Behavior Isn't Just a Bird Thing

(January 28th) After a couple of hours on the cliffs, I checked out other spots of the La Jolla shore. Most of it was pretty dead though, but I found some rather unexpected subjects. I took a change of pace for an hour or so and for the first time photographed some surfing. According to the surfers I had missed the best waves, but I still had fun.

Near where I was seated there were some tide pools coated with seaweed. They turned out to be a favorite drinking spot for a few gulls. I had brought just the 70-200mm lens to shoot the surfers, but luckily the gulls came very close. I loved the color of the green seaweed. The plumage on this Ring-billed Gull was great too. Combined with the drinking, it made for some great shots.

Some Western Gulls joined the fray. The immature gulls had long left the nest and been raised, but they still are a bit lazy. They haven't given up the notion that adult birds might feed them. This one kept pestering this adult until finally it ran away further down the rocks.

After the gull diversion, it was back to the surfers. The waves were getting further out and a little smaller but I shot a few more pictures before calling it a day. Just like with wildlife, the more you watch them, the more you can predict what the surfers will do. They are a lot easier to pan with though.

Just as I was getting ready to leave, a Heerman's Gull came to the pools to drink as well. The Heerman's waited for the Ring-billed to finish its business and then helped itself when all was clear. Such a striking gull - the green of the seaweed complemented its beak and plumage nicely. Gulls have no problem drinking the salt water that we cannot.

Behavior Makes It Special

(January 28th) Over the last several days, I had been seeing some amazing things. Part of it is just the animals, but even more so was the things they do. Behavior is one of the trickiest things to capture. You have to anticipate it and even then you have to be fast to catch it. Also, you have to try and capture the essence of what the animal is doing is just one click. I had plenty of portraits over the last few days, but today much of my focus was on capturing the rarer behaviors. This shot catches a Western Gull taking off. Normally I am opposed to clipping wings, but it works for me in this image.

When the Brown Pelicans land on the cliffs, they land in the midst of a bunch of other pelicans. Usually they push the others aside to clear some room, but sometimes the pelicans have more complicated behaviors. One of the rarer things they do is to lock bills with each other. I've heard that the current theory is this is display of friendship rather than negative feelings. It doesn't last very long so you have to be ready for it.

The Western Gulls seem to love to hang around the pelicans. Sometimes they will fly away to find a quick morsel of food. But they come back quickly and there is a hierarchy for which gull deserves the best spot. This individual is coming in for a landing.

Life on the cliff is rarely quiet. Although the pelicans and cormorants don't vocalize much, the gulls make up for it. And I love tongues, so there was no way I was going to miss this photo. That red spot on the gull's beak - chicks will tap at that spot for their parents to feed them.

I've watched Brown Pelicans many times on the east coast, but I've always seen lone birds or small flocks of less than a dozen. Here on the cliffs large groups come together and you see behaviors that you don't see in the smaller groups. One behavior that I've never seen before has a few names including a 'head throw'. It's another one of those behaviors that you see it for a second and then the bird is done. Why exactly they do this behavior isn't clear - one thought is that it is to communicate to others.