Heermann's Gull

(51 views)
by Terry Costales

This juvenile Heermann's gull exhibits its main identifying marks clearly: black feet, red bill and dusky body. As an adult, its head will become pure white.

American White Pelican

(50 views)
by Terry Costales

There was this one lone white pelican at the nature center that day. It was probably an injured bird being nursed back to health, or it just knew a good hand-out when it saw one.

White-bellied Bustard (Eupodotis senegalensis)

(50 views)
by Terry Costales

I was quite taken with this two foot tall, chicken-turkey-like bird. It's a ground dwelling native of eastern Africa.

Green Basilisk (Basiliscus plumifrons)

(49 views)
by Terry Costales

A female basilisk showed up at breakfast looking for a handout of food scraps. The kitchen staff were pleased to see it and urged us to give it food. Not a good thing for the lizard but very entertaining for guests.

Black Crowned Night Heron

(48 views)
by Terry Costales

It's breeding season again for the Night Herons and Snowy Egrets. Here is a Heron settling a property dispute with his Egret neighbor.

Cormorant

(48 views)
by Terry Costales

This bird is resting on an urn placed next to a reflecting pool inside the Stuttgart Zoo. It isn't caged and flew in on its own. I witnessed many herons, storks and cormorants fly into various enclosures to take advantage of the plentiful food supply.

White Stork (Ciconia ciconia)

(48 views)
by Terry Costales

This photo was taken from high on the hill in the center of the zoo. It shows the storks nest in context.

Black-Crowned Night Heron (Nycticorax nycticorax)

(48 views)
by Terry Costales

A large fledgling appears mesmerized by the camera.

Capybara (Hydrochoerus hydrochaeris)

(48 views)
by Terry Costales

This Capybara needs a good brushing.

Bryan and Terry showing off their Segway skills.

(47 views)
by Terry Costales

Amazing!! What a thrill!! Segways rock!

Mandarin Duck (Aix galericulata)

(47 views)
by Terry Costales

Mandarin ducks are very striking in appearance. At least the male, he looks like he's wearing a costume.

Bufflehead (Bucephala albeola)

(47 views)
by Terry Costales

The male Bufflehead is a strikingly beautiful bird. There were several on the lake this summer-like day, having a good time diving to avoid the photographer.

White Stork (Ciconia ciconia)

(47 views)
by Terry Costales

These storks were nesting in a very tall tree inside of the Karlsruhe Zoo. I took this photo from partway up the hill in the center of the park.

Capybara (Hydrochoerus hydrochaeris)

(47 views)
by Terry Costales

A capybara peeking coyly from behind its giant palm frond.

Yellow-crowned Night Heron (Nyctanassa violacea)

(47 views)
by Terry Costales

I have seen many black-crowned night herons but this was the first yellow-crowned I'd ever seen. They reside in Costa Rica year round.

Capybara (Hydrochoerus hydrochaeris)

(47 views)
by Terry Costales

Catching the afternoon sun, the master of the grasses rests in its domain.

Roseate Spoonbill

(47 views)
by Terry Costales

I was focusing my attention on the spoonbill but good lord! Look at the length of the neck on that egret!

Roseate Spoonbill (Platalea ajaja, sometimes Ajaia ajaja)

(47 views)
by Terry Costales

On our boat trip to Turtle Beach Lodge we saw many Roseate Spoonbills feeding near the banks. When they feed, they move their heads rapidly back and forth in the shallow water, making them look very industrious and a bit silly.

Anhinga (Anhinga anhinga)

(47 views)
by Terry Costales

Anhingas look a lot like cormorants. They differ in that they have straight not hooked bills, longer tails and necks, and have silver-white markings on their wings. This was a female. A male would have had a black neck.

Canvasback (Aythya valisineria)

(47 views)
by Terry Costales

This is a male Canvasback duck resting in the water. You can't see the long red neck in this photo but I like the pose anyway.

Little Blue Heron (Egretta caerulea)

(47 views)
by Terry Costales

While canoeing to a nearby lagoon, we happened upon a flock of little blue herons taking flight. I originally thought the white one was another species but later discovered it did belong in the flock because it was a juvenile little blue heron.

Pied-billed Grebe (Podilymbus podiceps)

(46 views)
by Terry Costales

This is a very cute little diving bird . When they come up after a dive they puff up their posterior so it looks like a big powder puff. Then right before they dive, they bring those feathers close to their body and the powder puff becomes a streamlined torpedo.

Spectacled Caiman (Caiman crocodilus)

(46 views)
by Terry Costales

A caiman lived in the lodge marina and could almost always be seen hanging out in its far corner. We found out the marina staff were feeding it chicken scraps from the kitchen. I supppose feeding a caiman is much more exciting than feeding a stray dog or feral cat.

Lesser Scaup

(46 views)
by Terry Costales

The male lesser scaup is almost identical to the male greater scaup. The head of the lesser gleams purple whereas the greater gleams green. Supposedly the lesser is also smaller than the greater, but I haven't found that to be so.

Ugly Bird

(46 views)
by Terry Costales

I don't know what kind of bird this is. Some kind of stork-like-vulture-thingy. It was in the walk-through aviary. Scary huh?