Forum Birdwatching 2012

[NoahFence]

I see a black crowned night heron, too

 

[I Ratant]

Definitely looks like a heron, but from the posture and color of the legs, I'd suggest that it might also be a Black-crowned Night Heron Nycticorax nycticorax.



I've taken heron pictures in Henderson, NV. Of course, the heron was wading in a pond, but Henderson is definitely desert. I don't know if they simply fly over open desert or try to follow streams and lakes.

.
I've seen herons at an artificial lake out in the boonies in Nevada. Just like everywhere else, they're skittish and fly as soon as they see you.
The Blue has a more pronounced fundament.

 

[Goshawk]

I never thought herons were present in the Sonoran desert! (click to enlarge)

But...from the heron's point of view, it's not in the Sonoran Desert--it's in a water-filled habitat. An artificial one, known as the City of Tucson, created by humans, with their lawn sprinklers and gardens and watered street trees and golf course water hazards and borrow pits and suchlike. Look at your photo: the pavement is wet. Rain, or sprinklers? Either way, there are shade trees and shrubbery and gardens and weeds, which means bugs to eat, which means it isn't the desert.

The black-crowned night heron has a range that spans, basically, most of North America, which includes Arizona.

http://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/black-crowned_night-heron/lifehistory

 

[jasonpatterson]

I went out for a walk in the Cuyahoga Valley National Park today and had a pretty decent day. In addition to all of the usual suspects I saw -
4-14-2012 - Brecksville, OH
Belted kingfisher - Ceryle alcyon
Blue-gray gnatcatcher - Polioptila caerulea
Eastern towhee - Pipilo erythrophthalamus
Hairy woodpecker - Picoides villosus
Louisiana waterthrush - Seirus noveboracensis
Ruby-crowned kinglet - Regulus calendula
White throated sparrow - Zonotrichia albicollis

Nothing terribly unusual, though the waterthrush, gnatcatcher, and kingfisher were each lifetime firsts for me, and all of these were first time birds for the year for me. There was a big fallout of kinglets, dozens of them were in the bushes all along my walk. It eventually became a game of figuring out which tiny birds weren't kinglets.

 

[bruto]

Today on our backyard pond, we had, in addition to a pair of Canada Geese, branta canadensis, a pair of very elegant Wood Ducks, aix sponsa. We're hoping they plan to stay. Last year we seemed to have some geese but they left, and we fear perhaps their goslings were eaten, but perhaps they'll have better luck this year. The wood ducks appear and then hide again, so we don't know where or whether they're planning to nest, but we can hope for some ducklings this year if the snappers and bobcats and other nasties don't gobble them up.

 

[bruto]

Obviously not my birds here, but I figure those who like raptors will enjoy this little video of ospreys plying their trade:

 

[GeeMack]

There are still a few White-Throated Sparrows in central Illinois. They don't breed here, but the ones we're seeing and hearing seem to be trying to attract mates. They won't stay around much longer before they all head north.

They're gorgeous little birds...

 

[dasmiller]

Colorado Springs, CO, today. It was cold and windy and I was wandering around the campus of an unusually scenic hotel.

Yellow-rumped warbler
American crow
Canada Geese (rather a lot of them)
Lesser Scaup
Mallard
Green-winged Teal
Black-billed magpie (probably)
Mute Swan

on Flickr

Not quite sure if the swans were there voluntarily or not. I'll try to get more pictures over the next few days. It's a learning experience; the initial Magpie pictures were . . . best if we don't discuss it further.

 

[JerryGarcia]

Two gigantic pileated woodpeckers in my backyard this morning.

 

[dasmiller]

Two gigantic pileated woodpeckers in my backyard this morning.

Neat!

 

[JerryGarcia]

I never knew they were so big.

 

[bruto]

I never knew they were so big.

I love them, they're big and loud, and when they're not rat-tatting they sound like the soundtrack to an old jungle movie, and to add to their oddity, they squeak when they fly.

 

[Kotatsu]

Came back from a three-day bird watching trip up north late yesterday. Observations included:
Bittern Botaurus stellatus
Three-toad Woodpecker Picoides tridactylus
Caperciallie Tetrao urogallus
Black Grouse Tetrao tetrix
Twite Carduelis flavirostris
Linnet Carduelia cannabina
Snow Bunting Plectrophenax nivalis
Mountain Tit Poecile montane
Pintailed Duck Anas acuta
Pink-footed Goose Anser brachyrhynchus
Hen Harrier Circus cyaneus
Tawny Owl Strix aluco
Wheatear Oenanthe oenanthe
Lots of Great Grey Shrike Lanius excubitor
Even more Mistle Thrush Turdus viscivorus
Woodcock Scolopax rusticola
Chiffchaff Phylloscopus collybita
Black Woodpecker Dryocopus martius
Rough-legged Buzzard Buteo lagopus
Goldfinch Carduelis carduelis
Redwing Turdus iliacus
Green Sandpiper Tringa ochropus
Red-throated diver Gavia stellata
Long-tailed Tit Aegithalos caudatus

In all, we had 97 species. I missed Bullfinch Pyrrhula pyrrhula and was in the wrong car and thus scared, rather than observed, the only two Grey-headed Woodpeckers Picus canus we saw. We were supposed to see a lot of other northern species, but missed Hazel Grouse Bonasia bonasa, Willow Ptarmigan Lagopus lagopus, Hawk Owl Syrnia ulula, Ural Owl Strix uralensis, Siberian Jay Perisoreus infaustusand Great Grey Owl Strix nebulosa. Maybe next time...

 

[jasonpatterson]

I never knew they were so big.

They're always a shock, especially if you happen to be walking in a forest and come across one that is pecking at a rotten log and not making too much noise. All of a sudden they take off and scare the bejeezus out of you and every time this happens to me, I think, "Pterodactyl!" They're big.

I've heard them a few times this spring but haven't spotted one yet. That crazy monkey call is fantastic.

 

[Poison Oak]

I love them, they're big and loud, and when they're not rat-tatting they sound like the soundtrack to an old jungle movie, and to add to their oddity, they squeak when they fly.[/QUOTE]

Learned something new today. Thanks. I'll have to google that 'coz I'm imagining a sound like a mourning dove taking flight.

 

[Poison Oak]

Hmmm. Lots of calls and drumming but finding the "squeak" is easier said than done.

 

[I Ratant]

I love them, they're big and loud, and when they're not rat-tatting they sound like the soundtrack to an old jungle movie, and to add to their oddity, they squeak when they fly.[/QUOTE]

Learned something new today. Thanks. I'll have to google that 'coz I'm imagining a sound like a mourning dove taking flight.

.
Night Hawks make a squeaking noise when they fly. Very distinctive.

 

[Poison Oak]

.
Night Hawks make a squeaking noise when they fly. Very distinctive.

TWO things I've learned today. Thanks.

 

[I Ratant]

And the Night Hawk appears to keep its head level as it's flying around.
The body moves with the bank angle, but the head stays level.

 

[dasmiller]

My best spotted towhee picture so far. Not that "get a good picture of a spotted towhee" was ever high on my list of lifetime goals.


Spotted Towhee, morning song (on Flickr)

Also a few Flickers and another Brown Creeper. Plus the usual (for this place) Canadian geese, mute swans (!?), English sparrows, crows, magpies, house finches, etc.

ETA: "this place" is Colorado Springs, CO, for the next couple days