@dystopian
It's been almost a month since I was at La Jolla Cove. Not to many birds in breeding colors then. I'm hoping to go again on Monday and see if there are more birds showing their colors now.
I knew DDT was responsible for the eggshell problems with the Pelicans. I didn't know it affected the Peregrine Falcon and Osprey too. Thanks for the info.

Hi all, Hey SP!

Fantastic Brown Pelican photos SP! Yeah man, whaddabird! And they will get lots brighter of colors the next month or two as breeding season gets nearer. I do miss watching them on the regular.

For folks unawares, the brown headed ones above without color are the immatures, nearing a year old now.

When I was a kid there were years with NO Pelican young fledged in socal, even out on the channel islands! We were thrilled to see them get going again. It was specifically DDT that thinned the eggshells of the Pelican, Peregrine Falcon, Osprey, and many others. High concentrations accumulate at the top of the food chain. To the point eggs could not stand the weight of incubation. DDT. Monsanto. The Roundup people. It's good for you. And certainly Rachel Carson's Silent Spring played the biggest role in making a movement that got DDT banned in the U.S. It continued to be sold and applied with reckless abandon throughout the world for decades, whilst they knew what harm it was doing.

Awesome shots SP! Thanks!

@dystopian
I was a little disappointed I didn't see any White-face Ibis at Santee Lakes this year. Oh well. Some years are like that. I've seen a Cattle Egret one time. On Maui of all places.

Hi all, me again...

I don't have much for waterbirds, being landlocked here, and they have a lot more big fancy bills than landbirds in general. Got 'em all, on slides though. LOL I actually have an 8 x 10 of a Brown Pelican on the shelf here, so I do still see one all the time.

This is an ibis, a White-faced Ibis, in non-breeding plumage. Probably a one-year old immature. The Ibis along the Nile in Egypt is called Sacred Ibis, that is its real name. Because it was sacred. They were only off a little bit, like with the 2 dung beetles carrying Ra across the sky every day. Their ibis was sacred as it was believed it brought the floods. Actually, the floods brought the ibis. Details...

Same bird, with a Cattle Egret. It is a good example of how a telephoto lens with magnification flattens out the scene, and brings the background into the fore. The egret looks like it has designs on stabbing that ibis in the neck. It was 6 feet behind it. There is an illusion that takes place whence birds in the back of the image are brought forward and therefore appear larger than they actually were. There is a name for the effect, which I forget at the moment. This causes many mis-ID's with flocks of shorebirds or gulls for instance. You can't tell how far back some stuff in the background was, and so it looks bigger than it was.

I gotta fly!

hope all are well!

edit - inserted Brown to indicate which species of Peli

@snoopydawg
Here's a few Egrets for you.

I was gonna say fantastic pictures but dystopian beat me to it. Oh well, fantastic pictures! Love how you capture the finest details. And of course pelicans are my favorite bird or is that egrets? Next up?

@Bollox Ref
Does HMS Inconsistent have a history? My Google search drew a blank.

in Portsmouth, 1903.

@orlbucfan
We get lots of Herons around here but no Roseate Spoonbills. I've been fortunate enough so far not to have been hit with any bird poop.
Janis posted on the 14th letting us all know she and her house made it through the storm okay.

all the time down here. They are graceful squadrons when they fly.
Knowledgeable sun worshippers keep a careful eye on them so they don't get an inconvenient and smelly splat! in the face or on the bode. That does occur. I think I like the rosebills and herons the best. I also hope janis is okay as NZ got hit good by that cyclone. Anywho, thanks and Rec'd!!