Date: 12/8/24 6:59 pm From: <tgmiko...> via groups.io <tgmiko...> Subject: Re: [OrangeCountyBirding] Santa Ana River mouth
Jim et al,
Has anybody attempted some kind of study figure to out why these birds have
spread north come and done so well?
It's my understanding that yellow crowned night herons are crab eaters,
hence the different shape to their bill. Have certain types of crabs
increased in numbers, providing food for them, or is it more complicated
than that? Are they strictly consumers of various aquatic invertebrates, or
are they more generalist than I realize?
Tom
On Sun, Dec 8, 2024, 17:40 James Pike via groups.io <jimpike444=
<gmail.com...> wrote:
> I didn't see any goldeneyes when walking the loop from Hamilton to PCH
> this afternoon, but did see a female Canvasback among the scaups. Two adult
> Yellow-crowned Night-Herons roosting at the water's edge of the wetlands
> bordering the oil property on the east side of the river were new to my
> (nonexistent) SARM list. Surprisingly, another eight yellow-crowns were in
> Victoria pond to the north (two adults and six molting juveniles). One of
> the distant immatures seemed to have a less bulbous bill and warrants
> better photographs for examination. Lastly, protracted pishing from the
> bike path at the southwest corner of the pond lured an unseen but calling
> Northern Waterthrush into the nearby myaporums and willows.
>
> Jim Pike
> HB
>
>
>
