Birders' Nest

[Iota]

More excellent pics, @owlice! I too had no idea of the wide and rich variety of sparrows that live outside this little island. Lovely to see!

I was very taken by the delicate little Dark-eyed Junco, its simple unbroken grey colour seems very unusual on a small bird to me, though perhaps there are numerous other examples. I find it beautiful and very elegant.



And the grey feathers on the Bald Eagle seem almost like fish scales to me. What an impressive figure they cut!



Edit: And love your little 'comic terns' pun in the previous post, @Elgarian Redux !

[Elgarian Redux]

love your little 'comic terns' pun in the previous post, @Elgarian Redux !

I wish I could take credit for it. Actually, it was a joke coined by the chap who first got me interested in birds, back in the mid-1970s. And I expect he got it from someone else!

[owlice]

I grabbed my camera

GASP!!!

[owlice]

Roll up! Roll up! Ladies and gentlemen. Welcome to the game of 'SPOT THE DUNNOCK!'

Is it a bird? Is it a plane? Is it a little whirly blob of some sort? Is it a bit of fluff on the camera lens?

Let the people decide:

It is a bird!! A little whirly fluffy blob birb with a side of frenetic!!

How nice to see a dunnock!! Thanks for the photo!!

[owlice]

So we went to see our daughter this afternoon and stopped for half an hour at the Little Egret spot. No sign of any avocets, but there was a little egret, just visible, apparently in a galaxy far away. I used the top of the car to steady the camera and did my best. The results are clearly rubbish, but they represent my first ever photographs of a little egret.

Not rubbish!! You can ID the bird! That is the very definition of a good photo!! Or at least a good enough photo!

Also, again at a distance best measured in light years, were these. I think they're black-tailed godwits. Are they?

Pretty sure they are! Nice!! And it looks like maybe a redshank is hanging out with them.

Finally, on this same visit, for the first time I've been able to see a tern and know whether it was common or arctic. Black tips on the bills! Ladies and gentlemen, I offer you two common terns.

YAY!!! Terns!! Two good terns deserve another, or even anothers:

Forster's Terns, New Jersey

[owlice]

More excellent pics, @owlice! I too had no idea of the wide and rich variety of sparrows that live outside this little island. Lovely to see!

I was very taken by the delicate little Dark-eyed Junco, its simple unbroken grey colour seems very unusual on a small bird to me, though perhaps there are numerous other examples. I find it beautiful and very elegant.



And the grey feathers on the Bald Eagle seem almost like fish scales to me. What an impressive figure they cut!

Thank you, Iota!

So many sparrow species, so many opportunities to misidentify them!

I love these little juncos. They are sometimes referred to as "snow birds" because they appear in the temperate zones of the US in late fall/winter, having migrated down from the far north. I am always happy to see them arrive, and always sad to see them go! They are distinctive when they fly, flashing white outer tail feathers. There are numerous subspecies; this one, very common, is the Slate-colored. Another variation on the junco theme, from Arizona, is below.

Fish scale feathers for a fish eagle... thanks for pointing them out, and how appropriate! I'd never thought of that, but now that you've brought it up, it occurs to me that another fish hunter also has fish-scale-like feathers:

White-breasted (Great) Cormorant

I maybe should have noticed that.... !

[owlice]

I'll be on the road for the next few days; I've enlisted a few friends to hold up my end of the conversation while I head southward.

Cooper's Hawk


Eastern Kingbird


American Robin


Rattling Cisticola


Tree Swallows (adult and juvenile)

[Elgarian Redux]

GASP!!!

I know. I'm sorry. It must have been a shock. I should have broken the news more gently.

[Elgarian Redux]

It is a bird!! A little whirly fluffy blob birb with a side of frenetic!!

Correct. You win First Prize. It is indeed a rare Whirlyfluff Blob-bird, whose chief characteristic is its rampant freneticism.

Hard luck to those who thought it was a bit of fluff on the camera lens. You came so close.

[Elgarian Redux]

Not rubbish!! You can ID the bird! That is the very definition of a good photo!! Or at least a good enough photo!

Your kindness must be legendary.

Pretty sure they are! Nice!! And it looks like maybe a redshank is hanging out with them.

Thanks for the confirmation. Identifying birds I've tried to photograph at the outer limits of the solar system is not my forte.

YAY!!! Terns!! Two good terns deserve another, or even anothers:

Forster's Terns, New Jersey

I vote this the best pun seen on the forum today.

[Elgarian Redux]

I'll be on the road for the next few days; I've enlisted a few friends to hold up my end of the conversation while I head southward.

Happy travels. Come back soon.

American Robin

Lovely

Rattling Cisticola

Why 'rattling'? Does it make that sort of sound?

Tree Swallows (adult and juvenile)

Gorgeous.

[Iota]

I wish I could take credit for it. Actually, it was a joke coined by the chap who first got me interested in birds, back in the mid-1970s. And I expect he got it from someone else!

Well, thanks for sharing it!

So many sparrow species, so many opportunities to misidentify them!

I love these little juncos. They are sometimes referred to as "snow birds" because they appear in the temperate zones of the US in late fall/winter, having migrated down from the far north. I am always happy to see them arrive, and always sad to see them go! They are distinctive when they fly, flashing white outer tail feathers. There are numerous subspecies; this one, very common, is the Slate-colored. Another variation on the junco theme, from Arizona, is below.

I'd love to see that! And yes, I'm always sad to see the swifts which are a common and lovely sight here on summer's evenings, flitting around high up catching insects, when they head off south for the winter. It's a sign the darker days are coming again, and thus accompanied for me by a certain regret.
I often get a feeling of awe when I'm watching them, knowing how they spend months in the air without ever landing, it's a feat that strikes me as quasi-miraculous.

[Iota]

I'll be on the road for the next few days; I've enlisted a few friends to hold up my end of the conversation while I head southward.

Cooper's Hawk


Eastern Kingbird


American Robin


Rattling Cisticola


Tree Swallows (adult and juvenile)

Just brilliant, @owlice! Such character, colour and life in those photos! Have a great trip!

[Kalevala]

Saw an interesting segment on a morning show about the annual event on the Thames which counts and checks in on the swans' health, etc.  Nice to see!   

K

[owlice]

I'd love to see that!

https://www.marylandbiodiversity.com/record/230432

And yes, I'm always sad to see the swifts which are a common and lovely sight here on summer's evenings, flitting around high up catching insects, when they head off south for the winter. It's a sign the darker days are coming again, and thus accompanied for me by a certain regret.
I often get a feeling of awe when I'm watching them, knowing how they spend months in the air without ever landing, it's a feat that strikes me as quasi-miraculous.

Birds are miraculous!

[owlice]

Why 'rattling'? Does it make that sort of sound?

It has a distinctive call (which I would not call "rattling"; would you?), but maybe it's because:
1.) there are a lot of cisticola species (over 50);
2.) many of them have (numerous) sub-species; and at some point,
3.) they had to be named something.

So Rattling, Winding, Piping, Croaking, Rock-loving (I swear I am not making this up), Wailing, Singing, Whistling, Trilling (yes, I had to look some of these up), Chattering, Tiny, Tinkling (honestly), Foxy, Chirping, Wing-snapping and et cetera.

(I'm sure all of these make sense... well, I'm almost positive. Maybe.)

[Elgarian Redux]

It has a distinctive call (which I would not call "rattling"; would you?)

Not really. But it might be as good as any alternative I might propose.

but maybe it's because:
1.) there are a lot of cisticola species (over 50);
2.) many of them have (numerous) sub-species; and at some point,
3.) they had to be named something.

So Rattling, Winding, Piping, Croaking, Rock-loving (I swear I am not making this up), Wailing, Singing, Whistling, Trilling (yes, I had to look some of these up), Chattering, Tiny, Tinkling (honestly), Foxy, Chirping, Wing-snapping and et cetera.

(I'm sure all of these make sense... well, I'm almost positive. Maybe.)

Yes I think I opt for (3). 'Talking about birdsong' isn't easy. It's like 'dancing about castles' or 'whistling about oranges'.

I thought you were zooming off somewhere, Owlice?

[Iota]

https://www.marylandbiodiversity.com/record/230432

Thank you, such balletic grace and freedom! And yet another stunning pic, bravo!

Birds are miraculous!

Indeed! It seems impossible to conceive of a world without them.

[Elgarian Redux]

It seems impossible to conceive of a world without them.

By and large, I find it hard to envisage birds as the descendants of dinosaurs, given their grace and beauty of flight. And yet, watching certain birds, sometimes I can see it - jackdaws, for instance. They can strut and behave in an aggressive, fierce manner, that can trigger the 'dinosaur' connection.

I have a small collection of Plesiosaur and Ichthyosaur fossils (vertebrae and paddle bones) which even after many years I still find awesome - but at no time do they ever make me think of birds. I suppose the fossil chain leading to birds doesn't include the sea-reptiles. But my ignorance is vast, and this post is mainly incoherent rambling.

[owlice]

Thank you, such balletic grace and freedom! And yet another stunning pic, bravo!

Sorry! Not my photo!! It is from the Maryland Biodiversity site I linked in the post. I should have made that clear!

Also, BIF (birds in flight) ... well, I have some, but mostly leave that to faster people with better cameras.