Birds of Mazatlan (Mostly)

I continued to improve my techniques for stalking and catching birds in flight.  Here are the results from this week's efforts (and a little update on friends and projects):

Spotting the birds in the first place can be difficult.

This tricolor heron is particularly shy.  See it?

This one was out in the open and less skittish.

Even so, it took flight as I got closer and

I stalked it around the little island it inhabited.

This one was leery, but I was able to get

close enough for photos.

Sooner or later, they all take off when

approached, even when stalking cautiously.

While I've learned to recognize the signs of imminent

flight, it's still difficult and chancy to get them both in the

frame and in focus.

Black-crowned herons are a bit less nervous

than tricolored herons, but more skittish

than yellow-crowned herons.

Black-crowned heron takes off.

Yellow-crowned herons are easier to approach.

Some will let you get quite close.

Nonetheless, at some point they flee.

American oyster-catchers usually just quickly

walk away.

But I happened to catch this one flying by.

Willets also prefer to walk away unless panicked.

Snowy egrets also walk away first, but it doesn't

take much for them to take flight.

This osprey was somewhat less nervous,

perhaps because it's a predator.  It did take

off, of course, but I wasn't able to get a good

image of it in flight.

Got to see my friend Tod and his wife Donna

briefly as they stopped in Mazatlán on their way

to La Paz.

I joined Tod, Donna, Mark, Cindy and some other folks

for lunch by the pool at the El Cid hotel and marina.

Here's what Circadian's newly refinished 

sole (floor) looks like after six coats of

polyurethane.

Birds in the Estuary and On Board

I found another good place for spotting birds in the estuary this week, and got some good images.  I also took a couple of shots of the regular bird visitors on the boat.  Seeing them is enjoyable; cleaning up after them not so much.  As usual, there were nice sunrises and sunsets, too.
I continued work on refinishing the floor in the main cabin and it's almost done.  My friends Curt and Mary went back to the states for a visit and I miss them already.  But Carnival is coming and that should be fun!

Tricolor heron takes off

Tricolor heron in flight

American oyster-catcher catching a Mexican oyster

American oyster-catcher

American oyster-catcher

Long-billed curlew

Curlew foraging at low tide

Yellow-crowned heron

Black-crowned heron

Little blue heron

Little blue heron

Nearest the water, a snowy egret; above 

a cormorant

Above the cormorant, a black-crowned heron

Green night heron.  First one I've seen in Mazatlán.

They were common in Nuevo Vallarta, even in

the marina.  They seem to prefer to stay hidden 

in the mangroves in Mazatlán.

Green night heron

This dove visits my boat almost every day and does his

courtship song and dance.  Only once did I see a female

succumb to his charms.

As I've seen other places, the white-collared

seed-eaters seem to like roosting on the boat's

lifelines.

Another nice sunset...

...behind Circadian

Big sky in the early morning at the Marina Mazatlan

Looking back toward the marina from another part of

the harbor.

Sanding the floor in the cabin.

After six coats of polyurethane.  Almost done.

Sanding the final section.

First couple of coats on.