glasses to hide its insecurity about being flightless? An easy way is to look at the butt. A goose which has shed its primaries will have a fully visible tail, and you can also see a white butt stripe as the goose shakes its booty. Two of the geese in the picture below are of the extra cranky no-primaries variety. The third goose, closest to the camera, has already grown new primaries, and they come to a point above the tail, giving its butt a kind of 1950s pointy Maidenform bra look.

Another way to tell whether a goose's feathers have that not-so-fresh feeling is to look at the color at the edge. A new feather will be uniformly dark; an old feather will have a pale and raggedy edge. You might have to click the picture below to see, but like a well-loved stuffed animal that is about to become Real, this goose has some ratty secondaries (and some new primaries).
Some geese have problems as young birds: their wingbones distort and their feathers grow in all crazy. This disease is optimistically called "Angel Wing" and is believed to occur when developing youngsters eat too much protein, e.g. Cool Ranch Doritos. Another argument against feeding birds human food...

Such birds are sad to watch, but overall their chances of survival at the lake are probably better than elsewhere--with islands to hide on and entire lawns of grass to eat, it's practically as cushy as a Motel 6.

And, as you'll see in the next post, there's WAY more hanky panky at the lake than in a lousy old motel!

American White Pelican

There is one white pelican that lives at Lake Merritt. The caretaker told us that it had an injured wing that healed badly, and so it was brought to Lake Merritt to live, since it can't fly anymore. They feed it fish to make sure that it's getting enough to eat, now that it doesn't have a flock to herd fish with, as it normally would. The fish probably is delivered in plastic bags, which is why if you approach the feeding gate holding a plastic bag, the pelican comes right up like a hungry stray dog. If pelicans would pant, I think this one would be panting.

One thing that's cool about pelicans is that their feet are webbed across all four toes. Other web-footed birds, like geese, have webbing across 3 toes, and then a stumpy little thumb doodad.




Also, hygiene is tricky if you're a pelican. With that giant beak, it can be hard to groom your armpits...


or brush in those hard to reach spots... like that fluffy bit on top of your head. Plus it's hard to wipe your beak free of coffee grounds, milk, or giant bumps on your beak.


Just kidding. The giant bump (and possibly the extra tuftyness) are actually there because It's Business Time for pelicans. That's also why the pelican's beak is a sexy and garish bright orange. Mmm.... carotenoids....

This picture makes me laugh because it looks like the pelican is wearing a tiny egret for a hat.


Here, the pelican demonstrates why it can't fly... but it's a chamption when it comes to doing The Robot. Also, check out the black wingtips. Black pigment makes the feathers more durable, and since flight feathers get totally punched in the face by the wind when birds fly, they can't just wimp out and be all "I'm raggedy and old cuz you flew on me too much!" No. They must be strong. Thus, white wingtips are Out this evolutionary season, and black is the new.... Black.


Finally, here is the pelican doing something weird. I didn't get a great shot, but it was pecking at the spigot and clacking its beak.


In conclusion, pelicans: cool.