They Call 'Em the Wanderers...

...or maybe vagrants.  I spotted TWO 'new' birds in as many days!  Also sharing this post with Saturday Critters

BIRD ONE:

On Thursday [January 27], I found myself at the beach. I had blogged about my trip there that began before sunrise and the low tire fiasco on my personal blog post, "Day Trippin'" I wasn't about to let a flat tire ruin my time birding.  I left home with the intent of getting my 10k steps, but it wasn't to be, and I ended up on the beach near the south jetty, enjoying the morning tho it was windy and cold. Photos of the day [ships, birds, sunrise, a surprise antique car, etc.] was shared. As I stated there, on my personal blog, I started to leave the beach around 11 a.m. to go home, and almost drove right on past this one bird without notice. I happen to swerve the car around a bird that was sunning itself on the beach, and I stopped and looked. And looked again!! Yep, it was a pelagic bird! One that is most often seen only on the waters and rarely on land!!! I could tell it wasn't a seagull by the size, the coloration, the beak, and its tail...which has some feathers that have grown at 90 degrees from its elongated tail feathers!!

For a short time it continued to lay quiet, watching me in the car taking photos of it. The United States Coast Guard helicopter flew low and overhead, scaring it into flight and finally disappearing out to sea.  A Pomarine Jaeger!!  [pronounced PO ma reen YAY gur]. 

It is of the Skua family of birds, and the largest of all of them.  Pomarine is from the Greek meaning "lid-nosed"...it more or less looks like a layered shield on its hooked beak.  Jaeger is German for hunter.  So, the Skua is a lid-nosed hunter.  It's also been characterized as a 'pirate' since oftentimes it steals food from unsuspecting sea birds with intimidation and bickering until the other bird drops its meal.

It was very exciting to see this sea bird on land!!! In the third photo, the close up of its face, notice the "lid" or shield as I like to call it...giving the bird its name...

...sunning on the beach




When the Coast Guard flew overhead, low, the bird took flight...



POMARINE JAEGER
photos taken: Magee Beach [South Jetty] - Port Aransas, Texas
habitat map: Jaeger



BIRD TWO:

The next day, Friday [January 28], it was still chilly, but sunny. I wanted out of the house [I'm not one to sit inside if I can help it]. I took to a couple of parks. The first park I stopped at is a city park with a small pond....Lakeview Park. Intentions of walking around the pond two times for my step count was the plan. I hadn't expected to have to stop my pace, until, in the tree branches, along the bank, I spied a second 'new' bird in two days. This species is of the shelduck family. In fact, most website's references it as egyptian goose shelduck. Here in America it's simply called the Egyptian Goose. A Native of Africa. I imagine this is either a feral from the large flock of E. Geese that inhabits around Houston, Texas of which Texas birders know. Or perhaps offspring of such and released here in Corpus Christi. After my first trip around the pond that was full of American White Pelicans, Muscovy Ducks, Coots, White Ibis, Mallards, one Cooper's Hawk flew into a tree nearby as I was attempting photographing the goose, and domestic ducks and geese, I circled around a 2nd time...this time the Egyptian Goose wasn't where I found it the first time. It was gone. As I walked above the drainage culvert, I spied it again...asleep with a few of the domestic geese.

The ancient Egyptians considered these sacred.

By the way, a Gaggle of Geese is the birds on land or in water as a group. A Skein of Geese is a group of geese in flight!! Generically, they're flocks.

I stopped to take a few photos both times around...

EGYPTIAN GOOSE
photos taken: Lakeview Park - Corpus Christi, Texas
habitat map: Goose [Europe and Africa] and AMERICAN vagrant map




Read more on:  Pomarine Jaeger and Egyptian Goose
"Summers in the high Arctic. Winters off U.S. coasts as well as elsewhere in the world.  The Pomarine Jaeger is very rare inland, but could be seen in nearly any season." source

"The American Birding Association added the Egyptian Goose to the official North American ABA checklist in 2014, based on well-established breeding populations in southern Florida.  The species is also occasionally seen in Texas..."  source


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