Thursday, May 26, 2016

A cool surprise, the Least Tern







During our little mini  vacation down in San Jose Del Cabo, over the weekend, I was truly surprised to find a Federally Protected Least Tern nesting site. These very small terns, will build their nest right out in the open, on the sand. This makes them quite vulnerable to predators and other disruptive problems, especially on the white sandy beaches of Cabo, and San Jose Del Cabo.



While not really in a fully threatened state, with a large part of the population that can be so effected by a single event, there is some concern for this birds long term status. Even something as simple as what I witnessed while I was there, a local who let his two pit bulls run freely amongst the nests, driving all the parents away. I was able to call the dogs off the protected area, with what appears to no damage, though I do not know if they stepped on any of the nests.


The parents will take turns sitting on the nest, and feeding while not sitting. I did witness a bird bring in some small minnows and feed them to the other mate who was sitting on the nest.



These beautiful little terns zip around the beach, playing on the warm ocean breezes, in an almost playful manner. They chase each other, dive down to catch a fish or two for food, and then back to the nest for their turn sitting. It was such a joy watching them, I hope they all are successful in this years nesting season!





Wednesday, May 25, 2016

The killdeer family






While I was down on the beach over the weekend, I ran across a pair of Killdeers. They were right out in the middle of the white sand, with no real reason that I could see to be there. But...knowing the time of year, and having a pretty good knowledge of the behavior of these birds, I got a pretty good idea that there was a little one around.

Killdeer are famous for the running with a broken wing trick. They hope to lure a predator away from the nest or babies, with what looks to be an easy meal. The at the last minute, they blast up in the air and away.

Another one is to just lay down, like they are sitting on a nest, and then again, at the last moment jump up and run or fly away. I am sure they are laughing out loud, going "psych".



I slowed down, and just sat there, and actually out waited them. Pretty soon, I spotted a little motion off to the right, and sure enough, there was the little dinker....hiding out in some sand vines that had started to grown down the beach. What a cutie....so I quietly slipped away, and Mom and Dad went back to being cool parents who had just saved the day again!!





Tuesday, May 24, 2016

A mini vacation, and some more fun birds!

We took a bit of a short mini-vacation with our great friends Scott and Monica, who live on their boat SV Scott Free. They are getting ready to move the boat back to the northwest, so our time with them, at least here in the Sea of Cortez is limited.

I snuck away early one morning to explore the local estuary in San Jose De Cabo, one of the last remaining spots that the Belding's Yellowthroat lives. I saw a few, but did not get any kind of great photo.

I did in fact get to spend quite a bit of time with the Common Moorhen, or Gallinule depending on which bird guide you look at.



The parents were just starting to let the little one's out of the nest, and out exploring.

MY, what big feet you have such a little thing! I guess you will grow into them soon enough.


The local government, and the university have done a wonderful job of setting aside some of this land for exploration, and viewing. They have built some observation towers, along with a great walkway to follow along the water way.




Wednesday, May 11, 2016

This weeks story in 10,000 Birds

My story this week at 10000birds.com is about Urban Birding in La Paz, Mexico

You can check it out, along with the photos that are there at

Click here to read

Hope everybody has a great week!

The Bird Nerd..  LOL

Tuesday, May 10, 2016

It was bound to happen.

This last few months, winter months in particular, has brought one of the best birding years ever here on the Baja. Some of the greatest number of migrants, and diverse species I have seen in the last 5 years have shown up. Many of these species, while not unusually rare, are just never seen down this far south. Baja California is divided  into two states, Baja California Sur (south), and Norte (north). At the state line, is Guerrero Negro, the location of tens of thousands of wetland acres that is set aside as a wildlife preserve. This area is such a perfect location, that many of the migratory species, just do not pass it by.

Unfortunately, they are all heading back north. The ducks, geese, shorebirds and song birds alike, all heading back now that those snowy climes are warming up. The Mourning Doves, White-crowned Sparrows, American Avocets, and the White-fronted geese, just to name a few have bailed out.

So, like the title says, it was bound to happen. Now, all my fellow birders in the north will get their birds back. But, never fear, they will be back! Nothing like Mexico in the winter for a nice break from those cold snowy winter nights!


Thursday, May 5, 2016

Have you ever had one of those days......

You know, one of those days where you just wanna go...bbllaaauugghh!!




Well, the sun is out, and we are taking the rest of the day off!!

See you all tomorrow

Wednesday, May 4, 2016

This weeks story at 10,000 Birds

My regular weekly story is no up at 10,000 Birds. This week I cover the Belding's Yellowthroat, and local endemic species, that is now listed on the endangered species list.

If you would like to check it out, go to:

http://10000birds.com/beldings-yellowthroat-endemic-and-endangered.htm