The ABCs of Birding-G-

[dale]

Paul - I love seeing great blues when all their bells and whistles are showing like this!

Ei - that green-winged teal's showing some serious bells and whistles, too. Great bird.

Everyone: what's Ginormous Gull staring in my windshield in the photo way below? I don't know my gulls at all.

[~Ruth]

G - Cananda Goose   The call of the wild goose as they fly over in V formation signaling the beginning of Spring and Fall.

[Patti from Kentucky]

G is for Gray Jay.  I've attached two samples:

The first we took in Yellowstone in autumn (though a friendly park employee told us that they actually only have two seasons in Yellowstone:  winter, and July)

We took the second photo in Rocky Mountain National Park in Colorado, pre-digital.

Gray Jays are among our favorite mountain birds; they're fun to watch, and fairly laid back around humans.

[Patti from Kentucky]

And this is a Green Heron, taken here in Louisville...no exotic travel necessary!

[anneintoronto]

G is for Gigantic Cranes

I was out on a birdwatching hike the other day, along Toronto's shoreland, and was astounded and not all that pleased to see these Gigantic Cranes looming in the near distance!  I was lucky enough that they stopped moving around so I could take a photo! They are known to create havoc along any shoreline, by helping to disturb the natural flow of water, by collecting debris around them and by helping to block the sun!  I wish I could think that I would never see another one!

Anne in Toronto

 

[Dumpsterkitty]

Everyone: what's Ginormous Gull staring in my windshield in the photo way below? I don't know my gulls at all.

My first thought was-well, it's not a ring bill.  Clues-red spot lower bill, wings appear dark, pink legs, seen at Peidras Blancas, San Simeon, CA.  I'll say Western Gull.

From http://www.spwickstrom.com/seagull/



Cool fact from Cornell

Like most gulls, the Western Gull is an opportunistic feeder, capturing its own live prey, scavenging refuse, or stealing food from seals and other gulls. It is known to steal milk from lactating female seals while they lie on their backs sleeping on the beach.

[annieinelkhart]

I got mine!  Gold Finch! 








I love the GHO grumpy!  Way too cute!

[MAK]

Grackle

From the Cornell lab of Ornithology
Common Grackles are blackbirds that look like they've been slightly stretched. They're taller and longer tailed than a typical blackbird, with a longer, more tapered bill and glossy-iridescent bodies. Grackles walk around lawns and fields on their long legs or gather in noisy groups high in trees, typically evergreens. They eat many crops (notably corn) and nearly anything else as well, including garbage. In flight their long tails trail behind them, sometimes folded down the middle into a shallow V shape.

[Patti from Kentucky]

G is for Grosbeak...and I've posted two species.

The first is a Black-headed Grosbeak, taken in Southeast Arizona (the bird in the upper part is a very blurry Western Tanager).

The second is a Rose-breasted Grosbeak, taken here in Kentucky...we only see them during migration, but it's always exciting when they're passing through!  (the bonus is the Northern Cardinal).

[Patti from Kentucky]

This is a Grey Hawk...though they can be seen in the Southwestern United States, I took this photo in the wilds of the Peruvian Amazon rain forest...he's very pale and pretty.  His favorite prey items are lizards and snakes.

[Patti from Kentucky]

G is also for Gilded Barbet.  This is another photo I took in Amazonian Peru, from the top of a canopy tower.

[MAK]

Goshawk(Northern)

From the Cornell Lab of Ornithology

A powerful raptor of northern forests, the Northern Goshawk is the largest North American accipiter. It maneuvers through dense woods, taking prey as small as squirrels and as large as grouse, crows, and snowshoe hare.

Attila the Hun wore an image of a Northern Goshawk on his helmet.

[Aafke]

G is for Godwit

From Wikipedia:
 
The godwits are a group of large, long-billed, long-legged and strongly migratory wading birds of the genus Limosa. They form large flocks on coasts and estuaries in winter.

They can be distinguished from the curlews by their straight or slightly upturned bills, and from the dowitchers by their longer legs. The winter plumages are fairly drab, but three species have reddish underparts when breeding. The females are appreciably larger than the males.

We have lots of shore birds so  we have lots of godwits.
greetings Aafke

[Annette]

Guira Cuckoo

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

[Aafke]

G is for Grebe,  the Black-necked Grebe

From Wikipedia: The Black-necked Grebe, Podiceps nigricollis, known in North America as the Eared Grebe, is a member of the grebe family of water birds. It occurs on every continent except Australia and Antarctica.
The two common names for this species both refer to features visible when the bird is in its breeding plumage; in such plumage, it has an all-black neck and a spray of golden plumes on each side of its head.

I can tell you that it is very great to see this bird, the golden plumes are very very special.
greetings Aafke