Re: [SBB] Little Blue Heron & Cackling Goose, no Cattle Egret

[Robert B Hole Jr <[[email protected]]>]

I arrived at the lake about 4pm and within a few minutes of my arrival the 
LITTLE BLUE HERON was visible out around the "sand bank" to the south of 
the island. It walked slowly around passing "behind" (north side) of the 
bar, then around the pile of rocks at the end, bothering a tern sitting on 
the rocks, then slowly made its way back toward the reeds. It was in view 
for a good half hour at least. It was out of site for me after about 4:45, 
I left at 5pm.

I saw several sizes of CANADA GOOSE swimming around though didn't pick out 
any that were particularly small (but I wasn't paying close attention). 
Being a heron lover, my additional highlight was about a half dozen juv. 
BLACK-CROWNED NIGHT HERONS sitting, flying and walking on the bare northern 
end of the island, along with a GREEN HERON.

I'm not sure I would have recognized a cattle egret with the views I was 
getting of the egrets.

Having chased all over the mid-atlantic seaboard looking for my original 
"life" LBH (and then having six or seven pop up all at the same time, of 
course), I was very gratified to be able to essentially pull up to the 
parking lot and have my first California LBH present itself.

Bob


At 04:14 PM 6/12/2006, you wrote:
>All,
>
>This morning the south side of the island in Almaden Lake was well watched 
>(several birders) from 7:45 AM until at least 1:55 PM with no sign of the 
>alternate plumaged Cattle Egret.  The LITTLE BLUE HERON was often in view 
>but would occasionally disappear (in the cane on the island and behind the 
>banks on the island and on the lakeside) for several minutes at a 
>time.  Shortly after One PM I noted a CACKLING GOOSE swimming with a 
>fairly large flock of CANADA GEESE.  This bird had the same general 
>coloring as the Canada Geese but was approximately half the size (60% the 
>length and half the width), had a tiny bill, had a more abrupt forehead 
>and a thin white neck-ring at the base of the black neck (definitely not a 
>Minima, Sibley's would indicate that with the lighter chest it would have 
>to be the rarer "Richardson's" but then NGS, contrary to Sibley, shows 
>that the "Aleutian" also has a lighter chest)?  Another reward for the 
>long wait was a first of the year VAUX'S SWIFT spotted by Kathy Parker.
>
>Take care,
>Bob Reiling
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Robert Hole, Jr.
[[email protected]]
www.ecologydesigns.com
gifts celebrating nature 



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