Sea Birds

Bonaparte’s Gull

Bonaparte’s Gull
This small gull is a Bonaparte’s Gull (scientific name: Chroicocephalus Philadelphia) in its nonbreeding colors with a black smudge behind its eye. Bonaparte’s Gulls breed in Canada and Alaska from late May to July, where they are the only gull species nesting in trees. In the north, nesting pairs can be found in spruce trees.
The gulls fly south for the winter, feeding on small insects and fish by flying close to the water and plucking them from the air or water. They live near water, mostly lakes and ponds, but they can also be found near the ocean.
Photo Credit and Author: Rowan Waldo
Read more

Brown Pelican

Brown pelicans (Pelecanus occidentalis) are huge, stocky seabirds with thin necks and very long bills with a pouch that stretches as it is used for catching fish. They measure 39.4-53.9 inches with a wingspan of 78.7 inches and weigh about 70.5-176.4 oz. Adults are grayish brown with yellow heads and white necks. Their breeding plumage turns a deep reddish-brown along the back and sides of the neck. Juveniles are gray-brown from above, which includes the head and neck, and the belly and breast are a pale white.
The brown pelican has a wide range, living year-round in estuaries and coastal marines along both the east and west coasts. They breed between Maryland and Venezuela and between southern California and southern Ecuador. Breeding occurs mostly on barrier islands, natural islands in estuaries, and islands made of refuse from dredging. However, in Florida and southern Louisiana, they primarily use mangrove islands. When not feeding or nesting, they will rest on sandbars, pilings, jetties, breakwaters, mangrove islets, and offshore rocks, depending on the region.
Their diet mostly consists of small fish that form schools near the water’s surface. Pelicans generally forage during the day but can feed at night during the full moon. When a foraging pelican spots a fish, it will dive headfirst from as high as 65 feet! It will tuck and twist to the left to protect its trachea and esophagus from the impact. When it plunges into the water, the throat pouch will expand to trap fish, filling up to 2.6 gallons of water. Before swallowing, they will drain the water from their pouches. They will occasionally feed by sitting on the surface and seizing the prey with its bill. These birds will also steal from other seabirds, scavenge dead animals, and eat invertebrates.
Even though brown pelicans are awkward on land, they are strong swimmers and excellent fliers. Pelicans are highly social all year, breeding in colonies of up to several thousand pairs. Males will defend a nest site and the nearby perches for up to 3 weeks until they attract a mate; the pair will then be monogamous throughout the breeding season. The parents incubate the eggs with their feet. If disturbed, the parents will fly suddenly and, in haste, sometimes crush their eggs. The clutch size is 2-4 eggs; the incubation period is around 29-35 days. The eggs are chalky white; during incubation, they will become stained. The nestling period for the hatchlings is about 77-84 days before they can leave the nest. The hatchlings are helpless, with no feathers and bare pink skin; their eyes are open. Parents will regurgitate predigested fish onto the nest floor for their young, later switching to whole fish once they are big enough. The young will reach sexual maturity at about 3-5 years.
Thanks to conservation efforts, the brown pelican populations stabilized and slowly increased between 1966 and 2019, according to the North American Bird Breeding Survey. They nearly disappeared from North America between the late 1950s and early 1970s from pesticides entering the food chain. The pesticide Endrin kills pelicans directly, while DDT contamination leads to thin-shelled eggs that break under the weight of the parents. In 1970, brown pelicans were federally listed as endangered. Due to the plight of pelicans and other species, DDT was banned in 1972, and the use of endrin was reduced; this enabled the pelican population to rise. Though human disturbance can still cause an issue for pelicans, frightened pelicans often abandon or accidentally destroy their nests. Abandoned fishing lines threaten brown pelicans and other marine species. It has been estimated that more than 700 adult and immature pelicans die each year in Florida alone from entanglement in sport-fishing gear.
Photo Credit: Dan Kon
Author: Destiny Alvarez – Fisheries and Wildlife Sciences, University of Oregon
Read more

Ring-billed Gull

Ring-billed gulls, Larus delawarensis, are the most common gull and can be found throughout the US. They have yellow legs, a gray back, and a black ring that circles their short, yellow beak. These medium-sized gulls can fly at speeds up to 40 mph and skillfully remain motionless in the wind.
Breeding takes place in Northern US and Canada. Ring-billed gulls can be found throughout the central US in the spring and fall during migration. They spend their winters throughout the southern US, Mexico, and the Caribbean.
Look for Ring-billed gulls on the coasts and estuaries. Comfortable around humans, these gulls are frequently found near docks and harbors. They are commonly seen inland near lakes and ponds as well as in parking lots and landfills.
The Ring-billed gull’s natural diet consists of fish such as smelt, insects such as beetles and dragonflies, as well as rodents, earthworms, and grains. Unfortunately, they have acquired quite an appetite for french fries and other unhealthy, discarded human food.
Due to habitat loss and hunting, humans nearly decimated the Ring-billed gull population. The 1917 Migratory Birds Convention Act (Canada) and 1918 Migratory Bird Treaty Act (U.S.) offered the protection this bird needed to recover. Today, Ring-billed gulls are thriving and expanding their breeding territory.
Photo: Credit: Dan Kon
Read more

Least Tern

Least Tern

I was able to get out today and visit a Least Tern Colony. Watching these amazing parents nesting, sitting on eggs, and caring for their newborn chicks is very interesting indeed. They actively defend their nesting areas and will let you know if you get too close in short order! They will scream and dive at you even pecking you in the head should you not pay heed to their warnings!

The Least Tern is Florida’s smallest Tern. It’s a spring/summer visitor. They are often seen flying low over the water, with quick deep wingbeats and shrill cries. These Terns usually hover before plunging into water for tiny prey and do more hovering than most terns. Populations are endangered in many areas because of human impacts on nesting areas, especially competition for use of beaches. Least Terns are listed as Threatened in the State of Florida.

For Tern parents, it’s tough raising chicks on a beach with development, people, dogs, feral cats, raccoons, fox, predatory birds, and broiling hot sun. Least Terns in some parts of the east including Florida are now nesting successfully on gravel roofs near the coast. This particular colony is the only known beach-nesting colony in SE Florida. The parents need to protect the chicks and feed them constantly while getting enough nutrition for themselves. Least Terns are great providers and amazing parents! ~Paul Waller

Note: All shots were taken from a responsible distance with a long lens

Photo credit: Paul Waller

Read more

Laughing Gull

If you have been to a beach in Florida, you have surely heard the distinct call of the laughing gull. Laughing gulls (Leucophaeus atricilla) are year-round Florida residents and are often seen in flocks on beaches, in salt marshes, and nearby parking lots. They are often seen inland in fields, near rivers, or at your local garbage dump.

Both males and females build nests in colonies on the ground under the cover of bushes or grasses. The parents take turns incubating the eggs for about 20 days and both feed the young for the next 5 weeks. Food includes foraged crustaceans, small fish, and insects. In the spring, horseshoe crab eggs and the eggs of other birds provide a tasty meal. Earthworms and snails are sometimes eaten. These birds are not picky eaters so be sure to carefully dispose of your food scraps and food wrappers.

Read more

Black Skimmers

Black Skimmers (Rynchops niger) are seen flying low to the water with the lower part of their bills skimming the water for food. Their bills are wide at the top and come to the point. When a skimmer senses a fish in the longer, lower mandible of its bill, the upper part instantly snaps shut.

Striking and easily recognizable, skimmers are medium-sized tern-like seabirds with red and black bills and a 3 to 3.5 feet wingspan. They have black wings with white edging, black backs, and a white underside and head. Black skimmers inhabit coastal areas such as beaches, estuaries, and sandbars.

Breeding and roosting occur between May and early September in colonies of up to several hundred pairs. Skimmers lay three to five eggs, which are incubated by both parents for 23-25 days. Skimmers are protective parents, and the colony acts as a village when it mobs a predator as a group in an effort to protect nests—the young fly at 28-30 days old. A successful colony will use the same nest site next year.

Black skimmers are threatened in Florida and are protected by the U.S. Migratory Bird Treaty Act. Coastal development and human activity without regard to seabirds pose the biggest threat. Predators such as crows, raccoons, opossums, coyotes, and feral hogs find skimmer eggs and chicks to be a delicious meal. Pets, beach driving, recreational activity, oil spills, shoreline hardening, and more cause parents to abandon their nests. Sea level rise poses another threat to the black skimmer population.

With all of these threats, most of the colonies in Florida are managed by local land managers and volunteers. Documented black skimmer colonies in Florida are managed with fencings and/or informational signs.

With your help, black skimmers can make a successful comeback. Heed the signs you see while at the beach. Call the number on the signs at a beach near you and volunteer to make a difference. Let’s all do what we can now to protects these beautiful Florida seabirds.

Photos courtesy of FWC and Kon Studio

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Read more

All Rights Reserved Imagine Our Florida, Inc. Copyright 2019