Forum birdwatching 2009

[Mako]

Thanks for the warm welcome EHocking


Lately, I've been honing my gull ID skills. We have a good variety here in the SF Bay Area to do this. Anyone else here a gull enthusiast?

 

[Fiona]

Sphensic is really helpful about gulls, Mako

 

[davefoc]

Thanks for the warm welcome EHocking


Lately, I've been honing my gull ID skills. We have a good variety here in the SF Bay Area to do this. Anyone else here a gull enthusiast?

No, but I was just looking at the issue of identifying gulls and they look fairly close to indistinguishable to my unskilled eyes. I'm looking forward to hearing about gull differentiation.

As an aside, I was just up in the SF bay area last week.

 

[Mako]

Dave


If you're interested in learning more about gull ID, I recommend you visit these two sites that cover gulls in CA. The second site is a photo gallery that I have found particularly helpful.

http://www.geocities.com/RainForest/Canopy/6181/gulls.htm
http://www.pbase.com/jpkln/gulls

 

[Mako]

I saw my first black turnstones today along the coast near Half Moon Bay, CA.

 

[EHocking]

No, but I was just looking at the issue of identifying gulls and they look fairly close to indistinguishable to my unskilled eyes. I'm looking forward to hearing about gull differentiation.

As an aside, I was just up in the SF bay area last week.

If I had only known, could have organised a JREF Birding cocktail hour...This being typed from my hotel room in Monterey, after a weekend in SF!

No Condors yet, but a raft of 30+ sea otters made my SO's day while I attempted to identify the waders in the lagoon next to them at Moss Landing. Hopefully the Grand Canyon will yield a Condor (and a Roadrunner on the way from Vegas).

 

[Mako]

I remember seeing my first wild condors while hiking in Pinnacles National Monument.

Sounds like a fun trip! I hope to read about which birds you observed.

 

[EHocking]

I remember seeing my first wild condors while hiking in Pinnacles National Monument.

Sounds like a fun trip! I hope to read about which birds you observed.

Well, while probably not technically true, the first bird we're going to remember is going to be a California Condor at the south rim of the Grand Canyon. There are, of course, quite a few life firsts, but that one is a biggie (and I believe the first one for our list as well).

For once, the American claim or Grand (think, World Series) IS actually true to name. It's the most impressive hole in the ground I've ever seen.

No Roadrunner yet, but we've got to drive to Phoenix yet.

Ah, sod it, seen 3 Condors in 2 days (perhaps the same one 3 times - who cares?????)

ETA: OK, that last sounded a little smug - but my version (ed.2) of Nat.Geo.Soc Field Guide to Birds of NA states that the Condor is, "Now probably extinct in the wild...Intensive rescue eforts continue; captive breding program may eventually return birds to the wild."

Guess it worked.

 

[jasonpatterson]

ETA: OK, that last sounded a little smug - but my version (ed.2) of Nat.Geo.Soc Field Guide to Birds of NA states that the Condor is, "Now probably extinct in the wild...Intensive rescue eforts continue; captive breding program may eventually return birds to the wild."

Guess it worked.

There are something like 150 condors that have been released into the wild and/or been born in the wild. Unfortunately the breeding population was down to fewer than 50 animals at one point; it would be a miracle if the species has enough genetic variation to survive in the long term.

I saw my first cedar waxwing ever the other day, as well as a baltimore oriole and tufted titmouse, all three new for me for the year. I also saw a juvenile grackle that was utterly horrible looking; it looked like it had the T-virus, basically (zombie video game reference there, for anyone curious.) In general there are a lot more birds moving now than even a week or two ago, I wonder if the very cool summer here has gotten the migration going a little early. Supposedly my new place is along a fairly well traveled migration route because of the geography just north of here along the Lake Erie shoreline.

 

[El Greco]

Last month I got photos of these:

Turdus libonyanus
Tockus erythrorhynchus
Lamprotornis nitens
Corythaixoides concolor
Streptopelia semitorquata
Emberiza flaviventris
Prionops plumatus
Alophocen aegyptiaca
Lophotis ruficrista
Gyps coprotheres
Bubulcus ibis
Melaenornis pammelaina
Haliaeetus vocifer
Bostrychia hagedash
Ciconia nigra
Buphagus erythrorhynchus
Pycnonotus nigricans
Microparra capensis
Halcyon albiventris
Ardea cinerea
Burhinus vermiculatus
Anhinga rufa
Oriolus larvatus
Bucorvus leadbeateri
Polemaetus bellicosus
Platalea alba
Mycteria ibis
Vanellus armatus
Ardeotis kori
Coracias caudatus
Ceryle rudis
Actophilornis africana
Trachuphonus vaillantii
Leptopilos crumiferus
Struthio camelus
Cornivella melanoleuca
Terathopius ecaudatus
Phoeniculus purpureus
Lamprotornis chalybaeus
Tockus leucomelas
Merops bullockoides
Anastomus lamelligerus
Ardea goliath
Pternistes natalensis
Scopus umbretta
Vanellus coronatus

plus a few others I've yet to identify

I also saw lots of others that wouldn't stand still for a pic

 

[Kestrel]

Spotted yesterday (Sept. 4) in Rocky Mountain National Park, Colorado, USA:

Clark's Nutcracker Nucifraga columbiana

 

[EHocking]

Spotted yesterday (Sept. 4) in Rocky Mountain National Park, Colorado, USA:

Clark's Nutcracker Nucifraga columbiana..

Spotted yesterday - Nutty Birder, Grand Canyon, Arizona

 

[sphenisc]

Sphensic is really helpful about gulls, Mako

Thanks, yes I like gulls. Ross's gull has to be one of my favourites. Though swallow-tailed would be next should I ever get to see one.

 

[Kestrel]

Seen near Boulder, Colorado, USA on Sept. 6:

American Bittern Botaurus lentiginosus

 

[dasmiller]

Okay, I'll give this a try.
Venice Beach, California, today (Sept 6):

Western Gull - Larus Occidentalis
Heermann's Gull - Larus Heermanni
Willet - Catoptorophorus semipalmatus (juveniles)
Peregrine Falcon - Falco peregrinus (not sure on this one - didn't get a picture, but there was some small raptor among the pigeons. I didn't try to identify or photograph the pigeons)
American Crow - Corvus brachyrynchos
Brown Pelican - Pelecanus Occidentalis

and, last and oddest:
Brandt's Cormorant (juvenile)- Phalcrocorax penicillatus.

Up until today, I'd usually seen double-crested cormorants, and always from some distance. This one was wandering around on Venice Pier. It seemed confused, and while all the people seemed to make it uncomfortable, it didn't try to fly away, and it let people get close enough to touch it (nobody did). I got several pictures of it.

 

[dropzone]

(skipping to the last page)

This thread is REALLY about birds? Okay, was at the Park across the street and saw the cutest little thang that my wife identified as a Downy Woodpecker.

(edging into allegory) Of course, since West Nile hit that park a few years back (it was the first location in Illinois at which dead birds were found, and I probably have the antibodies since I was sick that summer), finding a darned CROW was an accomplishment until last year. *sigh* We had so many crows! They liked to slide down my neighbor's roof. Some of them learned to recognize my wife's car (she didn't feed them, but encouraged them to eat our slugs) so one approached me in a parking lot a couple miles away begging like he was a chick (I think she gave them more than slugs). But they were suddenly gone.

My daughter asked why she rarely saw gay guys my age. "They're gone," was all I could say. Like our crows.

 

[Mako]

dasmiller


I'd love to see the photos of the Brandt's cormorant.

 

[dasmiller]

I'd love to see the photos of the Brandt's cormorant.

Sure. Not quite sure what the pain threshold is for image size here; of course the originals were much larger.

P.S. I'm open to other suggestions if I've misidentified this bird.

 

[Amapola]

I only started reading parts of this thread this morning... I should have started long ago. It's great.

It inspired me to go look out the window for 15 minutes and this is what I saw:

Sept. 7, 10:45 AM to 11:00 AM:
chipping sparrow Spizella passerina
broad-tailed humming bird Selasphorus platycercus
red-naped sapsucker Sphyrapicus nuchalis
house wren Troglodytes aedon
dark-eyed junco Junco hyemalis
lesser goldfinch Carduelis psaltria
western bluebird Sialia mexicana

I saw an English house sparrow too but wish I hadn't.

When I get a chance I'll upload a photo of an Accipiter I saw but was not sure of. Perhaps someone will be able to identify it.

 

[Mako]

dasmiller


I agree that it's a juvenile Brandt's. Nice find!