Without question, Clear Lake is one of the most fertile and diverse lakes in California – if not the entire West. The lake is teeming with bird life and fish. Deer, otters and even mountain lions frequent its shores. Even so, many people never take time to enjoy this remarkable gift of nature.
As an example, consider the many bass fishermen who visit the lake each week. Most of these fishermen zoom across the lake at speeds of more than 60 mph in their modern bass boats, never seeing the massive flocks of pelicans or the graceful grebes.
Whereas I enjoy fishing, I often stop my boat and just enjoy the scenery. I”ve had ospreys dive from the sky and grab a fish within a few yards of my boat. Last year a pair of otters actually peaked over the side of my boat and stared at me. Studying the behavior of wildlife has always been a hobby of mine.
The past few weeks has seen hundreds of white pelicans skimming over the surface of the lake, a sight that takes your breath away. They are large birds, weighing up to 20 pounds and with 8-foot wingspans. In spite of their huge size they sit high on the water because their bones are full of air and they have large air sacs in their body. Because of this, they cannot dive underwater. Their primary food is fish and crustaceans. An adult pelican can consume up to 5 pounds of fish per day.
How they actually catch their fish is what makes these birds so fascinating. A flock of a dozen or more pelicans will surround a school of bait fish and then, by flapping their wings on the surface, will drive the fish into the shallow water where the birds scoop them up.
The flight of the pelican is pure choreograph in motion. The bird”s large wing surface area allows it to make a few flaps and then glide for several hundred yards. When in a flock they usually fly in single file or in a v-formation. Their flight is often described as “follow the leader” because if the lead bird makes a dip all the other birds make the same dip.
While many lake goers have seen the graceful Western Grebe, another grebe that”s abundant on the lake but seldom noticed is the Eared Grebe. That”s the little gray-colored bird that is often around the docks and will dive for the silverside minnows.
According to the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, the Eared Grebe is the most abundant grebe in the world. An unusual behavior trait is that the bird will get warm during cold mornings by facing way from the sun and exposing it rump to the warm sunshine.
Being a hunter one of my favorite birds is the Canadian goose and Clear Lake is now home to more than 200 of these magnificent birds. Their behavior has captured the attention of bird lovers for years. When they feed in the fields near Lakeport they always have a sentinel on the lookout for danger. What is interesting is how they switch sentinels during the time they are feeding. As if by a silent command a lone goose will take over for the existing sentinel and allow the others to feed safely. This switching from goose to goose goes on the entire time they are in the field.
Wild ducks also show some unusual behavior. Mallards in particular like to sleep when they”re not feeding. They will form a line and the duck on each end will actually keep one eye open. Researchers have found that each eye controls the hemisphere of the brain that”s associated with that eye. In other words, one-half of the duck”s brain is asleep and the other half is awake and alert for danger.
Recently I decided to test this theory on some ducks sleeping at Library Park in Lakeport. There was a flock about 10 ducks sleeping on the grass. Three of the ducks at the edge of the flock had one eye open and the other closed. The remainder of the birds had both eyes closed and were sound asleep. As I approached, the birds with one eye open immediately raised their heads. The other ducks stayed asleep. The ducks gave a soft quack, which alerted the other birds and they walked away.
The good news is that many of the birds on the lake can be observed from the shore. For example, the shoreline along Highway 20 is an excellent area to observe many of the birds. All it takes is a good pair of binoculars and a lot of patience. You can also learn more about the abundant bird life of Lake County by attending one of the meetings of the Redbud Audubon Society. They meet on the third Thursday of each month in the Kelseyville High School library at 7 p.m. They have some excellent speakers.
