The Wintereing Grebes of Pacific Grove

We have reported earlier about the Western Grebes that winter along the shore at Pacific Grove. During the past few months we have seen the group of about 60 grebes "rafted" together. A few days ago the population had decreased to 17 individuals.

The group has stayed in the same location all winter - never moving more than 100 meters from their usual location - sometimes closer to shore and other times further out. This day they were quite far off shore. Here we show seven of the group relatively close together.

This one Western Grebe seemed quite unconcerned as a Pelagic Cormorant come in for a landing within the group. Although aware, the grebe apparently never sensed any particular danger.

Then, a few minutes later, the grebe and the cormorant were peacfully sharing their safe location offshore. The grebe continues grooming while another remains on watch.

We expect the majority of the wintering group have gone inland to their usual nesting locations. An important one is at Lake San Antonio about 120 miles South East of our Monterey Bay location. We hope to get there this Spring to see if we can observe their unique courting display which we have never observed here in their wintering ocean location.

A Killdeer Family Encounter Along Monterey Bay

The Killdeer is a very common bird in North America and they are seen often in open spaces. It was not at all unusual to find some very near the ocean along the Monterey Bay shore. Wikipedia has a very complete summary of Killdeer information here. It is a good reference.

We were out a few days ago, sitting at a quiet spot near the Bay and soon observed an adult Killdeer in the nearby dried ground cover  - with the Killdeer colors blending nicely into the background (recently sprayed we think as it is non-native and very invasive).

The lone adult posed for a while giving us a good opportunity to record his relatively quiet behavior even though we were very close.

 

 

The quiet scene soon came to life as we observed the adult pictured above watching a newly hatched chick as it was exploring the sandy beach nearby. The chick was very active; running rapidly a few steps then stopping to observe the surroundings - all under the watchful eye of the adult.

At about this time, a Crow flew over after apparently noticing the chick and began to get too close. The adult Killdeer immediately took flight - chasing the Crow. The single adult Killdeer was joined by two other adults who continued harassing the Crow until he flew off. 

Then something very unusual happened. There were three adult Killdeer on the beach directly in front of us. The chick had run further away and was out of sight.

The encounter didn't look exactly friendly and there was no apparent celebration of having chased off the invading Crow. The dynamics were unusual and began to change rapidly. The two Killdeer at the rear of this shot began fighting. Was this some form of mating display, a territorial dispute or a family feud? We'll never know.

A few seconds later the fighting grew more intense as one male (we assume) took a large chunk of feathers out of the other male while the third Killdeer looked on. The fighting continued for only a minute or two and soon there seemed to be a stand-off between the two adversaries.

Then, the chick returned back across the exposed beach towards a more protected area in the scrub growth. The two adults continued sparring a while longer until one flew off. The scene was calm again as the new chick continued exploring his surroundings - apparently totally unaware of the recent adult fighting. 

We returned to this spot a few days later and saw no evidence of the Killdeer family. Life goes on in the wild in ways that we simply don't fully understand. The encounter we observed was a moment in the life of a Killdeer family - the next chapter in that family life will remain unknown.

Brown Pelicans Return to Monterey Bay - - - - - - - - and other signs of Spring

The Blog has been quiet for a few days - not being as able to get out as the aging body has brought on some limitations. But -

We were out for a few hours yesterday and saw the beginning of the return of the Brown Pelicans to the area. They have been gone for the winter and it's a nice sight to see them gliding back into their local habitat. After being declared endangered in 1970 they had recovered sufficiently by December 2009 to be taken of the endangered list with a condition that they be monitored for the next 15 years. It is a welcome sight to see them recovering from their serious decline. The Elkhorn Slough Organization has excellent information on the Brown Pelican on their web site here.

The following quote from the web site describes the Brown Pelican decline: "In the late 19th and early 20th century Brown Pelicans were hunted for their feathers to adorn women’s hats. After World War I, they were slaughtered by the thousands to avoid fishing competition, and their nests were raided for eggs. In the late 1940’s, widespread use of DDT contaminated fish the pelicans ate which resulted in egg-shell thinning and chick deformities. By the 1960’s Brown Pelican populations were in serious decline."

Although most of the Brown Pelicans in this area are post-breeding visitors from Mexican and southern California nesting sites, they have nested successfully at nearby Point Lobos where they have been observed exhibiting breeding behavior in recent years. At times when the population was low their arrival dates were in June but now with a growing numbers pelicans have begun to arrive as early as April in some years.

We saw three "flights" of the recovering pelican population within a few minutes - all heading north along the shore near Point Pinos. It certainly was a welcome sight - not having seen them in quantity during the winter months. I was able to get this shot of an individual by cropping him from one of the "flights" as they soared overhead. Note the under-wing feather detail and texture.

There were more opportunities to get groups of the Pelicans soaring over head. This shot shows several in "formation" apparently gaining some benefit from their close proximity.

Another shot of an individual shows their magnificent ability to effortlessly soar along the shoreline.

We also saw a lone Canada Goose begging with visible anticipation in the parking lot near the shore. You can imagine he has been fed (illegally) before.

At nearby Crespi Pond we saw a certain sign of spring. A successful breeding pair of Canada Geese with their new little goslings. Spring is a wonderful time of the year - bringing new life and opportunity for all our wildlife neighbors.

Another sure sign of spring at Crespi Pond is this male deer with his "velvet" rack covering - enjoying a patch of lush grass near an unconcerned Canada Goose. There are many deer that share the open space of the Pacific Grove local golf course with the golfers. We see them all over this end of the Town - often eating any unprotected delicacies in the nearby neighbors yards.