Photographed in Tobago, Panama, Costa Rica, Ecuador, and Guatemala, the hummingbirds below are great examples of the beautiful birds to be found in Central and South America.
Category Archives: birds
Friday photos: Hybrids – BirdWatching
Identifying birds is an interesting challenge. Recognize that a bird is a hybrid must be a higher-level skill. mjh
Friday photos: Hybrids – BirdWatching Field of View – BirdWatching Daily – BirdWatching Community
The birds below are unique; they’re hybrids. That is, they contain the genetic DNA for two different species. Look up each member of each pair in your field guide. See if you can spot the characteristics of each species in the hybrid. The photographs were taken by readers. We found them in our online galleries.
Friday photos: Hybrids – BirdWatching Field of View – BirdWatching Daily – BirdWatching Community
Dive-bombing hawks fly into metro study
I’d like to know if being handled and wired makes hawks more aggressive. mjh
Dive-bombing hawks fly into metro study
Dive-bombing hawks fly into metro study
Umbrella best defense during nesting season
Updated: Thursday, 14 Jun 2012, 5:56 PM MDT
Published : Thursday, 14 Jun 2012, 5:56 PM MDTALBUQUERQUE (KRQE) – An unusual study is going on in northeast Albuquerque involving Cooper’s Hawks and tiny bird backpacks.
The New Mexico Department of the Game and Fish and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service are teaming up to see just how aggressive the hawks are during their nesting season, which runs from May to July.
Each year there are about 20 calls in the city of Albuquerque about aggressive hawks, and almost all of those calls are about the Cooper’s hawk.
If a hawk in your neighborhood is dive bombing you, there are two things you can do: yell and shoo them away or simply use an umbrella when you are close to the tree where they are nesting. Cooper’s won’t see you as a threat if you are under an umbrella.
The aggression will stop once the babies are out of the nest.
Biologists have found 60 nesting pairs of Cooper’s hawks in northeast Albuquerque, and there are many more around the city.
The first step in the research requires capturing the hawks. That’s where Eve, the rehabilitated great horned owl, is put to work.
Horned owls are the enemy of the Cooper’s hawk, so Eve is put on a perch and an invisible net is set up. The Cooper’s are captured, banded and data gathered.
The hawks play an important role in urban ecology. State Game and Fish biologist Kristin Madden says they are fantastic for rodent control and pigeon and dove control as well.
When the fledglings are ready to fly, they will be fitted with tiny bird backpacks. The tracking device has Teflon straps that fit right under the birds feathers, with a tiny transmitter.
The data gathered will help biologists learn more about nesting, survival rates and disease in the birds as well as migration.
Interestingly, Albuquerque’s Cooper’s hawks like it here. They don’t migrate but stay here year round.
The data gathered on the Cooper’s hawks also help scientists learn more about other raptors, such as bald and golden eagles.
STOKES BIRDING BLOG: Northern Saw-whet Owl, baby!
Lillian Stokes is a great bird photographer.
STOKES BIRDING BLOG: Northern Saw-whet Owl, baby!
I’m on the NH Audubon birdathon fundraiser today, doing a big sit category in our yard and just got this photo of a young Northern Saw-whet Owl in our owl nesting box, too cool!!!
Ok, back to the birdathon.Posted by Lillian and Don Stokes at Saturday, May 19, 2012
Los Lunas – Belen – Bernardo Birding Daytrip
I took a day trip to various birding hotspots south of Albuquerque, but not as far south as Mecca (Bosque del Apache). My guide was Birding Hot Spots of Central New Mexico, by Judy Liddell and Barbara Hussey, plus GPS and some time spent with Google Earth beforehand. One trip is not enough to evaluate these spots – their inclusion in the book may be enough of a rating. Certainly, I will return to Bernardo, which is so much closer than Mecca but *almost* as beautiful and bird-full (no place is as beautiful as Bosque del Apache). I wish Bosque del Apache would mimic the blinds and overlooks at Bernardo, which has two fantastic trails through high bushes around a pond.
Highlights included quite a few kestrels, a northern harrier at Whitfield Wildlife Conservation Area, lots of sandhill cranes and snow geese, a song sparrow, and several rufous-sided towhees, all at Bernardo.
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| Los Lunas – Belen – Bernardo, New Mexico |
Note: Photos contain GPS data and can be mapped online.
I had not luck locating Belen Waterfowl Management Area off Jarales Road (a lovely drive). The official map of the area is dreadfully vague. Nor did I see any indication along the road of Casa Colorada WMA.
See Judy Liddell’s blog for much more information: It’s a bird thing…
The Rio Grande Bosque is a treasure we all need to visit more
We’ve walked in various parts of the bosque (riparian woods, primarily cottonwoods) within Albuquerque over the years. A year ago, our walk resulted in one of my favorite photos of the year (coyote with ducks, a prize winner). This year, we watched a Northern Harrier (Marsh Hawk) stand in the river, one foot pinning its prey in the current. And there was a disheveled merlin, a handsome shoveler, a snipe, and a plethora of robins. I’ve added 9 pictures to the album (19 total).
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| A Walk in Albuquerque’s Bosque |
Stokes Birding Blog (recommended)
Consistently, Lillian Stokes takes the finest bird photos I’ve seen. She always captures fascinating action in her subjects.
I recently bought The Stokes Field Guide to the Birds of North America
National Bird Day
Why National Bird Day?
- The beauty, songs, and flight of birds have long been sources of human inspiration.
- Today, nearly 12 percent of the world’s 9,800 bird species may face extinction within the next century, including nearly one-third of the world’s 330 parrot species.
- Birds are sentinel species whose plight serves as barometer of ecosystem health and alert system for detecting global environmental ills.
- Many of the world’s parrots and songbirds are threatened with extinction due to pressures from the illegal pet trade, disease, and habitat loss.
- Public awareness and education about the physical and behavioral needs of birds can go far in improving the welfare of the millions of birds kept in captivity.
- The survival and well-being of the world’s birds depends upon public education and support for conservation.
Stunning kingfisher photos from Israel by the Birdchick
Dynamite Kingfishers Of The Hula Valley : Birdchick
One of the big highlights visiting the Hula Valley in Israel was all the kingfisher action. This is a pied kingfisher, about the size and shape of belted kingfishers but are all crazy black and white. [Copyright © Birdchick.]
Dynamite Kingfishers Of The Hula Valley : Birdchick
Follow the link to see more great photos of different kingfishers.
Lillian Stokes is a great bird photographer
Lillian Stokes’ bird photos may be the best I’ve seen. I haven’t yet bought The Stokes Field Guide to the Birds of North America, but I will just for the pictures. The blog entry I linked to below has more photos plus tips on photographing birds in flight.
STOKES BIRDING BLOG: Photographing Birds in Flight, Tips
Thursday, December 01, 2011
Pileated Woodpecker © by Lillian Stokes.
Dragonfly and green heron video by Clay Taylor
Uploaded by SwaroSONA on Oct 28, 2011 Dragonfly and Heron digiscoped by Clay Taylor of SWAROVSKI OPTIK
Great bird photos from BirdWatching Magazine
Burrowing Owl: MiaM photographed this wing-flapping Burrowing Owl as it tried to balance on a branch in Antelope Island State Park in Utah.
Friday photos: Super close-ups – BirdWatching Field of View – BirdWatching Magazine: birdwatching hotspots, bird identification, bird photos, bird feeders
Blue Jay: Birds can have bad hair days, too! Birdchaser snapped this shot of a Blue Jay at Shirleys Bay in Ottawa, Ontario, just as the wind came up behind it.
Wildfires in southwestern states, Georgia, and Canada raise concerns for trogons, hummingbirds, and now Whooping Cranes – BirdWatching Field of View
This short article is worth reading if you’re concerned about the impact of recent wildfires on birds.
Hawks terrorize Albuquerque neighborhood? Evening News terrorizes everyone.
PUH-lease. Altura Park has had nesting Cooper’s hawks for years; some years more than one nest, more than one chick. We saw 5 juveniles playing on the tennis courts. Never heard of a problem. We’re thrilled to see hawks throughout the city.