[B]

Barred Owl - this photo taken in Western Kentucky in winter.  They are very common here and it's not unusual for us to see them during daylight hours, and we hear them calling at night almost everywhere we camp in Kentucky or Tennesee.

[B]

Another warbler who is just too pretty to pass up...this is a Black-throated Green Warbler.  I took the photo during spring migration in Northern Ohio (the shores of Lake Erie).

[B]

I'm sure you're tired of me...but I'm still on a roll!  How 'bout a Blackburnian Warbler?

[B]

Broad-billed Hummingbird...from Southeast Arizona.

Barrow's Goldeneye...we took this photo on a bitterly cold, sub-zero day in Yellowstone in February.  Why these silly birds don't come live in Kentucky during the winter, I don't know!

[B]

This photo has a Bonus (three birds, including two separate species)!

This is a Brown Noddy riding on the head of a Brown Pelican.  I took the shot in the Galapagos, where our guides tell us that the Noddy often does this to try and scarf up any stray fish that fall out as the pelican is emptying the water from its beak.  Note the second Brown Noddy in the air.

[B]

B is for Black-billed Magpie...taken in the Colorado Rockies, but could be from just about anywhere in the west!  Very gregarious and capable of stealing your picnic, like other members of the crow/jay family.

Hey guys,
we seem to have gotten a day ahead of Aafke's proposed schedule, in which she suggested two days per letter.  Is the consensus that one day is enough...or should we try to get back to her schedule?  Here was Aafke's schedule:

For Monday, November first and Tuesday, November second we have the letter A
For Wednesday, November third and Thursday, November fourth , we have the letter B
For Friday and Saturday, November 5 and 6, we have the letter C
For Sunday and Monday, November 7 and 8, we have the letter D.

A is for Agami Heron...I took this photo at the Tambopata Research Center in the Peruvian jungle!

[A]

A is for American White Pelican

The first photo we took at Yellowstone National Park, which is one of the places the pelicans nest.

The second photo was a November in Florida; a migratory or wintering flock.  They were so striking as they flew overhead in large groups.

[A]

A is for American Goldfinch -- Dad feeding a fledgling in the back yard...

A friend of mine sent this to me tonight and thought I'd share. 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QlccsLr48Mw

Thanks, Kris; she's an amazing woman!

[A]

And how 'bout A is for Anna's Hummingbird (another photo from around Tuscon Arizona).

Albatross
They have incredibly long,narrow wings. They are the largest of seabirds and feed on squid,fish and refuse. They nest in large colonies on remote oceanic islands and they rarely come close enough to be seen from the shore.

OK...I couldn't stand it!  I remembered some pictures we took of the Waved Albatross in the Galapagos Islands (the Island of Espanola).  In the Galapagos, where there were no land predators, the birds are very tame; in some cases we had to step around birds nesting on the trails.  The Waved Albatrosses were nesting while we were there...so we saw birds on nests; birds doing a courtships dance, and birds with small chicks.  Occasionally we'd get to see one walk from its nest to the cliff where it could launch itself back over the ocean to feed, and they're very ungainly on land!

Photos are:
1) Albatross courtship dance
2) Close up of Waved Albatross (on nest)
3) Waved Albatross with fluffy chick between his/her giant feet!

And from the same tour of Southeast Arizona...the Acorn Woodpecker.  These guys were everywhere, and they're strikingly beautiful!