birds
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Some Northwestern Birds
Western Gull, Larus occidentalis. Similar looking to Herring Gull (Larus argentatus), but note that heavier, down-turned bill. (All the Larus gulls seem to be able to interbreed, resulting in hybrids of this and that and making a mockery of the old definition of species.)And speaking of taxonomy: the Western Scrub Jay was divided into two…
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Pacific Great Horned
I didn’t recognize this owl at first. Great Horned Owls (Bubo virginianus) run rather darker in the shadowed forests of the Pacific northwest, under all those Douglas-firs and dripping epiphytes. They also don’t have orange faces, as our eastern birds do. This female is 16 years old and has lived at the Portland Audubon Nature Sanctuary’s wildlife rehab…
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Flickering
If you’re going to hide in the ornamental cherry, don’t be screeching. But then, nobody ever accused the Northern Flickers (Colaptes auratus) of being subtle, with their loud calls, white rumps, and flickering yellow underwings (red in the West). Not to mention this palate of plumage…
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LBJs & CFWs
Or, in birding parlance, the “little brown jobs” and “confusing fall warblers.” The little brown jobs aren’t necessarily all that brown once you get a good look at them, but they are small and flighty. The confusing fall warblers are now in their regular plumage, not their distinctive spring breeding feathers. These are not the…
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Butorides virescens
An inside source tells me that there was indeed a Green Heron nest in Green-Wood this season.Behold a juvenile; there are at least two. This one caught two fish as it walked around the edge of the pond towards me. These pics are from earlier this month. They will fly south any… minute now. After…
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Raptor Wednesday
On Saturday, two passes through Green-Wood Cemetery on either side of brunch came up zilch on the raptor count, so Sunday I went back in amidst the nuthatches, kinglets, and warblers. Within a ten-minute period, I’d spotted a Sharp-shinned Hawk, two Red-tailed Hawks, a Merlin, and then an American Kestrel: now, that’s more like it!…
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Herons
This Great Blue Heron (Ardea herodias) had a bum left foot. It was holding the toes curled and not putting any pressure on it. In flight, which seemed fine, it looked as if a toe was sticking weirdly upright. Green Heron (Butorides virescens), also at Crescent Water. I think it’s standing on something under there,…
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Raptor Wednesday
On a recent afternoon, I had the pleasure of experiencing the Brooklyn falcon trifecta. It all started in Green-Wood: the distinctive shape of one of the small falcons tearing through the air in the distance, met by the rough chorus of outraged Monk Parakeets stirred up by its cousin. (Yes, falcons are more closely related…
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Feasting
Late afternoon, under an elm and its satellite Redbuds, these little flies were thick in the air, and in the ear and eye, too. Many birds were feasting on the tiny things, including a Red-breasted Nuthatch, lots and lots of Palm Warblers, a noisy Black-throated Blue Warbler, several Ruby and Golden-crowned Kinglets, a Downy Woodpecker,…
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Fly Bird
Perched on the edge of the dry moat surrounding Fort Jay, this Eastern Phoebe (Sayornis phoebe) was one of several to be seen the other day darting around the old defenses hawking insects out of the air.This juvenile — note the touch of yellow on the belly — was on the Crescent Water in Green-Wood.…
Backyard and Beyond 