Yesterday, I went whale-watching on a sailboat at Point Loma. There were many birds there, and also a couple of whales and some dolphins. Unfortunately, I didn't get any photos of the whales, but I took a few of the dolphins, though I mostly just got their fins. I took too many photos to put on one post, so I'll post half of them today and half tomorrow.
Below is a willet. They are found along the western coast of the United Sates in the winter, in the northern middle in the summer and during migration, and all year round on the east coast. Only their summer range extends into Canada and only their coastal ranges extend into Mexico. They are common, plain gray sandpipers that forage though the mud for prey along beaches and coastal saltmarshes. When they fly, they have bright black and white wings.
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| Willet |
Below is a long-billed curlew. In the winter they are found on the west coast, some parts of the east coast and down into Mexico. They summer in the western middle United States. In the summer, they are found in dry grasslands, and in the winter they are found on marshes, fields, and beaches. They are almost unmistakable because of their large size (they are the largest sandpiper in the United States) and their extremely long beaks.
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| Long-Billed Curlew |
Below is a least sandpiper, the smallest sandpiper in the United States. In the summer, they ae found in Alaska and northern Canada, and in the summer they are found in the southern United States down into Mexico. In the rest of Canada and the United States, they are found in migration. They can be distinguished from other sandpipers by their tiny size and yellow legs.
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| Least Sandpiper |
Below was a pretty exciting bird. It is a little blue heron. They are most commonly found on the southern east coast, and are not common anywhere else. However, this one was there, looking for fish. They are small herons and are blue and purplish all over. Young ones are entirely white and resemble egrets.
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| Little Blue Heron |
Below is a surf scoter. They are found along the east and west coasts in the winter and they summer in Canada and Alaska. They are found mostly on the ocean. They are mostly black with a white patch on the back of their necks and on their foreheads. They have large, thick, multi-colored beaks.
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| Surf Scoter |
Below are two photos of Brandt's cormorants, though in the first one there is a great blue heron on the far left. Brandt's cormorants are found all year round on the Pacific coast from southern Canada down into Mexico. They are common in groups on the ocean. They are told from other cormorants by their range and the white spot under their chins. They, like other cormorants, dive for fish and do not have water-proof feathers, so they have to dry their wings before they fly.
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| Great Blue Heron and Brandt's Cormorants |
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| Brandt's Cormorants |
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