Rfalconcam Forum

Whiskered Auklet

I am jumping the gun on the Ws!

One of the highlights of my birding life occurred on a voyage from Kamchatka through the Aleutian Islands.  We were able to see tens of thousands of Whiskered Auklets.  Whiskered Auklets are small members of the alcid family.  They are about 7 inches tall (think robin-size.)  They are endemic to northern Pacific volcanic island from the Kuril Islands in Russia to the mid-Aleutians.  We found them near Adak.  They breed in colonies on these island and are thought to winter at sea nearby.    As are many other pelagic birds, they are nocturnal and feed the sole chick only at night.  It is thought that the whiskers help them navigate to the nest.  It is a rare bird, but not well studied.  The first image is poor proof of the sighting, but binoculars bore it out!  The second is a drawing from Sibley and the third from the US Conservation Service.

Gayle

Yellow Warbler

Yellow warbler from the Galapagos.

Gayle

Willet

The willet breeds inland in short grasses.  It is a favorite shorebird and was found in Elkhorn Slough near Monterey.

Gayle

White-winged Scoter

I have this labeled white-wing Scoter from the Pribilofs, but am not sure after reading Cornell’s description.  Any ideas?

Gayle

Whooping Crane

We have discussed Whooping Cranes in several other threads.  Here are two chicks from the class of 2010 in the pen at Necedah prior to departure.

Gayle

Woodcock

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

W is for White-winged Snowfinch, a bird who nests high up in the mountains of Europe and Asia.  We took this photo in the Italian Dolomites, near the Austrian border.

W is for White-crowned Sparrow, who we always run into in the Rocky Mountains.  I took this photo in New Mexico.

W is for Worm-eating Warbler!  I think these guys are really pretty in a more subtle way than many warblers.  I volunteered to help out at a bird banding station in Mammoth Cave National Park, and we managed to catch this young Worm-eating Warbler in the mist net.  In the first photo he appears to be protesting his capture...

W is for White-throated Sparrow.  In Kentucky we only see these birds when they come south for the winter; they're especially reliable feeder birds when there is snow on the ground and they have trouble finding food.  I always throw some bird seed directly on the ground for birds who prefer to eat there!

That's a really splendid crop of cool birds, ladies!  A bunch of winners!!!
Excellent job and some terrific photos.

I'm kind of impoverished here, but Cedar WAXWING of course, is a good W:

Before I understood about some birds fledging onto the ground and living there for days, and that one just needs to move the baby a bit out of the way to a safer spot where the parents can still feed it, I found a baby cedar waxwing on the ground while on a walk with my dad and his dogs -- this baby was not only right at the water's edge on a rainy day but right in the middle of a walking path where dogs and raccoons come. He was perfect, spunky and strong and vocal. And really great with his tail dipped in bright yellow and his fuzzy crest and his mask. I moved him over a little and he perched on my hand, all wobbly. He was happy about that too, or at least OK with it. If I had a really fancy thing like that I wouldn't leave it on the ground, but that just goes to show that I don't get it.  I made the common mistake of bringing it in and calling a rescue place. They told me to just put it back near where I found it, off the path, of course, and that ithe adults would definitely find it.

Then, a courting adult cedar WAXWING photo by minette lain (wiki)

Dale

WHIP-POOR-WILL

A "goat-sucker," caprimulgus, just like the nighthawks/nightjars, and just as incredibly exotic-looking.

There are a couple of very nice photos here, but this site, terrifyingly, offers both more and less than you ever want to know about anything:
http://www.uniprot.org/taxonomy/57400

It describes birds - not as birds, not as vertebrates…but as PROTEINS
…in fact it describes all of us that way. You too:

 http://www.uniprot.org/taxonomy/9606 check out the photos!!!!!!

dale

Whimbrel

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

Wryneck

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

White Wagtail

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

Wood Peewee(eastern)   (Cornell Lab of Ornithology)

Cool Facts

    * In a forest where several flycatcher species are found, the Eastern Wood-Pewee forages higher in the trees than the Least and Acadian flycatchers, but lower down than the Great Crested Flycatcher.
    * One potential cause of the decline of Eastern Wood-Pewee populations is the overpopulation of white-tailed deer in the Eastern forests. In areas with high deer density, the intermediate canopy is disturbed by browsing, affecting the foraging space of the flycatcher.
    * The Eastern and Western wood-pewees are very difficult to tell apart visually. Their breeding ranges overlap only in a very narrow zone in the Great Plains. Despite their similarity, no evidence has ever been found that the two species interbreed in that area.

Gayle had a Willet (Tringa semipalmata) from the West Coast.  Here is one I met up with on Ocracoke Island, NC , last Labor Day weekend.  Notice that it is darker and with more barring than Gayle's bird -- that's characteristic of the Eastern population.  The first picture shows what a noble beast it is. It is a beautiful silver/pewter color and runs rapidly before the surf, staying just ahead of the waves.  Check out the beautiful matte grey color of the beak.  Who could have imagined such a great bird?  When it flies, it goes fast on spectacular, pointed, two-tone wings.

In the second picture, my Willett friend has just scored.  It looks like a mole crab (Emeritia talpoda).  In addition to being Willet chow, Mole crabs are highly sought after for fishing bait on the Outer Banks.

Paul

"Has just scored" is a funny and nice picture. Mr. Willet occupies all of it.
I don't know willets, at all, so this is all new.
thanks, Paul.

dale

Crossing my fingers this connection holds up to post this! 

White Headed Woodpecker!  Had to do some Googling so connection is tired!

Nice pic! I've never seen a White-headed Woodpecker.  :2thumbsup:

A great article appeared in this morning rag on the birds that winter in the Central Valley.  I know we have few California members, but some of you birders may wish to make this area a destination point for the future.  Also the article is just plain interesting!

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2010/12/16/SPUS1GR0LR.DTL

Gayle

Oh very nice Aafke!  :thumbsup:

Lovely photos, Aafke!  I've never heard of a White Wagtail before!  Thanks for such a good introduction!

Anne in Toronto

Whitethroat

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

Wood Duck

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

Male

Female

W (I'm behind schedule) is for White-earned Hummingbird -- a fairly rare hummingbird we saw in southeast Arizona.

W is for Western Tanager -- one of my favorite reasons to visit the Western states!  This beauty was enjoying the oriole food in southeast Arizona.

W is for White-winged Dove -- again in southeast Arizona...that place was full of birds!

And W, finally, is for White-bellied Parrot.  I took this photo in Amazonian Peru (enough with the Arizona photos, already), from a canopy tower.  I like the quizzical look!