ID Bird

Posts Tagged ‘Rivers’

July 31, 2009: This tiny chick was brought to us a few days ago. For now, he lives in an incubator in ICU. Note that there is a heating pad under the towel, to keep him toasty warm. When he sleeps, he snuggles into the feather duster. On the right side of his cage is a little mirror, where he can look at himself. Because we don’t have another baby Tern, his image in the mirror keeps him company. You can Google “Least Tern” on the internet to see what he’ll look like when he grows up. Least Tern: Sterna antillarum, Order: Charadriiformes, Family: Laridae The smallest of American Terns, the Least Tern is found nesting on sandy beaches along the southern coasts of the United States and up the major river systems far into the interior of the continent. Its habitat is seacoasts, beaches, bays, estuaries, lagoons, lakes and rivers, breeding on sandy or gravelly beaches and banks of rivers or lakes. Its food is small fish and some invertebrates. Although widespread and common in places, the Least Tern’s favored nesting habitat is prized for human recreation, residential development, and alteration by water diversion, which interfere with successful nesting in many areas. It is classified as threatened, endangered, or as a species of concern for most states because of loss of nesting habitat. Interior population federally listed as endangered in 1985. Source: The Cornell Lab of Ornithology, All About Birds Check out International Bird Rescue Research Center here: www.ibrrc.org

April 27, 2009: The Herring Gull, Larus argentatus, is well known along the shores of Asia, western Europe, and North America. The Herring Gull should not be confused with the Silver Gull, Chroicocephalus novaehollandiae. The Herring Gull is called the silver gull in many other languages: German Silbermöwe, French Goéland argenté, and Dutch zilvermeeuw). The Herring Gull, perhaps the most common and familiar gull of the northeastern United States and western Europe, is a large white-headed gull that inhabits shorelines of oceans, seas, lakes, and large rivers. The behavior and ecology of the Herring Gull are well studied, especially in Europe and Canada. Although this species is an opportunistic feeder, most individuals feed primarily on natural prey such as marine fishes and invertebrates. Studies from Europe and North America indicate that individual gulls specialize in their foraging and that choice of diet influences breeding performance. This species generally nests in colonies, often large ones; successful nesting appears to require sites near water and safe from terrestrial predation, sites such as islands, offshore rocks, or abandoned piers. This gull typically lays three-egg clutches in May, which generate fledged offspring by mid- to late July. Source: Cornell Lab of Ornithology: The Birds of North America – bna.birds.cornell.edu The location of this cam is on the most western island of the Wadden islands, Netherlands. The area where the Spoonbills nest is on the north-eastern coast of Texel, outside the dyke. Here is the link to a map, showing you the exact location: maps.google.nl Watch the live stream here: www.beleefdelente.nl