bird identification
grrlscientist | September 22, 2008tags: Mediterranean Gull, Ichthyaetus melanocephalus, Larus melanocephalus, birds, nature, Image of the Day
[Mystery bird] Mediterranean Gull, Ichthyaetus [Larus] melanocephalus, stretching her wings. [I will identify this bird for you tomorrow]
Image: Rick Wright [larger view].
Two hints: (1) this is not a North American species, and (2) it's not a sandpiper.
Read Rick's analysis for identifying this species below ..
Rick Wright, Managing Director of WINGS Birding Tours Worldwide, writes:
There's little doubt that we're on the coast again, but this bird of the shore is not -- to our…
grrlscientist | September 21, 2008tags: Semipalmated plover, Charadrius semipalmatus, birds, nature, Image of the Day
[Mystery bird] Semipalmated plover, Charadrius semipalmatus, photographed at Smith Point, Texas. [I will identify this bird for you tomorrow]
Image: Joseph Kennedy, 7 September 2008 [larger view].
Nikon D200, Kowa 883 telescope TSN-PZ camera eyepiece 1/1250s f/8.0 at 1000.0mm iso400.
Read a beautifully written and detailed analysis supporting the ID of this species below ..
Rick Wright, Managing Director of WINGS Birding Tours Worldwide, writes:
We birders love the technical terms of our trade, delighting…
grrlscientist | September 20, 2008tags: Pectoral Sandpiper, Calidris melanotos, birds, nature, Image of the Day
[Mystery bird] Pectoral Sandpiper, Calidris melanotos, photographed at the Texas City Dike, Texas. [I will identify this bird for you tomorrow]
Image: Joseph Kennedy, 3 September 2008 [larger view].
Nikon D200, Kowa 883 telescope TSN-PZ camera eyepiece 1/1000s f/8.0 at 1000.0mm iso400.
Read and learn to ID this species from a detailed analysis below the fold ...
Rick Wright, Managing Director of WINGS Birding Tours Worldwide, writes:
For 75 years, the Calidris sandpipers have labored under the reputation of…
grrlscientist | September 19, 2008tags: Western Sandpiper, Calidris mauri, birds, nature, Image of the Day
[Mystery bird] Western Sandpiper, Calidris mauri, photographed at Smith Point, Texas. [I will identify this bird for you tomorrow]
Image: Joseph Kennedy, 7 September 2008 [larger view].
Nikon D200, Kowa 883 telescope TSN-PZ camera eyepiece 1/1000s f/8.0 at 1000.0mm iso400.
Rick Wright, Managing Director of WINGS Birding Tours Worldwide, writes:
Quick: big or little? Even without careful measurement of the diameter of the surrounding water molecules, it's obvious that this is a small bird, compact, even stumpy, and I…
grrlscientist | September 18, 2008tags: Greater Yellowlegs, Tringa melanoleuca, birds, nature, Image of the Day
[Mystery bird] Greater Yellowlegs, Tringa melanoleuca, photographed at Smith Point, Texas. [I will identify this bird for you tomorrow]
Image: Joseph Kennedy, 7 September 2008 [larger view]. [voice: mp3: Gough, G.A., Sauer, J.R., Iliff, M. Patuxent Bird Identification Infocenter. 1998. Version 97.1. Patuxent Wildlife Research Center, Laurel, MD].
Nikon D200, Kowa 883 telescope TSN-PZ camera eyepiece 1/750s f/8.0 at 1000.0mm iso400.
Read and learn from a detailed ID diagnosis below ..
Rick Wright, Managing…
grrlscientist | September 17, 2008tags: Spotted Sandpiper, Actitis macularia, birds, nature, Image of the Day
[Mystery bird] Spotted Sandpiper, Actitis macularia, photographed at Smith Point, Texas. [I will identify this bird for you tomorrow] [voice mp3: Gough, G.A., Sauer, J.R., Iliff, M. Patuxent Bird Identification Infocenter. 1998. Version 97.1. Patuxent Wildlife Research Center, Laurel, MD].
Image: Joseph Kennedy, 7 September 2008 [larger view].
Nikon D200, Kowa 883 telescope TSN-PZ camera eyepiece 1/1600s f/8.0 at 1000.0mm iso400.
Read and learn from a detailed diagnosis below ..
Rick Wright, Managing Director of…
grrlscientist | September 16, 2008tags: Clapper Rail, Rallus longirostris, birds, nature, Image of the Day
[Mystery bird] Clapper Rail, Rallus longirostris, photographed at Smith Point, Texas. [I will identify this bird for you tomorrow]
Image: Joseph Kennedy, 5 September 2008 [larger view].
Nikon D200, Kowa 883 telescope TSN-PZ camera eyepiece 1/2000s f/8.0 at 1000.0mm iso400.
grrlscientist | September 15, 2008tags: Eastern kingbird, Tyrannus tyrannus, birds, nature, Image of the Day
[Mystery bird] Eastern kingbird, Tyrannus tyrannus, photographed at Smith Point, Texas. [I will identify this bird for you tomorrow]
Image: Joseph Kennedy, 5 September 2008 [larger view].
Nikon D200, Kowa 883 telescope TSN-PZ camera eyepiece 1/1000s f/8.0 at 1000.0mm iso400.
grrlscientist | September 14, 2008tags: Couch's kingbird, Tyrannus couchii, birds, nature, Image of the Day
[Mystery bird] Couch's kingbird, Tyrannus couchii, photographed at Smith Point, Texas. [call: mp3 and also a wav file, (Audio file copyright 2007, Kevin Colver)] [I will identify this bird for you tomorrow]
Image: Joseph Kennedy, 5 September 2008 [larger view].
Nikon D200, Kowa 883 telescope TSN-PZ camera eyepiece 1/800s f/8.0 at 1000.0mm iso400.
grrlscientist | September 12, 2008tags: birding, bird watching, bird field guide, birds, Smithsonian Field Guide to the Birds of North America, book review
Several new field guides to the birds have been published in the last few months and The Smithsonian Field Guide to the Birds of North America (NYC: Collins; 2008) by Ted Floyd is one of them. The most obvious distinction that sets this large book apart are the photographs of birds: most field guides rely on paintings instead of photographs. Despite the fact that I prefer paintings to photographs in my field guides, there is plenty in this new field guide to interest…
grrlscientist | September 9, 2008tags: Loggerhead Shrike, Lanius ludovicianus, birds, nature, Image of the Day
[Mystery bird] Loggerhead Shrike, Lanius ludovicianus, photographed at Smith Point, Texas. [I will identify this bird for you tomorrow]
Image: Joseph Kennedy, 29 August 2008 [larger view].
Nikon D200, Kowa 883 telescope TSN-PZ camera eyepiece 1/500s f/8.0 at 1000.0mm iso400.
grrlscientist | September 7, 2008tags: Broad-winged hawk, Buteo platypterus, identify this bird, birds, nature, Image of the Day
[Mystery bird] Broad-winged hawk, Buteo platypterus, photographed at Santa Ana Wildlife Refuge, Texas. [I will identify this bird for you tomorrow]
Image: Joseph Kennedy, 2 April 2008 [larger view].
Nikon D200, Kowa 883 telescope TSN-PZ camera eyepiece 1/800s f/8.0 at 1000.0mm iso400.
grrlscientist | September 6, 2008tags: Long-Billed Thrasher, Toxostoma longirostre, birds, nature, Image of the Day
Long-Billed Thrasher, Toxostoma longirostre, at Santa Ana Wildlife Refuge, Texas.
Image: Joseph Kennedy, 31 March 2008 [larger view].
Nikon D200, Kowa 883 telescope TSN-PZ camera eyepiece 1/750s f/8.0 at 1000.0mm iso400.
grrlscientist | September 3, 2008tags: Least Grebe, Tachybaptus dominicus, birds, nature, Image of the Day
Least Grebe, Tachybaptus dominicus, at Brazos Bend State Park, Creekfield Lake, Texas.
Image: Joseph Kennedy, 21 January 2007 [larger view].
Nikon D200, Kowa 883 telescope TSN-PZ camera eyepiece 1/160s f/8.0 at 500.0mm iso400.
grrlscientist | September 2, 2008tags: Least Grebe, Tachybaptus dominicus, birds, nature, Image of the Day
Least Grebe, Tachybaptus dominicus, at Brazos Bend State Park, Creekfield Lake, Texas.
Image: Joseph Kennedy, 16 February 2006 [larger view].
Nikon D200, Kowa 883 telescope TSN-PZ camera eyepiece 1/500s f/8.0 at 500.0mm iso400.
grrlscientist | September 1, 2008tags: Least Grebe, Tachybaptus dominicus, birds, nature, Image of the Day
Least Grebe, Tachybaptus dominicus, at Brazos Bend State Park, Creekfield Lake, Texas.
Image: Joseph Kennedy, 16 February 2006 [larger view].
Nikon D200, Kowa 883 telescope TSN-PZ camera eyepiece 1/500s f/8.0 at 500.0mm iso400.
grrlscientist | August 31, 2008tags: Least Grebe, Tachybaptus dominicus, birds, nature, Image of the Day
Least Grebe, Tachybaptus dominicus, at Brazos Bend State Park, Creekfield Lake, Texas.
Image: Joseph Kennedy, 16 February 2006 [larger view].
Nikon D200, Kowa 883 telescope TSN-PZ camera eyepiece 1/320s f/8.0 at 500.0mm iso400.
grrlscientist | August 30, 2008tags: Least Grebe, Tachybaptus dominicus, birds, nature, Image of the Day
Least Grebe, Tachybaptus dominicus, at Brazos Bend State Park, Creekfield Lake, Texas.
Image: Joseph Kennedy, 16 February 2006 [larger view].
Nikon D200, Kowa 883 telescope TSN-PZ camera eyepiece 1/400s f/8.0 at 500.0mm iso400.
grrlscientist | August 29, 2008tags: Least Grebe, Tachybaptus dominicus, birds, nature, Image of the Day
Least Grebe, Tachybaptus dominicus, at Brazos Bend State Park, Creekfield Lake, Texas.
Image: Joseph Kennedy, 16 February 2006 [larger view].
Nikon D200, Kowa 883 telescope TSN-PZ camera eyepiece 1/320s f/8.0 at 500.0mm iso400.
grrlscientist | August 28, 2008tags: Cedar Waxwing, Bombycilla cedrorum, birds, nature, Image of the Day
Cedar Waxwing, Bombycilla cedrorum, at the A&M Tract on Pelican Island, Texas.
Image: Joseph Kennedy, 18 May 2007 [larger view].
Nikon D200, Kowa 883 telescope TSN-PZ camera eyepiece 1/250s f/9.5 at 800.0mm iso400.