Bonaparte's Gull

You know it’s winter when you see the Bonaparte’s Gulls back in Vancouver! These gulls are smaller, more active, and just plain prettier than the Glaucous-winged and Herring Gulls that will steal your lunch at your summer picnic. You can recognize them by the black bill, black spot behind their eye, and black trailing edges of their primary feathers. In the summer, their whole heads turn black to impress each other for the breeding season. 

 

There is, in fact, no such thing as a “Sea” Gull. Many gulls, including Bonaparte’s, spend their summers near lakes and rivers in the middle of the continent. They make their nests in trees in the boreal forests of Canada and Alaska and eat mainly insects throughout the summer. This particular gull was on the hunt, looking for fish and other marine life to nab off of the water’s surface. She was flying in circles around the Jericho pier.

"Got any fries?" asks the Glaucous-winged Gull.

 

Who was Anna?

Upon request, here is the story of Anna:

A rich French naturalist (René Primevère Lesson) named Anna's hummingbird after Anne d'Essling. She was a French noblewoman in the emperor's court in the 19th century and never set foot in North America. Maybe the naturalist had a crush on her. Too bad for him, because she married someone else. You can see her painted below, on the left in the pink dress.

Anna's Hummingbird

Hummingbirds are the celebrities of the bird world. They’re flashy, they get a lot of attention, and they don’t take crap from anybody. You might think this little guy is pretty cute and harmless, but he is surprisingly aggressive and will guard his territory fiercely, especially against other hummers.

In the spring and summer in Vancouver you can also find Rufous Hummingbirds, who have reddish flanks and are even bigger bullies than Anna’s. They’ve moved south to greener pastures for the winter, but the Anna’s stay behind to take advantage of the open niche the Rufous left behind. They don’t only eat nectar from flowers, but also small flying insects. A hundred years ago the northern edge of their range was Baja California, but they’ve been on the march northward due to humans planting exotic flowers and putting out hummingbird feeders.

These tiny animals can sometimes be hard to spot, but listen for their weird squeaky song that sounds like an old bicycle, or sand being shaken in a metal can. Once you learn it you will hear them everywhere: on campus, in the lane behind your apartment, in a Cineplex parking lot… This one I saw near the hummingbird feeder in front of the Neville Scarfe building at UBC.

Bonus photo: just look at that mean look in his eye. He’s ready to take you down.

 

Cooper's Hawk

October 20, 2016, at Jericho Park

Cooper’s Hawks are excellent fliers prey on medium-sized birds and small mammals. Rural Cooper’s Hawks use their flying prowess to navigate dense woods. They are often city-slickers as well; the buffet of doves and pigeons in urban areas is too delicious to resist.

Cooper’s Hawks have banded tails and are about the size of a crow. They are notoriously hard to tell apart from Sharp-shinned Hawks, which are smaller and have quicker wingbeats. This one is a juvenile, with her brown head and streaked breast, but adults have orange and gray plumage. I saw her at Jericho Park, where she was being harassed by a handful of crows.