micabell's Favorites

Roadside observations on a cloudy and cold Sunday with very little traffic. All parks and trails in our area remain closed, and the popular trailheads were guarded by rangers on this Sunday. There was not a single car parked around Malibu Creek State Park, a first since Woolsey Fire days. Almost all areas that aren’t part of the State Park are parceled and fenced in, so unless one trespasses, road-siding is the only legal option. So far I find it interesting to take a close look at the areas I used to just drive through to get to a trailhead. And my very first peek through the roadside vegetation here was greatly rewarding: I spotted a breeding Green Heron.

Quoting from Wikipedia, “They nest in forest and swamp patches, over water or in plants near water. Nests are a platform of sticks, often in shrubs or trees. (…) The clutch is usually 2–6 pale green eggs, which are laid in 2-day intervals (though the second egg may be laid up to 6 days later than the first). After the last egg has been laid, both parents incubate for about 19–21 days until hatching, and feed the young birds. The young sometimes start to leave the nest at 16 days of age, but are not fully fledged and able to fend for themselves until 30–35 days old.”

Last pictures: as I continued along Kanan Road and then Cornell Rd, the percussionist who has played on Kanan every weekend for at least two years kept drumming away, sometimes stopping to yell expletives about our nation/federal government. Another creature I know a little bit more about after my outing that Sunday, even from a distance. A Hawk on a power pole kept him company.

Adult toucan (Ramphastos ambiguus) with leucism

Address: Unión de Guápiles, Puerto Limón, Costa Rica

Exact coordinates: 10.232897 N, -83.868262W

Fecha: 2019/09/18 (11:20 am)

Credits: Carlos Bolaños

Note: for more information you can contact me:

Dr. Óscar M. Chaves
email: ochaba@gmail.com

White Rock lake, Sunset Bay
Photo 1:
Odd Wood Duck
Wood ducks look strange when they change from their pretty breeding colors into their drab summer (eclipse) colors. But this duck is stranger still. It has both male & female characteristics. Not a juvenile, they have dull olive color bills. Male traits here are that colorful bill that remains even in summer and the colorful head crest feathers. Female traits are the brown eye instead of red, the shape of the white outlining the eye and the lack of a white chin strap going up the neck. Males keep the red eyes and white chin strap even in the summer.
Photo 2:
Another View Of The Odd Wood Duck
From every angle and when I lightened up colors all the way on the desktop briefly, that eye stayed brown. Pretty cool.

Photo 3:
Comparison shot of mine that shows 1 male & 2 female wood ducks in eclipse colors. Male eyes red, female eyes brown. male no white around eye and white chin strip and colorful bill. females white around eye, no chin strap and non colorful bill.
So, is this a gynandromorph or am I missing something?

Trapped calico American lobster donated by a lobsterman to a restaurant for live display. Digital photographed by me as a record. The calico trait is based on post embryonic crossing over of a recessive trait in epidermal tissue.

I think this bird is albino rather than leucistic due to its red eye. The light-colored bill suggests that this is a juvenile.

There is a nice discussion of the terminology for birds lacking some or all melanin on David Sibley's website.

Red-winged Blackbird
near Stewardson, Illinois
1 June 1989

I'm posting this record just for the general interest of a Red-winged Blackbird with one white wing. Whether a partial albino, or a partial leucistic bird, I'm not sure. A local farmer told my wife and me that this bird had been on his farm for three summers. The bird left in the fall with the other Red-wingeds and came back in the spring. I watched it for about 30 minutes. It vocalized like any other Red-winged BB and interacted with other Red-wingeds normally. It was pretty flashy to see in flight, however. Three shots posted. These images scanned from old color slides.

Finally, something that gets me excited about Bullfrogs again...

I stopped for a Spring Peeper, and then noticed a yellow object with a red reflection, a ways down the road. I assumed it was some trash, and then realized as I got closer that reflection was an eye shine.

First 5 photos of this Leucistic Hummingbird are from June 28, 2017, first sighting in Palm Desert, CA. The last 4 photos are from August 16, 2017. This gorgeous creature is so friendly with a huge personality. It comes when called and eats one gnat after another with so much to say! I feel he/she likes the yard because the concrete walls and house are painted bright white making this hummer feel protected. Keep in mind there are no feeders on the property. 1. Can you please help me identify the type of Leucistic this is. 2. Male or female? 3. Does this Hummingbird look healthy? I've noticed possible missing feathers on its wings. I'm not sure if it has worsened over time.Thank you :) all photos are mine and taken by me, Nicole Campanaro

Found this lil one which I have never seen a color morph like this for a Mud snake. I determined it to be one based off the visual/physical features such as the “tail spine”, pattern, head/eye shape, as well as a divided anal plate.

Albino individual of black vulture (Coragyps atratus) next to two other vultures with normal coloration. Note the radical contrast in coloration and the absence of melanin in the retina.

Address: Nosara beach, Nicoya, provincia de Guanacaste, Costa Rica.

Recorded date: 2019/03/25

Credits: José Venegas