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Forum birdwatching 2009
- Thread starter Kotatsu
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Blue Bubble
Sharper than a thorn
Kotatsu
Phthirapterist
Uah, suddenly people are posting lots of stuff!
I've been busy the last few weeks with microscopy studies from sun-up to sun-down, which is the penalty for not doing it every now and then when I've had the time over the last few months... Now I need to finish as much as possible until Friday, and while I think that is certainly possible (at least if I restrict myself to the character set I have at the moment, and stop adding new ones all the time...), there's little time for other things. Over 200 slides of lice with a total of perhaps 500 lice, and 50 basic characters (as well as perhaps three dozen more that I'm experimenting with) -- these things take time, but it's incredibly rewarding when you find that one character that is unique for a species and you can suddenly tell them apart!
I did take a break and go birdwatching for a few hours this weekend as we needed to plan some kind of activities for young people in the local birdwatching club this winter, and saw my first confirmed Atlantic Puffin Fratercula arctica (Gothenburg, 6/9 2009), but other than that, I have had to be satisfied with the stuffed owl I have in my office...
I'll try to add everything tonight. A quick question:
I've been busy the last few weeks with microscopy studies from sun-up to sun-down, which is the penalty for not doing it every now and then when I've had the time over the last few months... Now I need to finish as much as possible until Friday, and while I think that is certainly possible (at least if I restrict myself to the character set I have at the moment, and stop adding new ones all the time...), there's little time for other things. Over 200 slides of lice with a total of perhaps 500 lice, and 50 basic characters (as well as perhaps three dozen more that I'm experimenting with) -- these things take time, but it's incredibly rewarding when you find that one character that is unique for a species and you can suddenly tell them apart!
I did take a break and go birdwatching for a few hours this weekend as we needed to plan some kind of activities for young people in the local birdwatching club this winter, and saw my first confirmed Atlantic Puffin Fratercula arctica (Gothenburg, 6/9 2009), but other than that, I have had to be satisfied with the stuffed owl I have in my office...
I'll try to add everything tonight. A quick question:
EHocking
Penultimate Amazing
That question was so quick that I missed it.
I'll be posting my US trip list sometime later and catch up on the thread's latest sightings to add to our list.
Also,
WELCOME NEW POSTERS!
Please post all and any sightings and add photos as well.
(I apologise for my holiday snap, it's just that a convertible is such an excellent "platform" for mobile birding, but the Mustang was such a frivilous version. Bird photos to follow.)
Here are my Accipiter photos. Is this a Cooper's or a Sharp Shin? In the lower picture, if you look between the bird's feet you can see a grey lump. That is the breast of the pigeon it just killed.
ETA: OK, guess not. I will try and determine why my photos do not show up. Sorry...
ETA: OK, guess not. I will try and determine why my photos do not show up. Sorry...
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Kotatsu
Phthirapterist
Ah! The question was for El_Greco: where did you see those birds? Country is sufficient, if you don't want to give more details.
Kotatsu
Phthirapterist
I’ve almost finished with my slides now, and took some time off to show some more pictures. This time, it is Australian birds, as I have my Simpson & Day handy, but not my Japanese books. It will therefore be a mixture of everything, rather than just a subset. Let us start with stuff we don’t have in Europe/America (and there’s lots of these…)
We only saw one species of Flowerpecker Dicaeidae, the Mistletoe Bird Dicaeum hirundinaceum (here a male):
It’s a curious little bird that is supposedly quite common, but I think I only ever saw two: one at the Broome Oval and one at the Broome Bird Observatory. This is the Oval bird; we went there to look at Little Curlew Numenius minuts and Yellow Wagtails Motacilla flava simillima, and saw loads of each. The Mistletoe Bird appeared just when we had lost an aberrant wagtail, which looked like a Grey Wagtail.
A very common group of birds is the Honey-eaters Meliphagidae, of which I saw nine species, most of which I have pictures of! Here’s White-Cheeked Honey-eater Phylidonyris nigra in central Perth:
It looks similar to the New Holland Honey-eater (one of the species I saw that I didn’t get pictures of), but can be separated from this by colour of the cheek, which is black in New Holland Honey-eaters. Notice also that the white eyebrow reaches the bill, whereas in NHHE, the section in front of the eye is black.
Singing Honey-eater Lichenostomus virescens is one of the more common ones, at least in the Broome area. It is quite distinct with its yellow ear, streaked chest, and otherwise quite non-descript appearance:
Rufous-throated Honey-eater Conopophila rufogularis was also quite common in the Broome area, and was, besides Singing, the only species we actually caught at Anna Plains.
Some other members of the expedition saw Black Honey-eater Certhionyx niger and Pied Honey-eater C. variegatus at Anna Plais as well, but I missed these, despite a lot of searching. However, I did see some Brown Honey-eater Lichmera indistincta:
And personally, I think this is one of the better pictures I took last year.
There are also some much larger honey-eaters, such as the Red Wattlebird Anthochaera carunculata
And a combo of Singing Honey-eater and Red Wattlebird from Perth, near the central station:
Little Friarbird Philemon citreogularis from Broome:
Yellow-throated Miner Manorina flavigula from Anna Plains:
This species made a habit of inspecting the cannon nets we had put out to dry on the lawns of Anna Plains station after we had used them every day. These Pied Butcherbirds Cracticus nigrogularis picatus usually helped:
Butcherbirds, at least traditionally, are members of the family Artamidae, which also includes the Tree Swallows, such as this White-breasted Wood-swallow Artamus leucorhynchus:
And these Black-faced Wood-swallows Artamus cinereus:
Which may seem a bit strange at first, and the relationship between these and many other Australasian groups of birds is far from clear. There’s been at least three papers that I can think of published on this in Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution only this summer!
Other groups of passerines that we don’t have up North are the Pachycephalidae (also a problematic group), which includes this Rufous Whistler Pachycephalus rufiventris, here a female:
And this Grey Shrike-Thrush Colluricincla harmonica:
I will end, as always, with something entirely unrelated – a shark:
These were extremely common, and followed the incoming tide just centimetres from the tide edge. This one was stranded when the ride receded again, and one of the Chinese expedition members found it. Any ideas about species?
We only saw one species of Flowerpecker Dicaeidae, the Mistletoe Bird Dicaeum hirundinaceum (here a male):
It’s a curious little bird that is supposedly quite common, but I think I only ever saw two: one at the Broome Oval and one at the Broome Bird Observatory. This is the Oval bird; we went there to look at Little Curlew Numenius minuts and Yellow Wagtails Motacilla flava simillima, and saw loads of each. The Mistletoe Bird appeared just when we had lost an aberrant wagtail, which looked like a Grey Wagtail.
A very common group of birds is the Honey-eaters Meliphagidae, of which I saw nine species, most of which I have pictures of! Here’s White-Cheeked Honey-eater Phylidonyris nigra in central Perth:
It looks similar to the New Holland Honey-eater (one of the species I saw that I didn’t get pictures of), but can be separated from this by colour of the cheek, which is black in New Holland Honey-eaters. Notice also that the white eyebrow reaches the bill, whereas in NHHE, the section in front of the eye is black.
Singing Honey-eater Lichenostomus virescens is one of the more common ones, at least in the Broome area. It is quite distinct with its yellow ear, streaked chest, and otherwise quite non-descript appearance:
Rufous-throated Honey-eater Conopophila rufogularis was also quite common in the Broome area, and was, besides Singing, the only species we actually caught at Anna Plains.
Some other members of the expedition saw Black Honey-eater Certhionyx niger and Pied Honey-eater C. variegatus at Anna Plais as well, but I missed these, despite a lot of searching. However, I did see some Brown Honey-eater Lichmera indistincta:
And personally, I think this is one of the better pictures I took last year.
There are also some much larger honey-eaters, such as the Red Wattlebird Anthochaera carunculata
And a combo of Singing Honey-eater and Red Wattlebird from Perth, near the central station:
Little Friarbird Philemon citreogularis from Broome:
Yellow-throated Miner Manorina flavigula from Anna Plains:
This species made a habit of inspecting the cannon nets we had put out to dry on the lawns of Anna Plains station after we had used them every day. These Pied Butcherbirds Cracticus nigrogularis picatus usually helped:
Butcherbirds, at least traditionally, are members of the family Artamidae, which also includes the Tree Swallows, such as this White-breasted Wood-swallow Artamus leucorhynchus:
And these Black-faced Wood-swallows Artamus cinereus:
Which may seem a bit strange at first, and the relationship between these and many other Australasian groups of birds is far from clear. There’s been at least three papers that I can think of published on this in Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution only this summer!
Other groups of passerines that we don’t have up North are the Pachycephalidae (also a problematic group), which includes this Rufous Whistler Pachycephalus rufiventris, here a female:
And this Grey Shrike-Thrush Colluricincla harmonica:
I will end, as always, with something entirely unrelated – a shark:
These were extremely common, and followed the incoming tide just centimetres from the tide edge. This one was stranded when the ride receded again, and one of the Chinese expedition members found it. Any ideas about species?
Kotatsu
Phthirapterist
Also: while looking through my pictures from Thailand last year, I realised that I have made a misidentification. The green pigeon I saw in Bangkok was not, as I first said, Pink-necked Green Pigeon Treron vernans but Thick-billed Green Pigeon Treron curvirostra:
Notice the red base of the bill, the coarseness of the whole bill, the blue-ish forehead, and the light and thick eye-ring. All distinctive marks of Thick-billed Green Pigeon.
Notice the red base of the bill, the coarseness of the whole bill, the blue-ish forehead, and the light and thick eye-ring. All distinctive marks of Thick-billed Green Pigeon.
Saw three new species of Grebe's yesterday near Fort Collins, Colorado, USA;
Eared Grebe Podiceps nigricollis
Pied-billed Grebe Podilymbus podiceps
Clark's Grebe Aechmophorus clarkii
There were also lots of Western Grebes, but I already reported that species this year.
Plus a new shorebird:
Baird's Sandpiper Calidris bairdii
Had the help of some expert birders with that last ID. I am far from an expert on small shorebirds.
Also forgot to mention this one seen on Sept. 6:
Common Nighthawk Chordeiles minor
Eared Grebe Podiceps nigricollis
Pied-billed Grebe Podilymbus podiceps
Clark's Grebe Aechmophorus clarkii
There were also lots of Western Grebes, but I already reported that species this year.
Plus a new shorebird:
Baird's Sandpiper Calidris bairdii
Had the help of some expert birders with that last ID. I am far from an expert on small shorebirds.
Also forgot to mention this one seen on Sept. 6:
Common Nighthawk Chordeiles minor
dasmiller
Just the right amount of cowbell
It appears to be a guitarfish.
El Greco
Summer worshipper
- Joined
- Nov 11, 2003
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- 17,741
Kruger National Park, South Africa. I could have easily photographed many more had I not been too distracted by the mammals.
sphenisc
Philosopher
- Joined
- Jul 14, 2004
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Ahhh, green pigeons... you just know for every one you manage to see there's probably ten you've walked straight passed.
Nice pictures again!
Kotatsu
Phthirapterist
This one was from this one AWESOME tree in one of the parks in central Bangkok. I stood there for about an hour, looking at a tree that was probably about 15 metres high, and saw:
Coppersmith Barbet
Thick-billed Green Pigeon
Indian Roller
Yellow-Browed Warbler
Common Myna
White-Vented Myna
Chestnut-tailed Starling
Black-collared Starling
Asian Pied Starling
Asian Brown Flycatcher
Common Iora
Pied Fantail
and Black-naped Oriole
in or near the base of that same tree! There were more Phylloscopus in the tree, but there's so many over there that I couldn't identify most of them...
Coppersmith Barbet
Thick-billed Green Pigeon
Indian Roller
Yellow-Browed Warbler
Common Myna
White-Vented Myna
Chestnut-tailed Starling
Black-collared Starling
Asian Pied Starling
Asian Brown Flycatcher
Common Iora
Pied Fantail
and Black-naped Oriole
in or near the base of that same tree! There were more Phylloscopus in the tree, but there's so many over there that I couldn't identify most of them...
EHocking
Penultimate Amazing
OK, so here's my incomplete list for my US trip last week. I'm missing a couple, but fairly common birds, so will have to add once I track down all my "field notes" i.e. all the backs of cigarette packets and napkins...
A few firsts for me and the list.
Photos to follow once processed (on the cusp of buying a dSLR for the next trip). Processing alone is about 1/6th the cost of a new system. I looked quite the stereotype of a Japanese tourist with two bodies/lenses dangling off me at most times.
Aug 29, San Francisco, CA USA.
California Gull
Glaucous-winged Gull
Heerman's Gull
Red-tailed Hawk
Western Grebe
Western Gull
Brown Pelican
Double-crested Cormorant
Brandt's Cormorant
Pelagic Cormorant
Aug 30, Sonoma Valley, CA, USA
American Crow
Anna's Hummingbird
Black-chinned Hummingbird
Black-shouldered Kite
House Finch
Turkey Vulture
Violet-Green Swallow
Aug 30, Napa Valley, CA, USA
Acorn Woodpecker
Green-backed Heron
Scrub Jay
Aug 31, Monterey, CA, USA
Black-chinned Sparrow
Black-crowned Night Heron
California Quail
Aug 31, Moss Landing, CA, USA
Black-bellied Plover
Blue-winged Teal
Marbled Godwit
Pied-billed Grebe
Red-throated Diver
Short-billed Dowitcher
Snowy Egret
Western Sandpiper
Willet
(had to go to video to get the above. only listed the sure ones. Difficulty is many were tending to winter plumage, the Loon, indicated to me that indeed I wasn't going mad by having such ID problems on the day).
Sep 2, Nevada, USA
American Crow
Brown-headed Cowbird
Clark's Grebe
Common Black-Hawk
White-winged Dove
Sep 4, Grand Canyon, Arizona
Brewer's Blackbird
Californian Condor
Canyon Wren
Common Black-Hawk
Common Raven
Dark-eyed Junco
Mourning Dove
Plain Titmouse
Scrub Jay
Steller's Jay
Turkey Vulture
Violet-Green Swallow
Western Tanager
White-throated Swift
Yellow Warbler
Yellow-rumped Warbler
Sep 5, Grand Canyon, Arizona
Acorn Woodpecker
American Goldfinch
American Kestrel
Anna's Hummingbird
Californian Condor
Common Black-Hawk
Common Raven
Gila Woodpecker
Mountain Chickadee
Northern Flicker
Plain Titmouse
Red-tailed Hawk
Scrub Jay
Turkey Vulture
Western Bluebird
White-breasted Nuthatch
A few firsts for me and the list.
Photos to follow once processed (on the cusp of buying a dSLR for the next trip). Processing alone is about 1/6th the cost of a new system. I looked quite the stereotype of a Japanese tourist with two bodies/lenses dangling off me at most times.
Aug 29, San Francisco, CA USA.
California Gull
Glaucous-winged Gull
Heerman's Gull
Red-tailed Hawk
Western Grebe
Western Gull
Brown Pelican
Double-crested Cormorant
Brandt's Cormorant
Pelagic Cormorant
Aug 30, Sonoma Valley, CA, USA
American Crow
Anna's Hummingbird
Black-chinned Hummingbird
Black-shouldered Kite
House Finch
Turkey Vulture
Violet-Green Swallow
Aug 30, Napa Valley, CA, USA
Acorn Woodpecker
Green-backed Heron
Scrub Jay
Aug 31, Monterey, CA, USA
Black-chinned Sparrow
Black-crowned Night Heron
California Quail
Aug 31, Moss Landing, CA, USA
Black-bellied Plover
Blue-winged Teal
Marbled Godwit
Pied-billed Grebe
Red-throated Diver
Short-billed Dowitcher
Snowy Egret
Western Sandpiper
Willet
(had to go to video to get the above. only listed the sure ones. Difficulty is many were tending to winter plumage, the Loon, indicated to me that indeed I wasn't going mad by having such ID problems on the day).
Sep 2, Nevada, USA
American Crow
Brown-headed Cowbird
Clark's Grebe
Common Black-Hawk
White-winged Dove
Sep 4, Grand Canyon, Arizona
Brewer's Blackbird
Californian Condor
Canyon Wren
Common Black-Hawk
Common Raven
Dark-eyed Junco
Mourning Dove
Plain Titmouse
Scrub Jay
Steller's Jay
Turkey Vulture
Violet-Green Swallow
Western Tanager
White-throated Swift
Yellow Warbler
Yellow-rumped Warbler
Sep 5, Grand Canyon, Arizona
Acorn Woodpecker
American Goldfinch
American Kestrel
Anna's Hummingbird
Californian Condor
Common Black-Hawk
Common Raven
Gila Woodpecker
Mountain Chickadee
Northern Flicker
Plain Titmouse
Red-tailed Hawk
Scrub Jay
Turkey Vulture
Western Bluebird
White-breasted Nuthatch
EHocking
Penultimate Amazing
And two surprising ones for my backyard in suburban East London,
Sparrowhawk (perched in a nearby tree)
Sand Martin
- I'm prepared to be talked out of the Martin, but it definitely didn't have the white rump of a House Martin and flew just like a Swallow, but had a completely white underside. I'm very sure of what I didn't see (House Martin and Swallow), so am confident in the only choice I have. It was remarkable, in that, we rarely get Martins and Swallows in my area. I'm very sure I've not noted any since I've been here (I'd have to check my field notes again).
Oh, and my annual gloom - summer's over. Haven't seen Swifts for at least a month down in London.
Sparrowhawk (perched in a nearby tree)
Sand Martin
- I'm prepared to be talked out of the Martin, but it definitely didn't have the white rump of a House Martin and flew just like a Swallow, but had a completely white underside. I'm very sure of what I didn't see (House Martin and Swallow), so am confident in the only choice I have. It was remarkable, in that, we rarely get Martins and Swallows in my area. I'm very sure I've not noted any since I've been here (I'd have to check my field notes again).
Oh, and my annual gloom - summer's over. Haven't seen Swifts for at least a month down in London.
EHocking
Penultimate Amazing
Not bad for incidental birding. I regret not having enough leisure time between tourist attractions!
Still didnt' get my Roadrunner which I was looking forward to nearly as much as the Condor. The Condor was bonus big time - I really thought I may have had my hopes up too high on that beastie.
Even then, it was my non-birding wife who spotted the first one while I was negotiating the Mustang around day trippers in one of the Grand Canyon car parks.
I don't think this will be our last foray into the States. Yellowstone is definitely on the radar (as well as a biggie at the end of this year, "slightly" south and west of the US).
Still didnt' get my Roadrunner which I was looking forward to nearly as much as the Condor. The Condor was bonus big time - I really thought I may have had my hopes up too high on that beastie.
Even then, it was my non-birding wife who spotted the first one while I was negotiating the Mustang around day trippers in one of the Grand Canyon car parks.
I don't think this will be our last foray into the States. Yellowstone is definitely on the radar (as well as a biggie at the end of this year, "slightly" south and west of the US).
jasonpatterson
Philanthropic Misanthrope
The Pacific Ocean?
Had you seen hummingbirds previously? We all read earlier how moved Kotatsu was by them; I was curious about your reaction.
EHocking
Penultimate Amazing
Indeed.The Pacific Ocean?
A bunch of islands seemingly named after the digestive tract....
I've been to the Caribbean and Gulf states as well as (once, briefly) Bolivia, so was reacquaiting myself with Hummingbirds.
Don't get me wrong, not to say they aren't absolutely delightful and I could watch them for ages (a bit like elephants in that sense) but it was the Condor I was really looking forward to. My problem with this trip was that I was never in a spot to sit down and let the wildlife wash over me. In fact we were very fortunate in the beasties we DID see, otters, sea lions, elk, deer - chipmunks. I had never seen one before - nearly as delightful as Dormice.
My soft spot actually, is woodpeckers. We don't have them in Oz, so over here in the UK, Europe and Americas, I'm always on the watch for them.
I've got a business trip to Ghana in a couple of weeks, so I hope to get a day off and get some actual birdwatching in that doesn't entail whiplash glances from a speeding 4x4 or close encounters with Vultures at 500ft in a (very) small chopper.
ETA: Now the FIRST time I went to the States - yes, Hummingbird was the one I was looking out for. So I'm with Kotatsu on that one! (didn't want to give the impression of a jaded twitcher!)
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