Ground Observations - 2012-2013 Season

[boonibarb]

 
august 2 2013 12:31:15 - Mum eats Salmon while a Vulture watches



Now a Gull is looking for leftovers.









http://www.flickr.com/photos/43214021@N08/9719290496/in/photostream/#

[Donnae]

Great series of photos Booni...    thank you!!!

[paintnut]

Love the pictures of Mom with the vulture and the sea gull.  In the one it looks like she is giving a great big SIGH!!  lol  Thanks Booni

[amazedbyeagles]

These are amazing photos! Such high definition!  WOWEE!!!!   Thank you so much, Booni, for sharing!  I miss our eagles and these photos make my heart sing! ♥♥

[boonibarb]

 
Okay, nice rainy windy day here, so i*m catching up on the last of the Mum fotos i have.

august 2 2013 12:33 - Mum on the beach







Notice Mum & the Gull*s body language here!
Mum is about to take off.
She is looking where she is thinking of heading.





http://www.flickr.com/photos/43214021@N08/9988474293/in/photostream/#

[boonibarb]

 
Okay.
Mum just did a little fleap to the left.
i figured she was going to bathe in the water now.

august 2 2013 12:34:54 - Mum on the beach



Interesting dark patches among the white neck feathers!



i now actually believe she is looking for more of those food scraps!
Maybe she see some in the deeper water.







http://www.flickr.com/photos/43214021@N08/9988357784/in/photostream/#

[boonibarb]

 
After this video, Mum took off to the left, looking like one of those big heavy loud cargo planes, barely clearing the beach & landing low in a perch tree on the beach, partway towards the Niner territory.

august 2 2013 12:36 - Mum on the beach

<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P5YKEuXI1ew" target="_blank">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P5YKEuXI1ew</a>

[OpieK]

(((Mum))) 

thank you, Booni

[Rajame]

Thank you Booni! I was just getting caught up on the Ground Obs! You so good and such a blessing to share with us.

Thank you thank you thank you!
Rajame

[boonibarb]

 
It was a beautiful hot august day & auroradawn & her Mr. had come to Hornby for the day to deliver me back our capture carrier which they had delivered to MARS containing a pre-fledge Eaglet who had fallen from Nest #20.
They even cleaned the cage, liner & covers for me!  
It was a huge relief to get the gear back again, ready to go.

We decided to take a peek down at Grassy Point.
The thing that caught our eye right away was a large group of Gulls that were flying in a swirl together.
What was strange about this was that it went on for the whole time we were there.
The tide was way out, & these Birds were all circling together a long way from the water.
What were they doing?
Aren*t Gulls water Birds?
i noticed very different vocalizations from the usual Gulls, & i also started seeing black heads in the group.
Were these Bonaparte*s Gulls perhaps?
They seemed to be flying up, hovering, then flying again.
Were they catching insects?
When i got home, i looked them up on the Cornell site here.
How interesting!
Even though they are Gulls, they Nest in Trees!
& then this interesting quote -

During the breeding season, the Bonaparte's Gull feeds mainly on insects, often catching them on the wing.

So these beautiful Birds must be what we saw this day.

august 6 13:48 - Bonaparte*s Gulls feeding on insects near Grassy Point


<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aM8fsFJMfy4" target="_blank">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aM8fsFJMfy4</a>

[boonibarb]

 
Here are some stills i took that day, where i was trying to see the distinctive black heads of the Bonaparte*s Gulls.

august 6 2013 13:47 - Bonaparte*s Gull









What an interesting event to have been witness to!

http://www.flickr.com/photos/43214021@N08/10651474266/in/photostream/#

[boonibarb]

 
Another thing we got to see this day, since the tide was so far out, were Purple Sea Stars!
These ones are hiding from the drying sun, in the gullies of rocks.
You can see how dried out the bubbly seaweed is around them

august 6 2013 13:59 - Purple Sea Stars





http://www.flickr.com/photos/43214021@N08/10651489334/in/photostream/#

[Cawatcher]

   Such unreal color and the  contrast to the green is beautiful