Western Sandpiper

Western Sandpiper What do I look like? I’m small brown and white bird with dark speckles on my back. I have a short slightly drooping black beak and thin black legs. What do I eat? Using my slender beak I poke around mud and shallow water for insects and crustaceans. Where do I live? I like to live in and around Shores, mudflats, grassy pools, and wet meadows. Where do I go on vacation? During summer I enjoy spending time in North America. In the winter I enjoy visiting Mexico and coastal regions where it is warmer. Interesting Fact This is one of the most abundant shorebird species in North America with a population in the millions. Northern Shoveler What do they look like? Boy Shovelers are very colorful with a green head as well as a white and rusty red body. Girl Shovelers are mostly brown so they can camouflage better. Both have a flat shovel like bill. What do they eat? Forages by swimming along with bill lowered into the water, straining out small crustaceans and other invertebrates. Where do they live? Marshes and prairie potholes. Sometimes on salt or brackish marshes. Where do they go on vacation? In summer they like to spend time in Alaska and Canada. During the winter they fly to Mexico where it is warmer. Interesting Fact Socially, they occasionally work together in groups while feeding, rotating like a pin-wheel, stirring up the surface water and skimming it for food particles. American Avocet What do I look like? At a little over a foot tall I am black, white and a rusty red color. I have a long curved bill and long grey blue legs. What Do I Eat? Using my long curved bill to stir up the water they I pick out and eat crustaceans, insects and seeds from marsh plants. Where do I live? Estuaries, Mudflats, Shallow Pools, Ponds and Sloughs. You can find many of these places at the Don Edwards San Francisco Bay Wildlife Refuge. Where do I go on vacation? In the winter time I like to visit California Arizona and Mexico where it is warmer. Interesting Fact Baby Avocets start walking, swimming and diving within 24 hours of their birth Black-Necked Stilt What do I look like? I’m a black and white bird that has a long straight beak and long bright red legs. I’m about a foot tall (the length of a ruler). What Do I Eat? Using my pointy beak I poke through mud to find and eat small water creatures like brine flies, crawfish, brine shrimp, snails and small fish. Where do I live? I live on the edges of shallow salt, fresh and brackish water. Somewhere like Don Edwards San Francisco Bay Wild Life Refuge. Where do I go on vacation? During the winter when it gets too cold I like to travel to Texas and Mexico where it is warmer. Interesting Fact Stills live in small groups when laying their eggs. They all make lots of noise to attempt to chase off predators. Phalarope What do I look like? I am a sparrow sized bird that has a dark head and back, white chin and belly separated by chestnut front and sides of neck. What do I eat? Floating around in water I use my narrow beak to catch things in the water. My three favorite things to eat are insects, brine shrimp and zooplankton Where do I live? I like to lay my eggs in the low Arctic, on tundra ponds with marshy shores and bogs. What Do I Eat? Where do I go on vacation? I visit the open ocean, beaches, flats, and lake and river shores, marshes, mudflats and salt ponds during migration. Interesting Fact When in shallow water, Phalaropes spin in circles to make a whirlpool that brings up food from the bottom. Green-Winged Teal What do they look like? Male’s have chestnut head, green ear patch, pale gray sides, and pinkish chest with a vertical white stripe down the side. Females are dark brown without distinctive markings. What do they eat? I like to eat seeds of marsh plants as well as some insects and crustaceans. Where do they live? They like to live in Marshes, ponds, around mudflats and marshy lakes. Where do they go on vacation? I like to live around Alaska and Canada during the summer. In winter I head south where it is warmer. Interesting Fact The female teals and baby teals are a mottled brown color so they can hide from predators. Snowy Egret What do I look like? I’m a slender, medium-sized heron that has white plumage, a slim black bill, long black legs, and vivid yellow feet. Where do I live? I live in salt ponds, swamps, marshes, lagoons and estuaries. What Do I Eat? I eat mostly aquatic animals, including fish, frogs, worms, crustaceans, and insects. Where do I go on vacation? During the summer I like to hang out in Mexico or along the gulf coast where it is warmer Interesting Fact Snowy egrets often use their feet to paddle in the water or probe in the mud, rounding up prey before striking with their bill. American White Pelican What do I look like? I am a large white bird with a long neck, yellow bill and a large mouth. Where do I live? Islands shallow lakes and shallow wetlands. What Do I Eat? Fish and lots of it! I mostly eat small fish like minnows, carp and suckers by floating in the water and scooping them up. Where do I go on vacation? I spend winters mainly on coastal waters bays and estuaries. Interesting Fact Pelicans sometimes work together to move schools of fish to shallow water so they can catch them easily. Mallard What do they look like? Males have a green head, white neck ring, chestnut breast, and grayish body. Females are a mottled brown with white tail. Where do they live? They live in ponds, lakes, and marshes to small river bends, bays, and even ditches and city ponds. What do they eat? They are general foragers. Meaning they eat all kinds of things like insects, crustaceans and plant seeds. Where do they go on vacation? During the winter they are widespread across the United States and Mexico Interesting Fact The oldest known Mallard was 27 year old. Double Crested Cormorant What do I look like? I Am a Large, long necked black bird with a yellow and orange bill and bright blue eyes. Where do I live? Sea coast, bays, harbors, rivers, and lakes. And sometimes I share a home with pelicans! What Do I Eat? Diving from the air I eat schooling fish like capelin, flounders, herring, top cod and aquatic bugs. Where do I go on vacation? I don’t usually travel around too much. I like to stay at home. Interesting Fact Cormorants aren’t water proof like ducks, so after swimming they have to sit in the sun and dry their wings out. Canada Goose What do I look like? I have a brownish body with black head, long black neck, and a white cheek patch Where do I live? I live in lakes, bays, rivers, and marshes. Often feeds in open grasslands and stubble fields. What Do I Eat? In the spring and summer I like to eat plants like grass but in the fall and winter I like berries and seeds. Where do I go on vacation? I spend my summers in Canada and fly to the US and Mexico for winter. Interesting Fact When flying in a group geese will form a “v” shape. This makes it easier to fly long distances. California Gull What do I look like? I am a grey and white bird with a yellow bill. Where do I live? I like to live on interior lakes and marshes What Do I Eat? I like to eat Fish, insects, earthworms, small mammals, grain, garbage, fruit, and marine invertebrates. Where do I go on vacation? During the winter I spend most of my time on the coast anywhere from Canada to Baja California. Interesting Fact California Gulls are opportunistic feeders and can be found following farm cultivators or eating garbage depending on what’s available. Great Egret What do I look like? I am an elegant white bird with a pointy yellow beak, long neck and long legs. They can be up to 3 feet tall! Where do I live? Coastal Lagoons, salt marshes and mudflats and the edges of sloughs. You can find many of these places in the Don Edwards San Francisco Bay Wildlife Refuge. What Do I Eat? Using my pointy beak I poke through mud and water to eat small fish, crabs and insects. Where do I go on vacation? I like to travel to the south in winter to places like Mexico where it’s warmer Interesting Fact The Great egret used to be a threatened species but thanks to wildlife refuges and people who love birds they’re doing well again! Ruddy Duck What do they look like? Male ruddy ducks have a sky-blue bill, shining white cheek patch, and gleaming chestnut colored body Females are a mottled brown and white with a dark bill. Where do they live? They live in freshwater/saltwater marshes, marshy lakes, and ponds; What do they Eat? They eat aquatic insects, crustaceans, zooplankton, and other invertebrates, along with small amounts of aquatic plants and seeds. Where do they go on vacation? They like to spend my winters around the gulf coast where it is warmer Interesting Fact The female and baby ruddy ducks are a mottled brown color so they can hide from predators.

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