The Other Heron

At the Morro Bay Winter Bird Festival in January many of the participants had the desire to see particular birds to round out their life lists. These can be birds that are often present in San Luis Obispo County but are rarely found.

Of the large wading birds, great blue herons, great egrets, snowy egrets, and black crowned night herons are easily spotted in the waters of Morro Bay and in fields and ponds inland. But try and find a Least Bittern or a tricolored heron and you have taken on a difficult, if not, impossible task.

There is another heron that lives here and should be able to be seen year round. So why is it we don't see more of the green heron?

The green heron, sometimes referred to as the little green heron or the green-backed heron is a solitary bird. It is the runt of the heron family at approximately 16 to 18 inches long and has the tendency to hunch up its neck making it appear even shorter. Adult birds have a glossy dark green crown, gray-green back, chestnut colored neck, white chin, and orange-yellow legs.

Green herons are one of the few birds that use tools. It stands stock still over water and drops bait onto the surface. When fish rise to the bait, it strikes. The bird uses a variety of lures including insects, worms, twigs, and feathers.

Herons in general are masters of stoicism, standing motionless like statues, neck stretched out and bills pointed downward, waiting to strike their prey, which they do with lightening speed.

When disturbed the green heron will erect its short crest, lengthen its neck, and flick its tail. People don't notice them until they do these motions or they see the bird fly off unexpectedly. Often the only way these small herons are noticed at all is by the movement of their eyes as they search the waters. Green herons in particular can meld into their backgrounds and appear like logs thanks to their distinctive coloring.

Green herons breed along creeks and streams, in marshy and swampy locations, and on the edges of lakes. The nest is placed somewhere above ground, often in a tree, and is a platform of sticks. The female lays three to six pale blue to greenish eggs that hatch in 21 to 25 days. Both parents incubate the eggs. Juvenile birds resemble bitterns with streaky brown colorations.

When breeding season ends green herons like other herons wander far and wide seeking favorable foraging locations. You might spot green herons at Laguna Lake, Lopez Lake, Atascadero, Nacimiento and San Antonio lakes, and in the estuary area of Morro Bay. Keep an eye out for them. They are a treat to see and you can add them to your life list.









Photo of Green Heron at The Living Desert, Palm Desert, California
Sometimes birds in captivity suffer from diseases and deformities that they might not get if they were still in the wild. This bird has a deformed bill and while it can still feed, it cannot be released into the wild. It is uncertain whether the bird developed this problem before being brought to the Living Desert wildlife organization.

Rare Birds Rarely Seen

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The very nature of the Central Coast of California gives us the ability to see a variety of water birds. Whether one lives at the shore or inland, chances are they have seen some kind of wading bird in your territory. The most commonly recognized ones are herons and egrets, but lately there have been sightings of birds that are not regularly seen here. One of those is the white-faced ibis.

Residents of the central valley may be more familiar with this sickle-billed bird if they have visited the wetland refuges located there, but this is an unusual visitor to our coastal area.

There are three kinds of ibis in North America, the white ibis that inhabits the southeast section of the country, the glossy ibis, also an eastern coast species, and the white-faced ibis seen primarily in the west.

Worldwide there are numerous ibis and there are interesting facts about them. The scared ibis was venerated in ancient Egypt and many mummified bodies of these birds have been found by archeologists. In Florida, during hurricane season, ibis are the last species to seek cover and the first to reappear afterward.

White-faced ibis are the size of a small goose and have dark purplish to purplish green glossy feathers with a green or bronze sheen on the wings. Their legs are a reddish maroon color as well as the face, which has a border of white feathers during breeding season. White-faced ibis also have red eyes.

At first glance these birds look almost identical to their cousins, the glossy ibis, however, glossies have brown eyes and slaty face skin with a pale blue border. In the Gulf Coast area the species do overlap.

White-faced ibis feed in freshwater and saltwater marshes, lakes, tidal mudflats, and irrigated fields using their long curved bill to probe in the mud for crustaceans, worms and burrowing insects. They feed in irregular groups and gather into long straggling lines in flight with their legs extended beyond their bodies.

During the 1960s and 70s breeding of white-faced ibis took a plunge due to both habitat loss and chemical pesticides. Similar to the plight of brown pelicans, ibis eggs became very thin from DDT and were easily crushed during nesting. While DDT was banned here in 1972, it is still used in other countries where the birds winter so it still presents a problem.

White-faced ibis are migratory birds and range from the western states in North America to Mexico and South America. In recent years small groups of these birds have shown up on the Central Coast sometimes stopping at the estuary in Morro Bay, or showing up at Laguna Lake in San Luis Obispo.

In May a flock of approximately 30 birds flew north over the ocean near Piedras Blancas Lighthouse and settled down to feed in a small wet marshy area just north of there along with a herd of cows. It was a first for that location. Sightings like these bring hope that the birds are recovering and increasing in numbers.

There is an opportunity to see rare birds like white-faced ibis at the Morro Bay Winter Bird Festival held every year over the Martin Luther King Junior weekend in January.

A George By Any Other Name

Well, what do you know George Washington got a new home! You remember George, the kitten that showed up on my doorstep a few weeks ago, starving and meowing.

George had taken up with Thomas Jefferson across the street. Who knows what Thomas had in mind, but recent developments have us all wondering. When Thomas' family decided they could provide a home for little George, he had name change to James Madison with the intent to call him Madison. We all also knew a vet visit was in the offing since George was full of fleas and had a big bare spot of worn off fur on his rump. So the very next day off he went for his examination. Aha! The vet took one look and said, "A better name for George Washington would be Martha!"

Now we have to wonder what exactly was Thomas Jefferson interested in when he befriended little George, er, uh, Martha?

George now has not only a new home, but a new collar, and a new name (they stuck with Madison). She gets a nice extra bowl of food at my house every now and then and is pretty cocky about displacing Thomas if he comes trotting up to the food bowl. Thomas' nose is out of joint now that she lives inside his house, but we're hoping he'll get over that. Just to make him feel better I sneak a bowl to him too.

As to the name change, she really ought to be called Dolly, but I'll always think of her as George.

Why Can't Kitties Live Forever?

He flopped around on the rug, suddenly howling and screaming and hissing. He bared his fangs and his tail puffed up three times its size. He seemed to be looking at something that apparently raised his hackles and had him fighting one of his greatest cat fights. What was it? A spectre of doom? A spirit he did not recognize? A glimpse at the end of the tunnel? With one great scream and hiss he gave over and this last of the best cat fights of his life was over. So ended the nine lives of "Caramel" better known as Mel-Guy, the kitty-boy of Anchor Street in Morro Bay, California.

Mel-Guy was well known on the Central Coast having achieved fame in a front page newspaper photo with me during my struggle with breast cancer in 2007 and 2008. He was a loyal and staunch companion, bonded only to me and no one else. While the story of his first few years remains unknown, it was always apparent that his beginnings had not been ideal and throughout his life he trusted no one except me and I had to win that trust.

It's not easy getting a neurotic cat to attain some semblance of normality and it took about three years of diligent reinforcement to get Mel-Guy to realize that, I at least, was not going to harm or abandon him.

I worried during my cancer spell that I might die and was not upset that my life might end, but was terribly concerned as to what would happen to Mel-Guy. I had friends who offered to take him should such a thing occur, but in my heart and soul I knew that this would never suffice for him. I never asked God to spare me for myself, but to please do so because I had to take care of Mel-Guy. Still it never occurred to me that he might up and die before me.

With animals it's always hard to know when they are sick. They mask it so well that often the bad signs only show up towards the very end. This was certainly the story with Mel-Guy. He showed discomfort and was ill for only two days prior to passing and even after I brought him to the vet that morning, it was not at all evident that within ten minutes of returning home he would be dead. Nothing in my experience prepared me for the kind of death he had. I'd put a previous cat to sleep and found the experience, while sad, enormously peaceful and certainly nothing like what I witnessed with Mel-Guy.

But I got to thinking about his life with me. Mel-Guy was a fighter. If a cat fight was going to happen in his territory you can bet that it was one that he instigated. In all other respects, he was a gentle, loving animal, if somewhat of a scaredy cat. He had his kitty friends, Duke-Boy, Satchmo, Pippy, and Molly-Molly, but let Max or Buddy or some wandering stray trot through the front yard and boy, it was time to rumble.

So it has not been a shock to find out that a cat fight was what did finally bring Mel-Guy to his last day. The fight occurred in late October and it was bad. The wound on the top of his head, which he wouldn't let me touch for days, became infected. I drained it and drained it and then hauled him off to the vet for antibiotics. The treatment appeared to help for a while but within a month the infection came back. So another vet visit and more antibiotics. Another month went by and shortly after the Christmas holidays, the infection was back again. So back to the vet we go and this time the vet operates and finds a portion of a tooth stuck deeply in his skull.

I hoped that would be the end of it and end is what it was. We now think that Mel-Guy succumbed to blood poisoning from that cat bite. To be sure I would have had to pay about $150 in blood tests. I opted out. The vet however really wanted to know what might have happened and asked me if he could do a limited autopsy, no charge. That revealed not only involvement of his liver, but pretty nasty cancer in his small intestine. The cancer would have killed him eventually too. We think he had that cancer all the while that I had mine. I wish I had known, I would have hooked him up to my chemo!

There's a new kitty at my house now. Gordo came to Woods on February 27th, the same day Mel-Guy died. When I heard that I knew he was the cat to go home with me. He's nine years old, a senior cat. His canine teeth hang down over his lower lip which is black in color. He looks like a little vampire, but is really a love.

Gordo will not be enjoying the thrills of the "wild." He is an indoor cat. I know most cats like to roam around outdoors, but never again will I have an animal die just because I allowed him to experience the "wild." I thought I might find a way to fence off my small front porch for him, but in the last few weeks I've been adopted by a tiny stray kitten who now eats out there. Afterward he goes across the street to hide out under something in the yard where the cat Thomas Jefferson lives. I've named the kitten George Washington and I'm hoping to find a home for him where he could STAY INDOORS because kitties should live forever!








This is George. He now accepts sleeping in a bed I made for him on the porch. We tried having him in the house last night in his little bed in the back room with the door closed and he did well until 6 AM when he knocked a lamp onto the floor. Then he met Gordo and freaked out when he saw that BIG kitty. After jumping on the stove and raking his claws into my loveseat, I put him back outside. George needs a home so if you know anyone who would take him, please let me know. I estimate that he is about 8 or 9 months old. Very sweet but needs to be trained. My e-mail is candidcow@charter.net.

And Mel-Guy says his last farewell to life on this planet in this realm in his own special fashion!

Rare Alaskan Visitor

Two vagrant sub-adult parakeet auklets seen off the coast of Central Coast January 17, 2009. Photography by Brad Schram, copyright 2009, all rights reserved - used by permission.

Some folks attending the Morro Bay Winter Bird Festival this year were treated to a possible once in a lifetime view of a bird that is not often seen on the California Coast.

The pelagic field trip ventures out into the open ocean to find albatross, shearwaters, alcids, kittiwakes, jaegers, and sometimes a gray whale. This year the group was searching the waves when someone shouted out "auklet." Expecting probably one of the two auklets that visit the waters off the Central Coast, namely Rhinoceros auklet or Cassin's auklet, the guides were amazed to see that the bird in question was a parakeet auklet and not only was there one, but two. Cameras came out swiftly and thanks to the talent and skill of leader, Brad Schram, we have some great shots of these very rare visitors from Alaska.

Most people want to know about this bird's name. Why is it called parakeet? It doesn't look like a parakeet, does it? The beak is apparently the clue. It is orange-red and slightly upturned and those special people that give scientific names to birds thought it resembled a small parrot's bill. Thus they dubbed it Aethia psittacula, from the Latin, psittacus, meaning, little parrot. Now I've looked at parrots large and small and studied parakeets, known as budgies, and I sure can't see any similarity in their beaks to this little auklet's, but what does it matter. It's great bird!

Parakeet auklets live in Alaska most of the year extending over to the coasts of Siberia. They are small birds with a somewhat long neck and are black above with white below. During breeding season they sport a thin white plume from their eyes to behind the head.

Auklets are sea birds, feeding out on the open ocean. Parakeet auklets nest in small colonies in crevices high up on the rocky cliffs from June to August in Alaska and Siberia. They winter from the Bering Sea to Japan, and sometimes reach the shores of Central California. Local Audubon members who have lived here a long time tell me the last time parakeet auklets were definitely sighted off our coast was back in 1955, so this year's finding is really special.

Since the festival's pelagic trip in January two other ocean ventures have been held and the birds were seen again. Who knows how long they will stay in our area, but for the folks on these seagoing birding trips it has been a real treat and for many,a sighting of a life bird for their birding lists.

Maybe next year's pelagic trip will serve up even better rarities, so be sure to sign up for the 2010 Morro Bay Winter Bird Festival to be held January 15 through the 18th.

Parakeet auklets
(c) 2009 Brad Schram

The Amazing Aquarium

The Monterey Bay Aquarium never ceases to amaze me. As a member, I can go any time but admit I don't get there often enough. But each time I do I am awed by what this conservation organization is doing.

One of the things that draws me to visit the aquarium is its aviary. Yes, I go there to look at birds. Depending on the time of year, I can view, up close and personally, shorebirds and other waterfowl in a variety of plumages. Many of the birds at Monterey are the same species that visit Morro Bay during fall and winter months when they are in drab or duller plumages. The seasonal turn takes them off on migration with no chance for a view of their true colors. At the aquarium, in spring, these same birds exhibit their dazzling nesting feathers. Black-bellied plovers, that are shades of gray in winter, show their distinctive black-feathered breasts. Wintering gray and white avocets acquire brilliant rust color heads and necks.

At the aviary you enter through the swinging doors and come into the sandy shoreline exhibit with a wetland pond on one side and a wavy shoreline on the other. The newest addition to the aviary is a deeper pond located to the right beyond the entrance and here waterfowl such as buffleheads paddle around and pop underwater to forage. The aviary is a wonderful place for photographers to take shots of these birds. The challenge is to do this without getting the disturbing background of the aquarium windows in the photos.

Obviously a visit to this special place is to see, learn, and appreciate the diversity and abundance of our planet's water worlds, both ocean and fresh water.

Because the aquarium is located on the Central Coast of California it takes advantage of the proximity to this section of the sea and its natural flora and fauna. Its first exhibit, the kelp forest, is still one of the most popular and it is a mesmerizing experience to sit and watch the flowing fronds of kelp and the circling fish. Giant kelp is indigenous to the ocean off the Central Coast and it supports a vast array of marine life.

Sea otters are one of the species that benefit from kelp using it to wrap up in and sleep. The aquarium has been instrumental in the rehabilitation of sea otters and performs ongoing research of this species. They are the only facility doing this. The sea otter exhibit houses five sea otters brought to the aquarium for rehabilitation and it is one of the most popular exhibits. Crowds linger at the windows watching the comical antics of these cute little creatures. While the exhibit's five otters cannot be returned to the wild, the aquarium regularly rehabilitates otters and returns them to the sea.

There are new otters at the aquarium now, but they don't come from the sea. River otters are cousins to the sea otter and are found in many places in the world. Now Monterey Bay Aquarium is showing Asian and African river otters in a new exhibit section. If you thought watching the sea otters was infectious you'll find it almost impossible to stop watching these energetic guys. River otters are fresh water creatures and the exhibits reflect their environment. The staff places large chunks of ice in their habitats from which the otters chew off pieces, knock them into the water, and bat them around. They spend hours zipping around doing this.

The huge outer bay exhibit is like an enormous living IMAX screening. Square-headed dolphin fish, large chunky tuna, and slinky tiger sharks swim around with huge schools of sardines and more in this exhibit. Be patient, sit and wait and you will be rewarded with a showing of one of the oddest looking fish in the sea, the sunfish. With its fins placed on top and bottom of its large rounded body it appears as an alien even in this strange deep water world.

The best exhibits for me are still the jellies. Beautiful translucent creatures with long flowing tentacles drift in sapphire blue waters. It is so calming to observe them. Moon jellies are some of the largest while others are so tiny they are exhibited in special enclosures that magnify them.

I look forward to the upcoming exhibit of many of the world's seahorses that will open in April and I hope everyone who can, will at some time visit the Monterey Bay Aquarium.


American Avocet - Recurvirostra americana -- in breeding plumage






Buffleheads, male and female - Bucephala albeola







Moon Jellies

















River Otter - Asian

A Christmas Bird

How many Christmas cards have you received showing bright red cardinals standing out against a snowy background or black-capped chickadees perched on a snow covered pine branch? It seems these two species of birds have cornered the market as the epitome of Christmas birds. But we don't have cardinals and black-capped chickadees on the Central Coast. So what bird can qualify to take prominence on our Christmas cards? I nominate the white-breasted nuthatch.

All nuthatches have something in common with spiders and flies – they can walk upside down and they are popularly known as the "upside-down" bird.

On the Central Coast more than one kind of nuthatch resides. Along with the white-breasted is the red-breasted and pygmy nuthatch. Each of them can be found in wooded areas where oaks and conifers grow. Parks and urban woodlands are also good places to look for them.

Of the three only the white-breasted is a true year-round resident. The red-breasted are often abundant in winter months but can be totally absent in some years. Pygmy nuthatches, as indicated by their name, the smallest of the three, are common only in the Cambria woodlands and are rare anywhere else in the county.

So how do these birds defy gravity on the trunks and branches of the trees? They have strong toes and use their claws to grip the bark and venture up and down tree trunks and large limbs, often even hanging upside down on the underside of a branch. Birds such as woodpeckers use their tails to help balance and prop them up on the sides of trees but the nuthatch has a short tail which doesn't come into play in their foraging techniques.

The white-breasted and other nuthatches feed mostly on insects that are hidden in the crevices of tree bark. This ability to walk down a tree makes it easy for the birds to spot their prey.

During winter months when insects are not available the birds change their diet and consume mostly seeds. Their habit of stuffing a seed or nut into a crevice in tree bark and then hacking or "hatching" away at it is what gained them the name nuthatch.

White-breasted nuthatches may mate for life. Their courtship display consists of the male spreading his tail, drooping his wings and swaying back and forth, bowing deeply. The female builds the nest in a tree cavity sometimes utilizing old woodpecker holes. They often use a crushed insect to sweep the inside and outside of the nest site. It's thought that the chemical secretions in the insect might deter predators.

Five to nine eggs are laid and while the female incubates them, the male brings food to her and feeds her. The nestlings are fed by both parents and generally fledge no later than 26 days from hatching.

While there are subtle differences in the plumage of the three western nuthatches, their most distinguishing feature may be their different vocalizations. Calls can vary regionally even among the same species. Pacific white-breasted nuthatches call with soft, slow nasal notes that sound like "whi-whi" or "wahwahwah" and can end on a high but descending note. Interior birds also have a nasal tone but call in a rapid series of notes "yidi-yidi-yidi."

So this Christmas season if you take a walk on a chilly morning through our local wooded areas keep an eye out for our very own Christmas bird, the white-breasted nuthatch.