Every time i came close to these birds they would quickly walk away. It's as if they kept their eyes on me no matter what. Just when i thought the bird was looking away i would move a little closer to take a better picture; however, the seagull would then turn its head towards me and reposition itself. Seeing them fly around in the beach in flocks made me think that they were not shy animals. They nearly attack anything that looks like food. However, the individual seagull i saw acted completely different. It seemed more reserved. I came with the conclusion that these types of birds are more social when they are in groups rather than alone, they are more willing and confident in there moves in groups.
I saw these birds during my stay in Florida. Being big birds i thought they would stay away, for some reason i thought they would be shy. However, they proved me wrong. They came close and wandered around the park. From my observations these birds are used to the people and are okay with human interactions, only if they receive food. These beautiful and delicate birds swam in pairs or groups.
There were few ducks in Echo Park. I was expecting more ducks but sadly i did not see the overwhelming amount of ducks i was expecting. All of the ducks were in the water, none dared to step on out of the safe body of water. I noticed that duck's feathers do not get wet. One went under water, literally submerged its body underwater, and when it came back up the feathers looked dry. I now know that ducks have special properties that protect their feathers. Seeing the amount of people present in the park you would think the ducks would be used to the people and less shy; however, no. As i came close to them, they would turn their bodies away and swim away...the pigeons were more welcoming.
these birds seemed to have been in groups of two or three. After reading articles i now know it is for the purpose of mating. They did not seem to care about the distance a human's range they were within. If I or anyone else encountered the bird they simply remained calm and strutted in their own pace. It was as if they have trained to be calm or they have been constantly exposed to humans. But birds wouldn't quickly adjust. Most of the peafowls i saw were on top of roofs...maybe their nests were there?
I chose birds as my focus because i am a fanatic of birds. At first i was thinking about changing my focus, due to the difficulty of taking pics of birds; however, i came to the everlasting conclusion of sticking to one of my favorite animals, birds, as my focus. One of the birds i focused on were Indian Peafowls. These birds in particular are not in any danger what so ever; the peafowls are abundant and raise no concerns. The peafowls are an introduced species, originating from India. Even though these birds do not raise any concerns with their status, they do face habitat destruction,poaching/hunting, predation, all of these concerns lay in Bharatpar, their native country (https://search-proquest-com.ezp.pasadena.edu/docview/1807049933/fulltextPDF/77ED61A96A644F92PQ/1?accountid=28371). These birds are highly sensitive to habitat destruction and; therefore, give the human population a clear indication when they are pushing it too far. Even with all the possibilities for the peafowls to face an endangerment status, they do not due to their spreading. The indian peafowl has been introduced to many countries giving them a boost in their numbers. These birds are breed in almost every continent. They are even protected in their native country, India. Another reason these birds seem to be doing fine, when it comes to their numbers, is correlated to their breeding season. These birds are polygamous, signifying that their breeding season is whenever, but is dependent on rain (https://search-proquest-com.ezp.pasadena.edu/docview/1878388461/fulltextPDF/49836EF18F45419FPQ/1?accountid=28371). Indian peafowls seem to peak in April, they gradually seem to decrease in population in December. Males open their feathers and dance in the rain to attact females (https://animalcorner.co.uk/animals/peafowl/). During their mating season, it is important for the sex ratio to be at a specific ratio. The sex ratio contributes to genetic variation in personality, fertility, etc (https://search-proquest-com.ezp.pasadena.edu/docview/1516045720?OpenUrlRefId=info:xri/sid:wcdiscovery&accountid=28371). If the sex ratio is kept where it needs to be, then there will never be a worry for the numbers decreasing. These peacock look alikes have an urge to look for predators (https://search-proquest-com.ezp.pasadena.edu/docview/1515231158? OpenUrlRefId=info:xri/sid:wcdiscovery&accountid=28371). They seem to scan the area they are in, looking for predators. This is a great instinct that helps the bird's population thrive, which results in humans not having about the conservation of the peafowl. Another bird i mainly focused on were ducks. Similar to the Indian peafowl, the ducks hit a peak in April and steadily decrease as the months get closer to December. The total observations of Mallards has been decreasing, one of the reasons it has been decreasing is due to the fact that the nests get destroyed (https://search-proquest-com.ezp.pasadena.edu/docview/196447953/fulltextPDF/6361659536DD491DPQ/1?accountid=28371). Female ducks also have difficulty rebuilding their nests, leading to a small percentage of ducks having a successful nesting (https://search-proquest-com.ezp.pasadena.edu/docview/196445631/fulltextPDF/7D8CB7D2A62F437CPQ/1?accountid=28371). Overall, the numbers of Mallards is in good condition. Another type of bird i focused on were pigeons. Pigeons are in the same position as the Indian peafowl. They are not be worries when it comes to their conservation. These city birds have a huge population that has a chance in taking over the humans. They evade every area possible from the street lights to every wires. The observed pigeons seem to fluctuate every April and November they seem to hit a peak. These monogamous birds have one partner for life, only mating with another bird they become separated (https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/the-history-and-mating-behavior-of-pigeons.67709/). Pigeons' mating season is yearly, a female can birth 5-4 babies in one year; however, their mating comes to a halt in the winter season (https://www.wild-bird-watching.com/Pigeons.html). Due to the birds little need of maintenance they can live anywhere, they do not need a lot of space, they are clean, and they quiet birds, not attracting attention. This can help with being out of the eye of predators. Considering their past, these birds are rather intelligent. They have been used as messengers during wars, and for races; which signifies that they are strong (https://healthypets.mercola.com/sites/healthypets/archive/2016/05/06/pigeon-facts.aspx). These city birds may come across as dumb, but there is a reason they are overpopulated; they are smart birds that can make sense of their situation.
