[Starling]

Starling

I'm with you, Anne.  Starlings may be nuisance foreigners, but individually, they are nice to look at and watch the iridescence change colors n the sunlight!

Gayle

[Song sparrow]

Song sparrow

This is a lovely rendition by Rod McIver, a writer and painter of nature.

Gayle

[Sandpiper]

Sandpiper

I found this little beauty in the Pribilof's and made no attempt to further identify it!

Years ago when I first became seriously interested in birds, a friend and I were strolling along Ocean Beach in San Francisco.  We came upon a group of small sand pipers flitting in and out with the waves,  Confident that I could identify them once I got to my book, I memorized the characteristics.  At home, my book showed fifty or so sandpipers.  Since then, I eschew labels and enjoy them for their themselves!

Gayle

[Snow Geese (yet again)]

Snow Geese (yet again)

Still more snow geese!

These photographs are of snow geese in the air.  By the last one they finally get it together!

Gayle

[Snow Geese]

Snow Geese

More on Snow Geese.  As Patti pointed out, conservation have worked far too well as populations are now in the millions.  The tundra breeding grounds are being degraded and as other species prefer the same areas, those populations are suffering.  A big reason for the rebound of snow geese is the good condition of the birds on their winter grounds.  In Northern California, for example, in  the northern end of the Central Valley the principal agricultural crop is rice.  In the fall, rice growers flood the paddies allowing the geese to harvest the gleanings.  In addition, wild life reserve areas are planted in crops specifically for birds to harvest.

Bag limits on snow geese have been increased to 20 per day.  Even so hunting has not dented the population.

Below are some flocks in Northern California.

There are some amazing photographs from above in the tundra in Arctic National Wildlife Refuge:  Seasons of Life and Land by  Subhankar Banarjee.

And to totally blow your mind see the video of 1.2 million snow geese at Squaw Creek National Wild Life Refuge in Missouri:

http://vimeo.com/3856735

Gayle

[S]

S is for Shelduck

The Shelduck is a large kind of Duck.

Aafke, your photographs and videos are wonderful!  Thank you so much for sharing!  And for thanks also for devising this ABC of birds!

Gayle

[Sandhill Cranes , finis]

Sandhill Cranes , finis

These are from a few years ago in Wisconsin.  The water hole group was in Crex Meadows in northern Wisconsin and the closs ups were made at the Internationa Crane Foundation in Baraboo.

Gayle

[Sandhill Cranes]

Sandhill Cranes

I do not have them by the thousands, but sandhills are common in Northern California.  Each year, my nephew, who lives in the Central Valley,  calls to tell me fall has arrived whrn he hears them fly ver his house.

Gayle

[Saddle-billed Stork]

Saddle-billed Stork

This large, five feet, stork is African.  He is seen in these screen captures with a grey heron which seems little by comparison!

Gayle

[White Stork]

White Stork

White storks from the Bornheim cam.

Gayle

[Spotted Towhee]

Spotted Towhee

Towhee from my feeder.

Gayle

[Stilt, Black-necked]

Stilt, Black-necked

This is one of my all time favorite shore birds  In the first image, there is an avocet in breeding plumage in the background.  First three images are from the Monterey Bay Aquarium aviary.  The last is a common sight along the bay.

Gayle

Terrific contributions, ladies!  I am still working on mine.

Gayly

A redwinged blackbird story.  I took a "city" friend on a birding trip through New Jersey and Delaware.  The first bird we saw was a redwing.  I saw this as a good opportunity to start her as a birder.  I pointed out the red on the wings that gave the name.  The next few times we saw the bird, she would ask "What is that callled?"  I would repeat the litany.  "What color is the bird?"  What color is the wing?"  I am pleased to say that after that slow start, she became quite proficient and grew to enjoy birding.

Gayle

Here is a drawing I did a number of years ago, from a TERRIFIC photo by Chad and Chris Saladin - a confrontation between a RED-TAILED HAWK and a peregrine falcon.

Dale

Great drawing, Dale.  And we know who prevailed in that confrontation!

Gayle