the ABCs of birds - letter B

[carla]

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.

ll, I never did follow directions very well. I just follow!

And I thought it was wednesday already.

[carla]

It's fun to learn about all those different birds.I never heard of a Boat-billed Heron,or a Bateleur.I love teh Barn-Owl especially Molly,and I love the Boobies.

The Brambling is a special bird to me,every winter I have them for a short period in my garden.

Because its after midnight ,It's wedenesday for me and I go for Beauty

Greetings carla

[MAK]

B is for Brambling
It was a big surprise to see this Brambling at my feeder during a snowstorm in February 2009
It was the first and last time that I saw a Brambling.

The Brambling is similar in size and shape to a Chaffinch

Movie:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0r09iNqSV28

greetings Aafke

This is a very cute little bird! 

[MAK]

Brown Pelican

When I first moved to California in the 60s, there was not a pelican to be seen.  They had been as decimated as their Louisana relatives.  I first saw them in a small rookery on an island off Baja.  The population rebounded but now faces new threats.

Brown pelican in the Galapagos.

Many pelicans on the roof of a fish packing plant, Bahai Magdelena, Baja.

Gayle

I love the pic of all the pelicans on the roofs edge! 

[Patti from Kentucky]

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.

[Patti from Kentucky]

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.

[Patti from Kentucky]

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!

[Patti from Kentucky]

Broad-billed Hummingbird...from Southeast Arizona.

[Patti from Kentucky]

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

[Patti from Kentucky]

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).

[Patti from Kentucky]

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.

[Patti from Kentucky]

B is also for Barn Swallows...these two are fledglings, which may be why I caught them in the rare act of sitting still!  They're probably waiting for a food delivery.

[Patti from Kentucky]

OK...you will be glad to know that though I have not run out of personal photos of birds that start with B (Bald Eagle, Blue Jay, Black-capped Chickadee, Barbary Dove, Band-tailed Pigeon, Black-headed Grosbeak, Burrowing Owl, Black-throated Sparrow, for example), I have run out of energy! 

So here is my final entry in the "B" category:  Blue Grouse

We took this photo in Glacier National Park.  Usually, grouse scare the bejeezus out of us by flushing as we hike by...however, this female stayed her ground because she had several chicks in the flowers below her.  She calmly cooed at them while we snapped a photo and then gave her some space.

[dale]

patti, you have great birds! love the grouse, too...

and BARN SWALLOWS HEY! I have those!
These were from the 2005 and 2006 nestings under my back staircase!

[Donna]

B is for Bluejay



The Blue Jay (Cyanocitta cristata) is a passerine bird, and a member of the family Corvidae native to North America. It belongs to the "blue", Canadian or American jays, which are, among the Corvidae, not closely related to other jays. It is adaptable, aggressive and omnivorous, and has been colonizing new habitats for many decades.

and scream non-stop!