This page last updated on 02/17/2018
Showing posts with label Waterfowl-Fish. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Waterfowl-Fish. Show all posts
Saturday
Dusky Moorhen (Gallinula tenebrosa)
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This page last updated on 10/02/2017
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| (Fig. 01) |
Picture Notes: On 08/05 I captured this picture of a Dusky Moorhen tendering her young chick (Fig. 01) on a morning walk at the Las Vegas Clark County Wetlands Preserve. This location is only a few miles from my house on the east side of the Las Vegas valley and runs from the various water treatment plants near the natural beginning of the Las Vegas Wash to where the wash flows under Lake Las Vegas and later into Lake Mead. The park includes 2,900 acres of water, trails, and trees along the Las Vegas Wash. The actual 210 acre Nature Preserve has three to four ponds surrounded by two miles of concrete and graveled secondary walking trails.
Description: The Dusky Moorhen (Gallinula tenebrosa) is a member of the rail family (Rallidae). The word gallinule is sometimes used for any member of the rail family but is usually these days reserved for birds that look like moorhens (such as coots, native hens and swamphens). Like many of its other relatives the dusky moorhen has a short, dagger-like beak, long toes, a face shield and a highly animated tail. Gallinules are fascinating to watch because of their rather engaging behaviour. They live in close-knit families or pairs, and enjoy the company of others of their own kind, unless they threaten their families or food; then they get nasty.
Dusky moorhens are blackish in appearance: their wings with a brownish tinge and their breasts with a greyish tinge. They have a yellow-tipped red beak with a small shield above the beak, protecting the face. This shield is more probably used for communication, mate attraction and acts as a cue for feeding young than any real protection. Its eyes are dark (black-looking). The legs are multicolored: red above the greyish knee and greenish grey below, except when breeding, in which case the lower legs are bright red (as can be seen in the parent birds in the photo). It has long webless toes for manipulating and clambering amongst cumbungi, reeds and other water plants. Younger birds have a dull greyish or reddish bill and are browner (or less black) than the adults. Chicks are black and fluffy and have a red head and beak at first, but lose the red head feathers in a few days.The chicks can swim soon after hatching and follow their devoted parents around until fully fledged.
Their habitat requirements are reeds, rushes, cumbungi or other thick vegetation lining rivers or ponds, which don’t have to be particularly large. They are vegetarians, mainly eating water plants, but will also graze on land near water. Moorhens tolerate the presence of other birds and can be quite gregarious. Dusky moorhens are the third most common wetland bird after grey teal and Eurasian coots.
Wednesday
American Avocet (Recurviostra emericana)
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This page last updated on 03/08/2017
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| (Fig. 01) |
Picture Notes: These pictures were taken on 03/16/2017 at the Henderson Bird Preserve. There was a flock with more than a half dozen feeding in one of the preserve's shallow ponds (Fig. 01).
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| (Fig. 02) |
In summer it can be found in temporary and unpredictable wetlands across western North America where it swings its long upturned bill through the shallow water to catch small invertebrates. Around lake shores and tidal flats, especially in the wide-open spaces, flocks of elegant American Avocets wade in the shallows (Figs. 03 & 04). They often feed while leaning forward, with the tips of their bills in the water and slightly open, filtering tiny food items from just below the surface. Sometimes a flock will feed this way in unison, walking forward, swinging their heads rhythmically from side to side.
American avocets form breeding colonies numbering dozens of pairs. When breeding is over the birds gather in large flocks, sometimes including hundreds of birds. Nesting occurs near water, usually on small islands or boggy shorelines where access by predators is difficult. The female lays four eggs in a saucer-shaped nest, and both sexes take turns incubating them. Upon hatching, the chicks feed themselves; they are never fed by their parents. This species is migratory, and mostly winters on the southern Atlantic and Pacific coasts of Mexico and the United States.
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| (Fig. 03) |
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| (Fig. 04) |
Sunday
American Coot (Fulica americana)
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This page last updated on 02/17/2018
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| (Fig. 01) |
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| (Fig. 02) |
Description: The American Coot is also known as a mud hen and is a bird of the family Rallidae. Though commonly mistaken to be ducks, American coots belong to a distinct order. It is a medium-sized, chicken-like swimming bird, dark gray to black overall, short, white bill and undertail coverts. Upper edge of frontal shield is red, but usually only visible at close range. Unlike the webbed feet of ducks, coots have broad, lobed scales on their lower legs and toes that fold back with each step in order to facilitate walking on dry land. IIt has swift direct flight with rapid wing beats, feet protrude past tail. In taking flight they must patter across the water, flapping their wings furiously, before becoming airborne. Coots are tough, adaptable waterbirds and live near water, typically inhabiting wetlands and open water bodies.They swim in the open like ducks and walk about on shore, making themselves at home on grassy areas and city park ponds. Usually in flocks, they are aggressive and noisy, making a wide variety of calls by day or night. They have strong legs and big feet with lobed toes, and coots fighting over territorial boundaries will rear up and attack each other with their feet. Often seen walking on open ground near ponds. The American coot is a migratory bird that occupies most of North America. It lives in the Pacific and southwestern United States and Mexico year-round and occupies more northeastern regions during the summer breeding season. In the winter they can be found as far south as Panama. Coots generally build floating nests and lay 8–12 eggs per clutch. American coots eat primarily algae and other aquatic plants but also animals (both vertebrates and invertebrates) when available.
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| (Fig. 03) |
Return to ... Floyd Lamb Park.
Greylag goose (Anser anser)
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This page last updated on 02/18/2018
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| (Fig. 01) |
Greylag Goose Description: The Greylag Goose (Figs. 01 &02) is the largest and bulkiest of the grey Anser geese. It has a rotund, bulky body, a thick and long neck, and a large head and bill. It has pink legs and feet, and an orange bill. It is 30 to 35 inches long with a wing length of 16 to 19 inches. It has a tail 2.4 to 2.7 inches, a bill 2.5 to 2.7 inches long, and a tarsus that measures 2.8 to 3.7 inches. It weighs between 103 to 127 oz. Males are generally larger than females, more so in the eastern subspecies rubirostris. The plumage of the Greylag Goose is greyish-brown, with a darker head and paler belly with variable black spots. Its plumage is patterned by the pale fringes of its feathers. It has a white line bordering its upper flanks. Its coverts are lightly colored, contrasting with its darker flight feathers. Juveniles differ mostly in their lack of a black-speckled belly. Picture in (Fig. 02) is a White Greylag Goose.
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| (Fig. 02) |
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| (Fig. 03) |
Snow Goose (Anser caerulescens)
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This page last updated on 02/18/2018
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| (Fig. 01) |
Picture Notes: On 02/06/2011 I made a follow-up visit to Floyd Lamb Park as I felt my stop there last week with the senior group was much too short. In a little over an hour I snapped 375 pictures. About half were of the peacocks, and the other half were of water fowl, mallards, snow geese, Canada geese, etc. After nearly two hours of reviewing when I got home, I whittled this number down to around 150 and I’m still having a hard time reducing this number down to just a few really good ones. Of the more than 150 pictures that I ended up with, I think these shots of the Snow Geese were among my favorites. It was shot on the shore of Tule Springs Lake, the largest of the four lakes at Floyd Lamb Park.
Snow Goose Description: The Snow Goose (Figs. 01 & 02), also known as the Blue Goose, is a North American species of goose. Its name derives from the typically white plumage. This goose breeds north of the timberline in Greenland, Canada, Alaska, and the northeastern tip of Siberia, and winters in warm parts of North America from southwestern British Columbia through parts of the United States to Mexico. Outside of the nesting season, they usually feed in flocks. In winter, snow geese feed on left-over grain in fields. They migrate in large flocks, often visiting traditional stopover habitats in spectacular numbers. Snow geese often travel and feed alongside white-fronted geese; in contrast, the two tend to avoid travelling and feeding alongside Canada grey geese, who are often heavier birds.
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| (Fig. 02) |
Hooded Merganser (Lophodytes cucullatus)
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| Area Description: I captured these pictures while hiking up the Riverwalk Exploration Trail that runs along the Colorado River that runs downstream from the Davis Dam inside the Colorado River Heritage Greenway Park. Two females (upper left) and two males (bottom) can be seen in (Fig. 02) | ||
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| Description: The Hooded Merganser (Lophodytes cucullatus) is a small duck and is the only member of the genus Lophodytes. Hooded Mergansers are the second smallest species of merganser and is also the only Merganser whose native habitat is restricted to North America. Hooded Mergansers have a crest at the back of the head which can be expanded or contracted. In the male Mergansers, the crest is a large white patch, the head is black and the sides of the duck are a reddish-brown. Adult females have a reddish crest, with much of the rest of the head and body a greyish-brown. The Hooded Merganser has a long sawbill but is not classified as a typical merganser. Their preferred habitat is in swamps and wooded ponds of the northern half of the United States and southern Canada. They prefer to nest in tree cavities near water, but will use Wood Duck nesting boxes if available and unoccupied. They form pairs in early winter. The male leaves the female soon after she lays her eggs, leaving her responsible for all incubation. After hatching, chicks leave the nest with their mother within 24 hours; they are already able to dive and feed themselves, although they remain with their mother for another five weeks. These ducks feed by diving and swimming under water to collect small fish, crustaceans and aquatic insects. They find their prey underwater by sight. | ||
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Saturday
Japanese Koi
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Outside the Colorado Belle Casino in Laughlin, built to represent an old Mississippi river boat, is a shallow moat that runs along the full length of the boat from bow to stern. It is filled with literally hundreds of Japanese Koi. After several attempts, I was finally able to capture a shot that didn’t have a reflection on the water’s surface. Be sure to click the photo on the left to view it full size |  |
Wednesday
The Black-necked Swan (Cygnus melancoryphus)
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| I photographed this beautiful Black-necked Swan on 03/09/2011 inside the Wildlife Habitat area while staying at the Flamingo Hotel and Casino on the Las Vegas Strip. Because the water is so clear and the reflection of the swan overshadows the rocks in the water, it appears that this one is actually ‘walking-on-water’. | ||||
| Area Description: Amid the neon lights, slot machines and the hustle and bustle of the Strip less than 300 feet away, the Flamingo offers an oasis that will make you feel like you have been transported to a tropical island. Full of photo opportunities, the Wildlife Habitat is filled with lush foliage imported from around the world including many varieties of pines, palms and magnolia. As you stroll its winding walkways alongside streams and waterfalls, or on bridges over lagoons and ponds, you get to view more than 300 birds, including Impeyn and silver pheasants, Gambel's quail, a Crown crane, two ibis, various swans, ducks and parrots, Chilean flamingos, African penguins, turtles, Japanese koi, albino channel catfish, plus grackle birds, house sparrows, mallard ducks and hummingbirds in the menagerie. | ||||
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Monday
Japanese Koi at The Wildlife Habitat at the Flamingo Casino, LV
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| I took these pictures on 03/08/2011 within the outside Wildlife Habitat located at the Flamingo Hotel and Casino on the Las Vegas Strip. There must be at least 30-40 of these beautiful fish throughout the habitat ponds and waterways. | ||
| Description: Koi are ornamental versions of the common carp species. They originated in China and then spread to Japan and have been cultivated mainly there ever since. The word “koi” is Japanese for carp, and the word “nishikigoi” means ornamental carp. It was in the nineteenth century in the Niigata prefecture of Japan that koi breeding emerged. According to history and legend, the farmers of that prefecture noticed colourful carp varieties in their rivers, that they were more easily snapped up by the birds because of their attractive colors, and began breeding them. Over time, a classification system developed according to their color variations and qualities, and now, there is an accepted categorization by which koi varieties are known by. There are approximately 30 different varieties of koi. Depending on the quality of their colors, rarity, patterning and sheen, the price of koi vary from a few dollars, to thousands of dollars each. Apart from their beauty and sturdiness as fish, koi has become legendary because of the fact that they can grow to very large sizes, and are limited relatively by the size of the pond that they reside in. They are also renowned for their ability to live very long years. There’s a story about some koi found in a pond in the mountains of Mino Province of Japan, where upon some scale samples of the fish were examined by Prof. Masayoshi Hiro in the 1960s and it was concluded that, to his surprise, that the koi was estimated to be 215 years old. I suppose we’ll never be sure of how accurate this is, as it was based on light microscope studies at the time. | ||
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Sunday
The Black Swan (Cygnus atratus)
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| I photographed this beautiful Black Swan on 03/09/2011 inside the Wildlife Habitat area while staying at the Flamingo Hotel and Casino on the Las Vegas Strip. Amid the neon lights, slot machines and the hustle and bustle of the Strip less than 300 feet away, the Flamingo offers an oasis that will make you feel like you have been transported to a tropical island. Full of photo opportunities, the habitat is filled with lush foliage imported from around the world including many varieties of pines, palms and magnolia. As you stroll its winding walkways alongside streams and waterfalls, or on bridges over lagoons and ponds, you get to view more than 300 birds, including Impeyn and silver pheasants, Gambel's quail, a Crown crane, two ibis, various swans, ducks and parrots, Chilean flamingos, African penguins, turtles, Japanese koi, albino channel catfish, plus grackle birds, house sparrows, mallard ducks and hummingbirds in the menagerie. | ||
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The Mandarin Duck (Aix galericulata)
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| I photographed these Mandrin Ducks on 03/09/2011 inside the Wildlife Habitat area while staying at the Flamingo Hotel and Casino on the Las Vegas Strip. These are without a doubt, the most gorgeous ducks I have ever seen. In China it is often customary to give a pair of Mandarin Ducks, such as those above, as a wedding present. | ||
| Area Description: Amid the neon lights, slot machines and the hustle and bustle of the Strip less than 300 feet away, the Flamingo offers an oasis that will make you feel like you have been transported to a tropical island. Full of photo opportunities, the habitat is filled with lush foliage imported from around the world including many varieties of pines, palms and magnolia. As you stroll its winding walkways alongside streams and waterfalls, or on bridges over lagoons and ponds, you get to view more than 300 birds, including Impeyn and silver pheasants, Gambel's quail, a Crown crane, two ibis, various swans, ducks and parrots, Chilean flamingos, African penguins, turtles, Japanese koi, albino channel catfish, plus grackle birds, house sparrows, mallard ducks and hummingbirds in the menagerie. | ||
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A Redhead Drake
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| I Took this picture of a Redhead at the Lake Mead Marina on 02/10/2011. Though I have seen them before, I never knew what they were called until I looked it up on the Internet. Description: Redheads are slightly smaller than mallards and darker than canvasbacks. Known for its dramatic flight maneuvers, redheads sometimes drop from impressive heights at tremendous speed. The adult male, or Drake, has a blue bill, a red head and neck, a black breast, yellow or orange eyes and a grey back. The adult female has a brown head and body and a darker bluish bill with a black tip. Hens look similar to Scaup hens and have a white ringed bill. The hens are relatively late nesters and often lay their eggs in the nests of other ducks. The breeding habitat is marshes and prairie potholes in western North America. Loss of nesting habitat has led to sharply declining populations. Females regularly lay eggs in the nests of other Redheads or other ducks, especially Canvasbacks. Redheads usually take new mates each year, starting to pair in late winter. Following the breeding season, males go through a molt which leaves them flightless for almost a month. Before this happens, they leave their mates and move to large bodies of water, usually flying further north. They overwinter in the southern and north-eastern United State, the Great Lakes region, northern Mexico and the Caribbean. | ||
Carp at Lake Mead Marina
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| Carp are the swarming, splashing beggars of Hemenway Harbor. On any visit to the Lake Mead Marina and Las Vegas Boat Harbor you can be witness to literally hundreds of these popcorn-gobbling carp as they hug the docks, begging for scraps. I snapped this picture alongside one of the docks on a visit to the marina on 02/10/2011. These rather ugly looking fish will eat just about anything thrown at them and even though they are a popular tourist staple, and make money for the marina, they don't do much else for Lake Mead. Check out this related picture which show a mallard surrounded by carp ... Blue Headed Mallard Drake | ||
| Background: Though they generally average 3-6 lbs., they can grow to be more than two feet long and thirty plus lbs. The state Fish Commission introduced the species in the 1880s for sport-fishing and eating, but tastes have changed and people just don't fish for them anymore. These overgrown gray goldfish have multiplied to such an abundance, that they now make up a large part of the lake's ecosystem. The fish aren't just concentrated near the shore, but heavily dispersed in the lake. They get too big too fast, so stripers and bass can't eat them. Eighteen-inch carp aren't unusual. Also, they stir up sediment, clouding the water. They feed on vegetation at the bottom of the lake and destructively tear up vegetation in the water that acts as cover for other fish. Even though they're a prevalent force, they have little positive effect on the area. |
Blue-headed Mallard Drake Duck
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| I took this picture at the Lake Mead Marina on 02/10/2011. I always thought that all Mallard drakes had green heads, but regardless of the angle, this one had a blue head. The thing that really amazed me however, was how he just sat there, seemingly totally unbothered by the dozens of carp and stripped bass that were swimming directly below him. If anyone knows more about "blue-headed" mallards, email me at kccandcj@yahoo.com. | ||
| Description: The Mallard, or Wild duck, is a dabbling duck which breeds throughout the temperate and sub-tropical areas of the US and other regions around the world. The male birds have a bright green head, while the female's is light brown. They generally live in wetlands, eat water plants, and are gregarious by nature. It is also migratory. The Mallard is the ancestor of all domestic ducks, and can interbreed with other species of genus This interbreeding is causing some rarer species of ducks to become genetically diluted. The Mallard is 22–26 inches long, has a wingspan of 32–39 inches, and weighs 32–42 oz. The breeding male,or drake, is unmistakable, with its iconic bright green head that sits atop a white neckband that sets off a chestnut-colored chest and white-gray body. It has a yellowish orange bill tipped with black (as opposed to the dark brown bill in females), The female Mallard is a light mottled drab brown in color, but sports iridescent purple-blue wing feathers that are visible as a patch on their sides. Mated pairs migrate to and breed in the northern parts of their range and build nests on the ground or in a protected cavity. They normally lay about a dozen eggs, and the incubation period lasts just under a month. Mallards are territorial during much of this period, but once incubation is well underway, males abandon the nest and join a flock of other males |
Tuesday
Waterfowl of Floyd Lamb Park
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| On 02/06/2011 I made a follow-up visit to Floyd Lamb Park as I felt my stop there last week with the senior group was much too short. In a little over an hour I snapped 375 pictures. About half were of the peacocks, and the other half were of water fowl, mallards, snow geese, Canada geese, etc. After nearly two hours of reviewing when I got home, I whittled this number down to around 150 and I’m still having a hard time reducing this number down to just a few really good ones. Of the more than 150 pictures that I ended up with, I think these shots of the Snow Geese and Greylag goose are my favorites. It was shot on the shore of Tule Springs Lake, the largest of the four lakes at Floyd Lamb Park. Most of the pictures in the first grouping were shot around Tule Springs Lake, the largest of the four lakes. The majority of the second grouping were shot at Mulberry Lake, the second largest lake. Click here to view a slide show of my favorites and email me if you find a favorite that should be singled out for special attention ... Waterfowl of Floyd Lamb Park. | ||
| Description: The Snow Goose, also known as the Blue Goose, is a North American species of goose. Its name derives from the typically white plumage. This goose breeds north of the timberline in Greenland, Canada, Alaska, and the northeastern tip of Siberia, and winters in warm parts of North America from southwestern British Columbia through parts of the United States to Mexico. Outside of the nesting season, they usually feed in flocks. In winter, snow geese feed on left-over grain in fields. They migrate in large flocks, often visiting traditional stopover habitats in spectacular numbers. Snow geese often travel and feed alongside white-fronted geese; in contrast, the two tend to avoid travelling and feeding alongside Canada grey geese, who are often heavier birds. | ||
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| Description: The Greylag Goose is the largest and bulkiest of the grey Anser geese. It has a rotund, bulky body, a thick and long neck, and a large head and bill. It has pink legs and feet, and an orange bill. It is 30 to 35 inches long with a wing length of 16 to 19 inches. It has a tail 2.4 to 2.7 inches, a bill 2.5 to 2.7 inches long, and a tarsus that measures 2.8 to 3.7 inches. It weighs between 103 to 127 oz. Males are generally larger than females, more so in the eastern subspecies rubirostris. The plumage of the Greylag Goose is greyish-brown, with a darker head and paler belly with variable black spots. Its plumage is patterned by the pale fringes of its feathers. It has a white line bordering its upper flanks. Its coverts are lightly colored, contrasting with its darker flight feathers. Juveniles differ mostly in their lack of a black-speckled belly. | ||
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Golf Anyone?
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| "I found it! Tell him it's over here. |
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