Tag Archives: birds

Brown Pelican (Pelecanus occidentalis)

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What flies with a large pouch and never has to go through airport security? A California Brown Pelican!

Pelicans form graceful V-shaped formations hunting for schools of fish.

The California Brown Pelican stops by for a couple of weeks each year in Bandon. One of the best places to watch these large birds as they plunge-dive for fish is on Jetty Road SW near the mouth of the Coquille River in Bandon, Oregon.

How big?

California Brown Pelicans are hard to miss with a wingspan of nearly 79-inches and a body length of 54-inches! Their size is further underscored when they fly in neat, V-shaped formations over the surf hunting for schools of fish.

Diving

As they plunge into the water, their famed three-gallon throat pouch scoops up their prey. Only the California Brown and a closely related Peruvian species make these spectacular plunging sideline dives into the water. There are ten pelican species.

Where to find them

Pelicans congregate in large numbers at the mouth of several Oregon bays during migration. You will often see them roosting on rocky formations, pilings or peers or hear their loud “screaming” call.

They migrate to/from winter breeding grounds in southern California and Mexico. They range from Vancouver Island, Canada to northern South America. Approximately 20,000 pelicans living on the Oregon coast in the summer.

Caution!

They can also be comical panhandlers and may beg from humans. They often hang out looking for opportunistic snacks such as fish scraps, crustaceans, lizards, smaller birds or eggs, turtles, etc.  U.S. Department of Fish and Wildlife has warned the public to:
–Not feed the birds (human foods can injure or lead to starvation),
–Leave the birds alone (if they are hanging out here, they are not breeding), and
–Avoid attempting to pet them or interact with them (no selfies please!).

Recovery

These magnificent dare devils were recently removed from the endangered list in December (2019). They are protected under the Migratory Bird Treaty Act. It is illegal to capture, kill, or possess a California Brown Pelican. Each violation comes with a maximum punishment of $15,000 in fines and six months in jail.

For more information check: US Dept. of Fish & Wildlife Bandon Marsh site at https://www.fws.gov/refuge/Bandon_Marsh/wildlife_and_habitat/waterfowl.html

REFERENCES:
–Oregon Dept. of Fish & Wildlife Pelicans and Cormorants at https://myodfw.com/wildlife-viewing/species/pelicans-and-cormorants (there is a link so you can hear their calls near the bottom of the page).
—Brown pelicans lingering on Oregon Coast see: https://www.oregonlive.com/news/2010/01/brown_pelicans_overstaying_the.html

Bald Eagle (Haliaeetus leucocephalus)

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There is a nest nearby. I can’t see it, but I know it is tucked high in the tall Douglas-fir overlooking the river.  

Photo from Oregon Dept. of Fish and Wildlife

Most Bald Eagle nests are within one-half mile of a body of water. After all fish is one of their favorite foods. The water, in this case, is a coastal shoreline and the Coquille River. Bald Eagles will also nest near bays, lakes, farm ponds, especially if they can find large trees, an unobstructed view of the water, and few humans.

Their shadows smoothly slide across the grass. Today they hunt.

Bald Eagles will hunt over large areas soaring up to 10,000 feet. In addition to fish, they will also take other animals such as birds, turtles, and mammals (like rabbits and rodents). They are not particularly fond of mammals, but will take them or mammal carrions.

Carrion, particularly in the winter, is frequently scavenged. They are considered to be an opportunistic predator meaning that they hunt when necessary and scavenge carrion when possible.

Every once in a while, they fly back to the nest clutching a large and noticeably heavy fish. Makes a weird shadow. Scares the little birds.

These large raptors are scary. They can sport a wingspan of up to 8 feet! Their body is just a few inches short of a yard. Adult birds can weigh upwards of 14 lbs. As with many birds, the females are larger than the males.

Bald Eagles will hunt other birds (such as geese and gulls). They are known to harass other eagles and Ospreys in an attempt to steal food from them. They are also known to occasionally steal food from other mammals and occasionally humans.

Big birds need big nests.

Bald Eagles build some of the largest nests of any bird. The size will depend on the supporting tree but are often 5-6 feet in diameter and 2-4 feet tall. The nest can weigh upwards of a ton! The largest recorded Bald Eagle nest was found in St. Petersburg, Florida. It measured nearly 9 ½ feet in diameter and just over 20 feet tall.

Building a nest is serious business and can take up to three months to build. These nests may be used over many years with additional materials being added each year. Sometimes ground nests, on cliff sides may be built.

One glance and you know what the little birds see.

Feathers of the adult Bald Eagle are quite distinctive with the white head and tail, brown body, with yellow beak, eyes, and feet. The distinctive color appears when the bird reaches four to five years of age. Both sexes have similar plumages.

Bald Eagles live a long time.

The oldest recorded wild bird, killed by a car in 2015, was at least 38 years old. Birds in captivity are known to live even longer.

Want to know more?

The Bald Eagle is one of the most studied North American birds and is the only sea-eagle found throughout North America. To learn more, visit the following references:
–Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife, My ODFW “Raptors” (https://myodfw.com/wildlife-viewing/species/raptors)
–All About Birds, The Cornell Lab (https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Bald_Eagle/…)
–Oregon Wild (https://oregonwild.org/wildlife/bald-eagle)
–USDI, Fish and Wildlife Service “Bald Eagle” (https://www.fws.gov/oregonfwo/articles.cfm?id=149489418)

American crow (Corvus brachyrhynchos)

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American crow (Corvus brachyrhynchos)

The American crow, the more you know about them the more interesting they are. Crows are a large, intelligent, all-black bird with a hoarse, cawing voice that is familiar over much the continent.

They are common sights in treetops, fields, and roadsides, and in habitats ranging from open woods and empty beaches to town centers. These birds are inquisitive, somewhat mischievous, and good learners and problem-solvers.

They usually feed on the ground and eat almost anything, including earthworms, insects and other small animals, seeds, and fruit as well as garbage and chicks they rob from nests.

Communal Roosting 

American crows are very social, sometimes forming flocks in the thousands. In the winter, American crows congregate in larger numbers to sleep in communal roosts.

Roosts can consist of a few hundred up to two million crows. Some roosts have been forming in the same general area for well over 100 years. 

Mobbing

American crows will work together as a group to harass or drive off predators, a behavior known as mobbing. This interesting video features a crow solving 8 puzzles in a row in order to reach food.

The crow has also been the subject of Native American legends, including this one: http://nativeamericans.mrdonn.org/stories/raven.html