Date: 12/8/24 7:44 pm From: James Pike via groups.io <jimpike444...> Subject: Re: [OrangeCountyBirding] Santa Ana River mouth
Tom,
That's a good question, and I'd like to know the answer. I primarily see
the species at Bolsa Chica while birds are roosting during the day and I
have yet to see one foraging. My in-home source for local beach-walking
tells me that apart from the small sand crabs commonly present within the
tidal zone, she sees copious numbers of moderately sized crabs in the
vicinity of jetties, as at the ones in Seal Beach not far from Bolsa Chica.
Given that the species has been a breeder for quite some time close to the
extensive jetties at Doheny State Beach, perhaps that is the key to their
presence in these locations.
Jim
On Sun, Dec 8, 2024 at 6:59 PM T.G. Miko <tgmiko...> wrote:
> 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
>
> Thomas Geza Miko
> Claremont, LA County
> 909.241.3300
> "Of the hand to mouth one often lose the soup."--José da Fonseca
>
> 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
>>
>>
>>
