Ring-billed Gull

Ring-billed Gull looking for a fishy handout

Ring-billed Gulls were very common along the Mississippi River, last weekend while was on a boating outing with friends near the Palisades State Park of Illinois. In the past on trips to the Apostle Islands or Isle Royale National Park, I remember huge flocks of gulls following commercial fishing boats on Lake Superior (hoping for a handout of unwanted fish that were cast from the boats. So while we were cruising the Mississippi in the speedboat, every once in a while a Ring-billed Gull (Above, 8-7-10) would fly up behind the boat and follow, probably checking us out to see if we were a fishing boat with handouts available. When the gull decided that we weren't giving out fish treats, it would fly off. A couple of times the gulls flew so close behind us, I was able to get some good photos without using my zoom at its maximum level. Using the Sports mode on my Canon Rebel T1i made it possible to capture the gulls in flight to stop action.

The ring on the tip of the bill of this Ring-billed Gull is more evident.

Great Egret

Another tall wading bird that I saw last weekend, on my trip out on the Mississippi River, is the Great Egret (also posted pics of the Great Egret on my  6-13-10 post).  Great Egrets will spend its summers along the Mississippi River in large numbers. They usually are solitary bird, but where prey is abundant, they will gather in large numbers. I saw many nesting on "Bird Island" (8-10-10 Post). This would conclude that the Mississippi has an abundant of snakes, frogs, fish and crayfish - its favorite foods.  In the photo (Below, 8-7-10), is a Great Egret ready to land in the reeds along the Illinois side of the Mississippi River.

The Great Egret's combination of a yellow bill and black legs is unique among egrets and herons.

A Great Egret fishing at Horicon Marsh National Wildlife refuge in Southern Wisconsin (5-29-10)

Double-crested Comorant

When a friend of mine gave me tour of the Mississippi River (Near Palisades State Park) on his boat last weekend, the number of Double-crested Comorants that I saw on "Bird Island" was astounding. On Tuesday, 8-10, I posted a picture of some trees on "Bird Island" with it seems like hundreds of Comorants nesting. We couldn't get close enough to the island to get a good close-up of the Comorants, but below is a photo of a Comorant that I accidently flushed out of the reeds while hiking around a section of Horicon Marsh National Wildlife Refuge in Southern Wisconsin.

Double-crested Comorant in flight at Horicon Marsh National Wildlife Refuge (5-29-10)

On the far right of the photo (Above, 8-7-10, Mississippi River), a Double-crested Comorant has its wings spread to dry.

In the photo (Above, 8-7-10) you can see a few Comorants with this flock of American White Pelicans on a sandbar in the Mississippi River. Comorants will grow to almost 3 feet tall with a 5' wingspan and you can see how small they are in comparison to the Pelicans. This species of Comorant is the only type that you will find inland away from the Atlantic, Pacific or Gulf coasts.

The Double-crested Cormorant swims low in the water, often with just its neck and head visible, and dives for its food from the surface. It uses its feet for propulsion and is able to dive to a depth of 2 -10 feet for up to 30–70 seconds. When it resurfaces, it spends long periods standing with its wings outstretched (Above, 8-7-10) to allow them to dry, since they are not fully waterproofed. This species flies low over the water, with its bill tilted slightly upward, sometimes leaving the colony in long, single-file lines (Below, 8-7-10, Mississippi River). 

Double-crested Comorants flying in single-file (8-7-10, Mississippi River)

American White Pelicans

White Pelicans have one of the largest wingspans of any North American bird at nine feet long. They need large strong wings to carry them airbourne as Pelicans can grow up to 5' tall and an average weight of 16 pounds ... I have read that some Pelicans may weigh as much as 30 pounds.

(Above and Below, 8-7-10, Mississippi River) American White Pelicans flying in a synchronized pattern.

Pelicans in flight are a majestic sight. They seem to fly in a synchronized pattern as each bird takes its cue from the one in front of it, flapping or gliding in unison. Although the pictures aren't the best in quality, they will show pairs of Pelicans in synchronized flight. It is a beautiful sight when they do this larger flocks.

American White Pelicans flying in unison (Horicon Marsh Wildlife Refuge, WI, 5-29-10)

Did you take yesterday's Pelican Challenge (Below)? Which one is not like the others?

My answers:

1. There is a Double-crested-Comorant tucked in between the Pelicans in the lower left of the photo - about a third of the way in from the left edge of the pic.

2. In the Center Top of the photo, there is one Pelican facing the opposite direction with its bill pointing left (and another one just below the obvious one - with the middle of its bill hidden behind the Pelican in front of it) , instead of the others pointing their bills to the right. Rebels!

3. About one fifth of the way in from the middle of the left edge of the photo, there is one Pelican facing directly front and you can only see its pink top bill, and not the yellow bottom bill as all the others.

Can you tell I'm a teacher?

American White Pelicans

I've seen American White Pelicans in several locations in the past few years: Yellowstone National Park, WY, Rowe Wildlife Sanctuary along the Platte River in Nebraska, Horicon Marsh Wildlife Refuge, WI, and here in Northern IL, I've spotted them on the Rock River and just a couple days ago hundreds of them in several flocks on the Mighty Mississippi River (Below, 8-7-10) near Mississippi Palisades State Park and Savanna, IL.  My "The Sibley Field Guide to Birds of Eastern North America" doesn't say they spend the summer on these rivers, but just use them as migratory lanes to their Eastern winter grounds would be located in Southern Florida, and along the Gulf Coast. In the West, they winter along Southern California's Pacific coast all the way down into Mexico's Baja Peninsula. It's hard to believe that they are already migrating in early August. Researching this I've read that they migrate South in early September through November.

A large flock of American White Pelicans on the Mississippi River with a tiny Ring-billed Gull hanging around hoping for a free meal the Pelicans may have left behind.

In the past I've seen White Pelicans in small flocks of perhaps a dozen or so. So when we were motoring down the Mississippi a couple days ago in a friend's boat, I was stunned to see them in flocks of hundreds. It was a cool sight. I thank my friend who in his effort to get me closer to the flock (Below, 8-7-10), his boat got stuck in the weeds, so he and his son had to hop out and wade through the river weeds to push the boat into safer waters - all the while I was taking pictures. Thanks, Lon and Zach - you guys are great. Some of the Pelicans have a grayish or black feathers on the back of their heads - from what I read this could be one of two reasons: 1.) After White Pelicans are finished with mating, some of their white breeding feathers turn black, or 2.) Juvenile Pelicans have not mature into their complete white feathers yet.

(Above) A nice view of the White Pelican's expandable pouch under its lower beak. The pouch is used to scoop up its meals of small fish, amphibians and crustacians, unlike their cousins (The Brown Pelican) which dive for their prey.

Take the Pelican challenge in the photo below...

Which one is not like the others?

(hint - at least three acceptable correct answers). I'll give you my answers tomorrow. Perhaps you'll find answers other than what I am thinking.