Rfalconcam Forum

G is for Great Egret

For me, a most elegant bird is the Great Egret.  When bedecked in breeding plumage, it is truly splendid!  It is found nearly everywhere in the United States.  The first image is from the Sacramento Wildlife Reserve.  In the second, there are two "G" birds.  The Great Egret is joined by the Great Blue Heron in northern California.   This association is common.  There is a community right on San Francisco Bay where some of the canals are drained each winter.  The egrets gather en masse to feed on the tiny creatures left behind by the departing waters.  In the third image, a snowy egret is in the foreground with the great egret in back.

The Great Egret has an interesting call:  http://macaulaylibrary.org/search.do

Gayle

G is for Great Gray Owl -- we counted ourselves extraordinarily lucky to run into a traffic jam one June day in Yellowstone, assuming it was caused by a bear sighting, only to discover that it was caused by this beautiful owl.

S/he was just sitting by the road watching the endless stream of people getting out of their cars to gawk.

what wonderful photos, Gayle. The 2-Gs is just an incredible photograph.
my best experiences with Great Blue Herons is while canoeing on a river; they take off when you get close, but fly just a little way down the river, so that this interaction repeats over and over and over.

OH Patti - what a GREAT grey!!!

since we're on GREAT, here's a GHO I drew. At least it was a GHO when I started drawing. Then it got grumpy.

G is also for Golden Eagle.  We took these two photos when our local raptor rehabilitation group invited us to a release.  This immature bird was found on the ground, very weak, and the vets discovered it was suffering from lead poisoning.  It was successfully treated, and we got to watch the release!

A few Golden Eagles winter in Kentucky, as this one was, though they're much less common than wintering Bald Eagles.

It may be grumpy, but it certainly is great!

I got back to the car at the Piedras Blancas elephant seal rookery on Hwy 1 and look what was on the hood.

I love the drawing!  I'll contribute two photos of Great Horned Owls as well.  The first is from my birding vacation in Southeast Arizona.  I took the second photo of a fledgling (or at least one who has "branched"), this past May at Ottawa National Wildlife Refuge in Ohio.

GROUSE, wood (Washington Post photo)
In Russian a wood grouse is called "Glukhar'", which means the deaf one.
Idea being, when they go into courtship display, they can't hear a darn thing, and if you want a grouse, well you can go ahead and get yourself one then. They're not paying any attention to you.

And to contrast with these Ginormous G birds we've been posting, here's a Golden-crowned Kinglet.  I took this photo in Cape May in October...this little migrant was really hungry, so focused on food that he wasn't particularly attentive to the humans watching him.  Sorry for the blur, but kinglets aren't known for being still...

actually the blur is what makes this such a good photo. The yellow glows, too. I love it

G is for Green-winged teal

This guy was found at Birdchick (http://www.birdchick.com/wp/2010/11/love-affair-with-a-green-winged-teal/) with more pictures



"At first glance, they may appear brown, but their heads rival any mallards with the rich rusty read accented by a swath of iridescent green behind the eye–like eye shadow gone wild.  This is the smallest dabbling duck in North America, so besides the color, they are quite cute.  They will forage for aquatic insects on the water’s surface or dip below for vegetation."

Showing his green wing

 :paperbag: I had this whole thing copied over and ready to post in its own post last night then...DUH...tomorrow is G day

G is for Gentoo Penguin



http://www.martingrund.de/pinguine/pinguincam2.htm#2 (http://www.martingrund.de/pinguine/pinguincam2.htm#2) Penguin cam in Antarctica

Is easily recognized by the wide white stripe extending like a bonnet across the top of its head. Chicks have grey backs with white fronts. Adult Gentoos reach a height of 51 to 90 cm (20-36 in),[1][2] making them the largest penguins outside of the two giant species, the Emperor Penguin and the King Penguin. In the water, sea lions, leopard seals, and orca are all predators of the Gentoo. On land there are no predators of full grown Gentoos. Skua can steal their eggs; however, some other seabirds have managed to snatch chicks.

Source: Wikipedia!

Gyrfalcon

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gyrfalcon (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gyrfalcon)

G is for Great Blue Heron (Ardea herodias herodias) .  This picture is sort of a birthday bird, because s/he was watching us as we arrived on the mainland in New Hampshire for an early birthday dinner for my wife.  It's a seriously great bird at up to 2.5 kg/5 lbs and a wingspan greater than the height of most people.  They are also common here in the Washington, DC, area.  I see one almost every morning on my daily bike ride to work.  They move very slowly and cautiously to get close to the fish and then grab it with a sudden, lightning-like strike.  One can then follow the progress of the fish as it makes its way down the heron's throat. 

I can watch these herons for hours and often do.  There is also a white morph that is called, surprisingly, the Great White Heron.

Paul

Paul - I love seeing great blues when all their bells and whistles are showing like this!

Ei - that green-winged teal's showing some serious bells and whistles, too. Great bird.

Everyone: what's Ginormous Gull staring in my windshield in the photo way below? I don't know my gulls at all.

G - Cananda Goose   The call of the wild goose as they fly over in V formation signaling the beginning of Spring and Fall.

G is for Gray Jay.  I've attached two samples:

The first we took in Yellowstone in autumn (though a friendly park employee told us that they actually only have two seasons in Yellowstone:  winter, and July)

We took the second photo in Rocky Mountain National Park in Colorado, pre-digital.

Gray Jays are among our favorite mountain birds; they're fun to watch, and fairly laid back around humans.

And this is a Green Heron, taken here in Louisville...no exotic travel necessary!

G is for Gigantic Cranes

I was out on a birdwatching hike the other day, along Toronto's shoreland, and was astounded and not all that pleased to see these Gigantic Cranes looming in the near distance!  I was lucky enough that they stopped moving around so I could take a photo! They are known to create havoc along any shoreline, by helping to disturb the natural flow of water, by collecting debris around them and by helping to block the sun!  I wish I could think that I would never see another one!

Anne in Toronto

 

My first thought was-well, it's not a ring bill.  Clues-red spot lower bill, wings appear dark, pink legs, seen at Peidras Blancas, San Simeon, CA.  I'll say Western Gull.

From http://www.spwickstrom.com/seagull/



Cool fact from Cornell

Like most gulls, the Western Gull is an opportunistic feeder, capturing its own live prey, scavenging refuse, or stealing food from seals and other gulls. It is known to steal milk from lactating female seals while they lie on their backs sleeping on the beach.

I got mine!  Gold Finch!  :handshake:








I love the GHO grumpy!  Way too cute!

Grackle

From the Cornell lab of Ornithology
Common Grackles are blackbirds that look like they've been slightly stretched. They're taller and longer tailed than a typical blackbird, with a longer, more tapered bill and glossy-iridescent bodies. Grackles walk around lawns and fields on their long legs or gather in noisy groups high in trees, typically evergreens. They eat many crops (notably corn) and nearly anything else as well, including garbage. In flight their long tails trail behind them, sometimes folded down the middle into a shallow V shape.

G is for Grosbeak...and I've posted two species.

The first is a Black-headed Grosbeak, taken in Southeast Arizona (the bird in the upper part is a very blurry Western Tanager).

The second is a Rose-breasted Grosbeak, taken here in Kentucky...we only see them during migration, but it's always exciting when they're passing through!  (the bonus is the Northern Cardinal).

This is a Grey Hawk...though they can be seen in the Southwestern United States, I took this photo in the wilds of the Peruvian Amazon rain forest...he's very pale and pretty.  His favorite prey items are lizards and snakes.

G is also for Gilded Barbet.  This is another photo I took in Amazonian Peru, from the top of a canopy tower.

Goshawk(Northern)

From the Cornell Lab of Ornithology

A powerful raptor of northern forests, the Northern Goshawk is the largest North American accipiter. It maneuvers through dense woods, taking prey as small as squirrels and as large as grouse, crows, and snowshoe hare.

Attila the Hun wore an image of a Northern Goshawk on his helmet.

Guira Cuckoo

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guira_Cuckoo (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guira_Cuckoo)

G is for Gyrfalcon



From Cornell All About Birds:

"The largest falcon in the world, the Gyrfalcon breeds in arctic and subarctic regions of the northern hemisphere. It preys mostly on large birds, pursuing them in breathtakingly fast and powerful flight. "

And remember this article (http://news.bbc.co.uk/earth/hi/earth_news/newsid_8103000/8103872.stm) about the 2500 year old gyrfalcon nest in Greenland?

"A 2,500-year-old bird's nest has been discovered on a cliff in Greenland.

The nesting site is still continually used by gyrfalcons, the world's largest species of falcon, and is the oldest raptor nest ever recorded.

Three other nests, each over 1,000 years old, have also been found, one of which contains feathers from a bird that lived more than 600 years ago. "

yes, Western sounds right!!  Thank you, Ei.

But I have to say that the Fs and Gs have been rough on my mental hygiene - disturbing images of critters stealing other critters' food abound:  

- Frigatebirds making other birds sell their lunch;

- (I posted about 2 "F" Nightjars) -- Nightjars and nighthawks are also called Goatsuckers:
"from the mistaken (and somewhat bizarre) belief that they suck milk from goats (the Latin for goatsucker is Caprimulgus)."  (wikipedia)

- and now this. Gulls milking seals.

I have to go make sure my stash of vinegar and salt potato chips is inviolate.

G is for Galapagos Hawk -- we took this photo, obviously, in the Galapagos, of one of the few non-introduced predators on the islands.

Our guide said this one was hanging out on the ground hunting for baby iguanas (at least he doesn't eat vinegar & salt potato chips).

And another bird from the Galapagos...the Galapagos Dove.  Many birds in the Galapagos live nowhere else; and many live only on one of the islands.  The islands are isolated enough from the mainland, and from each other, that the wildlife species that colonized them adapted to the unique conditions of each island and developed into unique species.  This dove is spectacularly beautiful, even if my photo doesn't do it justice.

{Wishing the Yahoo group posts could automatically echo over here}

Hey, that's a cousin of my Teenage Mutant Ninja Junco!

There's a gray morph northern Goshawk who migrates through my
neighborhood every spring and fall. He spends a few days harvesting
crows, and then moves on again.

I called him the TMNJ because the only other birds I've ever seen with
that soft gray color and white chest are the juncos that snarf up the
spilled seed under my bird feeders. I posted a picture of him here the
first time he showed up (nailed a crow just a few feet in front of me on
my morning walk!) and several kfalconcammers identified him as a gray
morph northern goshawk. He came back, right on schedule, at the end of
September this year.

Pretty bird!
K@
Kat in Rochester

Great Sapphirewing Hummingbird

At 6 inches long (or more than seven if you include its bill), the Great Sapphirewing (Pterophanes cyanopterus) is one of the largest hummingbirds in the world. It is larger than all of the other hummingbirds in its habitat and many other species as well, including flowerpiercers, conebills, and chat-tyrants.

by Search and Serendipity

well, good. let's keep it like that. And I'll abstain from baby iguanas.

This is great - LOOK at all these birds!!!

I am so enjoying this!  So many birds I'd never seen before! And we're only at G!   :clap:   :finch:

huge thanks to aafke for the terrific idea!

We are only at G, but I'm finding, as I dig through my bird photos, that 65% of my photos were of birds that start with B, and 35% with G...so my volume ought to slow down pretty significantly!  OK...that's a slight exaggeration, and I'm sure there will be a few more "big" letters, but I really have gone through a large percentage of my photos already.

Egyptian GOOSE

I think

Took these at the Berlin Zoo

dale

I think the E goose are so cool looking.  :clap:

Yes an Egyptian Goose and a Ruddy Shelduck, o I can send the last for the S!!!!!
greetings Aafke

I've admired your Egyptian Geese, Aafke, ever since your first jigsaw puzzle featuring them!  Of course, it's a lot safer from the other side of the photo, if these geese are like any other ones!!  ;)

Anne in Toronto

Found this today on the Daily Squee (http://squee.icanhascheezburger.com/2011/01/05/cute-baby-animals-whatsit-wednesday-feather-friends/)



Guira Cuckoo

From Wikipedia:

The Guira Cuckoo (Guira guira) is a social, non-parasitic cuckoo found widely in open and semi-open habitats of eastern and southern Brazil, Uruguay, Paraguay, Bolivia, and north-eastern Argentina. It is monotypic within the genus Guira, and is related to the anis.

It has whitish-buff underparts and rump, dark brownish upperparts, a broadly white-tipped dark tail that is relatively long, an orange-rufous crest, bare yellow ocular-skin (commonly fades in captivity), and a relatively heavy, orange-yellow bill. It is generally rather shaggy-looking and has a total length of approximately 34 cm (13 in). Like other members of the subfamily Crotophaginae, the Guira Cuckoo gives off a strong, pungent odour.

Ei

since the "G" has resurfaced, look at what I've just found out: Male grackles of many species are pretty much as described above; but the females are entirely different. I had no idea. This is a female great-tailed grackle, photo from wikipedia.

dale