Rookery at the St. Augustine Alligator Farm Zoological Park: Part 2

Although none of the nesting birds seemed affected by the people at the gator farm, one bird was especially nonchalant. She was a juvenile tricolored heron that was perched on a post only a couple of feet away from the main boardwalk.

Juvenile tricolored heron (Egretta tricolor) preens on a post at the rookery at the St. Augustine alligator farm in St. Augustine, FL

If I may speak frankly, you humans all look like ugly monsters.

The wood storks were starting to perk up and get a little more active. A few of them flew short distances to land and loaf on different trees.

Wood stork (Mycteria americana) flaps wings at the rookery at the St. Augustine Alligator Farm in St. Augustine, FL

Wood stork (Mycteria americana) at the rookery at the St. Augustine Alligator Farm in St. Augustine, FL

Wood stork (Mycteria americana) at the rookery at the St. Augustine Alligator Farm in St. Augustine, FL

Wood stork (Mycteria americana) at the rookery at the St. Augustine Alligator Farm in St. Augustine, FL

The roseate spoonbills were still mostly hanging out.

Roseate spoonbill (Platalea ajaja) at the rookery at the St. Augustine Alligator Farm in St. Augustine, FL

Although I don’t like birds being obscured by branches, I really like the different patterns of shadows.

This next spoonbill was clamping down on branches and shaking them furiously. I’m not sure whether he was trying to gather nesting material or if he were shaking the branches as a mating display.

Roseate spoonbill (Platalea ajaja) at the rookery at the St. Augustine Alligator Farm in St. Augustine, FL

I’M. TOO SEXY FOR THIS BRANCH. TOO SEXY FOR THIS TREE. SO SEXY, YOU SEE.

Some egrets had their nests in a good-enough condition that the “on-duty” incubating bird could relax and lay on their eggs.

Great egret (Ardea alba) sits on a nest at the rookery at the St. Augustine Alligator Farm in St. Augustine, FL

Other egrets were actively working on their nests, even though the females had already started to lay eggs.

A pair of mated great egrets (Ardea alba) work together on a nest at the rookery at the St. Augustine Alligator Farm in St. Augustine, FL

A pair of great egrets together at their nest at the rookery at the St. Augustine Alligator Farm in St. Augustine, FL

The male snowy egret was still perching on the tree where he had run off the female he mated with.

Male snowy egret (Egretta thula) at the rookery at the St. Augustine Alligator Farm in St. Augustine, FL

SNOWY IS TOO YOUNG TO THINK OF SETTLING DOWN AND BUILDING A NEST. SNOWY IS FUN-LOVING AND CAREFREE!

Another great egret had a beautiful green lore.

Great egret (Ardea alba) at the rookery at the St. Augustine Alligator Farm in St. Augustine, FL

Great egret (Ardea alba) begins to shake itself in a rouse at the rookery at the St. Augustine Alligator Farm in St. Augustine, FL

Great egret (Ardea alba) at the rookery at the St. Augustine Alligator Farm in St. Augustine, FL

HELLO, LADIES. MY ASTROLOGICAL SIGN IS THE SEXY BIRD. WHAT IS YOUR SIGN?

Other great egrets displayed, hung out on their nests, and looked for nesting material.

Great egret (Ardea alba) at the rookery at the St. Augustine Alligator Farm in St. Augustine, FL

Great egret (Ardea alba) scratches an itch at the rookery at the St. Augustine Alligator Farm in St. AUgustine, FL

Great egret (Ardea alba) at the rookery at the St. Augustine Alligator Farm in St. Augustine, FL

The bills of the wood storks were fascinating to see up close. I remember a project in a ceramics class in which we burnished our pieces while the clay was still moist and later fired the pieces in a pit fire. The colors and the way the light hits the stork’s beak remind me of that burnished clay after it was fired.

Wood stork (Mycteria americana) at the rookery at the St. Augustine Alligator Farm in St. Augustine, FL

Wood stork (Mycteria americana) at the rookery at the St. Augustine Alligator Farm in St. Augustine, FL

The juvenile tricolored heron fluttered down to the banks and stepped into the water to hunt. At one point she walked right by a gator. The gator didn’t care.

Juvenile tricolored heron (Egretta tricolor) hunts for fish at the rookery at the St. Augustine Alligator Farm in St. Augustine, FL

Juvenile tricolored heron (Egretta tricolor) hunts for fish at the rookery at the St. Augustine Alligator Farm in St. Augustine, FL

She was able to catch a few small fish, but I didn’t get any pics.

Juvenile tricolored heron (Egretta tricolor) hunts for fish at the rookery at the St. Augustine Alligator Farm in St. Augustine, FL

The spoonbill that had been shaking branches gave up.

Roseate spoonbill (Platalea ajaja) sleeps at the rookery at the St. Augustine Alligator Farm in St. Augustine, FL

I’M. TOO SLEEPY TO BE SEXY. POOR ME.

The other adult spoonbill that I’d been watching also went to sleep.

Roseate spoonbill (Platalea ajaja) sleeps at the rookery at the St. Augustine Alligator Farm in St. Augustine, FL

A different spoonbill was awake, although she was just lounging around while a pair of nearby snowy egrets were bleating and working on a nest.

Roseate spoonbill (Platalea ajaja) at the rookery at the St. Augustine Alligator Farm in St. Augustine, FL

Some of the wood storks started gaping again.

Wood stork (Mycteria americana) flaps wings at the rookery at the St. Augustine Alligator Farm in St. Augustine, FL
Wood stork (Mycteria americana) at the rookery at the St. Augustine Alligator Farm in St. Augustine, FL

Wood stork (Mycteria americana) at the rookery at the St. Augustine Alligator Farm in St. Augustine, FL

DO YOU LIKE MY HALLOWEEN COSTUME, HUMAN? I’M GOING AS A TREE.

At that point, Q and I had been at the rookery for about two hours, so we decided to go check out the other exhibits at the gator farm.

Alligator (alligator mississippiensis) lounging in water, covered in bird droppings, at the rookery at the St. Augustine Alligator Farm in St. Augustine, FL

This rookery gator cracked me up because of all the bird shit on its back. It must have been hanging out in that position for a long time.

They had an African exhibit that I really liked. There was a red ruffed lemur that was dozing.

Red ruffed lemur (Varecia rubra) sleeps at the St. Augustine Alligator Farm in St. Augustine, FL

There was also a pair of marabou storks. They were awesome! I loved their long, dangling throat sacs. One of the storks preened the other for a few minutes. The preener then briefly preened herself before wandering off to get a drink of water.

Marabou stork (Leptoptilos crumenifer) preens at the St. Augustine Alligator Farm in St. Augustine, FL

Profile of a marabou stork (Leptoptilos crumenifer) at the St. Augustine Alligator Farm in St. Augustine, FL

What a striking bird.

 

Marabou stork (Leptoptilos crumenifer) at the St. Augustine Alligator Farm in St. Augustine, FL

Marabou stork (Leptoptilos crumenifer) takes a sip of water at the St. Augustine Alligator Farm in St. Augustine, FL

There were also cape griffon vultures and a hooded vulture. I thought that the hooded vulture was especially beautiful.

Cape griffon vultures (Gyps coprotheres) at the St. Augustine Alligator Farm in St. Augustine, FL

Hooded vulture (Necrosyrtes monachus) at the St. Augustine Alligator Farm in St. Augustine, FL

We also walked by a couple of Galapagos tortoises.

Galapagos tortoise (Chelonoidis nigra) ambling around at the St. Augustine Alligator Farm in St. Augustine, FL

Galapagos tortoise (Chelonoidis nigra) ambling around at the St. Augustine Alligator Farm in St. Augustine, FL

There were lots of other birds in other exhibits, although I didn’t take pics of them. I’ve never been particularly interested in alligators or crocodiles, but I was amazed by the diversity of the species they had at the gator farm.

One post remains.

Juvenile Bird Day! Starring: Ibis! Heron! Egret! And Last But Not Least . . . Vulture!

It was July 6, a Sunday. Q and I were visiting the rookery at UT Southwestern. It was getting near the end of the season, and most of the birds had already left. We first had to check on the Thothlings, our collective name for the three juvenile American white ibises that had hatched that spring.

Juvenile American white ibis (Eudocimus albus) perched in a tree at the UT Southwestern rookery in Dallas

PINK EYE IS PRESENT AND ACCOUNTED FOR!

We loved watching those ibises. I liked them best when they were getting just big enough to squirm out from underneath their parent in the nest, and I liked watching the parent’s desperate attempts to keep them tucked under her/his body. They were so cute, with their black heads and small, black-and-pink–striped, curved beaks. Once the Thothlings were distinctive enough that I could tell them apart, I named them. At first I was worried that I might not be able to keep them straight because their coloration would continue to change, but I realized that they would be long gone from the rookery before that became a problem. Watching them explore their nest tree was always fun. Eventually that exploration changed to short flights to other trees, then flights above the rookery. Then they left.

Juvenile American white ibis (Eudocimus albus) perched in a tree at the UT Southwestern rookery in Dallas

I AM CUDDLE MONSTER, AND I AM HERE ON JULY 6!

Juvenile American white ibis (Eudocimus albus) perched in a tree at the UT Southwestern rookery in Dallas

Pink Eye stands proudly in her nest tree.

We could see Pink Eye and Cuddle Monster, but where was Zebra?

Juvenile American white ibis (Eudocimus albus) perched in a tree at the UT Southwestern rookery in Dallas

I’M BACK HERE, SILLY HUMANS!

There were still a few large black-crowned night heron juveniles hanging around the rookery.

Juvenile black-crowned night heron (Nycticorax nycticorax) stands in a tree at the UT Southwestern rookery in Dallas

Juvenile black-crowned night heron (Nycticorax nycticorax) stands in a tree at the UT Southwestern rookery in Dallas

Juvenile black-crowned night heron (Nycticorax nycticorax) stands in a tree at the UT Southwestern rookery in Dallas

And some not-so-large black-crowned night heron juveniles.

Two baby black-crowned night herons (Nycticorax nycticorax) sit in a nest at the UT Southwestern rookery in Dallas

They look like tiny dinosaurs.

Throughout the spring several tricolored heron couples tried to nest at the rookery, but only three couples were able to make it to egg hatching. The most successful couple made a nest that, while visible, was far back in the foliage. The female in that couple was the first to lay eggs, and all three of the chicks survived to adolescence. The second couple had a much more visible nest near the ibis nest. The female laid at least two eggs. A few days after the first chick hatched and was able to move, I stopped seeing movement in the nest. By that time the second chick should have hatched. I hoped the babies were just asleep. The next day the heron couple had vanished, and a cattle egret was steadily pilfering sticks from the abandoned nest.

One day the adolescent tricolored birds disappeared. It happened right after a storm. I was sure they were dead, and although I never saw a corpse, I always kept watch for one. Q thought that the birds had simply grown too old for the nest and dispersed to other locations.

Q was right.

Juvenile tricolored heron (Egretta tricolor) stands in a tree at the UT Southwestern rookery in Dallas

I’M ALIVE!

After the reappearance, I only saw the tricolored juveniles when I was with Q. Maybe that was because we visited the rookery at different times when we were together than when I was alone. Or maybe they liked him better than they liked me. Once we even saw two of the juveniles flying to their old nest. That was nice.

As we were finishing our circuit around the rookery, Q and I saw a great egret juvenile wandering around near the Memorial Garden. Rescue time! The first time I rescued a great egret juvenile, I was concerned about the baby I saw staggering on the lawn in the hot sun, but I knew some types of juvenile birds would explore on the ground while their parent watched from a safe distance away. I didn’t want to interfere with that. I called up Rogers and explained my worry. “Do great egrets do that?” I asked.

“No. If a great egret is on the ground, the parents have forgotten it. It needs help.”

After that day, I started carrying a cardboard box in my car and plenty of towels in case I needed to make a rescue at the rookery.

Great egrets are shitty-ass parents. Really awful. If a bird falls out or is pushed out of the nest and can’t make its way back, it’s fucked. No one will help it. To make matters worse, like baby American white pelicans, baby great egrets often commit siblicide. Smaller/younger siblings who aren’t outright killed but who are still harassed may end up falling out of or intentionally leaving the nest to escape from their murder-inclined siblings.

By this time I had started carrying not only towels with me but a large bag I dubbed the “Birdie Bag.” If I found a bird too young to be on the ground outside the rookery, I would catch it, wrap it up in a large towel, and place it in the Birdie Bag to keep it secure until I got to Rogers. Using the Birdie Bag worked better than just holding a wrapped-up baby to my chest, and I hoped it made the experience less traumatic for the bird.

Abandoned juvenile great egret (Ardea alba) rescued and put in a bag for transport to Rogers Wildlife Rehabilitation Center

The wandering egret juvenile secured in the Birdie Bag, awaiting transport to Rogers.

When Q and I got to Rogers, we went to look at their birds after dropping off the egret. A few great blue herons live there and have the run of the place. The first time I saw them, I was very nervous. They were so close! I felt strange walking by them: “Uh, excuse me? Wild bird that is just standing there? Don’t you need to move? Run away? May I please get by?”

I almost always get a kick out of seeing a “wild” bird chilling next to human-made objects. This was no exception.

Great blue heron (Ardea herodias) lounges next to an air conditioning unit at Rogers Wildlife Rehabilitation Center south of Dallas

The heron looks like she’s just skipped class to go smoke near the back of the high school.

One of the baby vultures was hanging out by herself in the shade.

Juvenile black vulture (Coragyps atratus) lounges in the grass at Rogers Wildlife Rehabilitation Center south of Dallas

Greetings, humans!

THE STORY OF THE ROGERS VULTURES

Kathy Rogers told Q and me the story of the vulture family when we were at Rogers at the end of May. I’ve forgotten some of the details, but hopefully I can remember enough to do justice to the story.

Black vultures nest on the ground, in places with lots of cover. Ms. Rogers had noticed a pair of black vultures hanging around Rogers, and one day discovered that they had made a nest in a large cage that had been empty. Ms. Rogers said she was extremely excited to see the nest—because the birds nest on the ground, one cannot easily observe adult breeding behavior and juvenile behavior. She was looking forward to learning more about the vultures. She kept the cage empty for the vultures to continue using and observed them.

The black vulture couple laid two eggs. While they were incubating the eggs, Ms. Rogers received two abandoned black vulture eggs. She wondered if she could get the black vulture couple to care for the abandoned eggs/chicks along with the couple’s own offspring. Unlike great egrets, black vultures are excellent parents.

All four of the eggs hatched within the same week. Ms. Rogers introduced the extra chicks to the parents and supplied the parents with supplemental food to feed the new additions. The strategy worked: the parents accepted all four babies as their own and cared for them. Ms. Rogers said this news was especially excellent because the birds from the abandoned nest will have a pretty good chance of surviving in the wild due to the socialization and teaching they will learn from their adopted parents—black vultures are highly social and gregarious birds. For a while the babies had open access, but after they wound up in the woods, Ms. Rogers put them in a large pen with access outside to a “porch” where the parents could hop in and check on them. Once the babies got older, they had more access to the grounds. The last time I was at Rogers, they were old enough and strong enough to roost in trees and on roofs. They are heart-meltingly ADORABLE.

Juvenile black vulture (Coragyps atratus) stands in shade at Rogers Wildlife Rehabilitation Center, south of Dallas

You can still see little threads of yellow down around her neck.

We left that juvenile and saw another hanging out by herself under a bench, although four more juveniles were lounging under another bench near her.

Juvenile black vulture (Coragyps atratus) lies in the shade at Rogers Wildlife Rehabilitation Center, south of Dallas

Four juvenile black vulture (Coragyps atratus) lies in the shade at Rogers Wildlife Rehabilitation Center, south of Dallas

An adult had been sitting near the foursome, but she got up and walked out into the sunlight.

A black vulture (Coragyps atratus) walks on the grounds at Rogers Wildlife Rehabilitation Center, south of Dallas

Walter M. Miller, Jr was right: I do lovingly feed my young.

A black vulture (Coragyps atratus) walks on the grounds at Rogers Wildlife Rehabilitation Center, south of Dallas

She is walking past a cage that has a black vulture in it. I always wondered how the caged black vultures felt about the vulture family. Glad to see conspecifics? Sad that they couldn’t move freely, while the other birds could?

A black vulture (Coragyps atratus) stands in the sun at Rogers Wildlife Rehabilitation Center, south of Dallas

The juvenile who had been lying by herself near the foursome got up and looked adorable.

Juvenile black vulture (Coragyps atratus) standing in the shade at Rogers Wildlife Rehabilitation Center, south of Dallas

Then I realized something. The vulture family had four juveniles. When Q and I had first arrived, we’d seen a juvenile vulture. Then we saw the juvenile who had been lying down by herself. Next to her were the four juveniles resting together. The adult had joined another adult elsewhere on the property. That’s six juveniles and two adults.

I returned to all of the locations to see if any of the birds had moved—maybe I had mistakenly counted the same bird twice. Nope. Six juveniles. Four of them were obviously the Rogers birds, but who were the other two? Perhaps the count was four Rogers juveniles, one Rogers adult, and a different adult with its two juveniles who had come to visit the Rogers vultures. Do vultures even do that?! The next time I went to Rogers, there were only the four juveniles there.

UPDATE: I ran into a woman who works at Rogers (she was the person who taught me, after I had a near-miss experience, that egrets go for the eyes and I should wear safety glasses), and when I asked about the vulture family, she was able to make sense of what I’d seen. Not only had the vulture parents taken in the two newly hatched birds along with their own chicks, but later on in the season two more vulture chicks that had been abandoned were brought to Rogers, and the vulture parents adopted those birds as well. So there were six juveniles, total. The next time I was at Rogers and had only seen four, the two others might have been somewhere else on the property.

She also said that the vulture couple has been spotted visiting Rogers again with a couple of their offspring. She suspects that the parents might be looking to scope out the area for a possible nesting site. She said this year, they are only making one specific cage available to the parents to use, not the one the birds chose last year. It would be adorable if the vulture pair chose to raise young there again this coming year!

Juvenile black vulture (Coragyps atratus) standing at Rogers Wildlife Rehabilitation Center, south of Dallas

All right you humans, listen up. My name is Fluffy, and I’m here to instruct you in the fine art of being a vulture.

Back where the majority of the juveniles were hanging out, the vulture who had stood up decided to hop onto the bench.

Juvenile black vulture (Coragyps atratus) standing on a bench at Rogers Wildlife Rehabilitation Center, south of Dallas

Juvenile black vulture (Coragyps atratus) standing on a bench at Rogers Wildlife Rehabilitation Center, south of Dallas

Juvenile black vulture (Coragyps atratus) standing on a bench at Rogers Wildlife Rehabilitation Center, south of Dallas

The other vultures were still lounging on the ground.

Two black vultures lying on the ground at Rogers Wildlife Rehabilitation Center, south of Dallas

The vulture on the bench hopped down and went out to strut her stuff in the sun.

Juvenile black vulture (Coragyps atratus) standing at Rogers Wildlife Rehabilitation Center, south of Dallas

I WILL BE SO SEXY WHEN I AM A GROWN-UP.

Juvenile black vulture (Coragyps atratus) holds wings out at Rogers Wildlife Rehabilitation Center, south of Dallas

WHY IS NO ONE PAYING ATTENTION TO ME? NOW I AM ANGRY! GRRRR!

Q and I went back home, where I saw a pretty black bee hanging out on my gaillardia blooms. Does anyone know what kind of bee it might be? It was small, much closer to the size of a honey bee than a carpenter bee.

Black bee on a gaillardia flower in Dallas

One last thing: I hope that anyone reading this will strongly consider donating to Rogers Wildlife Rehabilitation Center. They do excellent work rehabilitating and caring for birds.

Birds at the Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge: March 2014 Florida Visit

I’ve been up to (over to? across to?) Titusville several times in the past, either to visit the Kennedy Space Center or to watch shuttle launches, but I’d never been birding in the Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge. My father and I went there together, and I got to see another bird I’d been hoping to see.

We paused along a pull-off point because I saw a few birds standing together and wondered what they were. The day was extremely windy, and taking in-focus pictures was a huge challenge. The birds were about the size of a heron, with pink feathers and a long, strange bill with a circular curve at the end.

They were roseate spoonbills. I had never seen one before nor even heard of them.

The spoonbills eventually flew off, and almost right as they did, a tricolored heron flew in and began to hunt. I was so pleased! Little did I know that I would be seeing more tricolored herons in the future, and in Dallas.

We tried the Atlantic side, hoping for brown pelicans, but there was almost no birds and LOTS of people. We turned away from the Atlantic, and that’s when we started seeing more birds.

Little blue heron (Egretta caerulea) perches on a dead tree at the Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge in Florida

Oh, Little Blue, birdie, I love you, Little Blue.

Tricolored heron (Egretta tricolor) lands on a tree at the Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge in Florida

Nice of you to drop in, madam!

The tricolored flew in right as my father and I were turning back from a trail that had ended in muck. As we would walk closer to the heron, she would fly and land just a little in front of us.

Tricolored heron (Egretta tricolor) perches on a branch at the Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge in Florida

Just gorgeous.

Finally she got tired of us always catching up with her and flew off for real.

Tricolored heron (Egretta tricolor) in flight at the Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge in Florida

BYE, HUMANS!

We went by a location that was frequented by manatees, so we decided to drop in and look. We didn’t find manatees . . .

Turkey vulture (Cathartes aura) soars through the air at the Merritt Island Natinal Wildlife Refuge in Florida

The turkey vulture, one of my father’s favorite birds.

Brown pelican (Pelecanus occidentalis) flies above water at the Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge in Florida

HELLO, AGAIN!

The adult brown pelican was initially loafing on a railing in a restricted part of the river. She dove into the water, floated for a while, then took off and began flying in circles. A juvenile joined in on the flying fun.

Juvenile brown pelican (Pelecanus occidentalis) poops while flying above water at the Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge in Florida

Pooping birds crack me up. I don’t know why.

Brown pelican (Pelecanus occidentalis) flies above water at the Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge in Florida

ZOOM!

We went on a walk in an area of pine habitat, where we saw some scrub-jays and an immature bald eagle. Overall it was a good visit, and I hope that the next time I go to Florida, Q will come with me so we can check out the refuge together.

Brown Pelicans Flying Over the Atlantic: March 2014 Florida Visit

A while ago I talked with J R Compton about what he thought were the two main types of birders: watchers and listers. Watchers, he said, are pretty much happy with whatever bird turns up, while listers know what they want to see and seek out their target.

I had a boss who was a lister. She asked me if I had a birding bucket list and seemed surprised when I said I didn’t.

In general I consider myself a watcher. I like pretty much all birds, and they can all be interesting. I even like grackles and gulls! But there were a few birds that I really hoped I could see. One was a tricolored heron. Another was the brown pelican.

Since I was going to be in Florida, I thought I might try looking for some brown pelicans while I was there. I found a likely spot in New Smyrna Beach, and off my mother and I went to find the birds.

The only problem was that I never found the turn-off that would take us northwest to where the birding location was, and we found ourselves going southeast along A1A, which runs along the Atlantic Ocean. My mother didn’t have a physical map, and my phone was refusing to reload any imagery of the map I had up. We talked about pulling over randomly and walking out to the beach, just to find out if we could see anything, but before we could decide to do that, I saw a sign for the Great Florida Birding Trail.

“Let’s follow that and see where it goes,” I said.

It went to the Canaveral National Seashore.

We spent a little bit of time on the Indian River side before going out to the Atlantic to look for the brown pelicans.

Black vulture (Coragyps atratus) standing on a sign post at Canaveral National Seashore

Not a brown pelican, but welcome nonetheless.

There were a few birds hanging out on the beach.

A royal tern (Thalasseus maximus) on the shore of the Atlantic Ocean at Canaveral National Seashore

All the Forsters Terns at White Rock Lake will see this pic and begin to mournfully sing, “And we’ll never be royals . . . “

A ruddy turnstone (Arenaria interpres) on the shore of the Atlantic Ocean at Canaveral National Seashore

Ruddy Turnstone among shrimp.

Then my mother spotted a group of brown pelicans. Several small groups came through in waves, and occasionally a loner would fly in by herself. The pelicans were flying from south to north. Because I was so used to white pelicans, the coloration of the brown pelicans shocked me; they looked as though they had painted their faces with garishly colored make-up.

Four brown pelicans (Pelecanus occidentalis) flying over the Atlantic Ocean at Canaveral National Seashore

 

Two brown pelicans (Pelecanus occidentalis) flying over the Atlantic Ocean at Canaveral National Seashore

When I would watch groups of pelicans fly into Sunset Bay to loaf, I would hum the opening to Holst’s “Mars.” I did this with the brown pelicans. My mother tried to compete with me. She began humming Wagner’s “Ride of the Valkyries” despite my protestations and explanations why “Mars” was clearly the better choice. She won. I started humming “Ride of the Valkyries” with her as the pelicans soared over us.

Juvenile brown pelican (Pelecanus occidentalis) flying over the Atlantic Ocean at Canaveral National Seashore

Juvenile brown pelican (Pelecanus occidentalis) flying over the Atlantic Ocean at Canaveral National Seashore

Brown pelican flying (Pelecanus occidentalis) over the Atlantic Ocean at Canaveral National Seashore

Brown pelican (Pelecanus occidentalis) flying over the Atlantic Ocean at Canaveral National Seashore

Brown pelican (Pelecanus occidentalis) flying over the Atlantic Ocean at Canaveral National Seashore

Brown pelican (Pelecanus occidentalis) flying over the Atlantic Ocean at Canaveral National Seashore

Four brown pelicans (Pelecanus occidentalis) flying over the Atlantic Ocean at Canaveral National Seashore

We decided that we’d had a good outing and that we’d let one more flock of birds go by before we left. After all, we had driven much further than we’d anticipated and still had to get back home.

Three brown pelicans (Pelecanus occidentalis) flying over the Atlantic Ocean at Canaveral National Seashore

Good night, and thank you.