Dermot Breen's Blog: great blue heron

Thursday, 16 April 2015

California 18th February 2015

So managed to eventually get out into Monterey Bay on one of the whale watching trips on my last full day of the US trip. We saw a lot of Rhinoceros Auklets but most would dive as the boat approached them. Smaller numbers of Cassin's Auklets but these would fly off at even greater distances. A few Black-vented Shearwaters and two Northern Fulmars really the only other proper seabirds around. I was expecting much anyway given the time of year though. Certainly the highlight had to be a very inquisitive Humpback Whale that came right up to another whale watching boat and later came to ours. I've never experienced anything like it before. The exhalant breath was over-powering!

I headed down along the Big Sur coastline to have a look for California Condors. Plenty of Turkey Vultures and a nice pair of Golden Eagles but no condors unfortunately.

Black-vented Shearwater, Heermann's and Western Gulls

Black-vented Shearwater

Pacific Fulmar

Great northern Diver

Pacific Diver

First-winter male Red-breasted Merganser

Surf Scoter

Cassin's Auklet

Rhinoceros Auklet

Black Phoebe

Great Blue Heron

Lincoln's Sparrow

Varied Thrush

Harbour Seal

Humpback Whale

Pacific Grey Whales

Sea Otter

Wednesday, 2 January 2013

Florida 16th November 2012

Visited Fort De Soto Park and Honeymoon Island State Park both West of Tampa today. Again no sign of the large numbers of shorebirds that alot of the site guides go on about. However I did finally manage to catch up with Yellow-crowned Night Heron. At least a dozen along the causeway before De Soto. Don't know where they had been hiding up until now. This proved to be my only tick of the day, it was getting a little dry for ticks at this stage. I'll let the pics speak for themselves.