Mutualism: nature's insecticide...

Photo: Jerome Delay / AP

A Yellow-billed Oxpecker (Buphagus africanus) picks the ear of an impala in Kruger National Park, in South Africa.  Oxpeckers feed on insects and ticks on impalas, giraffes and other wild animals.

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BarrytheBirder

Pink waters down under...

Photo: William West / AFP / Getty Images

A pair of stilts look out over a lake at Westgate Park, near Melbourne, Australia, that has turned pink.   The phenomenon is caused by green algae, reacting to high levels of hot weather and salt.

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BarrytheBirder

Cherry picker...

Photo: Yonhap / EPA

A Brown-eared Bulbul (Hypsipetes amaurotis) pecks at leftovers of Japanese cornelian cherries - or sansuyu - in Ulsan, South Korea.

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BarrytheBirder

World's only alpine parrot...

Photo: Murdo McLoed

An endangered Kea (Nestor notabilis) is seen on the Dart Glacier on the south island of New Zealand.   It is the world's only alpine parrot and is known for its large size and curiosity.

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BarrytheBirder

Outdoor Photographer of the Year 2018

 Photo: Salvador Colvee Nebet

OPOTY 'Wildlife Insight' Winner last year was Salvador Colvee Nebet of Spain for his high-key image of a common kestrel, which he captured by increasing the exposure on a cloudy day when the light wasn't good.

Below, youngster Josiah Launstein of Canada was commended for his photo of an American Goldfinch near the Porcupine Hills, close to Pincher Creek, Alberta.  The goldfinch fits into the colourful scene perfectly while snacking on a seedhead, known in western Canada as "prairie smoke". 

Photo: Josiah Launstein

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BarrytheBirder

Early arrival over King City by Great Blue Huron...

Photo by BarrytheBirder

My first Great Blue Heron (Ardea herodius) of this year flew over my house yesterday.   Much local water is still frozen over, so i'm skeptical about how many fish this Great Blue is going to find in the middle of March here in southern Ontario, north of Toronto.   The Big Blue was heading south when I saw it, so perhaps it was returning a bit south to open water in Lake Ontario.   Sighting it certainly warmed my cold spirits nicely.

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BarrytheBirder

Booby.... the bird with the unfortunate name

    Photo: Sue Forbes

Photo: Kelvin Boot 

A single juvenile Red-footed Booby (Sula sula) is seen above pursuing a flying fish.   The photo was an entry in the 2018 Wildlife Photographer of the Year competition.   Boobies are found throughout the tropics.   Wikipedia says the English name "booby" was possibly based on the Spanish slang term, meaning "stupid", as these tame birds had a habit of landing on board sailing ships, where they were easily captured, cooked and eaten.   The photo above, at right, shows a mature (brown morph) Red-footed Booby.

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BarrytheBirder

The RAVENMASTER by Christopher Skaife

Photo by Barry Wallace

I've just finished reading The Ravenmaster by Christopher Skaife, Yoeman Warder of the Tower of London.   Any birder will find this book an interesting read.  If you're not a birderwatcher, it may not be worth your time and interest.  This book came to my attention rather inadvertently.   My local library has been supplying me with 50 books by the late Canadian author, Pierre Berton.   The new Ravenmaster book showed up, inexplicably, along with a couple of the Berton books I had reserved.   Being a birder, I thought I would give a whirl.  As I read it, I found myself learning more about this species, in a few days, than I have in my 30 years as  an earnest birder.   There's nine colourful photos, in the centrespread, that add to a pleasurable read.   Despite Scaife's long experience with, and knowledgeable insight about ravens, there's the  persistently mystifying and unexplained behaviour about ravens.

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BarrytheBirder

Bevies of big birds...

Photo:John Crowe / Alamy

Several species of waterfowl have arranged themselves in an orderly fashion for viewing by birders and photographers at the Merced National Wildlife Refuge in California, US.   Species include pelicans, ducks, Snow Geese and Sandhill Cranes.

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BarrytheBirder

Animated albatrosses...

Photo Guo Lei / Xinhua / Barcroft

Northern Royal Albatross
(Diomedea sanfordi)

Northern Royal Albatrosses are photographed at Taiaroa Head, in Dunedin, at the southern tip of New Zealand's south island.
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BarrytheBirder

Small bird with a BIG name...

Photo: Hector Gutierrez / Oikonos / AFP / Getty

Juan Fernandez Firecrown Hummingbird

(Sephanoides fernandensis)

Above, a male Juan Fernandez Firecrown Hummingbird is seen at Robinson Crusoe Island, in the Pacific Juan Fernandez Islands, off Chile.   This bird is critically endangered.   What a pity!

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BarrytheBirder

A striking photograph from far north-eastern India

 Photo: EPA

Indian Golden Oriole

(Oriolus kundoo)

Pictured above is an Indian Golden Oriole extracting nectar from Modar flowers on the outskirts of Guwahati, India. Below is a Golden Oriole sitting in a somewhat haphazardly constructed nest.   They are to be found in the Indian subcontinent and central Asia.   Incidentally, the Russian word Oryal means "eagle".

Photo: J.M.Garg

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BarrytheBirder

2018 Australian Geographic Nature Photographer of the Year competition

Photo by Kirsten Woodforth

The photo above by Kirsten Woodforth was one of the 100 finalists in the 2018 competition of photos showcasing the natural wonders of Australia, New Zealand, Antarctica and New Guinea bio-regions.   The bird is a preening Yellow-Tailed Black Cockatoo (Calyptorynchus funereus), a large Australian Cockatoo measuring up to 65 cm (26") long.

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BarrytheBirder

Swifts spend 99% of their time flying...

                                                                           Photo: N. Camilleri / Lund University / PA

Current Biology, in The Guardian newspaper, states "Observations of Common Swifts during winter months are scarce and roost sites have never been found in sub-Sahara Africa".   But researchers have equipped swifts with accelerometers.  Amazingly, the idea that swifts never stop flying is close to the truth, with birds airborne for over 99% of the time during their 10-month, non-breeding period.

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BarrytheBirder

Tits and blossoms in Wuxi...

Photo: Pan Zhengguang / AFP / Barcroft Images

Black-throated Tits (Aegithalos concinnus) gather around plum blossoms at a plum garden in Wuxi, near Shanghai, in east China's Jiangsu Province, and close to the East China Sea.   I wish I was at a latitude where plum blossoms were in bloom, but alas, Wuxi is 15 degrees of latitude south of my snowy village of King City, Ontario, Canada.   Ahhh well ... only two weeks until spring.

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BarrytheBirder

Searching for food in Africa...

Photo: Daniel Urungu / EPA

A Marabou Stork (Leptoptilos crumenifer) searches for food in a plastic bag after taking it from a market In Uhuru Park, Nairobi, Kenya.
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BarrytheBirder

The deer and its groomer...

                                                                                                Photo: Steve Parsons / PA

A blackbird searches for insects on the head of a deer in Bushy Park, West London, UK.

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BarrytheBirder

"Give the ones you love wings to fly..." ~ Dalai Lama

Photo: Ashwini Bhatia / AP

A somewhat sullen Eurasian Barred Owlet (Glaucidium cuculoides) sits in a bare willow tree in Dharmasala, the headquarters of Kangra District, in far northern India.  Dharmasala is the Dalai Lama's residence and headquarters of the Tibetan government in exile.
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BarrytheBirder

A Rorshach test ... or birds in flight?

Photo: David Tipling / Alamy

A flock of Pied Avocets (Recurvirostra avosetta) soar over the Cley Norfolk Wildlife Trust reserve on England's eastern coast in Norfolk.

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BarrytheBirder

Golden Eagle in western Ontario ~ February 20

Photo: J. Glover /Wikipedia

The Ontario Field Ornithologists' website reports that a Golden Eagle was spotted on February 20th at Newbury, Ontario, about 50 kilometres west of London, Ontario.  Golden Eagles are protected under Ontario's Endangered Species Act.  My only sighting of a Golden Eagle was 11 years ago in the Mulmer Hills, at Mansfield, Ontario, in 2008.  I'm ready to see another one anytime!

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BarrytheBirder