Tuesday, December 6, 2016

Grackle bath time

I recently came upon a Great-tailed Grackle taking a bath in the lagoon formed at the San Luis Rey River mouth.

He had waded belly-deep into the shallows and spread his tail widely...

Great-tailed Grackle bath
Great-tailed Grackle. Oceanside, California. November 6, 2016. Greg Gillson.
He made an amazing splashing...

Great-tailed Grackle bath

How? He opened his wings slightly, rocked side-to-side and flapped his mostly-closed wings, dipping his head underwater, bringing it out and shaking it. Notice the nictitating membrane covering his eye...

Great-tailed Grackle bath

Now, not quite so violently; letting the spray settle...

Great-tailed Grackle bath

Resting before starting again...

Great-tailed Grackle bath

It feels so good!

No comments:

Post a Comment

I really want to hear from you! I've changed settings (again) in order to try to make commenting easier without opening it up to spammers. Please note, however, that comments to posts older than 14 days will be moderated. Thank you.