Bird Call

EZ-ID-Friday

Can you name this bird? I'll tell you next time. If you can't wait, hover over the photo or look down at the bottom.

You can find this duck hanging out about anywhere in North America. Or the world for that matter. Very common.  Anywhere there are rivers and lakes. But not only there.

You’re just as likely to find them at the city park. But don’t expect them to be exactly the same. Next time you see people feeding ducks at the city pond, take a look. How many kinds do you see? Several probably. And nearly all of them came from the same species. This one

 Their colors may have shifted around a bit. Or they’re splotchy or something. It’s because they’re hybrids. (See Bird-Call “Hybridization” 07/08/2019)

They’ve bred with other species or sub-species (there are more than 60 of them related closely enough to hybridize). And that includes most domestic ducks. Several thousand years ago in China they bred the famous Peking Duck for food. Then not too awful long ago someone imported a few of them here--a sort of Peking Duck starter kit.  

They thrived. Large and white, they’ve become our common farm ducks. Of course once in a while they fly the coop. Jailbreak! But soon find they’re ill-suited for life on the lamb. So they plunk down in a city park pond somewhere looking for a handout.

They may find, however, they’re not the only freeloaders there. A few wild ducks may have already developed a taste for Cheese Doritos. So they all find themselves sharing one little pond. Over time, the wild ones get tamer.The tamer ones get wilder. And romance blossoms. And next thing you know there are little forever-mixed-up ducklings running around the park.

What they will look like when grown is anybody’s guess. And you often can’t tell the species that hybridized.

This female does not appear to be a hybrid.

So if you listened, you'd hear her trademark  ”Quack!”

Males of this species give a quieter raspy call.

 

 

And as for the white “farm ducks,” seen at city pond? Well as everyone knows this familiar duck will deliver its famous:

“AFLAC!”

 

 

 

 

Bird-nerd-word: Hybridization

Sometimes closely related but separate species are able to produce offspring. Simply put that's called Hybridization. The resulting birds can cause difficulty for birders, especially if they then hybridize with still other birds. Having features of both parents in often unpredictable ways can make identification a problem. It's not even clear if the birds recognize these differences. You might spend an hour trying to decide which of several species a bird is. Only to finally decide it's not any of them. And often, to tell the truth, you might not ever get it right.

If this happens to you, though, don't feel bad. It doesn't reflect poorly on your birding. Remember. Sorting out species in this situation is difficult. And you're not the only one with the problem. After all...how can we be expected to distinguish between hybridized species when even the birds can't?

Mallard/American Black Duck hybrid.

Maybe. :)

 

Yellow-crowned Night Heron

Did you ID this Yellow-crowned Night Heron? Good call.

 

 

 

 

In my last blog I said this Yellow-crowned Night Heron was soaking up the San Diego sun. Well. I was stretching the truth a little. Not to say lying. There wasn’t sun exactly. It was more like gray-bright...ish. So what was up with the cloudy day in San Diego?  Well...believe it or not, it's normal for this time of year. Locals call it “June Gloom” or sometimes “No-sky July.” If it’s earlier then it’s “May Haze.” Later: “Fogust.”

It's caused when the marine layer (cloud cover) comes ashore. Which in turn is caused by a meteorological chain of conditions: low pressure in the northwest, westerly winds, cool water, something called the “Catalina Eddy” and warm air inland (as in desert warm). I won’t try to explain it further. That’s the best I can do.

Locals don’t always mind. They prefer it to the heat. But I feel bad for visitors. I see would be sunbathers wrapped up in everything they brought. I bet they didn’t see that part in the brochures. Temperatures are often mild, but it feels cold at the beach. And the water temperature doesn’t help. Only a few hardy souls venture into the water without a wetsuit.

A couple gray mornings ago I saw a dad and two kids trying to make the best of it. They pretty much had the beach to themselves. The clouds were dark. It was unusually cold. And windy. The dad was standing in the sand draped with umbrella, boogie boards, beach toys, towels, and chairs. But The kids were standing at the edge of the water in their suits. Their body language said, "Yeah...no. You first."

Even the heron in my photo seems to be second guessing himself.  Notice he’s standing on one leg. They do that to stay warm. It keeps them from losing heat through the bare skin on their legs. And look closer (click to enlarge) to see his plumes blowing in the breeze. He has his back to the wind. I doubt he knew what he was in for any more than the tourists.

But don’t feel too sorry for the bird. When it comes to staying warm, he has one real big advantage over kids.

Feathers. :)