Drop-in party birds

It helps to have a bag of peanuts in your pocket, if you're trying to take photos of crows. And gulls. How they see the first scattered peanuts from 'way down the beach is always a mystery; their eyes are sharp! So is their hearing; the first ones call out, "Goodies!" and within seconds, the air is full of beating wings.

The wind was brisk, and the feathers on his head are fluffed out.

Greedy. He's got three peanuts already, and still begs for more.

Alert; not going to miss one single peanut.

Pink legs, yellow bill with a black tip, mottled breast. A young one, species a mystery.

And a young adult with a pure white breast and head, and a red tip on his yellow bill.

The mallards were not interested in peanuts. They like green stuff and underwater critters.

Note: many birds love peanuts, and they provide useful proteins and fats. But the raw ones can carry toxins. Always offer fresh, roasted, unsalted peanuts, preferably shelled. And they're treats, not daily food; hand them out only in moderation, especially to the gulls.

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Siempre es útil traer una bolsa de cacahuates cuando sales, sobre todo si piensas sacar fotos de cuervos. Y de gaviotas. Como es que logran ver los primeros cacahuates que esparciste desde allá a lo lejos es un misterio; ¡tienen ojos increiblemente agudos! Y un oido excelente, también; las primeras gaviotas hacen un comentario — ¡Antojitos! — y dentro de segundos, el aire se llena de alas.

    1. El viento era fuerte, y levantaba las plumas de la cabeza de este cuervo,

    2. Glotón; ya tiene tres cacahuates, y sigue pidiendo más.

    3. Una gaviota muy enfocada; no piensa perderse ni un bocado.

    4. Gaviota con patas color de rosa, pico amarillo con la punta negra, y plumas blancas y cafés. Es una gaviota joven, pero de cual especie es imposible saber.

    5. Por el color de las plumas, es una gaviota adulta, pero joven. Tiene las patas color de rosa, y la mancha en el pico es rojo fuerte.

     6. A los patos ánades no les interesan los cacahuates. Comen plantas y algas verdes y animalitos que encuentran bajo el agua.

Aviso: a muchos pájaros les encantan los cacahuates, y aprovechan las proteínas y grasas que contienen. Pero los cacahuates crudos pueden estar contaminados con toxinas. Por lo tanto, hay que ofrecerles siempre cacahuates frescos, tostados, sin sal, y es mejor que estén descascarados. Y son golosinas; no son alimentos diarios; hay que ofrecerlos en cantidades moderadas, especialmente si los recipientes son gaviotas.

Forever hungry.

 Normal fall weather; rain, wind, fog. I watched a couple of gulls from the shelter of the car.

The mother.

And her huge chick.

The youngster stood by the car, begging, begging. As young birds do. I tossed out a small bag of leftover cat food that the cat had refused to eat on the grounds that breakfast leftovers are inedible at lunch time. The gulls aren't so persnickety.

But the young gull kept up his begging "peep!" the whole time, even as he cleared up the last of my goodies. I even added a few sesame seed crackers. And he still peeped, in between mouthfuls. Typical teenager!

I had forgotten that I'd turned off the sound on the camera. Sorry about that.

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Era una tarde típica del otoño; lluvia, viento, neblina. Observaba dos gaviotas desde las ventanas del coche.

1. La gaviota madre.
2. Su hijo, ya bien grande.

La gaviota joven se acercó al coche, pidiendo comida, más bien mendigando, como lo hacen los pajaritos en sus nidos. Yo le di una bolsita de sobrantes de comida de gato, comida que la gata se había negado a comer, pues, afirmaba ella, los sobrantes del desayuno ya no sirven a mediodía. Las gaviotas no son tan quisquillosos.

Pero el joven siguió con su "pio, pio", aun mientras se saciaba con comida de gato. Hasta le dí, además, unas galletas de semilla de ajonjolí. Y siguió pidiendo más, entre bocado y bocado. ¡Adolescente típico!

Video: las gaviotas.

No dignity whatsoever

I never get tired of this ...

I barely got out of the car at White Rock, when the gulls far down the beach saw that I had a bag in my hand, leapt into the air, and came squalling and jostling to be the first to get handouts.

"Me first! Me, me, me!"

"Well? Are you going to share or aren't you?"

"We're waiting."

"That was mine! I saw it first! Mine, I tell you!"

And when I poured out the last crumbs, too small for their beaks, they turned up their noses and flew back to their sandy patch with nary a word of thanks.

Gulls don't beg

They demand.

"Well? I'm waiting. Give!"

White Rock beach, November

Guessing game

This was an experiment that didn't quite work out, but it gave us a laugh.

Now I'll settle down and do some real work.