Beak of the Week - Herring Gull

Herring Gull (Larus argentatus)
Family: Laridae

Distinguished from other local gulls by its larger size and generally bulky shape, the Herring Gull can be found in our area during the cooler months. While wintering in the Gulf Houston Area, Herring Gulls will scavenge for food along coastlines and in mudflats – as well as in agricultural fields, urban areas, and wherever else they can get a bite to eat. If you spot a Herring Gull flying close by, you might notice that it has a distinctive red spot near the tip of its yellow bill. When standing, a Herring Gull’s pink legs can also be a helpful identifier. Most adult Herring Gulls will have some gray mixed in with the white feathers on their head and neck during the winter and will molt into a cleaner white just before the summer breeding season.

Juvenile Herring Gulls don’t grow into the familiar light gray coloration until they are about four years old. They’re about the same size and shape as adult birds, but younger Herring Gulls are generally darker gray-brown with some blackish spots on their wingtips and tail.

By Aidan Healey, Conservation Technician, Houston Audubon
Photos by Greg Lavaty

Read more about the Herring Gull on our Bird Gallery by clicking here.

Comments

How to DIY a Dripper for birds

Are you running out of home projects to keep busy during the quarantine? Here’s one my hubby made for me that you can try: a DYI Dripper. I’ve long wanted a bird dripper to complement my yard’s wildlife habitat, and with spring migrants on the way, I was keen to provide a drip that will attract new birds that don’t visit feeders. I had a problem though. There is no water line or power source near my feeders. The idea of stringing a hose or wire across the driveway just isn’t practical. Enter the engineer. My husband thought about the location and the limitations for a bit, and came up with the concept of sourcing water for a dripper off the sprinkler system. By using a toilet tank that fills every time the sprinklers run, water can be constantly available for the drip. I nixed the idea of a toilet tank sitting in my yard though, so he made some aesthetic modifications by installing a toilet tank float inside a 5 gallon bucket hidden inside a custom wooden box with a handsome copper p

Beak of the Week - Yellow-crowned Night-Heron

Yellow-crowned Night-Heron ( Nyctanassa violacea ) Family: Ardeidae Our Beak of the Week is the official Bird of Houston , the Yellow-crowned Night-Heron! This seemingly hunch-backed bird can be a difficult one to spot. Both species of North American night-herons, yellow-crowned and black-crowned, forage mainly at night and spend most of the day hidden among branches near a body of water. These two birds can be differentiated easily by their plumage on and around their head. The most obvious difference is stated in their names: Yellow-crowned Night-Herons have a yellow crown and Black-crowned Night-Herons have a black crown. But that’s not the only difference! Yellow-crowned Night-Herons have a black head and face with a distinct thick white cheek stripe, whereas Black-crowned Night-Herons have a black head with gray on their face that extends down the whole front of the body. Yellow-crowned Night Herons also have a gray front and neck, but it contrasts greatly with their facial patter

Houston, we have an announcement. We’re now a Bird City!

We know that Houston is a vital city for birds, but now it’s official . Houston Audubon’s Conservation Team worked tirelessly in partnership with Houston Parks and Recreation Department (HPARD) Natural Resources Program to submit the application, and it paid off. Houston was honored as one of the first four cities to receive the Bird City Texas certification – an inaugural program by Audubon Texas and Texas Parks and Wildlife Department (TPWD). So, what exactly does being a Bird City mean? The big picture is that we have demonstrated that our community cares about birds, habitat, and conservation. The growing popularity of planting native plants, restoring prairies, bird-friendly education programs, and the Houston Lights Out for Birds program to reduce collisions for migrating birds were among the many efforts and programs that got us this designation. ( Go Houstonians! ) I personally witnessed the large amount of work that went into this application and was curious about

Houston Audublog

Search This Blog