Birds Show Birds

[grebeman]

Oh dear, I have to admit having done a mild twitch or two in my time; though I don't think I ever travelled more than 40 miles in doing so, which hardly makes me hardcore.

Paul, I'm sure you'll mature out of it, given time

I recall a radio interview many years ago with a bird watcher living in Norfolk. He was asked if he used web sites to see what had been seen. He said yes, and that if anything rare had been found where he intended to go, then he went elsewhere. A man after my own heart.

Barrie

 

[BillN]

"To twitch" is to dash around the country trying to see rare birds that OTHER people have found, so if you yourself find a rare bird you are not twitching, so no not a twitch Bill, but others who follow up your report would be twitching. I regard being called a twitcher as a gross insult, mainly because I don't twitch. This is a family site so I will refrain from giving my opinion of twitchers.

Barrie

Sorry Barrie I mean't "a tick" ............ must be the sun out here

I "twiched" once, last year, when I went to the Keyhaven Reserve to check out an Oriole that had been reported

 

[pdh]

Paul, I'm sure you'll mature out of it, given time

the last time was 2010, on my birthday, when I wanted to go to the coast anyway; I nabbed a drake Bufflehead on The Fleet and then got bitten by a whippet.

 

[grebeman]

Sorry Barrie I mean't "a tick" ............ must be the sun out here

I "twiched" once, last year, when I went to the Keyhaven Reserve to check out an Oriole that had been reported

You must wear a hat Bill Your little error has got me on my high horse. I've virtually given up going to sites likely to produce a rarity. If you find a rare bird and don't report it, you get hassle when the news gets out, if you do report it, the bird gets hassle. A no win situation.

The species is a tick for your South African list, but obviously not a "lifer".

Barrie

 

[BillN]

You must wear a hat Bill Your little error has got me on my high horse. I've virtually given up going to sites likely to produce a rarity. If you find a rare bird and don't report it, you get hassle when the news gets out, if you do report it, the bird gets hassle. A no win situation.

The species is a tick for your South African list, but obviously not a "lifer".

Barrie

I reckon if I posted the question on a "particular" forum some would say that as I identified it later from a digital image and not from a book using my memory, then it's would not be a tick.
When I looked at it through my brings I did not see the white tail feathers and the distinguishing black and white underside wing pattern - the sky was just too bright.

So tick or not

Also I believe that it is a different sub species of the ones I saw in SW France - so how about that difference - do "ticks" go down to sub species? - if they do it would be a "lifer" like the (Southern) Pale Chanting_Goshawk - I saw another yesterday so they must be dead common!

(I now have a hat but I was thinking that my next purchase must be "camo top and bottoms)

 

[pdh]

Yes, but as we know, that particular forum is thick with to$$ers

 

[BillN]

We are UK time minus 2 hours out here - so it's off to dinner soon, (they eat early in SA and go to bed by 10 - must check on the birth rate) - I will need to scare the baboons off to get out of the security gate

 

[grebeman]

So tick or not

Life's too short for such worries, just tick the darn thing.

(I now have a hat but I was thinking that my next purchase must be "camo top and bottoms)

OMG, Bill, don't, not top AND bottoms, top yes, but not both!!!!!

Barrie

 

[BillN]

Life's too short for such worries, just tick the darn thing.

Barrie

In all conscious I feel I cannot tick it, if I do and someone from "the forum" finds out I hate to think what would happen, (I could get banned!!!) - maybe if I tick it in pencil, just in case, then I can "rub it out" if there is a problem OR I could go back, it's only a 200 miles round trip and see if they are still there - I'll discuss it with my wife - a day on the beach with lunch at a nice restaurant or "piece of mind for a junior twitcher"

 

[grebeman]

Bill, you were too late in getting that hat

 

[BillN]

Bill, you were too late in getting that hat

I took the "corks" off it

It's a red pencil then!!

(second thoughts, I cannot use Red, I will have to use Green)

 

[johnsigs]

Hi all here are a few cardinals taken with a nx20 and kiron 105 lens

SAM_6937-39 by jaysigs, on Flickr

SAM_6961-63 by jaysigs, on Flickr

SAM_6985-87 by jaysigs, on Flickr

SAM_7037-138 by jaysigs, on Flickr

SAM_6984-86 by jaysigs, on Flickr

 

[Lawrence A.]

Great. It looks like a ginger-bread house for birds.

 

[johnsigs]

One week later its bare wood ,every seed is gone,Its one of the worst winters i can remember here on long island

 

[Lawrence A.]

I find sparrows and finches difficult: They look alike, with variations that I don't see until I'm trying to definitively identify them. So I'll count on one of our resident bird men to come to the rescue. Bill? Barrie? The closest I could come on this one is Pine Siskin, but they don't have the rusty patch at the eye, and this one doesn't have their yellow in the wings -- except in some photos it looks very similar. But now I'm thinking a female red-winged blackbird. I've seen the males in the area, though haven't managed a picture, as they are always daring into thick brush.. Some of the pictures of the females seem more colorful, but others look rather plain, like the one pictured. As anyone with any knowledge of the subject can tell, I have no skills for identifying birds.
Help!

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[Lawrence A.]

The intimate life of wood ducks.
My roommate, looking over my shoulder when I was working on the photos said, "Hmm. Pornithology"

 

[BillN]

I find sparrows and finches difficult: They look alike, with variations that I don't see until I'm trying to definitively identify them. So I'll count on one of our resident bird men to come to the rescue. Bill? Barrie? The closest I could come on this one is Pine Siskin, but they don't have the rusty patch at the eye, and this one doesn't have their yellow in the wings -- except in some photos it looks very similar. But now I'm thinking a female red-winged blackbird. I've seen the males in the area, though haven't managed a picture, as they are always daring into thick brush.. Some of the pictures of the females seem more colorful, but others look rather plain, like the one pictured. As anyone with any knowledge of the subject can tell, I have no skills for identifying birds.
Help!

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Lawrence,

I have never seen one but from my Bird Guide it looks like you are correct in that it is a Pine Siskin (Carduelis pinus)

Distinguishing elements
It’s a small finch, but with a Slender bill
Short, slightly forked tail
Heavily streaked
The yellow patch is variable and often concealed
Both sexes similar as is Juvenille, but male is “brighter”

“has head to nape pale buffish-brown, tinged grey and finely streaked dark brown; short, thin and poorly defined supercilium over eye and ear-coverts, underlined by thin dark eyestripe, cheek and ear-coverts finely streaked darker”

Two sub species in your area

C. p. macroptera (Bonaparte, 1850) - N Baja California and NW & C Mexico (E to Veracruz).
C. p. perplexa (van Rossem, 1938) - S Mexico (N & C Chiapas) and W Guatemala.

This site always helps me:

http://ibc.lynxeds.com/photo/pine-siskin-carduelis-pinus/perched-bird-calling


Ducks, I'm not a fan - they are stupid birds, just swim around and breed with anything around, but mostly with Mallards.
Other water birds are far more interesting

But as usual, Lawrence, great shots and thanks for posting

 

[Lawrence A.]

Thanks Bill. I bookmarked the site and will undoubtedly be referring to it a lot.

 

[BillN]

Day_5_Bird

Sacred Ibis (Threskiornis aethiopicus) - Subspecies T. a. aethiopicus.

Thickest-billed of Threskiornis. They are very common out here, constantly flying inland and back out to the Lagoon

 

[Lawrence A.]

Gorgeous in flight! Nice capture.