amylily 的最愛

Not the bladder snail itself, but whatever is attached to it. I have no idea if they're parasites or not or if I should be concerned but the snails seem, honestly, fine? I've noticed most of my bladder snails have them.

(Not marked captive because whatever these are, I did not intend for them to be here)

Double-crested Cormorant (Phalacrocorax auritus) an aquatic diving bird in the Cormorants and Shags (Phalacrocoracidae) family. Conservation Status: Vulnerable (S3) in California.
Neck appears kinked in flight. Large, rounded throat pouch is yellow-orange year-round. Eyes often appear blue. Breeding adults have a wispy, white crest, a tuft of feathers curving back from behind the eyes. This dark, long-bodied diving bird floats low in the water with its neck and bill raised. It is often seen standing upright near water with wings spread out to dry. It is larger and has a shorter tail than the Neotropic Cormorant.
The Double-crested cormorant is the most widely distributed cormorant in North America, and the only one likely to be seen inland, even in the desert near bodies of water. At the coast, Double-crested Cormorants tend to nest in trees, unlike Brandt's Cormorants which nest in mud impressions on offshore rocks, and Pelagic Cormorants which nest in sides of cliffs.

E Bird https://ebird.org/explore and https://ebird.org/species/doccor/

Audubon Guide to North American Birds https://www.audubon.org/field-guide/bird/double-crested-cormorant

National Geographic Field Guide to the Birds of North America, ed. Jon L. Dunn, 7th ed., 2017. pp. 252-253.

National Geographic Field Guide to the Birds of Western North America, ed. Jon L. Dunn, 2008, p. 88-89.

Monterey Birds, Don Roberson, 2nd ed. 2002, sponsored by Monterey Peninsula Audubon Society, p. 108

The Cornell Lab (Birds in U.S. and Canada) https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/ (enter common name) and https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Double-crested_Cormorant

Bird songs and sound recordings from around the world: https://xeno-canto.org/explore?query=Phalacrocorax%20auritus

Merlin Bird ID (great app available for Iphones) by The Cornell Lab (Bird ID help for 8,500+ species) https://merlin.allaboutbirds.org/

Comprehensive Feather I.D. tools and more: https://foundfeathers.org/resources/

Found Feathers (Worldwide): https://www.fws.gov/lab/featheratlas/idtool.php

This is an interesting story with a happy ending. My friend David Ferry and I were driving along Hwy 87 at 60 mph near Crystal Beach, Texas, when I glimpsed what I thought was a Least Bittern standing on the very edge of the road with cars whizzing past. I made a U turn and went back where we indeed found a Least Bittern, resting back on its tarsus joints within inches of passing traffic. I picked up the bird and we stood on the side of the road to examine it. My best guess is that (1) it took a glancing blow off a car windshield, perhaps, or (2) It was totally exhausted from migrating across the Gulf of Mexico. It did not seem to be badly injured and its wings did not seem to be broken. Rather than just leave it here on the road to be crushed and killed I decided we would take it to a nearby marsh area off the roadway where it could die in peace and dignity. So we drove off with Dave holding the bird in his lap and heading to a marsh well off the road where I know Least Bitterns were present. We put the bird down on the edge of the marsh and it just stood there looking at us. I was about to just drive away and let nature take its course, but decided to take a few more shots of the bird. I got down low to the bird's level and it went into the characteristic bittern pose by stretching its neck high and trying to look like a swaying bit of marsh grass. It kept a watchful eye on me from both sides of its raised bill and image 1 shows this action. The bird then started slowly walking away from us. I bent down to take another shot and the bittern took flight and flew out into the marsh and out of sight. I choose to believe it recovered and is doing well.

near Crystal Beach,
Galveston Co., Texas
26 April 2018

One of the photo opportunities we were most interested in at this location was the vulture photo blind which had been constructed nearby. King Vultures are regularly seen here ad we hoped for the chance to get some shots. I have seen King Vultures on numerous trips to southern Mexico and Central and South America dating back to the late 70s, but most of my views were of birds soaring very high in the sky. The species is known to be shy of people and can difficult to get close to.

Our guide obtains pig heads from a slaughterhouse in the region when he has clients such as Dave and me who are interested. These heads are put out in the early morning and hopefully by 9 AM or so the Black Vultures will find them which may attract one or more Kings.

The hide or blind is constructed into the ground so that the photos are taken at more or less ground level. You are shooting through optical quality glass in windows in order to lessen the disturbance to the birds and from the bird side of the glass only a dull reflection is seen. It is an incredible piece of construction and was designed very well.

To make a long story short, during our morning in this blind we had hundreds of Black Vultures and 6 Kings! Three adults and other younger birds of various ages. I have over 400 nice images, just a few which are here. It was quite an experience to see this magnificent bird up close and personal. At one point an adult King Vulture was within 5 feet of us....I took some cell phone shots!