Got any bird pics?
- Thread starter Wadin' Boot
- Start date
tkww
Steelhead
I have fond memories of one eating out of my hand one morning while camping at colchuck. (And then had to climb over aasgard with several inches of snow on the ground.
)
No bird pics involved, but I found this in my yard this evening while doing yard work.
Not really sure where it came from but damn fine craftsmanship with mud, grass, twigs etc.
SF
Not really sure where it came from but damn fine craftsmanship with mud, grass, twigs etc.
SF
Maybe a robin's nest? they kinda look like that and they spackle them with mud. They love shady eaves to tuck the nest up into
Over on Hatteras, Sanderling:
Willet:
This one has me a bit stumped, I'm thinking it's likely a Sanderling, but the coloring has me wondering, the black ring doesn't fit and the bill looks too sharp, but behavior did seem to fit a Sanderling:
Willet about to take flight:
Cheers
Willet:
This one has me a bit stumped, I'm thinking it's likely a Sanderling, but the coloring has me wondering, the black ring doesn't fit and the bill looks too sharp, but behavior did seem to fit a Sanderling:
Willet about to take flight:
Cheers
This is a ruddy turnstone. Red legs, brown back, dark head and breast. Thicker bill than a sanderling.
Steve
As always, @Cabezon to the rescue. Ruddy Turnstone did not show up on my search, Thank you Steve!!!
cheers
Jim F.
Still a Genuine Montana Fossil
Wow - that worked! Nice shot.
I’m not great at identifying birds.
This one flew up on a tree as I was walking off the beach this morning. This is the best shot I could get with my point and shoot.
Is this a kestrel?
SF
This one flew up on a tree as I was walking off the beach this morning. This is the best shot I could get with my point and shoot.
Is this a kestrel?
SF
Yes, I would call it a kestrel, probably a female, especially with the light brownish-streaked breast and two dark face slashes. In my eyes, a merlin would be a darker brown overall and have less contrast on the face. But, there does appear to be banding on the tail and that is a feature found in a merlin. If the back was brown, that would confirm a kestrel id.
Steve
Gyrfalcon22
Life of the Party
My 2 cents. I trust @Cabezon far more than myself on i'd's, but I am going to lean towards Merlin. Atleast from my local Merlin/Kestrel color phases on the coast.
If a kestrel, has to be an immature with the dull color, and this would be perfect season for it. Merlin tails have a much darker look with thicker banding it seems.
The chest on @Stonedfish bird also has just enough rust in it to look like a Merlin as well.
Nice little falcon we know for sure !
One of my local Merlins in the Fall
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Gyrfalcon22
Life of the Party
Osprey today in our old spruce tree. Great to have Osprey here while the eagles are mostly off on their short yearly hiatus.
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As reflected in your pictures, merlins do not have the pronounced dark "mustache" that you see in kestrels. The bird in @Stonedfish's picture appears to have a mustache. That is what tipped the balance for me (and the fact that kestrels are more common.).
Steve
Gyrfalcon22
Life of the Party
(Sorry for the thread hijack)
Excellent points, Steve. Adding a few of the local Merlins over the years. Only the dark merlins have enough color to quality as a moustache.. and even then it is more of whole dark head +a village people/person thick handlebar type : ) I only see a Merlin a few times a year, kestrels darn near daily here.
Bottom: Sometimes you get lucky and get both a merlin and a (female) kestrel on the same perch. Pretty rare treat.
If money is on the line, I am going with @Cabezon every time for identifying anything globally- from the ocean bottom to high-flying stratosphere soaring critters !
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Gyrfalcon, just curious what you mean by Eagle's yearly hiatus, I've noticed the Eagles are harder to find and sorta lazy right now....
Gyrfalcon22
Life of the Party
@Wadin' Boot -speaking with researcher Dan Varland, Ph.D. from Coastal Raptors, he told me the birds likely head up to BC and hit the early Chinook runs (Fraser river?).
Oddly, with 2 or 3 active Bald eagle nests within about a 6-7 mile radius here, I never see the fledglings or the resident parents this time of year. I chalked it up to the birds maybe heading about 30 miles west to the ocean to feed on seabird colonies or finding easy foraging for the new of year birds.
I only have one or two subadults here right now, and not daily.
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