Flamingo Phoenicopterus roseus
A bird probably needing no intrduction Named, of course, for the fact they are coloured like flames, from the Spanish 'llarma', that's a tad simplified I understand, but it will do. Has great collective name too, a 'flamboyance' although " flamboyance of flamingos" is tricky to repeat six times really fast.
Essentially unknown in the UK, so Swainson 1885 is empty again. What to do, what to do? A couple of facts then. Well, they do 'stand out' to put it mildly, en mass they are striking, whether feeding like a colourful carpet on a lake, or taking off and flying. I've been lucky enough to have seen both numerous times, and I don’t think there is any other 'lots of birds in one place' experience that can compete. Sure, watching a murmuration of a million+ starlings performing overhead at sunset is awesome, or watching a great tightly bound group of waders performing an aerial display low over the water, or being under the vast sky of migrating Ibis, I found myself in the midst of recently on the Tagus (Tijo) estuary. Each one trying to find a spaces to land amongst the 1000s already 'parked'. Yes, all memorable indeed, but you're missing one key point, Flamingo are PINK.
Oh, the family to which Flamingos belong, the, wait for it, Phoenicopteridae (also hard to say six time quickly), was first introduced by the French naturalist Charles Bonaparte (not 'that one'), but he was indeed a nephew of 'that one'.
I shan't bore you again with the 'where the colour comes from' story, even Wiki gets that right. But I will note tho is the way they eat, with their heads upside-down, give it a try sometime. I hear it's good for curing hiccups.
early morn
Like most folk carrying a camera I guess, I wanted a picture of one of these pink lovelies whilst on the Algarve, and early morning/late afternoon wanderings around several salinas showed a few around, so I was optimistic. But, whenever I saw one they were always a long way-off, or partly-hidden by one of the innumerable banks that separate the compartments of salt-workings, or, of course, usually both.
Only, once, near Fuseta, did I actually, get direct views, albeit in less than perfect light (stop bloody moaning). Sure they are big, and they are pink, but of course there are only a few scattered individuals on this coast. The real flamingo experience comes when you get several hundred together. If you can, please do go and see such a thing.
This chap, I’m guessing here from it’s size, has just lifted his head from the water giving us a nice view of that startling eye, and a wee drip on the end of his nose.
Phoenicopterus roseus Ribeiro do Tronco, Fuseta 24/10/2024 07:59
Canon R5 EF 500mm f6.5 1/1025th ISO1250
... and they can't see us now, right
?
I still find it hard to visualise that upside-down-head feeding method adopted by this group, because this, of course, is all we get to see. Well, unless the BBC throws hundreds of thousands of tax-payer pounds at you. Then you could probably have a team of thirty technicians, directors, assistants equipped with loads of little submarines filled with mind-whippingly expensive camera gear shipped out to Africa. Perhaps I should ask.
Phoenicopterus roseus Ribeiro do Tronco, Fuseta
24/10/2024 07:37
Canon R5 EF 500mm f6.5 1/10255th ISO1250
... in the land of grey and pink
!
Juveniles typically show no colour till their second or third year, appearing a mix of grey till then. As they come to maturity ….. they ... they …... go………... pink………. My god, why didn’t I put this together before, it’s the Caravan album isn’t it?! Yes, I’m old. Yes, the phrase ‘recreational drugs’ is not wholly unfamiliar to me, but why didn’t it come to me before? Were they smoking Flamingo feathers when they thought of the title. I appreciate those of you not born in the 50s (ish) might have no idea of what I speak, your loss. Go look it up, or not, depending on whim. In case you don’t:
In the land of grey and pink where only boy-scouts stop to think
They'll be coming back again, those nasty grumbly grimblies
And they're climbing down your chimney, yes they're trying to get in
Oh, I’ve just looked it up on what the kids use today in lieu of learning, and the Interweb says the album title was inspired by the ‘sunsets of Kent’. Yeah right.
Phoenicopterus roseus Ribeiro do Tronco, Fuseta 24/10/2024 08:59
Canon R5 EF 500mm f4 1/3165th ISO800
Grey Heron Ardea cinerea
This bird has had a number of names commensurate with its size. Its harsh call gave us: Harn and Harnsey (Norfolk), Harnser (Suffolk), Hernsew (Yorks), Hernshaw (Notts), Huron (Roxborough, Herald (Forfar), Hegrie/Skip Hegrie/ Hegril’s skip (Shetland). Several familiar names are recorded inc: Jack Hern (Sussex), Moll Hern (Midlands) Jenny Crow (Northern England) Jenny Heron (Kirkcudbright), Tammy Herl (Perth) and Jenny lang legs/Jenny lang neck (Hundred of Lonsdale). Best of these has to be simply Frank (Suffolk).
Like many a bird they can also foretell the weather, as in an old saying “Herons, flying up and down in the evening, as if doubtful where to rest, presage some evill approaching weather" (Anon). The Germans apparently said ‘Wenn der Fischreiher das Wasser aufpflügt, holt er Wasser.' Google translates this “When the heron plows the water, it is fetching water”, that sure seems pretty definitive to me, I’ll keep my eyes open.
There is another name I feel almost obliged to pass on, many probably wouldn't, but you know me by now. In the USA the name 'Shitepokes' is used for members of the Heron family. It apparently derives from the birds habit of, well how do I put this, well kinda shitting itself when disturbed or flushed. Now I don't know if they hang around, desperate, legs crossed, groaning to themselves, waiting for some redneck hunter to come-along so they can suddenly leap into the air and relieve themselves, or not. I just like to think so, and I wish them well in the future. But I must remember to wear a hat next time I go seeking pictures of herons.
bad hair day
A local Heron, well it would be I suppose, has taken to perching on a few planks over a pond opposite my bedroom window, a bit distant but ‘doable’ at 1000mm. Opening the curtains one morning revealed him standing there, in a fierce wind. It is so strong that he is almost constantly adjusting his footing to maintain balance as each new gust staggers him. And yet he seemed determined to groom, something I see him doing just about every morning. But on that day, in that wind, it was simply hysterical. Rushing downstairs to collect camera, lens and tripod I set them up looking through the open window and wildly flapping curtains. I watched him for over 30 minutes, just joy. He was determined I will give him that. Well, I have hundreds of pictures of the poor chap in endless postures of disarray.
Here’s just one of images, it may not be the best, it was a hard choice.
Ardea cinerea Stratnairn 08/05/2024 08:14
Canon R5 EF 500mm x2 f8 1/332th ISO640
one leg, looking cool
I came across this chap on/in the River Ness, just standing there, looking cool, or perhaps he is thinking something profound. Anyway, a quick exchange of money and he posed for me. He said he didn't used to charge but apparently the price of fish and chips has gone up again. Thank you anyway.
Ardea cinerea Inverness 22/06/2023 11:11
Canon R5 RF100-500mm f9.92 1/1025th ISO3200
smiley
after wandering around a bit, and turning my attention to a crow in a nearby field, I walked back to see if my Heron was still there. Well he’d stalked off downstream a bit and was clearly seeking a fish or so for lunch. Perhaps he just remembered he’d promised his good lady that he would be back soon with some grub for the kids, you can see the realisation of what an ear-bashing he was going to get if didn’t get back soon.
Ardea cinerea Inverness 22/06/2023 11:26
Canon R5 RF100-500mm f8 1/790th ISO1000
surreal face-off
Walking back from the magical place where I never manage to get any good photo’s of Grey Wagtails, I was not really paying attention to where I was walking. It’s automatic by now, go feet. My mind drifts back and . . . . WTF. A baby Heron is standing in the middle of the road, no more than perhaps 20 metres in front of me! I froze, I was closer than I’d ever been to a Heron before, OK, he’s clearly a truly scraggy fledgling, but I still want his picture, I mean he’s he’s got my hair !
Unfreezing cautiously I take a few, and start to edge past him, I don’t want to frighten him but I do need to get back. Besides he's in the middle of the bloody road, it's never busy but how long before some delivery van comes speeding along, it would be better if I could just persuade him to move off the road a bit, into the wood, without terrorising him that is, his brain is obviously no-where near wired-up yet.
Getting as close to the fence on my right as I can I advance a bit, a bit more, he’s about 2m away now, good god another step and I could pick him up and carry him home under my arm. He moves at last, takes a step to the side away from me. I take another, he does the same, the impasse has ended. I get level with him and take a few more steps. He retreats into some heather.
Ardea cinerea juv Strathnairn 14/08/2024 15:04
Canon R5 EF 500mm x1.4 f10 1/1025th ISO640
a bird in the bush
Once I’m 10m or so beyond him I turn to see if mum is back. She isn’t, but he has retreated deeper into the heather. I see that it might make a nicer picture of him. I drop into the heather, ‘hey, come on ticks, supper's up’ I think as I crawl back a few metres to where I can get a clear view without freaking him out. Snap snap. Right, I must get back, I'll get such an earful if there is no dinner when Julie get’s home from work, “but look at the picture dear” doesn’t cut the mustard, trust me on this.
If you’re wondering why this heron’s nose is so scabby and peeling well, without going too deep, it’s because the hardened outer layers of the bill (think finger-nail here) does grow to compensate for damage etc. Now, this bird is so young, probably straight from the nest, so he’s been doing a lot of growing recently and the outer layer is renewing to keep up.
That hair though, it’s just me.
Ardea cinerea juv Strathnairn 14/08/2024 15:07
Canon R5 EF 500mm x1.4 f5.6 1/1025th ISO100
Little Egret Egretta garzetta
“The little egret (Egretta garzetta) is a species of small heron in the family Ardeidae. It is a white bird with a slender black beak, long black legs and, in the western race, yellow feet. As an aquatic bird, it feeds in shallow water and on land, consuming a variety of small creatures.” Thank you Wiki for yet another enthralling description.
I do have a number of old sources of information from the 1800’s on records of this bird in the UK, but they all go something like “In April 1824. two specimens are recorded to have been killed at Penzance”: cheerful stuff indeed to regale you with. But, even amongst such misery, I did find something amusing:
“ One was shot in Ireland in the year 1793. That it was formerly very frequent here, appears by some of the old bills of fare: in the famous feast of Archbishop Nevil, we find no less than a thousand Asterides, Egrets, or Egrittes, as it is differently spelt. Perhaps the esteem they were in as a delicacy during those days, occasioned their extirpation in our islands ?
I mean, do you think? It was a different time I admit, but I used to read this sort of stuff when I was 11 or 12, and you still wonder why I drink so much?
On a more cheerful note this lovely bird is making a comeback in the UK. I can remember how a few decades back the appearance of one was a notable event, attracting keen ‘birders’ from a considerable distance. Now, thanks mainly to warmer winters and availability of secure habitat, it is spreading nicely, with perhaps 2000 plus over-wintering, and getting on for 100 pairs breeding here. They haven’t done so in Scotland yet sadly, but I can hope.
dawn rays
Yes, we are back on a salinas, in the early dawn, and a little egret awaits me. Standing beautifully in the early sun against an unlit background of dark vegetation he has made a simple easy picture for me. I thank him very much and leave him to appreciate those warming rays.
For me, the warm tints given by the dawn sun, the lighter stripes on the birds body arising from reflections off small ripples on the water surface, combine to makes this a pretty picture of this species.
Egretta garzetta Ribeiro do Tronco, Fuseta 22/10/2024 07:46
Canon R5 EF500mm f4 1/3165th ISO160
morning stretches
...... after a few minutes enjoying the sun he seems to remember it’s breakfast time
when your feet are in the water, and you want to catch fish that don’t want to be eaten, you can’t really splash around like an idiot. So, piscivorous species evolved a number of strategies, some swim, pursuing their supper, some dive, catching fish unawares and we have birds like the herons. They stalk their food, watch a grey heron hunting, slowly, oh so slowly, moving its feet. The long neck, of course, allows searching around without moving any below-water parts. Then they strike and, if they're quick enough, yum yum.
So no, this egret isn’t doing his morning stretches, or admiring his reflection, he's hungry.
Egretta garzetta Ribeiro do Tronco, Fuseta 22/10/2024
Canon R5 EF500mm f4 1/3165th ISO160
god i do look good
Well look, yes I know, I just defended him saying that he wasn’t vain, the thing is tho’, as I review these images later I find one that just gives me a little doubt. He sure looks like he's admiring himself in the water, and to be fair he does look nice. I'll have to leave his motives to you to interpret.
Right, I need to get back for coffee and breakfast.
Egretta garzetta >Arroteia, Fuseta 22/10/2024
Canon R5 EF500mm f4 1/3165th ISO160
a study in white
a few days later I caught this chap who appears proud of his little island, and why not?
the feet of this species, when you can see them, vary from yellow to yellow-green. The darker colour here might indicate a juvenile, but I would have to defer to those with more knowledge than me.
Egretta garzetta Ribeiro do Tronco, Fuseta 24/10/2024 08.28
Canon R5 EF500mm f4 1/6329th ISO3200
Snowy Egret Egretta thula
An American ‘cousin’ of the Little Egret above, with a resident distribution ranging from Chile and Argentina in the south through the Bahamas up to the Floridian coast. Migratory breeding populations exist further north up into parts of California and inland to Nevada and Utah with wintering birds found throughout Mexico and Central America.
As with all non-UK birds I have a dearth of colloquial names or mythology to refer to, although some AI thingy tells me that the Iroquois believed Egrets were an omen of a good hunt. Believe that not depending on your trust of such things.
What we do know with more certainty that this species was also slaughtered to provide feathers for ladies hats. Nice. Since receiving protection populations have recovered, who’d have thought.
colourful
An old photograph taken in Cedar Key Fl. but I think it still captures a nice colourful view of this species. Posing in the sun on a deliciously red rusting piece of old boat and set against the deep blues of the gulf, the bright yellows of those feet and lores, it pack enough colour I think too be called ‘pretty’. Well it’s all I’ve got, so it will have to do.
I must add that this picture, and all the others here from Cedar Key, were only possible because of the frequently encountered unasked for open generosity of so many American people. I carried no long lens for this trip up through the East coast so could only take these few bird images because a gentleman, whom I only met the previous evening in, yes a bar, lent me his Sigma 50-500mm for a couple of days ! I thank you again Sir.
I am far from sure that I would lend my gear to someone I’d just met or, to be honest, known for a lifetime. But there again I am English. So, just don't ask. Oh hang-on, I did lend a Canon battery charger, never got it back
Egretta thula Cedar Key 28/09/2012
Canon 7D Sigma 500 f16 1/1000th ISO1000
Brown Pelican Pelecanus occidentalis
Taxonomically a bit of a mess really, currently supposed to encompass 5 sub-species according to some folk. One day perhaps they’ll give us a quantifiable definition of what a sub-species is supposed to be, always more satisfying to a scientist than ‘because I said so’.
Ok, I’ll stop the bile. These big impressive birds have a distribution across most of the US coastal states down through the Caribbean to Northern coasts of South America. The indigenous-American Nez Perce peoples considered the pelican a ‘medicine-bird’, and that ill-wind would punish those who harmed one. This group features highly in Judaeo-Christian stories and symbologies. The depiction of the mother pelican tearing her own flesh to nourish and restore her children features in numerous mediaeval image. Something to do with sacrifice for the benefit of all perhaps, who knows.
This is as depressing as taxonomic mythology, let’s move on.
sitting pretty
I mean who doesn’t like a Pelican? Often congregated in large groups and intermingled with white American Pelicans (nothing racist here, move along), it can be hard to find individuals. But this gentleman just settled beside our boat and posed nicely in the sun (they get a lot of that in Florida). I took this snap and thanked him.
Pelecanus occidentalis Cedar Key Fl.
28/09/2012
Canon 7D Sigma 500 f16 1/4000th ISO2000
fly past
Now I’ve heard, or read, somewhere that the world just doesn’t need another flying Pelican picture. Well tough . . . . Usually, flying low in ground-effect, they are just so impressive, those huge wings. So, whether the world needed it or not, I took a picture of one.
Pelecanus occidentalis Cedar Key Fl. 28/09/2012
Canon 7D Sigma 500 f5.6 1/4000th ISO1000
American White Pelican Pelecanus erythrorhynchos
With a wingspan approaching 3m, and a length of up to 1.8m this is, to put it mildly, an impressive bird. Breeding populations occur as far north as Alberta with overwintering birds found as far south as the coasts of central America.
I suppose, in lieu of some old names for the bird, I could tell you something ‘rude’. In preparation for breeding season these birds grow an extra-ordinary shaped horny (pun not intended, but I accept it) growth on the top bill, about a third from the tip, called a nuptial tubercle. I better leave you to imagine out how it's used.
sitting pretty
Like Brown Pelicans it can be difficult to find solitary birds to photograph. Drifting slowly past a small shingle ridge a few hundred metres off-shore I saw this lovely bird standing slightly apart from his chums. The colors (I was in the US) although limited are bold. The need to reduce light to ensure the white is correct exposed in the brilliant Floridian sun gives that nice deep blue of the sea. Pretty enough for me!
Pelecanus erythrorhynchos Cedar Key Fl. 28/09/2012
Canon 7D Sigma 500 f16 1/4000th ISO1000
Glossy Ibis Plegadis falcinellus
I quote: "The glossy ibis (Plegadis falcinellus) is a water bird in the order Pelecaniformes and the ibis and spoonbill family Threskiornithidae. The scientific name derives from Ancient Greek plegados and Latin, falcis, both meaning "sickle" and referring to the distinctive shape of the bill."I mean, say what you like, old Wiki does fill one with a fire to see this bird.
Well, of course, given that it is 'forrin' I have no old names or mythology with which to regale you. However, Glossy Ibis are another notable beneficiary from climate warming, and this large and very attractive bird is increasing its northward range in Europe. Being migratory, with most European birds returning to Africa for winter, there are always chances of 'overshoots' in spring, or just 'wandering off' type events'. Some odd birds in fact get it 180 degrees wrong at migration time, analogous perhaps to holding the map upside-down! And no, I am not even going to make some quip about them not all being female, no matter how much I might itch to. Anyway, it is such events that result in vagrant visitors and create the opportunities for range expansion as climates fluctuate. They have made the odd successful breeding attempt in the UK. So soon it will no doubt be able to get a British passport. To those who want to know (sadly very few these days) it was such processes, alongside others that led to the recolonisation of essentially all species to the UK as ice last started its retreat from these islands around 8000 years ago.
a tiniest part of the sky
As I’ve said elsewhere, I absolutely prefer to photograph single birds, but Glossy Ibis on migration usually come somewhat en masse . Indeed on this day, standing where I was, on the banks of the Douro, they came in like a storm front, literally darkening the eastern sky. There were thousands upon thousands flying in, and they’re not small birds by any means. I had long wanted to see one of these migration spectaculars, as birds from across parts of Europe coalesce into larger and larger groups as they travel southward. Well I did see one, then, right in front of me, then over me, then all around me, and wow, just wow.
But, as a photographer, I totally failed to capture it. Not least because, like WW1 fighter aces, they dropped out of the high sun, and there were simply too many, oh so many. To add to the misery when they got lower and circled they were inline which a great twin row of enormous and ugly transmission pylons spread across the landscape. I took hundreds, but knowing against hope that they would all be sh.., and I was right, again!
Well, although this is a dreadful picture, I want to try to convey something of what it was like. This is a tiniest part of that sky, probably less than 5%, and I could be pointing in any of dozens of directions to the east. Everywhere, anywhere, you looked it was like this, all at the same time. Overwhelming. But wow.
Plegadis falcinellus Tagus estuary 17/10/2024
Canon R5 EF500mm x1.4 f9.93 1/1025th ISO200
shiny
As a few hundred circle to land at a time, some pass behind me and the sun fleetingly catches this birds splendid colour scheme of iridescent blues and cyans against rufous-brown. Not for nothing are they called glossy ibis, although that seriously understates their loveliness. And this picture doesn’t do them a service either!
Tagus estuary 17/10/2024
Canon R5 EF500mm x1.4 f9.93 1/1025th ISO640
why i hate group photos
In a previous life, rather a lot of previous, I used to photograph weddings although, maybe I should clarify, never funerals. This was, of course, in the days of rolls of 120 film, with 12 frames on each. Usually, you took 24 pictures for a wedding. So, no f...-ups allowed! And, of course, a big part of the typical wedding are the carefully selected groups of relatives, all choreographed and arranged. And somewhere, in the midst, would be some damned kid a finger up his nose, or his tongue out, or an uncle manifestly staring at the bride's bum, how easy today when a photographer can pick one out of 100s if they wish. Pah, they have it cushy now! So, I prefer portraits, only one to pose or consider. However, I was clearly not going to find a single Ibis today, finger up it's nose or not.
Groups of perhaps a few hundred at a time sink lower and began to settle, as thousands continue to circle. Air traffic control was exquisite, this isn't France, not one collided. As more and more settled they just compounded my misery by using great gravel bars way too far away and directly in line with the sun. Glossy Bastards more like.
Looking around I notice a smaller bar, where only a hundred or so have settled, still way too far off for individual studies, but at least not back-lit. Here over a 100 Ibis, with some notable photo bombing Egrets, BW stilts, and Avocet. These latter species were probably all quietly resting on their own, enjoying themselves on a near empty island, before the 'masses' fell from the sky. I ponder how they feel now, probably the same as the human locals before the first Airbusses and Boeings of the season begin decanting thousands upon thousands of 'us' every year.
Plegadis falcinellus et al. Tagus estuary 17/10/2024 12:37
Canon R5 EF500mm x1.4 f9.93 1/1025th ISO640
