Heermann's Gull

(236 views)
by Terry Costales

This juvenile Heermann's gull exhibits its main identifying marks clearly: black feet, red bill and dusky body. As an adult, its head will become pure white.

American White Pelican

(236 views)
by Terry Costales

There was this one lone white pelican at the nature center that day. It was probably an injured bird being nursed back to health, or it just knew a good hand-out when it saw one.

White-bellied Bustard (Eupodotis senegalensis)

(235 views)
by Terry Costales

I was quite taken with this two foot tall, chicken-turkey-like bird. It's a ground dwelling native of eastern Africa.

Long-nosed bat

(235 views)
by Terry Costales

On a tour of the Canal of Palms, this was the first animal spotted by our guide. There were three of these tiny bats on the underside of a dead branch. How the guide even saw them was a mystery because they were perfectly camouflaged. The guide identified them as long-nosed bats.

Black-Crowned Night Heron (Nycticorax nycticorax)

(233 views)
by Terry Costales

A large fledgling appears mesmerized by the camera.

Greater Scaup (Aythya marila)

(233 views)
by Terry Costales

Greater Scaups are very common in the Bay Area. This is a male.

Black Crowned Night Heron

(232 views)
by Terry Costales

It's breeding season again for the Night Herons and Snowy Egrets. Here is a Heron settling a property dispute with his Egret neighbor.

Cormorant

(230 views)
by Terry Costales

This bird is resting on an urn placed next to a reflecting pool inside the Stuttgart Zoo. It isn't caged and flew in on its own. I witnessed many herons, storks and cormorants fly into various enclosures to take advantage of the plentiful food supply.

Green Basilisk (Basiliscus plumifrons)

(230 views)
by Terry Costales

A female basilisk showed up at breakfast looking for a handout of food scraps. The kitchen staff were pleased to see it and urged us to give it food. Not a good thing for the lizard but very entertaining for guests.

Bufflehead (Bucephala albeola)

(230 views)
by Terry Costales

The male Bufflehead is a strikingly beautiful bird. There were several on the lake this summer-like day, having a good time diving to avoid the photographer.

Yellow-crowned Night Heron (Nyctanassa violacea)

(229 views)
by Terry Costales

I have seen many black-crowned night herons but this was the first yellow-crowned I'd ever seen. They reside in Costa Rica year round.

Pied-billed Grebe (Podilymbus podiceps)

(229 views)
by Terry Costales

This is a very cute little diving bird . When they come up after a dive they puff up their posterior so it looks like a big powder puff. Then right before they dive, they bring those feathers close to their body and the powder puff becomes a streamlined torpedo.

Fieldfare (Turdus pilaris)

(229 views)
by Terry Costales

The Fieldfare is about the size of an American Robin and its movements are similar. It took me quite a while to identify it as I had never heard of a Fieldfare before. According to Wikipedia the name comes from "feld-fere meaning "traveller through the fields", probably from their constantly moving, foraging habits."

Great Spotted Woodpecker

(229 views)
by Terry Costales

This pair of woodpeckers stayed in the tops of very tall trees making them very hard to photograph. This shot has been cropped about 75%. The Great Spotted is larger, with a longer bill than the Middle Spotted Woodpecker. Yes, there is a Lesser Spotted but I never saw one.

Bare-Throated Tiger Heron (Tigrisoma mexicanum)

(229 views)
by Terry Costales

We saw a lot of these solitary herons on the trip. Although it's called bare throated, you can't see that detail in this flying shot.

Keel-billed Toucan (Ramphastos sulfuratus)

(229 views)
by Terry Costales

This was the first Toucan I saw in Costa Rica. A keel-billed or Fruit Loops Toucan.

White Stork (Ciconia ciconia)

(229 views)
by Terry Costales

This photo was taken from high on the hill in the center of the zoo. It shows the storks nest in context.

White Stork (Ciconia ciconia)

(229 views)
by Terry Costales

Yesterday's posting showed storks nesting in a tree. Here is a photo showing storks nesting on top of a building that was in the Stuttgart Zoo.

Cliff Swallow (Petrochelidon pyrrhonota)

(229 views)
by Terry Costales

Earlier this year the cliff swallows were busy feeding their young under the eaves of the Lucy Evans Interpretive Center.

Anhinga (Anhinga anhinga)

(229 views)
by Terry Costales

Anhingas look a lot like cormorants. They differ in that they have straight not hooked bills, longer tails and necks, and have silver-white markings on their wings. This was a female. A male would have had a black neck.

Juvenile Yellow-Crowned Night Heron (Nyctanassa violacea)

(229 views)
by Terry Costales

This juvenile was perched directly across the canal from the adult bird I posted on this blog yesterday.

Ugly Bird

(229 views)
by Terry Costales

I don't know what kind of bird this is. Some kind of stork-like-vulture-thingy. It was in the walk-through aviary. Scary huh?

Mandarin Duck (Aix galericulata)

(229 views)
by Terry Costales

Mandarin ducks are very striking in appearance. At least the male, he looks like he's wearing a costume.

Roseate Spoonbill (Platalea ajaja, sometimes Ajaia ajaja)

(229 views)
by Terry Costales

On our boat trip to Turtle Beach Lodge we saw many Roseate Spoonbills feeding near the banks. When they feed, they move their heads rapidly back and forth in the shallow water, making them look very industrious and a bit silly.

Little Blue Heron (Egretta caerulea)

(229 views)
by Terry Costales

While canoeing to a nearby lagoon, we happened upon a flock of little blue herons taking flight. I originally thought the white one was another species but later discovered it did belong in the flock because it was a juvenile little blue heron.