Eagle aerobatics over Alabama

 Photos by Joe Songer

Two juvenile Bald Eagles (Haliaeetus leucocephalus) are seen in aerial combat, over a pine cone, as they test their flying manoeuvres above the the waters at Guntersville Dam on the Tennessee River, in northern Alabama, USA.   When the eagles get tired of playing with pine cones, there are 450 fish species (the main food source of eagles) in Alabama: the most species of any state or province in North America.

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Did you hear that rumbling?

Photo by Gunnar R. Kramer / Reuters

A Golden-winged Warbler is seen in the Cumberland Mountains of eastern middle Tennessee, USA.   Scientists have said a population of the warblers fled their nesting grounds up to two days before the arrival of a massive storm, apparently alerted to the approaching danger by sounds at frequencies below the range of human hearing.

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Good news about Crested Ibis in China

Photo by Ding Haitao/Corbis

The endangered Crested Ibis (Nipponia nippon) is seen above in the forest at Tongchuan City, in northwestern China's Shaanxi Province.   This ibis was once thought to be extinct, but the number of Crested Ibis has increased from seven 1981 to more than 2,000 now.   The Crested Ibis was once numerous in Japan, China, Korea, Taiwan and Russia.   The last one in Japan died in 2003, and the remaining wild population was found only in Shaanxi Province.   Captive bred birds were reintroduced back into Japan in 2008.   Restoration projects in China, Japan and South Korea seem to showing great promise.

Photo; chinadaily.com

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Drone photographs eagle

Photo: Dendi Pratam/dronestagram

Dronestagram, a bird's-eye view image sharing site, launched in 2014 has become so popular that National Geographic recently co-produced a contest to show some of the more interesting photos being taken.   The contest produced some of the most exciting photographs every taken by a drone camera.   See and learn more by Googling dronestagram or go to www.dronestagram.am. 

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The end of vultures?

Eurasian Griffon Vulture

Photo by Chris Hellier/Corbis

Diclofenac, an anti-immflamatory agent and painkiller was introduced around the end of the 20th century in India, Pakistan, Nepal and Bangladesh to treat sick cattle.   But cattle carcasses eaten by vultures caused a fatal kidney condition and within a few years vultures declined by an amazing 99.9% across south Asia.   The worst-affected species were the Long-billed, Slender-billed and Oriental White-backed Vultures which all suffered population crashes in south Asia.   Without significant international action, all three species are likely headed to extinction.   Now, Spain and Italy are considering allowing Diclofenac to be used in their countries, even though a safe alternative exists.   What may be lost?   Spain holds the vast majority of four of the most vulnerable species: 90% of the continent's Eurasian Griffon Vultures, 97% of the continent's Cinereous Vultures, 67% of the continent's Bearded Vultures and 85% of the continent's Egyptian Vultures.   Many are working against this threat.   Spread the word and be part of the solution.

Cinereous Vulture

Photo: Prague Zoo/Wikipedia

Egyptian Vulture
Photo by Carlos Delgado/Wikipedia

Bearded Vulture
Photo by Tony Heald/naturepl.com

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My favourite hummingbird pictures

The recent bird photographs, by Dave Kemp, that I posted in this space a few days ago, got me to thinking about my favourite photos by this gentleman from the lower British Columbia mainland.   The pictures are of a female Anna's Hummingbird and nestlings.   These photos are beautiful of course, but the other word that comes to mind is intimate.   I feel I could reach out and touch this wonderful bird.   Anna's Hummingbirds not only eat nectar, but also consume small insects.   In fact, they eat the largest amount of insects of all North American hummingbirds.   Maybe the large meat diet explains the Anna's aggressive and highly territorial behaviour.

 

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BtheB

"Two turtle doves and a..."

Photo: Wild Wonders of Europe/Varesvuo/naturepl.com/www.arkive.org 

UK Turtle Doves decline 95% since 1970!

The European Turtle Dove is the fastest declining bird in England, declining 95% over the past 44 years and the State of Europe's Common Birds 2007 report has stated that the decline of Turtle Doves in Europe has fallen 75% since 1980.   The causes?   Food shortage and disease.   The British Ecological Society and the Societe Francaise d'Ecologie recently explained how agricultural environment schemes encouraging farmers to include areas containing early-seeding arable plants on their lands can provide crucial food sources for many birds.   By planting seed-rich plants as widely as possible, farmers can also help reduce the spread of parasites between birds.   The societies' study detected high levels of Tricohomonas gallinae, the parasite which causes tricohomonas lesions and death in both adults and nestlings.   If an analysis confirms a direct link between food availability and health and reproductive success, it is believed that it may be possible the reverse the population trend of Turtle Doves through agri-environment initiatives that provide more seed during the mating season.  

Photo by: John A. Thompson / Wikipedia

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Pelican almost swallowed by whale

Photo by Kate Cummings / Barcroft Media

A Brown Pelican is almost swallowed by a Humpback Whale off Monterey, halfway along the California coast.   The pelican had been floating on the water's surface eating fish, when the whale burst from the sea to collect a mouthful of anchovies. 

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More British Columbia birds by Dave Kemp

No sooner had I completed Sunday's blog entry of Dave Kemp bird photos from Canada's west coast, than a second batch of great shots showed up in my email, and I am pleased to share them also in this space.

Northern Shrike

Great Blue Heron (mirror-like image)

Great Blue Heron (with mouse)

Northern Harrier (female)

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BtheB

Photos from Canada's west coast by Dave Kemp

Over the last couple of years, I've had the pleasure of seeing many bird photographs by Dave Kemp.   Dave resides in the village of Steveston in southern British Columbia, near the ocean and has unlimited opportunities to take wonderful photos.   For the past several months however, I have not be able to open many of Dave's emails which contain his latest pictures.   I admit I am a Luddite when it comes to computers.   Actually I'm not sure I have ever figured out how paper clips work.   But this week an email arrived from Dave and, miracle of miracles, I was able to download some of his recent bird photos which I am please to share in the space.

All photos by Dave Kemp

                                                              Northern Harrier                                                        

Orange-crowned Warbler

I was especially interested to see Dave's photo (above) of an Orange-crowned Warbler.   What is special about this shot is that one can readily see the orange patch on the top of the bird's head.   Most people rarely or never see the orange feathering.   Many bird books tell readers that they should not be surprised to not see the orange spot.   My National Geographic Field Guide to the Birds of North America states: "Tawny-orange crown, absent in some females and immatures, is seldom discernible in the field".   Meanwhile, my Peterson Field Guide says: "Orange of crown seldom visible".   I've only ever seen this warbler's orange topknot once.   The bird was migrating through my backyard a little over four years ago and I was able to see the small patch of orange on top of its head.

White-crowned Sparrow

Short-eared Owl

More of Dave's photos can be seen by Googling Dave Kemp's Picture perfect Photo Gallery or going to www.pictureperfect.nu/gallery.

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BtheB

Chadwick's chicken

                                                                                           Painting by Phil Chadwick

My friend Phil Chadwick, former weatherman and now painter, is taking a few days off from painting to prepare for Christmas.   He is however showing, on his blogsite, older paintings from his pre-plein air days.   I can only describe the painting above as brilliant, in hue and composition.   Here's how Phil describes the painting above, which he describes  as "...a blast from the past", on his blogsite: "This is one of my brother's rescued chickens strutting in the shade of an outdoor pen.   He bought a dozen or so of these hens for a buck a bird.   They were to go into the pot, but (his) brother gave then a home, plenty of food and lots of water.   The girls responded beautifully and started to lay eggs like never before.   There feet had all curled up and now in their new surroundings, they healed and they strut again.   This is a good news story!".   Prints of his paintings, from both his studio-painting days and now his plein air days, are available by going to phils-market.blogspot.ca.    

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What to do with 20 cms. of snow?

If you  are a Mourning Dove (Zenaida macroura) and 20 centimetres of snow are falling, you latch onto a solid perch, puff-up your feathers as much as you are able, close your eyes and dream of full bird feeders, continuously re-filled throughout the rest of the winter.

Photos by BarrytheBirder

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Stretching their wings...

 Photo by John Tajima / Cater News

Photo by Owen Humphreys / PA

These two co-incidental lookalike photographs were supplied by press services to news outlets and likely showed up in many  printed newspapers and on their websites this week. I spotted them on the Telegraph Picture Galleries.   The two juxtaposed similar poses, caught my eye, as I'm sure they did other online birders.   In the top photo, photographer John Tajima captured the Great Grey Owl snatching up a mouse, near the Ottawa River Park, in Canada's capital city. In the bottom photo, by Owen Humphreys, a plump turkey makes a run for it at Fenham-La-Moor farm, in Northumberland, England.   I'm betting it did not become airborne.

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Falcons find new way to fly

Saker Falcon photo by Alamy

German airline Lufthansa announced this week that falcons are to be allowed in the cabin, in the coming months, during flights in a designed "Falcon Master" tray.   The airline said in a statement: "Falcon Master ensures maximum hygienic protection of the cabin walls, seats and carpets from soiling by the birds".   A Lufthansa spokeswoman said the design is in the design phase and that the certification process should take six to nine months before the device is ready to use.  Recognizing the obvious, the statement goes on to say the target group would be customers from the Middle East, where falconry is "very popular". 

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BtheB       

A blackbird is a blackbird is a blackbird ~ unless it's a Colly bird

Photo by Charlesjsharp / sharp photography

I came across the name Colly bird a couple of days ago.   I had not heard of it before.   I found an entry for it in my copy of Brewer's Dictionary of Phrase and Fable.   Following is what Brewer's has to say about it. 

Colly bird.   An old popular name for a blackbird.   Colly is a dialect word for coal dust, from Old English col, 'coal'.   The traditional song 'The Twelve Days of Christmas' has:

                  The Fourth Day of Christmas my true love sent to me,

                    Four colly birds, Three French hens, Two turtle doves,

                    And a partridge in a pear tree.

Modern versions of this Christmas carol have substituted 'calling birds' for 'colly birds'.

I believe there are about 35 blackbird species in the world, but very few in England.   I  also believe the Colly bird in England is the Common Blackbird (Turdus merula) a.k.a. the Eurasian Blackbird.   Despite numbering in the tens of millions, the British Trust for Ornithology advises that Common Blackbirds numbers have fallen by over a third since the 1970s.   This ends today's lesson.

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Golf course geese still have open water

 Photos by Barry Wallace

While most of the small lake in front of Carrying Place Golf & Country Club is covered with ice, there a patch of open water with bubbles coming up from beneath the surface of the water.   Perhaps the golf course is aerating the pond for the benefit of wintering geese, which would be of benefit to golf course patrons who can enjoy the view out over the lake while dining in the clubhouse.

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Poisoning rats to save penguins

Photo by Phil Illingworth/South Georgia Heritage Trust

Seen above, in the south Atlantic Ocean, is a King Penguin colony on South Georgia where the world's largest rat colony poisoning project aims to eliminate the island of rats which feed on the birds' small chicks and have devastated sea bird populations.   The South Georgia Heritage Trust estimates there are over 100 million seabirds occupying the island.   The rat infestation, along with mice, reindeer and invasive plants has been going on for 200 years.   Presumably, humans can be added to that list.   While rats are the immediate target, mice and reindeer are to follow....no word yet on eradicating the humans.

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Whooper Swans head south to China

 Photo from www.news.cn

Photo from www.news.cn

Whooper Swans, in the photos above and taken in late November, have left Siberia to winter in China.   A favourite destination for some of the tens of thousands of these huge birds is a lake in Rongcheng, in China's Shandong Province, on the coast of the East China Sea, opposite the Koreas.   Winter vagrants of the species (Cygnus cygnus) sometimes reach the Aleutian Islands and the western coast of North America, as far south as Northern California.

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Beauty is in the eye of...

 Photo by Alex Lee / Reuters

Photo by Shams Ul haq Qari / Barcroft Media

These two photos caught my eye this week for the dual presentations of their appearances. Flamingos are usually portrayed as beautiful, elegant creatures. In the top photo, however, they seem rather 'gargoylish'.   The flamingos were photographed in a nature reserve in Panyu District, south of Guangzhou, in China.   And a case can be made for the attractiveness of the Purple Swamphen when viewing the mottled hues of its feathering...but then there are those huge feet and that beak.   The Purple Swamphen (Porphyrio porphyrio) was photographed at the Hokesar Wetlands in Srinagar, in India-administered Kashmir.

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BtheB    

Safe haven for swans

Photo by BarrytheBirder

Among the many Trumpeter Swans still passing south through King Township are four huge beauties that selected the safe haven of Marylake, home of the Augustian Monastery and shrine, north of the village of King City.   As long as there is no ice cover on local waters, these and numerous other swans, in transit, will forage before moving on.

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I may see this sparrow all winter

Photo by BarrytheBirder

There was a White-throated Sparrow in my backyard on Monday morning of this week.  It was no big deal, except that it was December 1 and the temperature was right on the freezing mark.   I thought that the White-throated Sparrows had moved through my neck of the woods in mid-November, before moving a bit further south. A straggler, perhaps?   I've just looked at a range map for the White-throated Sparrow in my 1988 Audubon Society Field Guide of North American Birds.   It shows Lake Ontario as the dividing line between the summer and winter ranges of this pretty sparrow.   I then turned to my new Stokes Field Guide to the Birds of North America and checked the White-throated's range map for 2010. The range map showed the dividing line between the summer and winter ranges as being approximately 40 kilometres above the north shore of Lake Ontario.   That's right where I live.   To me, this is one tiny indication that indeed global warming is allowing a northward movement of the ranges of certain North American birds.   I, for one, am only too happy to have this lovely bird brightening my backyard in the winter months.

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BtheB 

SCULPTURE BY THE SEA

                                                                                                              Photo by GCImagery

This stainless steel sculpture, entitled "Our memory in your place" by South Korean sculptor Byeong Doo Moon is part of the 2014 Sculpture By The Sea exhibition at Sydney's Tamarama Beach in Australia.   The sculpture is 3.5 metres tall and is the artist's second piece of work to be featured at Sculpture By The Sea.   Below is his 2011 work entitled "I have been dreaming to be a tree".

 Photo by Francisco Martins

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BtheB

"Excuse me...you're getting low on seeds".

Photo by Ariana Cubillos / AP

A colourful macaw peers through a window of an apartment building in Caracas, Venezuela. The birds are a common sight in the city, with a population estimated to be several hundred. Macaws eat seeds, nuts, fruit, leaves, flowers and plant stems, and if you look closely at the the bottom of Arianna's photograph, you will see what appears to be numerous sunflowers seeds and seed shells on the window sill.   This must be a delightful way to spend a few minutes each day.

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Is there any place that's not polluted?

Photo by Jim Lo Scalzo /EPA 

A Great Blue Heron walks near the banks of the Anacostia River in the Kenilworth Park & Aquatic Gardens in Washington, D.C., U.S.A.   The river is routinely listed, by environmental groups, as one of the most polluted waterways in America.   While there are many species of creatures and plants living here, there are also many invasive species of concern in addition to the pollution.   One of the invasive species is the Snakehead fish...a new one for me...you may want to Google it.

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BtheB  

Ducks protected by Gyrfalcon?

Photo by Tony Margiocchi / Barcroft Media

Now here's a picture you won't see everyday, unless you're visiting a zoo such as the Zoological Society of London's Whipsnade Zoo, near Dunstable 30 miles north of London.   The photo includes a Smew, a Hooded Merganser and a Common Eider   The zoo is using a Gyrfalcon, usually seen as part of the falconry exhibit, to help with seagull control at the penguin enclosure, to keep gulls from from attacking penguins and ducks at feeding time.   Gyrfalcons, in the wild, usually prey on ptarmigans, shorebirds, murres, dovekies, eiders and gulls.   One cannot help but wonder if the Gyrfalcons at Whipsnade ever prey on the Smews, mergansers and eiders at the zoo.   There is also a Zoological Society of London zoo at Regent's Park in London.

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BtheB  

Wary Wild Turkeys safe for another year

Photos by BarrytheBirder

Turkey hunting season is over here in Ontario and Canadian Thanksgiving was back in the middle of October, while American Thanksgiving was yesterday.   The turkeys strutting about in the top photo were doing their thing in the fields of the Marylake Augustinian Monastery, just north of the village of King City.   These ever-cautious big birds spotted me immediately and instantly got in line to follow their leader to safety, in the adjoining woods. 

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BtheB

Plover protection

Photo credit ~ Sandy Selesky / Audubon Photography Awards

As a sometimes donor to the Audubon Society, I am on a email list that receives promotional literature from time to time from Audubon.   Today, I received an American thanksgiving wish and thank-you message from David Yarnold, President and CEO of the National Audubon Society.   The note was illustrated with the photo above, with a credit attributed to Sandy Selesky.   Over the last few years, photographs of Piping Plover chicks, huddled and hidden beneath a parents' wings, have been become popular subject matter.   There is a sensitive and visceral feeling to these images that always charms me.   The photo above is no exception.   I never tire of seeing images like this.   To me, the images personify protection.

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