Got any bird pics?

[SculpinSwinger]

We have Vaux Swifts that come through spring and fall, rainy day swing amongst them. They were all around me, it was awesome. I didn’t see any bugs, but had to be BWO’s.

You will have to look for them, in the air and just off the water.

 

[VMP]

Yeah, let's get this thread back on track with more likeable birds and balls: this afternoon's frenzy over a tight surface herring bait ball, no salmonids were harmed during a short outing, but a glorious day to be out and recharge.

 

[Greg Armstrong]

Tamest GBH I’ve ever seen. It was feeding on juvenile Koi.

 

[RichS]

Some October birds in the m id-Columbia. Most of the winter birds are back and some migrants passing through.
Wood duck

White Crowned Sparrow

 

[Jim F.]

A tree full of ripe Egrets! Great shot, Rich. I also like the flat-headed Cooper's Hawk.

 

[tkww]

Some October birds in the m id-Columbia. Most of the winter birds are back and some migrants passing through.
Wood duck
View attachment 171150
White Crowned Sparrow
View attachment 171152View attachment 171154View attachment 171155View attachment 171156View attachment 171157View attachment 171158View attachment 171151

Nice Coop!

 

[tkww]

Seems like a hybrid? Smaller size, shorter neck, tail curls. But clearly shows some mallard lineage, IMO. Thoughts?


I think this is the first time I've had a swan show up.

 

[RRSmith]

Seems like a hybrid? Smaller size, shorter neck, tail curls. But clearly shows some mallard lineage, IMO. Thoughts?

I wish I could see more of this bird, especially the speculum on the wing which would help determine if it's a hybrid. It could be leucistic but I'd love to hear other's thoughts.

 

[Zak]

 

[Greg Armstrong]

Ravens are hard not to like, especially that loud croak they make when up in the high country while it’s otherwise dead silent.

Great closeup shots!

 

[Zak]

Ravens are hard not to like, especially that loud croak they make when up in the high country while it’s otherwise dead silent.

Great closeup shots!

I think it's a crow, no?

 

[Greg Armstrong]

I think it's a crow, no?

The bill in the first pic says raven to me, but you may be right.

 

[Jim F.]

Seems like a hybrid?

Hanky panky at the duck pond?

I also say "Raven."

 

[Gyrfalcon22]

I wish I could see more of this bird, especially the speculum on the wing which would help determine if it's a hybrid. It could be leucistic but I'd love to hear other's thoughts.

Mallards are such crazed breeders that they will mix with anything they can get to. I would guess that a domestic gene pool toss-up created that one. That one probably did some inbreeding and overbreeding and mixed some Peking with some Muscovy, and perhaps a dash of runt. Yet, it seems to be quite happy blending in with the natural flow of normal waterfowl. Gotta love creatures of all types.

 

[Gyrfalcon22]

@Cabezon continuing to put on a masterclass series!! Great stuff, Steve!

A few days ago as this first real wet storm approached, I was drawn to fresh information about a very rare (for western WA) Burrowing Owl that was seen at the coast. It was getting windy but not rainy yet. I knew chasing a small bird on a jetty would be futile but I immediately stumbled right onto the owl in a scene reminiscent of a Ghostbuster blind meeting of an apparition in a library aisle setting. Instant eye to eye stand-off from less than 30 feet. I luckily didn't blow the focus and backed away after firing a quick burst of the little gem.

Hope he is tucked away as it is hellish there at this moment in this full-lashing storm!

 

[Scott Salzer]

No pics but the harlequin ducks showed up in Normandy Park, south Seattle. Always look forward to seeing them in salt in the fall.

 

[Bonefish Jack]

This Red-breasted Nuthatch was fun

 

[Cabezon]

White-headed woodpecker. My wife joined me for a few days of camping along the banks of the Yakima. We did a birding loop from Lmuma to Yakima, Naches, North Wenas Lake Rd., Umptanum Rd., Ellensburg, and back to Lmuma. My wife really wanted to see a white-headed woodpecker. After crossing the pass that separates the Naches drainage from the Yakima drainage, we stopped along the road at a Ponderosa pine stand that we had visited in the spring. The stand includes patches of live pine trees and of fire-ravaged forest. On that spring visit, we had great views of hairy woodpeckers and nuthatches, but we missed a white-headed woodpecker that another birder saw briefly. On this October trip, we also had great views of hairy woodpeckers

and even watched as one disappeared into a nest hole that had been carved into the trunk of a standing snag.
Then we heard a very unusual bird call, a high-pitched squeaking call. Scanning for the source, it was a male white-headed woodpecker!!!



So sweet, and a lifer for my wife. This bird gave us great views as it checked us out and searched for insects on the trunks of the Ponderosa pines around us. Adding to the uniqueness of the experience, a bull elk was bugling in the distance.
Steve

 

[Scott Salzer]

Very nice !

 

[Wanative]

This guy dropped in to our backyard for a visit a couple week's ago.
My wife captured the photo.
They are fairly common locally as there are several rookery's within in 4 or 5 miles of home. This is the first to visit us though.