Were they uncomfortable with the depth of the water or the sudden realization of the company they were keeping? Deb Carstensen, Littleton
Sent from my iPhone > On Sep 9, 2014, at 9:33 PM, Nick Komar <[email protected]> wrote: > > I did observe an entire flock of white-faced ibis (same order as > night-herons: Ciconiiformes) land in the center of a deep lake, joining a > communal roost of gulls. They seemed very uncomfortable and almost > immediately took off again. > > Nick Komar > Fort Collins CO > > Sent from my iPhone > >> On Sep 7, 2014, at 12:53 PM, Joe Roller <[email protected]> wrote: >> >> I have been stopping by Grasmere Lake, the southern water body in >> Washington Park, at Downing and Louisiana, almost daily for a couple of >> weeks, counting American White Pelicans as their numbers grow - from 4 to >> 21, now plateauing around 19-21. >> >> While there this morning I saw an adult Black-crowned Night Heron (hereafter >> BCNH) floating on the water! >> >> It took me a while to figure out what family this bird was in, let alone >> species. It was somewhat loon-like, but the thick dagger bill, black crown >> and gray wings convinced me otherwise. The body was held horizontally, the >> bill parallel to the water. I watched it for a minute, as it floated, not >> fishing or swimming. I ran around the south end to get a better look, and by >> that time it had resumed its normal vertical or hunched position on branches >> at the water's edge near it's 3 or 4 off-spring. I looked it up: >> >> This from the Florida Natualist, Fall, 1973, James Kushlan: >> >> Five feeding methods have been previously described for the species: >> >> Stand and Wait* & >> >> Walk Slowly being the most common; >> >> Bill-vibrating, standing in shallow water while rapidly vibrating the bill >> at the surface, (Stone, 1937; Drinkwater, 1958); >> >> Hovering, flying in place above the surface and catching prey without >> settling into the water (Meyerriecks. 1960); and >> >> Swimming- feeding, alighting on the water and catching prey while afloat >> (Wetmore, 1920). >> >> In this article, Kushlan describes "plunge-diving" from the air as a 6th >> feeding behavior. >> >> Has anyone observed the floating or swimming behavior of Night-Herons? >> >> Intriguing, I thought. >> >> >> >> * Milton - "They also serve who only stand and wait." >> >> >> >> Joe Roller, >> >> Denver >> >> >> >> >> >> -- >> You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups >> "Colorado Birds" group. >> To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an >> email to [email protected]. >> To post to this group, send email to [email protected]. >> To view this discussion on the web visit >> https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/cobirds/CAJpZcUBPSvAdV1_20aKqJiKnMirJSq-FryJ7n6nUe1ByDb7j4w%40mail.gmail.com. >> For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout. > -- > You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups > "Colorado Birds" group. > To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an > email to [email protected]. > To post to this group, send email to [email protected]. > To view this discussion on the web visit > https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/cobirds/017D1F1C-1ED0-47CD-9C42-79EDC003F2B9%40comcast.net. > For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout. -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Colorado Birds" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to [email protected]. To post to this group, send email to [email protected]. To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/cobirds/4A5DB96E-AD4D-4886-9D74-E34361C7E06C%40aol.com. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout.
