First Blooms

(209 views)
by Bryan Costales

The first white blooms had formed on our strawberry plants.

Lots Of

(203 views)
by Bryan Costales

Our Giant Marsh Marigold plant grew lots of yellow blooms in our pond by the patio.

White-bellied Bustard (Eupodotis senegalensis)

(195 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.

Full Bloom

(193 views)
by Bryan Costales

Near the end of April, our white hellebore in the front yard, was in full bloom.

Heermann's Gull

(191 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.

Bald Eagle (Haliaeetus leucocephalus)

(191 views)
by Denver Welte

Bald Eagles are very numerous in Dutch Harbor, where they live year round. They are used to people and you see them perched on dumpsters and piers, looking for an easy meal. Bald comes from the Old English "pie-bald", which means partially white.

Cormorant

(189 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.

American White Pelican

(189 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.

Black Crowned Night Heron

(188 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.

Black-Crowned Night Heron (Nycticorax nycticorax)

(188 views)
by Terry Costales

A large fledgling appears mesmerized by the camera.

Canvasback female

(187 views)
by Terry Costales

Here is the mate of yesterday's male Canvasback. She is in almost the exact same pose that he, but here you can see her paler, gentler colors.

Roseate Spoonbill (Platalea ajaja, sometimes Ajaia ajaja)

(187 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.

Long-nosed bat

(187 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.

Brown Basilisk (Basiliscus vittatus)

(186 views)
by Terry Costales

Unlike yesterday's bright green plumed basilisk, this brown one has a yellow stripe. Here the male shows off his crest.

Juvenile Yellow-Crowned Night Heron (Nyctanassa violacea)

(186 views)
by Terry Costales

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

Bufflehead (Bucephala albeola)

(186 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.

White Stork (Ciconia ciconia)

(186 views)
by Terry Costales

These storks were nesting in a very tall tree inside of the Karlsruhe Zoo. I took this photo from partway up the hill in the center of the park.

Bufflehead

(186 views)
by Terry Costales

This is a photo of a female Bufflehead. She definitely has a quieter look than her handsome but flashy mate.

Neotropic Cormorant (Phalacrocorax brasilianus)

(186 views)
by Terry Costales

The light color of this bird indicates that it is a juvenile. The adult of this bird is all black. Neotropic is the only species of cormorant that resides in Costa Rica.

Western Grebe

(186 views)
by Terry Costales

There were many Western Grebes on the lake. They were more wary of people than the ducks and kept their distance.

Spectacled Caiman (Caiman crocodilus)

(186 views)
by Terry Costales

A caiman lived in the lodge marina and could almost always be seen hanging out in its far corner. We found out the marina staff were feeding it chicken scraps from the kitchen. I supppose feeding a caiman is much more exciting than feeding a stray dog or feral cat.

Grizzly (Ursus arctos)

(186 views)
by Terry Costales

This is a swimming bear in the new Grizzly Gulch exhibit at the zoo. The zoo acquired two female Montana bears that were about to be euthanized. They had become too used to humans and couldn't be released back into the wild. Their new home is a well designed habitat and hopefully all the exhibits there can be brought up to this standard.

Spectacled Caiman (Caiman crocodilus)

(186 views)
by Terry Costales

This poor Caiman probably wished he was invisible. As the boat came closer, he slowly moved from exposure on the mud bank and into the welcoming murky water.

Fieldfare (Turdus pilaris)

(186 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."

White-bellied Bustard (Eupodotis senegalensis)

(186 views)
by Terry Costales

Here is a close up of yesterdays' subject.