A variety of birds graced our lives today. They came in all shapes, sizes and colors. Each makes a living in a different way, yet all are supremely adapted to their own lifestyle. Stiff-winged pelagic tubenose birds glided just above the sea's surface in the vicinity of Gorda Banks - an underwater seamount. Spending most of their lives at sea, feeding on fish, special glands enable them to expel excess salt through nasal tubes. Black and white is a common color scheme for sea birds and other marine creatures. Usually males and females look similar and both will care for their young. Whether predator or prey, they want to blend into their surroundings. Another black and white bird seen this morning - the pomarine jaeger - steals food from other birds that make an honest living. These robust birds and their kin nest on the northern tundra.
Land birds have different strategies. The afternoon a patient bird walk through semi-dry habitat presented views of a female northern cardinal, ash-throated flycatchers, verdins and gnatcatchers, a gila woodpecker, northern mockingbird, male and female varied buntings, and a gray thrasher. The latter is one of the endemic birds of the Baja Peninsula. They are all able to coexist here because they fill different niches. Some pairs look alike, others contrast strikingly. The burden is largely on the female for nest building and incubation. Many males are accomplished singers and are chosen by selective females. Several species of wading birds, including this great egret, can be found boldly stalking prey right around the docks of Cabo San Lucas harbor. Intent and intense, they often seem oblivious of the hustle and bustle of human activity around them. They depend on stealth and speed to be successful.
