Birds 2010 Photo Gallery by Bob Walker at pbase.com

Birds 2010

Birds, mostly from the back yard, but also from trips we take, in 2010.
I will be trying to post a picture (mostly) every day...

pages 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 ALL

16-FEB-2010

Sandhill Cranes, Heading North #2994

Grus canadensis

In the last two days, we have seen waves of Sandhill Cranes flying north. A large population of these beautiful birds overwinters at the Bosque del Apache south of Albuquerque, NM. I am not a good judge of heights, but I am guessing they are flying about 500 feet overhead here.

0 comments leave a comment

15-FEB-2010

Western Bluebird #2799

Sialia mexicana

I never get tired of seeing our Western Bluebirds visiting. It's hard to describe how deep their blue coloration is -- almost fluorescent. We never see them eating anything, just drinking from the pond (see also the picture of Jan 14, very similar). They eat fruit and berries (juniper especially) in the winter, and dine on insects during the breeding season.

This was the last day of the "Great Backyard Bird Count," and was the only day the Bluebirds showed up. Other visitors were the back-yard regulars, Doves (Collared and White-Winged), Northern Flickers, Juncos, House Finches and American Goldfinches, and Sparrows. Only saw one Bushtit and one Robin. Less usual birds for today were a White-Crowned Sparrow, Mountain Chickadee, Canyon Towhees, and Pine Siskins. Then, around 3PM, a very large flock of Sandhill Cranes flew over, migrating back north from the Bosque del Apache (150 miles to the south of us). I took pictures of the flocks, and from the pictures counted over 400 in one wave alone.

2 comments leave a comment

14-FEB-2010

Brown Creeper #2654

Certhia americana

Although Brown Creepers are fairly common birds, they are so well camouflaged against the bark of the trees they crawl around on, that they are very hard to see. They are even harder to get a decent picture of, because they are always moving around, circling the tree trunk looking for insects. I chased this little bird for about 5 minutes, as he circled the pear tree, and shot off a couple of hundred (mostly very blurry) pictures. Two of them were in good enough focus to keep.

Today was the third day of the "Great Backyard Bird Count," and I was happy to be able to add this fellow to my list. Other visitors today included the regulars: Collared and White-Winged Doves, House Finches, American Goldfinches, Juncos, and House Sparrows. Less common, but still frequent were our Northern Flickers, a Canyon Towhee, Bushtits, and Cassin's Finches. Even less common than these were a Townsend's Solitaire and a Bewick's Wren.

1 comment leave a comment

13-FEB-2010

Red-Shafted Northern Flicker #2303

Colaptes auratus cafer

It's the second day of the "Great Backyard Bird Count," and although we had many of our usual visitors today, the best photo opportunity was provided by one of the regulars -- a Red-Shafted Northern Flicker crawling up the pear tree.

Other birds visiting today were Collared Doves, White-Winged Doves, Mr. and Mrs. Flicker, Bushtits, a Townsend's Solitaire (who did not hang around long enough to get his picture taken), some Robins, Juncos, Cassin's Finches, House Finches, Pine Siskins, American Goldfinches, and House Sparrows.

1 comment leave a comment

12-FEB-2010

Bushtit #2043

Psaltriparus minimus

The Bushtits have discovered the suet feeder, and make daily passes through the area. This one appears to be a female, based on her yellow iris.

Today was also the first day of the "Great Backyard Bird Count," so my photo time doubled as bird-counting time. In all, over a couple of hours of watching, we had 13 different bird species visit (or fly over in the case of a Raven), including American Robins, Collared Doves, Downy Woodpecker, Northern Flicker, Juncos (Oregon, Pink-Sided, Gray-Headed), House Finches, Pine Siskins, American Goldfinches and House Sparrows.

3 comments leave a comment

10-FEB-2010

Snowy Egret #1892

Egretta thula

On Wednesday Feb 10, we traveled to the Brazos Bend State Park, an excellent wildlife refuge just south of Houston, on a cool and overcast day. We saw a great variety of wildlife, mostly birds, white-tailed deer, and a few alligators. The area is covered by many marshy lakes, and so there are quite a variety of shorebirds to see. The Snowy Egret was hunted for its delicate plume feathers many years ago, but is of course a protected species today.

In addition to the Snowy Egret, we saw Great Egrets, Tricolored Herons, Great Blue Herons, White Ibis, numerous Northern Cardinals, Red-Winged Blackbirds, and smaller birds such as the Eastern Phoebe and Tufted Titmouse. Many types of ducks, a Red-Tailed Hawk, and several other raptors I could not get close enough to identify.

0 comments leave a comment

07-FEB-2010

Northern Mockingbird #1377

Mimus polyglottos

We took a week off and visited family in Texas, so no opportunity

to look for birds on a regular schedule. This common southern bird

was relatively unconcerned about visitors.

0 comments leave a comment

03-FEB-2010

House Sparrow #1121

Passer domesticus

Our House Sparrows are quite common, but it's hard for me to get many decent pictures of them, because the don't stay anywhere for very long. They flock in bushes, chatter all day long, and make short forays to the feeders or the pond. I saw this one early in the morning, before we had another snowfall (6-7 inches).

0 comments leave a comment

02-FEB-2010

Bushtit #0882

Psaltriparus minimus

Bushtits are really very small birds, gray all over. The flock onto the suet feeder, where I have seen as many as 16 at a time. They feed right-side-up, or hanging upside down like a nuthatch or a chickadee. They travel in flocks, and the only reason this one was by himself is that the feeder was too crowded for him to fit, so he is waiting... Males have black eyes, and females have a yellow iris, so I think this one is male.

0 comments leave a comment

01-FEB-2010

American Goldfinch, Eating Algae #0763

Carduelis tristis

The typical American Goldfinch diet consists primarily of seeds, with occasional insects taken opportunistically. If you have a pond, and if you have birds, then you also have algae. The Goldfinches usually just visit the pond to take a drink, but today I was very surprised to see this Goldfinch stripping algae growing on the rocks near the waterfall, and eating it!

2 comments leave a comment

31-JAN-2010

Bewick's Wren #0656

Thryomanes bewickii

The only time I ever see this wren is when he visits the suet feeder. He's not a very striking bird, and is distinguished by the white stripe near his eyes and the checkered tail. This little wren is always moving about, and hacks away at the suet with enthusiasm.

0 comments leave a comment

30-JAN-2010

Female Cassin's Finch #0491

Carpodacus cassinii

Saturday morning came with freezing fog, and there were almost no birds visiting in the early morning. Later in the afternoon, the sun came out, and this female Cassin's Finch decided it was warm enough for a bath. When she was all done, here's what we had (click on the thumbnail image below for larger version):

0 comments leave a comment

pages 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 ALL

comment

Gerald Rozemeijer		13-Oct-2010 17:09
Wonderful gallery great shots !!!

Michael Argo		06-Jul-2010 21:44
Very Fine Gallery. Excellent work. V

joseantonio		22-Jun-2010 04:41
Excellent collection

Lennart Waara		29-Jan-2010 17:55
Great gallery! Great colors. Like all the birds we do not have in our country!

Mike Loring Photography		25-Jan-2010 17:51
Great bird photos here.

click on thumbnails for full image

Type your message and click Add Comment

It is best to login or register first but you may post as a guest. Enter an optional name and contact email address. Name
Name Email
help	private comment