Rfalconcam Forum

K is for KAVER: Kaver is the first falcon I ever saw and I immediately knew I was in LOVE. He is the one who got me hooked on Kodak Falcons. From that day on, I don't think I missed a day. He treated his lovely mate Mariah with great care. He was "Super Dad" to all of his many many kids. He stood by Mariah's side when she was injured, he fed her, helped feed the kids when she couldn't. Kaver is so special and will always be my QTP2T. When he left and never came back, he took a piece of my heart with him. I will never forget the joy that boy gave to me and others. I miss him dearly.

  :heart:
   :heart:

 :heart: :heart: :heart: :heart: :heart: :heart: :heart: :heart: :heart: :heart: :heart: :heart:

KIWI -
I heard them my first night on the Kepler track in NZ. They woke me up with their yelling at each other. Odd relationship they have, the Mr. and the Mrs.
  
Note: Kiwis are the only birds who store their nostrils way out at the tip of their bills.

Check out how big an egg is inside the bird.
No room for pizza at all.
(image from http://www.kamcom.co.nz/kiwi/kiwibreeding.htm)

These guys evolved basically without predators. So they stink at protecting themselves or their young from mammals like dogs, rats, stoats, etc.
 
Here's a lady psyched by getting to touch one: http://tvnz.co.nz/view/video_popup_flash_skin/1380546

Kiwis are good at not being seen. Except this one, he was a showoff.
 
dale

KOOKABURRA

a drawing I did a few years ago of two of them.

the laugh: http://www.xeno-canto.org/sounds/uploaded/IGODCAJPUG/Laughing%20Kookaburra.mp3

dale

Kestrel, American

Killdeer
(Cornell Lab of Ornithology)

A shorebird you can see without going to the beach, Killdeer are graceful plovers common to lawns, golf courses, athletic fields, and parking lots. These tawny birds run across the ground in spurts, stopping with a jolt every so often to check their progress, or to see if they’ve startled up any insect prey. Their voice, a far-carrying, excited kill-deer, is a common sound even after dark, often given in flight as the bird circles overhead on slender wings.

I love how these birds act like they have a broken wing to draw predators away from there young.

K is for Kiwi.  Here is the kiwi we met on Meet a Kiwi at the National Zoo.  His keeper described her experience of caring for him as sort of like having a combination of dog and cat.  This particular kiwi is unusual in that he is well-socialized toward people - he likes it when his keeper skritches him.  (I noticed that he gets skritched like a bird, rather than petted like a dog or cat, so that's one birdlike thing about him.)  Although he is very social (as kiwis go), there is no concern about him imprinting on humans and being unable to breed, because there is no parental care provided by either mother or father kiwi.  

Here is a kiwi cam.  She is only active at night, but it's an infra-red camera:
http://nationalzoo.si.edu/Animals/Birds/default.cfm?cam=Kiwi

Paul

K is for Red Knot


 Red Knot running.  Fort DeSoto Park, St. Petersburg, FL
Image copyright 2004 Arthur Morris/BIRDS AS ART (http://www.birdsasart.com/bn136.htm)

From Cornell All about birds

The Red Knot is the largest of the "peeps" in North America, and one of the most colorful. It makes one of the longest yearly migrations of any bird, traveling 15,000 km (9,300 mi) from its Arctic breeding grounds to Tierra del Fuego (Hi Mirta!) in southern South America.

Cool Facts

    * The Red Knot does not regurgitate undigested hard parts of prey, as do many species of birds. Instead it excretes the hard parts in the feces. Researchers have used fecal content to examine food consumption rates.
    * Red Knots concentrate in huge numbers at traditional staging grounds during migration. Delaware Bay is an important staging area during spring migration, where the knots feed on the eggs of spawning horseshoe crabs. It is estimated that nearly 90 percent of the entire population of the Red Knot subspecies C. c. rufa can be present on the bay in a single day. The reduction in food available to the knots because of the heavy harvesting of horseshoe crabs may be responsible for a decline in Red Knot populations.

KAVER it is,he's the best.Thanks Donna

"K" is for the Swallow-tailed Kite (http://www.peregrinefund.org/explore_raptors/kites/swallowt.html) that visit us each Spring here along the Alabama-Florida state line.

He/She has been too unpredictable for me to get any photos, but they are certainly impressive to watch.

Some "file" photos: (http://www.pbase.com/dadas115/swallowtailed_kite)

nwfloridafalconfan



 

Kite, Snail

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

The photo below is of a young Kentucky Warbler.  I attended a bird-banding session at Mammoth Cave National Park a few years back, and this bird was one of the victims.  Kentucky Warblers typically stay in the low levels of the forest or on the ground...which means they are nearly impossible to see, since they're always crawling around in thick understory.  So I was lucky they managed to catch one in the mist net!

K is for KOKAKO! Never heard of it, was just looking for a bird with a strange name.

New Zealand Tiri Tiri

The Kōkako (Callaeas cinerea) is a forest bird which is endemic to New Zealand. It is slate-grey with a black mask and wattles. It is one of three species of New Zealand Wattlebird, the other two being the endangered Tieke (saddleback) and the extinct Huia. Previously widespread, Kōkako populations throughout New Zealand have been decimated by the predations of mammalian invasive species such as possums, stoats, cats and rats and their range has contracted significantly. There were formerly two sub-species of Kōkako, North Island and South Island, although the South Island subspecies may now be extinct. (Wiki)

A very pretty bird.

The photo below is another warbler starting with a K, the Kirtland's Warbler, and is also another example of how lucky I am!  The Kirtland's Warbler is an endangered species, largely because of bizarrely limiting nesting habitat needs (needs young Jack Pine forests).  Habitat loss, fire suppression (leading to forests that are too mature for their purposes), and cowbird problems have been their main threats.  However, one passed through last May when I was on Lake Erie (warbler land), and stayed around all day, long enough for several hundred people to get out to the beach on the lakeshore to see it (and take its picture).

These are a couple of Eastern Kingbird fledglings; I watched them wait for food deliveries by Mom & Dad one early summer day...very fun!

I like both of those kites a lot. Check out the eyes on Annette's bird!

I don't know kingbirds! Pretty birds!!

since Donna mentioned yet another of the New Zealand "K" birds, one ought to mention the

large, flightless parrot KAKAPO or "owl parrot" - critically endangered

http://gbweekly.co.nz/2009/7/29/kakapo-care-challenges-and-delights-conservation-volunteers
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kakapo

and

the uber-smart   KEA
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kea
a BBC documentary about "the smartest parrot," the KEA:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Twg4Yg4gFoo

dale

Kaka - a parrot in New Zealand

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

yes, Annette! I forgot! Another New Zealand K-parrot!  Thank you!

and there's one more - kakariki - 3 species of little NZ parakeets.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kakariki

dale

K is for Killdeer

MAK -- you beat me to it again!!  Oh well, one good killdeer deserves another!! :2thumbsup:

Overview

Killdeer: Large banded plover, brown upperparts and white underparts, two distinct black bands cross upper breast. White stripes on wings are visible in flight. Tail and rump show rust-brown in flight. Black bill, pink-brown legs and feet. Wavering, erratic flight, capable of swift, direct flight.

Range and Habitat

Killdeer: Breeds from Alaska east to Newfoundland and southward. Spends winters north to British Columbia, Utah, the Ohio Valley, and Massachusetts; also found in South America. Preferred habitats include open areas such as plowed fields, golf courses, and short-grass prairies.

Voice Text
"kill-dee", "kill-deear", "kill-deeah-dee-dee"

[above information from www.whatbird.com]

I’ve only seen a Killdeer do her “broken wing” display once.  She does this to distract predators away from her nest.  It’s quite dramatic and seems to work really well!!

A group of killdeers are collectively known as a "season" of killdeers.
                        
Anne in Toronto



Photo from Wikipedia

Pied Kingfisher

The Pied Kingfisher is thought to be the third most common kingfisher.  It is resident in sub-Saharan Africa and west Asia.  It does not migrate.  It hovers over water to catch fish and crustaceans.  Photograph is a screen shot from Pete's Pond in Botswana.

Gayle

Woodland Kingfisher

The Woodland Kingfisher is another beautiful sub-Saharan kingfisher.  It does migrate to the equatorial zone in the dry season.  It hunts its food from a perch in a tree   Food includes insects as well as fish and small crustaceans.  On safaris, we frequently see this bird preening after dips in the water. Photograph is a screen capture from safari.tv.  It has a lovely trill call:  http://macaulaylibrary.org/search.do

Gayle

I am struck by the number of "K" birds there are in New Zealand.  The K sound must be predominate in the Maori language.

Gayle

I have a number of funny drawings of kingfishers. Here's the most abstract. He has caught himself a fish.

I like that photo of one, Gayle.

dale

One more Killdeer!

The Monterey Bay Aquarium has an aviary built right over the water where injured birds live.  Waves lap in giving the shore birds their normal food in a natural setting.  One can see eye-to-eye with the birds.

CHECK OUT the KILLDEER'S STRIPES!!!!  
I'm thinking he has striped underpants on too, don't you think?