Birders' Nest

[Elgarian Redux]

He only dabbles; no diving for him!

We can fix that ...

[Elgarian Redux]

Thread tax

Boat-billed Heron for its bill and winsome look

He looks either incredibly wise, or extremely stupid, and I can't decide which.

American Redstart for warbler season and general floofiness

Floofed beyond recognition, it seems. Do American Redstarts not have any red bits?

American Robin for its true thrushedness and obvious excellent personal hygiene

Thrushedness acknowledged and understood.

Donaldson Smith's Sparrow-Weaver for its name and red eyes

Gorgeous little creature, and a lively shot. But this leaves me wondering about Mr Donaldson Smith and his sparrow-weaving habits. I am not sure I approve of all this sparrow-weaving going on, and suggest there must be better ways of making tapestries and suchlike.

[owlice]

We can fix that ...

hahahahahahaha!!! But now you're going to get the diving ducks, and maybe even some grebes!!

[owlice]

He looks either incredibly wise, or extremely stupid, and I can't decide which.

He is clever enough to hide; most of my photos of this species show a lot of reeds/grasses with a tiny bit of heron showing through a tiny little clear spot.

Floofed beyond recognition, it seems. Do American Redstarts not have any red bits?

Male American Redstarts typically show orange:



The super floofy Redstart in the earlier post is female and they are softer colors, with pale orange and pale yellow. (Both are lovely, but this is another case where I find the female's subtle coloring even more appealing than the male's bold hues.)

But we also have Whitestarts that are called Redstarts that do have red on them; they are neotropic birds, warblers, but a different genus (Myioborus) than American Redstarts (which are Setophaga). I've seen only one, a Painted Redstart, and have only one photo of this bird, taken in Arizona:

My photo hints at but doesn't show the very red -- a lovely shade of red at that, deep and rich -- of the bird's chest. A better photo is here.

The outer tail feathers of Whitestarts are, well, white. TIL that "start" is an archaic word for "tail", hence the reason these birds are Whitestarts, though commonly called Redstarts. And as a family, they mostly don't have red on them... yellow is a very popular color in this crowd. Birds are confusing.

Oh, other duty calls, alas.

[owlice]

And dang it, Elgarian, you're making me learn stuff here!!!
Thank you! Thank you very much!

[owlice]

One more thing... it's the same for your Redstarts -- they also show more orange than red! Here's your Black Redstart (male):



At best, that tail is dark orange or rufous, not a true red. But these -- your Black Redstarts -- are true Redstarts (genus Phoenicurus), even when the tail (the "start") is only barely pale orange:


Someone has a lot to answer for, what with Black Redstarts and Whitestarts and all! Who named these creatures?!?!

[Elgarian Redux]

One more thing... it's the same for your Redstarts -- they also show more orange than red! Here's your Black Redstart (male):



At best, that tail is dark orange or rufous, not a true red. But these -- your Black Redstarts -- are true Redstarts (genus Phoenicurus), even when the tail (the "start") is only barely pale orange:


Someone has a lot to answer for, what with Black Redstarts and Whitestarts and all! Who named these creatures?!?!

Your photos are beautiful and revealing, as ever, and I like the idea of you showing me 'my redstarts' for demonstration purposes; but I have an admission to make. I have never seen any kind of redstart. No sort. Not ever. So your work as an educator is having maximum effect.

Also: tail = start. Who knew?

[Elgarian Redux]

hahahahahahaha!!! But now you're going to get the diving ducks, and maybe even some grebes!!

We need a bigger collection of notices. 'No Quacking'; 'No Swimming'; etc.

[owlice]

Your photos are beautiful and revealing, as ever, and I like the idea of you showing me 'my redstarts' for demonstration purposes; but I have an admission to make. I have never seen any kind of redstart. No sort. Not ever. So your work as an educator is having maximum effect.

Also: tail = start. Who knew?

Your Redstarts in a broad sense, I suppose, since I have seen them only in Europe, and now having looked at my handful or two of observations of them, find I've seen them only in the Netherlands (Leiden, my first sighting of them), Switzerland, Malta, and Spain. I thought my first time was in England, even though I've not done any real birding there (nor in Leiden), but no. And no wonder you haven't seen them, as this is what iNat has to say (in part) about their range:

"In Britain, it is most common as a passage and winter visitor, with only 20–50 pairs breeding. On passage it is fairly common on the east and south coasts, and in winter on the coasts of Wales and western and southern England, with a few also at inland sites."

If I could give you a flock of them, I would! They are such pretty little birds, and I'm sure you would find them excellent companions, and they would surely think the same of you!!

[owlice]

A few pretty birds:

Lilac-breasted Roller apparently wishing me dead


Dark-eyed Junco in quiet contemplation


Northern Mockingbird looking for his dropped car keys


Brandt's Cormorant far from the madding crowd

[Elgarian Redux]

A few pretty birds:

Lilac-breasted Roller apparently wishing me dead

Almost every colour of the spectrum. Exquisite.

Dark-eyed Junco in quiet contemplation

Lovely bird. Gorgeous contrast between head and body. I betcha he's contemplating food.

Northern Mockingbird looking for his dropped car keys

Still can't get down from the cactus? He's been there for ages.

Brandt's Cormorant far from the madding crowd

But what's inside the cave? That's what we all want to know.

[owlice]

Almost every colour of the spectrum. Exquisite.

They are very colorful, indeed, and always a delight to see. Here's a whole bird:


One species of roller breeds in Europe; its name is outrageous: European Roller. (What were the bird namers thinking, giving this lovely bird such a name?!

If I've already shared this bird, my apologies.
It has occurred in England, but rarely; it is more common on the continent and mostly in southern areas. Here's a really stunning photo of this stunning bird.

Lovely bird. Gorgeous contrast between head and body. I betcha he's contemplating food.

hahahaha, yes, he probably is!! I love these little birds.

But what's inside the cave? That's what we all want to know.

Oh no... your question woke them up...!!
Monsters!! Run!!! RUN!!!!!

[Elgarian Redux]

They are very colorful, indeed, and always a delight to see. Here's a whole bird:

Exquisite. It reminds me of something John Ruskin wrote, contemplating the Darwinian discussions of his day. He rejected the notion that flowers were created for the sake of seed production, and turned it on its head, declaring it to be self-evident that seeds were produced for the sake of the flowers. He would probably have said something similar about the extraordinary plumage of this bird.

[Elgarian Redux]

There must be a robin's nest somewhere in or near our garden, because today a young robin has been hopping around. At one point he met up with one of his parents and got fed, but I wasn't able to get a shot of that.

[Iota]

.. As for snapping, here's an expert:


Common Snapping Turtle
Doesn't that look like a DINOSAUR?!?! Maybe it's not just birds!!

Yes it certainly does! I think that's the first time I've ever felt slightly scared of a turtle, normally they look so benign and avuncular, but this one looks like it could be one of the monsters lurking in the Brandt Cormorant's cave mentioned above .. 

Have been away for a bit (spectacularly beautiful spot, but a very people orientated hol and apart from seabirds wheeling and gliding on thermals - an always absorbing sight for me - no notable avian encounters to report) but have loved looking through the pics posted since I was away!
Your photos, owlice are as ever simply mesmeric! They reveal not only the extraordinary variety and beauty of birds around us, but also the sheer vibrancy of the natural world, it's always a joy and an adventure looking through them. And now I see Elgarian has added two gorgeous shots of a young robin to the gallery. Which actually is another opportunity to demonstrate my absolute dunce status in the bird world, as if I'd seen that lovely little bird I'd never have known it was a robin ..

Can't leave without reposting at least one of the surreal gallery of recent wonders .. this one made me go quite weak at the knees (along with the other 'Roller' shots you added) .. that combination of colours .. just magical!

A few pretty birds:

Lilac-breasted Roller apparently wishing me dead

[Elgarian Redux]

You know that old business of waiting for a bus for hours, and then along come three at once? Well, so it is with magpies. All the time I've been posting images here, I've been unable to get a photo of a magpie. And now I have a whole boxful of magpie photos - though here I'm cheating a bit. This magpie today was in our neighbour's garden, viewed over the fence.

[Iota]

You know that old business of waiting for a bus for hours, and then along come three at once? Well, so it is with magpies. All the time I've been posting images here, I've been unable to get a photo of a magpie. And now I have a whole boxful of magpie photos - though here I'm cheating a bit. This magpie today was in our neighbour's garden, viewed over the fence.

I don't see how that can be considered cheating, surely a bird snapper's craft must employ all sorts of ruses and craftiness to obtain its desired goal, all power to you! Excellent pics too!

[Elgarian Redux]

I don't see how that can be considered cheating, surely a bird snapper's craft must employ all sorts of ruses and craftiness to obtain its desired goal, all power to you! Excellent pics too!

Well of course you're right, Iota. My little project was 'to photograph all the birds that had been seen in or from our garden'. So I'd already covered my bets, actually.

(But did I mention that to get the shots I dressed up in full shrubbery camouflage gear, and kept calling out imitation magpie sounds?)

[Iota]

(But did I mention that to get the shots I dressed up in full shrubbery camouflage gear, and kept calling out imitation magpie sounds?)

Oh yes, I take that as a given. I know the extraordinary levels of dedication you shower on all of your avian surveillance operations ..  ; )

[Elgarian Redux]

The young robin was back this morning, along with one of his parents. Mum (or Dad) would zoom off somewhere and return with some titbit, for which Junior was clearly waiting. But the feeding process was so fast I could hardly see it, let alone photograph it. I tried and tried again, but could not synchronise my camera click with the moment of food transfer - or even with the presence of Mum, so fast was she! But I did end up with a whole stack of extra photographs of Junior, so I've sifted out the best of them and present them here. He seems very photogenic to me! I wonder if he's aware of it?

[Warning: this post is not for robinophobes.]