Showing posts with label Birds. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Birds. Show all posts

Thursday, November 19, 2015

The Boreal Forest of North America Need Your Help

Willow Ptarmigan 
I am asking all my friends and readers to support the campaign to protect half of the boreal forests in Canada.  Here is the reason for this Taken from the Boreal Birds Need Half website.

"North America’s boreal forest, stretching from interior Alaska across Canada to the Atlantic Ocean, is the breeding ground for an estimated 3 billion birds and more than 300 species— nearly half of all bird species in the U.S. and Canada. Many species are in decline, and habitat loss is a key factor. Modern conservation science contends that at least half of an ecosystem should be protected from development to preserve its ecological health and biodiversity.

This report by the Boreal Songbird Initiative and Ducks Unlimited demonstrates why preserving at least half of this forest ecosystem is needed to give boreal birds their best opportunity for survival in today’s rapidly changing world.

In addition to protecting at least half of the boreal forest, the report recommends sustainable development in the remaining areas. Both protected areas and industrial activities should proceed only with the free, prior, and informed consent of affected Aboriginal communities."

I have visited the boreal forests around Churchill Manitoba and seen a large variety of birds that nest in that location.  We see a large number of these birds as they migrate up to the breeding areas and back down in the winter.  There are many different species of passerines, docs, gulls, shorebirds, and a large number of other species of birds.  So go to this website and sign your name to the petition http://borealbirdsneedhalf.org/en/#why
Hudsonian Godwit
Pine Grosbeak 
American Tree Sparrow 
Lesser Yellowlegs
Blackpoll Warbler
White-crowned Sparrow
#chirpup

Friday, May 8, 2015

Next to Last

Scissor-tailed Flycatcher
In today's blog is just a summary of some of the other animals that I photographed during my trip to the Hill Country of Texas, at Block Creek Natural Area.  A fox squirrel made its appearance and two of the other participants did photograph a fox.  I did spend time trying to capture purple martins flying and the next succeed, by considering the direction the wind was blowing and observing how the martins were coming in to their house.
Purple Martin in Flight
Purple Martin in Flight. Flying by Windmill
Fox Squirrel
Fox Squirrel
Northern Cardinal
Lesser Goldfinch
Chipping Sparrow
Summer Tanager
black-crusted Titmouse
Canyon Wren Singing
Carolina Chickadee
Inca Dove
Lark Sparrow
Lesser Goldfinch
The next blog will be a summation of my trip and experiences.

Wednesday, March 20, 2013

Family Cracidae

Plain Chachalaca - notice no rufous in its primaries
Because a good friend of mine is traveling shortly to Costa Rica to go birding I am dedicating this blog to him. Cracidae are a family of large, chicken like birds that occur in tropical and subtropical Central and South America. The Plain Chachalaca is present in the United States, in the Rio Grande Valley of Texas. There are 50 different species in Cracidae and I have seen four of the species and photographed three of the species. Usually, you see these birds foraging on the ground for fruit and other food items. However, these birds are a boreal in nature and spent much of their time feeding nesting in roosting in trees. My first encounter with the Plain Chachalaca was on a photo shoot in Texas, where we were doing setups to photograph passerine's and flocks of the Chachalaca's would come in, land on the perches, and because area size and weight knocked down the perches and disrupting our photography. However, in their own right, they are interesting birds to photograph. One of the Cracidae a that I did see, but was unable to photograph because everything was packed the way, as we were getting ready to leave the Lodge for our trip to the next location was a Great Curassow. In Costa Rica, I was able to photograph the Gray-headed Chachalaca and the Black Guan.
Black Guan

Close-up of a Black Guan's head

Black Guan standing in the pouring rain

Gray-headed Chachalaca

Gray-headed Chachalaca - notice the rufous in its primaries

Plain Chachalaca

Wednesday, April 25, 2012

More Birds at Daniel Webster

- _DSC8088 April 15, 2012 NIKON D7000
Purple Martin - male 
- _DSC7435 April 15, 2012 NIKON D7000
Purple Martin - Female
















During my visits to Daniel Webster Sanctuary, besides the cattle egret and the Canada geese mating, I did encounter a number of  interesting  and also common birds.
Purple Martin in Nesting Gourd
- _DSC7450 April 15, 2012 NIKON D7000
Eastern Phoebe with nesting material
- _DSC7723 April 15, 2012 NIKON D7000
Eastern Phoebe
- _DSC7639 April 15, 2012 NIKON D7000
Glossy Ibis
- _DSC7818 April 15, 2012 NIKON D7000
Glossy Ibis
- _DSC7817 April 15, 2012 NIKON D7000
Glossy Ibis eating a frog
- _DSC7712 April 15, 2012 NIKON D7000
Red-winged Blackbird - female
- _DSC7739 April 15, 2012 NIKON D7000
Red-winged Blackbird - female



- _DSC7888 April 15, 2012 NIKON D7000
Swanp Sparrow
- _DSC7960 April 15, 2012 NIKON D7000
House Sparrow
- _DSC8112 April 16, 2012 NIKON D7000
Wood Duck - Male
- _DSC8121 April 16, 2012 NIKON D7000
Wood Duck - Female
Tree Swallow
Tree Swallow with nesting material
- _DSC8825 April 18, 2012 NIKON D7000
Tree Swallow
- _DSC8908 April 18, 2012 NIKON D7000
Greater Yellowlegs

- _DSC9193 April 19, 2012 NIKON D7000
Wild Turkey

Belted Kingfisher
Belted Kingfisher
- Wilson's snipe_DSC8939 April 18, 2012 NIKON D7000
Wilson's Snipe