Hawaiian Islands beach...

Photo: NOAA

One of several Layson Albatross (Phoebastria immutabilis) chicks finds itself surrounded on a beach littered with plastic marine debris, on a shore in the northwestern Hawaiian Islands.   Sadly, this is a scene to be found around the world, on beaches and on floating masses of sea debris.

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BarrytheBirder

Weddell Seal and Gentoo Penguin in Antarctica

Photo:Paul Hilton / Greenpeace

GENTOO PENGUIN

(Pygoscelis papua)

A Weddell Seal snoozes near a squawking Gentoo Penguin on Greenwich Island, part of the south Shetland Island Group in Antarctica.   The exact origin of the Gentoo name is long forgotten.   They are the only penguin species currently increasing its population and range.   Their numbers are increasing on the Antarctica peninsula but are plummeting on some surrounding islands.   They received a 'near threatened status' on the IUCN Red List in 2007.

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BarrytheBirder

Bird with an over-designed bill?

Photo:Biju Boro / AFP / Getty Images

ORIENTAL PIED HORNBILL

(Anthracoceros albarostris)

An Oriental Pied Hornbill eats a seed as it perches in a tree in Pobitora Village, on the outskirts of Guwahati, in India's northeast Assam State.   The huge bill assists in fighting, preening, constructing nests and catching prey.   Whatever its intended use, it seems an over-statement and does, in fact, compromises the hornbill's vision field somewhat.
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BarrytheBirder

Egyptian (or Nile) Goose

   Photo: Sina Schuldt / AFP / Getty Images

Photo: Andreas Trepte / Wikipedia

EGYPTIAN

GOOSE

(Alopochen aegyptiaca)

A young Egyptian Goose (a.k.a. Nile goose) is seen above hiding under its mother's belly, in Stuttgart, southern Germany.  Egyptian Geese are native to sub-Sahara Africa.

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BarrytheBirder

Beautiful Barnacle Goose photo

Photo: Ed McAskill

BARNACLE GOOSE

(Branta leucopsis)

Above is a spectacular photo by Ed McAskill of the Barnacle Goose that has mesmerized many local and Ontario birders for the last week or so, at the sewage lagoons behind the Trisan Centre in Schomberg, Ontario.   Several birders from western New York State have also made the trip to Schomberg to add this bird to their life lists.

Please comment if you wish.

BarrytheBirder

Warblers welcome whenever - part 2

Photo and haiku by BarrytheBirder

the coldest season

its reputation well-earned
melts in spring's promise

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BarrytheBirder

Warblers welcome whenever...

Photo and haiku by BarrytheBirder

YELLOW WARBLER

(Dendroica petechia)

winter never wins

its harshness subdued once more

by spring's warm breath

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BarrytheBirder

Yellow-eyed Penguin numbers continue to decline

Photo: Murdo McLoed / The Guardian

Yellow-eyed Penguin

(Megadyptes antipodes)

A Yellow-eyed Penguin (above) recovers after an operation on its left foot at the Dunedin Wildlife Hospital on the South Island of New Zealand.   Numbers of the threatened penguin species continue to decline despite the work of conservation groups.

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BarrytheBirder

A 'show-off' hummingbird

Photo: Luis Robayo / AFP / Getty Images

White-Booted Racquet-tailed Hummingbird

(Ocreatus underwoodii)

A White-Booted Raquet-tailed Hummingbird (Ocreatus underwoodii) is seen, above, and up close in the cloud forest of San Antonio, in a rural area of Cali, Columbia.  This very small but spectacular and eye-catching 'hummer' is found in Venezuela, Columbia and south to Bolivia.  There are more than 300 species of hummingbirds in the world and they are all found in the western hemisphere, most of them in south America.

 Photo: Dubai Shapiro

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BarrytheBirder

Bumble-bee beware

Photo: Ali Ihsan Osturk / Anadolu Agency / Getty Images

EUROPEAN BEE-EATERS

(Merops apiaster)

Pictured above are two European Bee-eaters in Van, Turkey.   They are also known as Eurasian or Golden Bee-eaters and are found in southern Europe, northern Africa and western Asia.   They seem to be expanding their range as far north north as Great Britain, Finland and Sweden.   Bee-eaters are able to remove the stingers from bees, wasps and

hornets before devouring the insects.   Beehives are favourite targets of bee-eaters, much to the dismay of beekeepers.

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BarrytheBirder

The curse of plastic waste...

Photo: Chris Jordan

Black-footed Albatross

(Diomedea nigripes)

A 'still' photo from "Albatross", a film by Chris Jordan, shot on Midway Island, in the north Pacific Ocean, draws attention to the crisis facing birds caused by plastic waste in the oceans around the world.

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BarrytheBirder

"Call of the wild"

Photo: Daniel Beltra / Greenpeace

GENTOO PENGUIN

(Pygoscelis papua)

Seen above is a braying Gentoo Penguin in a colony on Cuverville Island in the Errera Channel, Antartic Peninsula.  The Antartic island is over 1,100 kms. south of Ushuaia, Argentina, and is home to 6,500 breeding pairs of gentoos.
Please comment if you wish.
BarrytheBirder  

Common across Europe and Asis

Photo: Simon Wilkinson /REX / Shutterstock 

COMMON KINGFISHER
(Alcedo atthis)

The Common Kingfisher, above, was photographed against a background of snow at Whiteley Woods, in Sheffield, England (not a good winter for England).   There are almost 100 kingfisher species around the world.

Please comment if you wish.

BarrytheBirder

BarrytheBirder

Barnacle Goose (Branta leucopsis) at Schomberg Lagoon

Photo: Andreas Trepte / www.photo-natur-net

Barnacle Goose in King Township

I added a new bird to my life list yesterday, courtesy of my friend and King City neighbour, Gerald Binsfeld, birder extraordinaire.   Gerald alerted me to a Barnacle Goose that was to be found in the midst of 800 Canada Geese in the pond just east of the Trisan Community Centre in Schomberg, just off Hwy. 27.   It was also a 'life bird' for Gerald and many, many other birders who came from across southern Ontario to see it.   There's probably been 200 observers at the site in just the past two days.   Gerald observed that this bird was resting much more than the Canada Geese around it.   It probably had had a rough journey from its northern European/Asian homeland, what with crossing an ocean and encountering Canadian snowstorms.   My personal observation is that the Barnacle Goose is even more attractive than the similar Canada Goose.   Now, if I could just figure out how to change that life list number, above, from 425 to 426.

Please comment if you wish.  

BarrytheBirder

Eurasian Eagle Owl - Bubo bubo

Photo:Ozkan Bilgin / Anadolou /Getty Images

MNo look more compelling than an owl'sM

A  Eurasian Eagle owl is ready to be released after being treated at a wildlife rehabilitation centre in Van, Turkey.

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BarrytheBirder

Bird Photographer of the Year - part 3

White-tailed Eagle

Hortobagy, Hungary

Photo: Ben Hall

Kingfisher diving

Spain

Photo: Mario Cea Sanchez

Rudy Duck

British Columbia, Canada

Photo: Jess Findlay

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BarrytheBirder

Bird Photographer of the Year...part 2

Griffon vulture
Brazil

 Photo: Pedro Jarque Krebs

Alexandrine parakeet

standing on swallows' nests

Photo: Georgina Steytler

Red-billed Oxpeckers
on an impala
Kruger National Park, South Africa

Photo: Edmund Aylmer

Please comment if you wish.

BarrytheBirder

Bird Photographer of the Year

The shortlist for the prestigious Bird Photographer of the Year awards has been announced by Nature Photographers and British Trust for Ornithology.   Herewith are some of the finalists which are in the running for awards, which will be announced at the Annual Birdwatching Fair in August of this year.   More photos tomorrow and the following day.

Toco Toucans 

in Pacone, Brazil

Photo: Petr Bambousek/BPOTY/Cover Image

 Northern Gannett 
with discarded netting in beak at Heligoland, Germany

Photo: Petr Bambousek

 Giant Cowbird 
takes ticks off a Capyrarain in Brazil's Pantanal

Photo: Petr Bambousek

 Snowy Owl 
in Canada

Photo: Markus Varesvuo

Please comment if you wish.

BarrytheBirder 

No Pine Siskens in my backyard this winter

Photos by BarrytheBirder

I see reports that there have been many sightings of Pine Siskins in the Algonquin Park area of Ontario, but I have yet to see any at my backyard feeders this winter, north of Toronto.  We usually have them show up several times each winter, but not this year.

Please 
comment
if you wish.

BarrytheBirder

Sparrowhawk hunts near Pomanz, Hungary

Photo: Attila Kovacs / EPA

Eurasian Sparrowhawk

        (Accipiter nisus)       

Photo: Wikipedia

The Eurasian Sparrowhawk is also known as the Northern Sparrowhawk or just Sparrowhawk.   The American Kestrel (Falco sparverius), a North American falcon species, is also commonly referred to as a sparrowhawk.   Hawk species include 21 different sparrowkawk species.   The Eurasian Sparrowhawk is found throughout Europe, in coastal northwestern Africa and in sub-arctic forests of Asia.

American Kestrel 
photo (left)
by Michael Sagatova





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BarrytheBirder

Black Grouse: a.k.a. Blackgame or Blackcock

Photo (above): Ingo Gerlach / Barcroft 
Photo (below): Gary Jones

Black Grouse

(Tetrao tetrix)

Black Grouse are pictured above in a courtship and mating ritual in Hamra National Park in Sweden.   This large game bird in the grouse family is found across northern Eurasia in moorlands and bogs, close to woodlands.  The striking white tails of Black Grouse have been popular adornments for hats worn with traditional 'highland dress'.  The feathers are currently carried on in the dress glengarries of the Royal Regiment of Scotland, in Britain

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BarrytheBirder

White-eye - a.k.a. Silvereye

Photo: Mei Yongcun / Barcroft Images

A White-eye (Zosterops lateralis) is seen gathering honey on a cherry tree in Fuzhou, China.

   Photo: Benjamint444 / Wikimedia

Over 100 species of White-eyes

There are at least 107 species of White-eyes in the Australasia part of the world and they are native to Sub-Sahara Africa, and south and eastern Asia.   Most species of White-eyes are endemic to single islands or archipelagos.  Some have been introduced as far away as Hawaii.   They eat insects, nectars and fruits, making ripe vineyards in Australia and New Zealand vulnerable to attack. 

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BarrytheBirder

Fate on eagle's side...this time

                                                                                          Photo: Wojciech Pacewicz / EPA                               Surviving poisoned carrion

A rescued White-tailed Eagle (Haliaeetus albicilla), also known as the Ern, Erne, Gray Eagle, Eurasian Sea Eagle and White-tailed Sea Eagle, is seen moments before it is released, back into the wild in Laszczowka, north of Krakow in southern Poland.   The huge raptor was thought to have consumed poisoned carrion but was nurtured back to health by rescuers.

Please comment if you wish.

BarrytheBirder                                                                   

Meeting the challenge...

Photo:Patrick Pleul / Barcroft Images

Photo: John Anderson

A Sea Eagle (Haliaeetus albicillia) is seen above being pursued by a pair of Hooded Ravens (Corvus cornix) over the River Oder on the German-Polish border.   The black and white Hooded Raven is commonly found in northern,   eastern and southeastern Europe and in parts of the Middle East.

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BarrytheBirder  

Gull versus cormorant...

Photo: Stephan Sauer/AP

Fish food fight

A lesser Black-backed Gull and a cormorant challenge each other for a fish in the harbour of the Baltic coastal town of Straslund, in northern Germany.   Food fights like this are common and either bird can be the winner.

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BarrytheBirder

Mute Swans are not so mute...

Photo: Andrej Isakovic/AFP/Getty Images

Mute Swans (Cygnus olor) and gulls are seen above fighting for pieces of bread on the snow-covered banks of the Danube River in Begrade, Serbia.   Wikipedia states that Mute Swans are less vocal than other swan species, but they do, however, make a variety of grunting, hoarse whistling, and snorting noises, especially in communicating with their cygnets.   The also usually hiss at competitors or intruders trying to enter their territory.   Cygnets are especially vocal, and communicate through a variety of whistling and chirping sounds when content, as well as a harsh squawking noise when distressed or lost.   Mute Swans are the commonest Eurasian swan and not entirely silent after all.

                                                                                              Photo by BarrytheBirder

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Birds and the bees...

Photos by BarrytheBirder

Not all my photos are of birds...

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BarrytheBirder

Found around the world...

Photo: Vivek rathod17/Wikimedia

Photo NickiStock

Rose-ringed
Parakeet
(Psittacula krameri)

The photo above caught my eye recently.   It shows a flock of Rose-ringed Parakeets attacking bags of seeds.   I've never heard of this species before, but it is common in about 20 countries in Africa and in and around India.   As a migrant and a introduced species, it is also found in warm climates and places around the world, such as Australia, southern USA, Great Britain and other western countries.   It is highly communal and moves in large flocks, as evidenced in top photo.   It has an IUCN 'least concerned' rating.
Please comment if you wish.
BarrytheBirder

Eliminated from England by the late 19th century...

Photo: AnnMarie Jones / BWPA / Natural Engl/PA

Red Kite reintroduced in the 1990s

The beautiful and spectacular Red Kite (Milvus milvus) is a mid-sized raptor that was eliminated from England 120 years ago by ruthless gamekeepers.   A century later, the decline in gamekeeper numbers and relenting attitudes towards this bird of prey and carrion-eater, allowed for reintroduction of the species in the 1990s.  Today, it is a thriving, widely admired birds in the English Midlands.   As evidence of the resurgence, near the village of Laxton, Northhamptonshire, there is a large kite roost where as many as 40 of the beautiful kites fill the sky with awe-inspiring aerobatics.  Red Kites continue to thrive elsewhere in western Europe and north-west Africa.   Thus ends a suitable tale of heartening prodigality.

Please comment if you wish.

BarrytheBirder