Roadside observations on a cloudy and cold Sunday with very little traffic. All parks and trails in our area remain closed, and the popular trailheads were guarded by rangers on this Sunday. There was not a single car parked around Malibu Creek State Park, a first since Woolsey Fire days. Almost all areas that aren’t part of the State Park are parceled and fenced in, so unless one trespasses, road-siding is the only legal option. So far I find it interesting to take a close look at the areas I used to just drive through to get to a trailhead. And my very first peek through the roadside vegetation here was greatly rewarding: I spotted a breeding Green Heron.
Quoting from Wikipedia, “They nest in forest and swamp patches, over water or in plants near water. Nests are a platform of sticks, often in shrubs or trees. (…) The clutch is usually 2–6 pale green eggs, which are laid in 2-day intervals (though the second egg may be laid up to 6 days later than the first). After the last egg has been laid, both parents incubate for about 19–21 days until hatching, and feed the young birds. The young sometimes start to leave the nest at 16 days of age, but are not fully fledged and able to fend for themselves until 30–35 days old.”
Last pictures: as I continued along Kanan Road and then Cornell Rd, the percussionist who has played on Kanan every weekend for at least two years kept drumming away, sometimes stopping to yell expletives about our nation/federal government. Another creature I know a little bit more about after my outing that Sunday, even from a distance. A Hawk on a power pole kept him company.
Heron and young arguing over snacks. It went on for awhile.
There had to be at least 12 visible green herons this morning.
Red-shouldered Hawk from 5th photo here: https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/58881744
With Northern flicker prey - seems to be holding hyoid tongue structure of flicker in beak
This specimen had a quite remarkable signature on the back. Possibly something went wrong through development ...
Adult toucan (Ramphastos ambiguus) with leucism
Address: Unión de Guápiles, Puerto Limón, Costa Rica
Exact coordinates: 10.232897 N, -83.868262W
Fecha: 2019/09/18 (11:20 am)
Credits: Carlos Bolaños
Note: for more information you can contact me:
Dr. Óscar M. Chaves
email: ochaba@gmail.com
White Rock lake, Sunset Bay
Photo 1:
Odd Wood Duck
Wood ducks look strange when they change from their pretty breeding colors into their drab summer (eclipse) colors. But this duck is stranger still. It has both male & female characteristics. Not a juvenile, they have dull olive color bills. Male traits here are that colorful bill that remains even in summer and the colorful head crest feathers. Female traits are the brown eye instead of red, the shape of the white outlining the eye and the lack of a white chin strap going up the neck. Males keep the red eyes and white chin strap even in the summer.
Photo 2:
Another View Of The Odd Wood Duck
From every angle and when I lightened up colors all the way on the desktop briefly, that eye stayed brown. Pretty cool.
Photo 3:
Comparison shot of mine that shows 1 male & 2 female wood ducks in eclipse colors. Male eyes red, female eyes brown. male no white around eye and white chin strip and colorful bill. females white around eye, no chin strap and non colorful bill.
So, is this a gynandromorph or am I missing something?
Shell diameter 21mm.
The weather was dry, so I dropped a little water on its shell and it came out immediately.
It tried to slide down a spider thread but that didn't work :-)
unusual morph, found in Sunol Regional Wilderness under a rock
Tortuga verde o blanca, (Chelonia mydas), nació con leucismo ya que tiene falta de pigmentación y con ojos negros.
Leucistic bird that appeared to have no black feathers at all.
The albino was napping in an evergreen tree on a pleasant, sunny November day in 2011.
Trapped calico American lobster donated by a lobsterman to a restaurant for live display. Digital photographed by me as a record. The calico trait is based on post embryonic crossing over of a recessive trait in epidermal tissue.
Este día se observaron 6 ejemplares adultos de coloración normal y cuatro crías (1 albino y 3 de coloración normal).
This serval is melanistic, meaning that it produces an excessive amount of melanin. This is why it is black instead of its usual coat color.
Bright pink/brown morph rock pigeon. There are 28 variety of morph feathers for rock pigeons. This one is strikingly beautiful in the right light.
an unusual silver colored male, have put some with normal one beside him to highlight the differences
I think this bird is albino rather than leucistic due to its red eye. The light-colored bill suggests that this is a juvenile.
There is a nice discussion of the terminology for birds lacking some or all melanin on David Sibley's website.
Took my dog out to see this!!! Came back out and he'd just finished it off. I have never heard of a brown anole eating a gecko!! So glad he let me get great shots. (yes, this is real!!!)
Captured by a local couple in their garden. I only know locality as vic. Elkins.
This unusual male was seen with 3-4 normal hens, one of which he was ardently pursuing down the median. When he displayed he looked like the Elvis of turkeys!
unusual color patterns
white face, no-mask
overall color much lighter than normal, with light brown patch between shoulders
Juvenile Aneides flavipunctatus with no dark pigments, found with UC Berkeley Herpetology course.
Sinistral specimen (right) with normal dextral specimen (left.)
Red-winged Blackbird
near Stewardson, Illinois
1 June 1989
I'm posting this record just for the general interest of a Red-winged Blackbird with one white wing. Whether a partial albino, or a partial leucistic bird, I'm not sure. A local farmer told my wife and me that this bird had been on his farm for three summers. The bird left in the fall with the other Red-wingeds and came back in the spring. I watched it for about 30 minutes. It vocalized like any other Red-winged BB and interacted with other Red-wingeds normally. It was pretty flashy to see in flight, however. Three shots posted. These images scanned from old color slides.
My young friend Ethan Griffin found this beast in his garden and would love to get any insights on this warped snail. Photos by Ethan.
Finally, something that gets me excited about Bullfrogs again...
I stopped for a Spring Peeper, and then noticed a yellow object with a red reflection, a ways down the road. I assumed it was some trash, and then realized as I got closer that reflection was an eye shine.
First 5 photos of this Leucistic Hummingbird are from June 28, 2017, first sighting in Palm Desert, CA. The last 4 photos are from August 16, 2017. This gorgeous creature is so friendly with a huge personality. It comes when called and eats one gnat after another with so much to say! I feel he/she likes the yard because the concrete walls and house are painted bright white making this hummer feel protected. Keep in mind there are no feeders on the property. 1. Can you please help me identify the type of Leucistic this is. 2. Male or female? 3. Does this Hummingbird look healthy? I've noticed possible missing feathers on its wings. I'm not sure if it has worsened over time.Thank you :) all photos are mine and taken by me, Nicole Campanaro
Not so common WHITE RAVEN, ie. leucistic. Never seen one before! Was scavenging with several other members of the flock [congress]. And yes, it hopped and gawked like a Raven. Very rare find!
Found this lil one which I have never seen a color morph like this for a Mud snake. I determined it to be one based off the visual/physical features such as the “tail spine”, pattern, head/eye shape, as well as a divided anal plate.
Territorial angel. Leucistic, massively cute, and possibly the most photographed bird in Santa Cruz EVER -- and now I know why. Note the white eyelashes!!! Awww.
AHY; Bilateral Gynandromorph bird
Most images taken from FB post from Powdermill Nature Reserve as they were cleaner than those captured by my phone
Albino individual of black vulture (Coragyps atratus) next to two other vultures with normal coloration. Note the radical contrast in coloration and the absence of melanin in the retina.
Address: Nosara beach, Nicoya, provincia de Guanacaste, Costa Rica.
Recorded date: 2019/03/25
Credits: José Venegas
This white female Mohave was found in the deserts surrounding Tucson, AZ.