The Stingrays

On the second week of January, the stingrays in the marina were mating.

Stingray mating Male elasmobranchs bite and grip the body of their female mates during courtship and copulation, as described in this research link from the Elasmobranch Research Laboratory at Florida Atlantic University. Scroll down that page to "Stingray mating."

This winter was the first time that I have actually witnessed a stingray bite another in this annual ritual. You probably know how shark "teeth" are formed from modified scales that are constantly growing out. In some sharks and rays, the teeth are just bony gums, but the male ray can grow pointed teeth in the mating season.

Just after sunrise on quiet mornings, coots and grebes will be seen running in terror from the stingrays.

Brants

A small flock of sixteen Brant geese, Branta bernicla, were visiting the Chula Vista Bayside Park during the last week in January.

Brant Geese (according to this link) breed in Canada and Alaska. In winter they migrate along the California coast feeding on eelgrass and marine plants. Their biggest danger is loss of winter habitat to encroaching civilizations. In southern California where the wetlands are almost all gone, they are totally screwed.

Danger

A Pied billed grebe gives the same warning display as used by the coots. The bird holds its head erect while showing its white undertail coverts.

The Blackbird

Brewers Blackbirds appear almost every morning after sunrise. They swoop down and help themselves to the coots' food at the back of the boat. Some of them recognize me, and will stand and squawk, staring at me until I provide a worm.

I noticed this female in December, apparently seriously injured by a predator attack. Her left leg dangles broken and useless, and part of her tail is missing. She is always alone now, and never misses a morning feeding.

Wild Coots

A dozen wild coots are fed inside the yacht basin at the end of the dock. Vegetation by the sidewalk has almost all been removed, so the birds can't find food there and are safer in the water. A few of them have the remarkable ability to "hop" up the sixteen inches to the dock.

Hopping Coots Movie

The more athletic birds get a better share of the food without the problems of the fish and stingrays. I suspect that they just want to get closer to the source of food.

When a bird first hops up on the dock, it may have a bemused appearance, as if overcome by all the new sights.

Early Spring ?

Unusually warm weather in the middle of January has Beaky Coot thinking of his nest.

Stick Movie shows his collecting this large stick for his nest.

By the next day he had forgotten about this. He usually builds his nest in the first week of July.

Doves have also appeared in the marina, and seem to be planning future nesting spots.

The Ducks

Last September about half of the fifty mallards were exterminated in the parking lot and the terrified survivors fled to the far corner of the marina by Bayside Park. Since then the ducks have wandered between the park and the marina. They often make loud quacking noises in the night and early mornings, disturbing marina residents.

Now the ducks cause trouble for the coots, as a pair of mallards takes over Beaky and Monday's roosting spot.

The picture above shows Beaky sleeping with a pair of mallards at his roost this January. The picture at the right shows Beaky with a mallard on his roost last September. Beaky likes the ducks even if they often make his life difficult.

Monday evidently does not like the ducks and she often sleeps elsewhere, so sometimes the coots are separated. This is a danger for the crippled old coot if he is forced to fight to defend his territory. When he has his mate with him, it is unlikely an intruder would challenge him.

I Hate it When That Happens Department

1. When dead animals fall from the sky:

USDA rains dead birds onto town N.J. Town Shocked As Dead Birds Fall From Sky WCBS News (NJ)

The public outrage indicated in the above link stands on its own. However, additional questions about the legality of the USDA claims of safety remain. The Federal Insecticide, Fungicide and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA), 7 U.S.C. of the US EPA (Environmental Protection Agency) applies, and pesticide warning litigation has challenged plaintiffs over the last decade.

Stupid Sign of the Month

It is not for lack of opportunity that we have not made this a monthly department. It just seems that no rational person would believe this sort of thing, but here is the picture for this month:

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Description

This modification eliminates the annoying glare from the camera's display when used at night.

Instructions

Material Required: Black plastic electrical tape, 3 inches

Tools Required: Scissors

Cut and apply two pieces of the tape to cover the camera's display window.

Big Picture:

The ugly and stupid kleptoparisitic coot can always be recognized by his idiotic yap and crooked face. He remains agressive and wary; and never becomes calm or tame. He will be six years old this spring.

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