Ed Forum birdwatching 2008

Hokulele said:
And I do not want to see those pictures again. Ever.

(I am not terribly fond of spiders.)

*Shudder*
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Just be lucky that we're not showing you our pictures of Australian huntsman spiders. Where the spider in that picture is rare, huntsmen are ubiquitous. And they can grow to the size of your hand. In fact I'll say my hand, because I'll lay bets that my hand is bigger than yours.

Anyway, this thread is supposed to be about birds, not spiders. Get back on topic!
 
We have cane spiders, which sound to be about the size of your huntsman spiders. But I would bet that the cane spiders are faster.

I don't mind small, slow-moving, not-very-hungry spiders, but gimongous spiders greedily sucking down the blood of birds (birds!) make me feel a bit jittery.
 
arthwollipot said:
Australian huntsman spiders.
Click to expand...


We used to live in a house surrounded by more than thirty trees and with ceilings lined with wood. There was never not a huntsman in the house. In the bedroom I used a rubber band launched from a ruler to flick them off the ceiling and onto the floor to be disposed of.

On one occasion, we spied one darting behind the bed as we turned on the light. After a fruitless search, we just had to go to bed knowing that it was hiding down there somewhere. On another occasion, I woke to find one crawling on the bed three inches from my face. Worse still, on one particulary hot night, my wife woke to find one crawling over her naked breast.
 
Rolfe said:
Mmmm. Too wimpy?

Ungoliant?

Rolfe.
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Ah, Morgoth's pet. Yes, perhaps that would have been better.

BillyJoe said:
We used to live in a house surrounded by more than thirty trees and with ceilings lined with wood. There was never not a huntsman in the house. In the bedroom I used a rubber band launched from a ruler to flick them off the ceiling and onto the floor to be disposed of.

On one occasion, we spied one darting behind the bed as we turned on the light. After a fruitless search, we just had to go to bed knowing that it was hiding down there somewhere. On another occasion, I woke to find one crawling on the bed three inches from my face. Worse still, on one particulary hot night, my wife woke to find one crawling over her naked breast.
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If that was SG's house, there wouldn't have been any sleeping that night!

And on that last point, did your wife discover that before or after she slapped the pee-diddle out of you? :D
 
Looks like it's down to me to get this thread back OT.

25 Oct, Takoradi, Ghana
Village Weaver, Ploceus cucullatus

26 Oct, Accra, Ghana
Yellowbill, Ceuthmochares aereus

27 Oct, Accra, Ghana
Red-thighed Sparrowhawk, Accipiter erythropus
 
It naturally gets harder to see new species as time goes along, so I haven`t been able to add very much lately. I do believe that much of it is quite high-quality birds, though. I have now finished my collection in Japan, and is having a brief vacation in Tokyo before going to Australia. I got a filed guide for Australia yesterday, and there`s no way I`ll ever be able to learn all the relevant birds before I get there... You need to start eating more wild birds! It`s too tricky for us foreigners to tell everything apart.

Anyway (* = photo exists):

13/10 Kurumaishi, Hokkaido:
Rhinoceros auklet Cerocinca monocerata*

14/10 Bekkaichou, Hokkaido:
White-winged scooter Melanitta deglandi (1)
Red-throated diver Gavia stellata
Slavonian grebe Podiceps auritus

14/10 Shunbetsu, Hokkaido
One of the swans. I can`t remember which it is, but the one I haven`t reported yet.　I will look this up when I get back home, as my field notes seem to be a bit messed up when it comes to swans.
Goldeneye Bucephala clangula

14/10 Notsuke Peninsula, Hokkaido:
Red-necked stint Calidris ruficollis

16/10 Fukushimagata, Honshu:
Pochard Aythya ferina

17/10 Fukushimagata, Honshu:
Japanese Reed Bunting Emberiza yessoensis*
Greater Oriental Grenfinch Carduelis sinica kawarahiba*
Japanese Yellow Bunting Emberiza sulphurata*

18/10 Fukushimagata, Honshu:
Meadow bunting Emberiza cioides*

19/10 Fukushimagata, Honshu:
Chestnut-eared bunting Emberiza fucata*
Long-eared owl Asio otus*
Daurian redstart Phoenicurus dauuricus*

21/10 Fukushimagata, Honshu:
Dusky warbler Phylloscopus fuscatus*
Yellow-throated bunting Emberiza elegans*

23/10 Fukushimagata, Honshu:
Lapwing Vanellus vanellus

26/10 Tori-no-Umi, Honshu:
Marsh sandpiper Tringa stagnatilis*
Water rail Rallus aquaticus*
White`s Thrush Zoothera dauma* (!!!)

27/10 Tori-no-Umi, Honshu:
Sharptailed sandpiper Calidris acutus*
Honshu Long-tailed tit Aegithalos caudatus trivirgatus (subspecies uncertain)*
Honshu pygmy woodpecker Dendrocopus kizuki kizuki (2)
Blue rock thrush Monticola saxatilis (latin uncertain)

30/10 Tori-no-Umi, Honshu:
Eastern Crowned Warbler Phylloscopus coronatus*

That concludes it. I find it unlikely that I will see any more species (although I will go and look for Grosbeaks and Varied tits tomorrow), so I think teh fina count is about 160 species or so. Not bad considering that most of the summer visitos have already left, and that I`ve been only in Northern Japan...

---
(1) I need to check with Clements how he nadles the Melanittas, because my bird guide here is written by a splitter. Not as bad as some Japanese bird guides, but quite bad. The worst I saw seemed to strive for making all birds in Japan endemics. For instance, he split off Alauda japonica from Alauda arvensis, for no obvious reason. They sound and look the same as outside Japan.
(2) The Hokkaido ones, unless I already reported that, are of subspecies ijimae. They are a bit tricky to tell apart in the field, but in the hand its more easy.
 
Courtney Campbell Causeway, Tampa, FL

I'm thinking Willet

Willet.jpg


Royal Tern

RoyalTern.jpg


Night Heron?

NightHeron.jpg


Black Skimmers

BlackSkimmers.jpg


American Oystercatcher

AmericanOystercatcher.jpg
 
One more bird before I leave Japan for Australia:

2/11 Imperial Palace Garden, Tokyo:
Varied tit Parus varius

I also got some nice pictures of Japanese white-eye and Japanese pygmy woodpecker in Ueno park the other day, and I`ll send at least those two EHocking when I get to Europe again.

What are the gulls in RedIbis` Skimmer-picture? Laughing gull?
 
Kotatsu said:
One more bird before I leave Japan for Australia:

2/11 Imperial Palace Garden, Tokyo:
Varied tit Parus varius

I also got some nice pictures of Japanese white-eye and Japanese pygmy woodpecker in Ueno park the other day, and I`ll send at least those two EHocking when I get to Europe again.

What are the gulls in RedIbis` Skimmer-picture? Laughing gull?
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That's what I figured. Was I correct that the third pic is a Night Heron? I was thrown off because the top of its head was a rust color and didn't look either the Black Crowned or Yellow Crowned.
 
RedIbis said:
That's what I figured. Was I correct that the third pic is a Night Heron? I was thrown off because the top of its head was a rust color and didn't look either the Black Crowned or Yellow Crowned.
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I had a brief look at www.mangoverde.com and it seems to fit the Yellow-crowned quite well, with the black chin and the wing patterns. Its certainly not the Black-crowned (which I ahve now seen and heard dozens of!) unless you have some strange subspecies in the US.

I've arrived safely in Perth now, but my couchsurfing host has neglected to tell me where we could meet or how to get to her flat, so I'm a bit lost. It's also raining. However, I have a number of birds from the Perth area:

6/11 Perth, Western Australia:
Spotted turtle dove Streptopelia chinesis
White-cheeked Honey-eater Phylidonyris nigra (1)
Australian raven Corvus coronoides
Magpie-lark Grallina cyanoleuca
Australian magpie Gymnorhina tibicen
Silver gull Larus novaehollandiae
Willie wagtail Rhipidura leucophrys

Probably also Black-faced wood-swallow Artamus cinereus but I want to see them a bit more before I am certain. Do they hover just above ground at times? I've seen several that looks more or less like this wood-swallow, and one swooped down from a tree, hovered about half a meter over the ground, caught something there, and the flew away.

---
(1) I am not 100% sure about this, as the habitat doesn't seem to fit, but there's certainly nothing else in Simpson and Day that fits the look of this bird. Maybe the New Holland Honey-eater P. novaehollandiae but that seem to fit even worse with the habitat... Any help would be appreciated.
 
Just another brief update as I happen to be at a computer. I have now seen the New Holland Honey-eater as well, and can confirm that the one I saw earlier was the White-cheeked. I can add the following (all in Perth):

Welcome Swallow Hirundo neoxena
Domestic pigeon Columba livia domestica
New Holland Honey-eater Phylidonyris novaehollandiae
Black-faced wood-swallow (confirmed by a nice lady who worked at the train station and who also watches birds)
Pacific Black Duck Anas superciliosa
Tree Martin Petrochelidon nigricans (1)
Little Black Cormorant Phalacrocorax sulcirostris
Rainbow lorikeet Trichoglossus haematodus (2)
Red wattlebird Anthochaera carunculata (3)
Singing Honey-eater Lichenostomus virescens(3)

Now I will go to meet my host, so see you! If anyone lives in or near Perth and is free around the 24th and knows some good place to go birdwatching here, please tell me^^.

---
(1) May be genus Hirundo in Clements.
(2) Way outside its range according to Simpson and Day. Nevertheless, everything fits: Blue head with yellow band in the upper neck, green back and tail, "flamy" red and yellow chest, blue belly, under tail coverts "flamy" in red, yellow and black, sound describable as "chre'et" (my description) or "screet" (S&D). I have contacted Birds Australia to see if they know of any escapee populations here that are not on the maps of S&D. This bird should thus not be added until I have heard from them. Photos exist, but are not very good. Three individuals were seen, but two flew away almost immediately, while the third stayed and could be observed for about 15 minutes before my neck started hurting.
(3) I have some lovely pictures of these two arguing with each other.
 
I have some time to kill before my plane to Broome, so I'll just get some more reporting done. I've been looking around along Swan River in Perth today, and have taken a lot of photos.

7/11 Midlands, WA:
Red-tailed Black cockatoo Calyptorhynchus banksii
Laughing turtledove Streptopelia senegalensis
Galah Eolophus roseicapillus
Straw-necked Ibis Threskiornis spinicollis

Woodbridge, WA:
Australian Wood Duck Chenonetta jubata

Bassendean, WA:
Sulphur-crested Cockatoo Cacatua galerita

Perth, WA:
Little Pied Cormorant Phalacrocorax melanoleucas*
Darter Anhinga melanogaster*
Australian pelican Pelecanus conspicillatus*
Caspian Tern Hydroprogne caspia
Australasian grebe Tachybabtus novaehollandiae*
Coot Fulica atra
Hardhead Aythya australis*
Grey teal Anas gracilis
Western Corella Cacatua pastinator
Brown Honey-eater Lichmera indistincta*
Great Cormorant Phalacrocorax carbo

I also have some nice new pictures of Willie Wagtail, Pacific Black Duck, Silver Gull, Little Black Cormorant and White-cheeked Honey-Eater.
 
Ft. Desoto, St. Pete Florida

Osprey

Osprey.jpg


Reddish Egret - I've been confused by this and the Little Blue Heron, but I'm sure this is the Reddish Egret because the full head is reddish and a kindly birder from Toronto with his very wonderful B&L scope gave us a great look. I was at quite a distance.

ReddishEgretII.jpg


Kingbird - At first I thought this was an Eastern Kingbird, but the black mask and grey head look like a Grey Kingbird.

KingbirdGrey.jpg


Wood Storks - If they're endangered, they sure aren't around Florida. I see these birds everywhere. By water, in trees and far up in the thermals.

WoodStorks.jpg


Anhinga

Anhinga.jpg
 
Just to let you know I'm enjoying your pics, RedIbis.
Maybe Kotatsu will post some of his.
 
RedIbis,

I think the "Grey Kingbird" is a Loggerhead Shrike.

The mask is much more distinct than in Grey Kingbird and runs over the top of the bill. The bill is shorter than GK and has a definite hook, (not totally obvious in the photo because the bill is slightly open.) The other main thing is the use of the foot to manipulate a prey item - typical of loggerheads dealing with grasshoppers.

http://www.springerlink.com/content/l5583vl684731130/fulltext.pdf
 
sphenisc said:
RedIbis,

I think the "Grey Kingbird" is a Loggerhead Shrike.

The mask is much more distinct than in Grey Kingbird and runs over the top of the bill. The bill is shorter than GK and has a definite hook, (not totally obvious in the photo because the bill is slightly open.) The other main thing is the use of the foot to manipulate a prey item - typical of loggerheads dealing with grasshoppers.

http://www.springerlink.com/content/l5583vl684731130/fulltext.pdf
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Thanks Sphenisc,
I have other pics of this bird, which I will take a look at when I return home from work, to try to get a better look. I've been checking the difference between the Kingbird and Shrike and from my view you could be right. Perhaps, others have some input as well. Thanks again.
 
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