[Redwing Blackbird]

Redwing Blackbird

I will add my version of this bird perched on a cattail.  This was the first bird I learned as a kid.  There was always at least one on the cattails in the pond on the farm.  It must have been looking for dragonflies!

The second photograph is of a Tri-colored blackbird.

Gayle

Note:  If the images were too large when you tried to see them, please try again as I have reduced them.  Sorry!

[Roseate Spoonbill]

Roseate Spoonbill

Here is a closer view from Costa Rica.  It was interesting to watch it feed by swishing its bill through the water from side to side.

Gayle

[Ruddy Turnstone]

Ruddy Turnstone

The Ruddy Turnstone breeds on far northern tundras, is highly migratory and may be found on sea shores nearly world wide.  This sighting on Floreana in the Galapagos brought a bit of serendipity.  While I was watching it, a family approached.  The man had been the long time director of an Audubon camp just a few miles from my childhood home in Northern Wisconsin!

Gayle

[Red Faced Cormorant]

Red Faced Cormorant

The Red Faced Cormorant lives in the far northern reaches of the Pacific from the Kamchatka Peninsula in Siberia through the Aleuian Archipelago to the Gulf of Alaska and in the Bergin sea.  It is much like the other cormorants we have seen but it has a red facial patch, brilliant in breeding plumage.  The first two photographs are of immature birds on St. Paul, Pribilof and the third of a nesting bird in the Aleutians.

Gayle

[Red-footed Boobie]

Red-footed Boobie

Portrait of a red-footed boobie from the Galapagos.

Gayle

[Phalarope]

Phalarope

I have long been curious about phalaropes since I read Paton’s seminal novel about South Africa and apartheid, Too Late the Phalarope, as a child, although I no longer remember the significance of the bird in the title.  If anyone remembers it, I would love to know.

Phalaropes are small, about 8 inches, pelagic birds with lobed toes.  The Red Phalarope shows up on California beaches.  I have seen the Red-necked phalaropes feeding in close association with humpback whales in Southeast Alaska.  They grab the leftover bits from the whales’ feeding lunges.

You can read about this bird’s feeding habits by creating vortexes here:

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

Gayle

[Western Snowy Plover]

Western Snowy Plover

More plovers!  The Snowy Plover is a bird of concern for Northern Californians.  It is listed as a threatened species.It nests right on the beach and is at risk by every passing hiker, dog or horse.  During nesting season, hundreds of volunteers man the beaches to protect the nests.  To read about measures being taken see:

  http://www.nps.gov/pore/naturescience/birds_snowyplover.htm 

or :

 http://www.nps.gov/goga/planyourvisit/upload/sb-plight_web.pdf

Gayle

[Blacksmith Plover]

Blacksmith Plover

The Blacksmith Plover is a sub-Saharan African bird.  It is strikingly beautiful with is bold black and white coloration.  It is found at ponds ,eating worms, insects and small crustaceans,  It is so named because its song resembles the sound of metal being hit.  Images are screen captures from Nkorho cam.

Gayle

[Prairie Falcon]

Prairie Falcon

The Prairie Falcon is about the same size as the peregrine, but is  more drab and frankly not as beautiful!  Its range is in the west, roughly west of the Rockies.  It prefers open areas.  I have seen one twice in the northern part of California's Central Valley.  In the photograph below, look to the right and slightly above the topmost guano stain!  The second image from Wikipedia shows what it actually looks like!

Gayle

[Ptarmigan]

Ptarmigan

I want to re-visit ptarmigans!  These members of the grouse family are most well adapted for their surroundings.    The Willow Ptarmigan and her chicks  and the Rock Ptarmigans are so well camouflaged they are difficult to see in their surroundings in Denali National Park.  The mounted specimen at the Arctic Audubon in Fairbanks shows how the birds turn completely white in winter and are virtually invisible in the snow.  The last photograph shows the feathered feet, a necessary adaptation to Alaska’s cold.

Gayle

[California Quail]

California Quail

As a Californian, I must post our state bird, the California Valley Quail!  It is also my neighbor as a covey of them live in the hedge behind my house.They are pretty birds that scurry about eating seeds and berries.  The male has an outrageous top knot.  And he is the father protector.  While the females (yes, he has more than one) and the chicks feed, he sits atop the hedge keeping a vigilant lookout.  When the doors and windows are open, I can hear them.

http://macaulaylibrary.org/audio/50185

Here is Sibley's drawing, a female with nearly grow chicks,  the male with a female behind him and the male as sentry.

Gayle

[Pelican]

Pelican

Dale, and I will see your pelican and raise you one!  Here are a few more brown pelicans, from San Francisco Baylands, Galapagos, and Monterey.

Gayle

[Pigeon Guillemot]

Pigeon Guillemot

Pigeon Guillemot

The pigeon guillemot is another member of the auk family.  Its range is in the Pacific from Kanchatka through  the Aleutians down along the California coast.    No, they do not normally sit on branches.  This is another injured bird from the Seward Marine Center,

Gayle

[Black-footed penguin]

Black-footed penguin

This is an intimate look at a Black footed penguin at the Monterey Bay Aquarium.  You can view a live video cam at http://www.montereybayaquarium.org/efc/efc_splash/splash_cam.aspx

They are from South Africa, and oops, Dale, they are also known as Jackass Penguins.

Gayle

[Galapagos Penguin]

Galapagos Penguin

This penguin is endemic to the Galapagos and is the northern most of the penguin species.

Gayle