April 21, 2005

OK, lately the big birds in the rookery have been getting a lot of our attention, but the other birds are keeping busy too. A Pelagic Cormorant shows how many colors this "black" bird really has going on.


Here's an Acorn Woodpecker on a picturesque snag....

...and here we have a Downy Woodpecker at work on a utility pole.

A couple of Canada Geese get bent out of shape on the footbridge levee of the South Marsh Loop Trail.

OK, I cheated a bit here – this Marsh Wren is not actually in the slough watershed; it's singing in the next wetland over, the Watsonville slough system. This species is known to sing more than two hundred different songs.

There are three Black-crowned Night Herons hanging out at Cattail Swale these days.

White Pelicans are patrolling the North Marsh.

Well, we can't ignore the rookery birds entirely. At this time of year, the North Marsh is frequently the site of a phenomenon we call "megabirds."

And just for fun, this supersonic pose from a GBH. There's a LOT going around here.