With both shorebirds and woods birds, Goose Island has a wonderful population of bird species and the surrounding areas add some variety.  I’ve added seven birds to my life list (231) since I got here and saw four birds this afternoon that I’m pretty sure were Anhingas but Penny was with me and they flushed before I could positively ID them.  They might have been double-crested cormorants so I’m hoping to get another chance at another place.

Most songbirds are not breeding so there is little birdsong but we hear lots of calls here — the ubiquitous Red-winged Blackbirds and Long-tailed Grackles are noisy as are the Northern Cardinals.  A pair of Great Horned Owls sound periodically as does a Red-shouldered hawk.  The Inca Doves call out “squirrel poop” continually during the day. 

I went on two organized bird walks where we saw 40 or so species each time.  I also spent a lot of time riding the bike and walking with binoculars and camera hanging from my neck.

A lot of my photos needed a bigger lens but I don’t have the budget or the inclination to lug a monster lens around with a tripod — at least at this time.  Here are some of my favorite shots from this time at Goose Island.  They give you a nice idea of the diversity of the birds here.  Good birding.

Great Egret this afternoon

Pied-billed Grebe

Inca Dove

Black-crowned Night Heron thinking he’s invisible

E.T. — a captive Great Horned Owl used in a wonderful talk on raptors

Red-shouldered Hawk perched just around the corner from our campground

Roseate Spoonbills are starting to get their breeding plumage

As a pilot and as a birder, I love pelicans.  I’m intrigued by the way they fly inches off the water, in “ground effect” and it’s fun to watch them weave back and forth with the traffic flow on a long causeway.  The Brown Pelicans are impish-looking as noted in the photo below.  At Goose Island State Park, they’ll line up begging for fish parts when sport fisherman return and clean their catches.

Brown Pelicans at Goose Island State Park boat ramp

White Pelicans, to me, seem more regal and reserved although I saw one in a tussle the other day with an Osprey for a catch — it was thirty seconds of aerial dog-fighting with the pelican ending up with the catch.

Brown Pelicans fish by plunging headfirst into the water — giving you the “that’s got to hurt” feeling as you watch.  White Pelicans tend to herd the fish as a group and skim off the ones they have corralled. 

The oil spill did not go west to this part of the Gulf and the pelican numbers seem strong.  The browns will stay here while the whites head north where we’ll see them off the New England coast later this spring.

Both types of pelicans are spectacular landers.  They wheel in, extend their feathers, slow and sometimes sort of water ski with their feet.  Haven’t seen a bounced landing yet — they are great naval aviators.