Like rambunctious kids at a restaurant, young birds are learning the ropes at Mr. Neil’s feeders. Above is a female rose-breasted grosbeak who I thought was an adult female, but she engaged in some begging behavior with a male and sat for awhile on the pole above the feeder watching the other birds feed, working [ Read More ]
Ah, the goldfinch nesting season is underway. They are numerous and feisty at the feeders. There are so many that I’m able to see some interesting variations. Above is a typical goldfinch, note how the black cap goes from the base of his beak to his eye. Check out this dude: He’s been like this [ Read More ]
Want to learn how to band birds in Peru?? I just got this notice for volunteers in my inbox today: FALL 2009 BIRD-BANDING WORKSHOP in the Peruvian Amazon There are still some spaces available (26 Sep – 8 Oct 2009) for ten days of bird surveying and bird-banding to document the avifauna of a private [ Read More ]
People seemed interested in the difference between adult and young cardinals, so I have a few more photos. Above is an adult female cardinal perched on a feeder with a tufted titmouse. You can tell from this photo that she is female because she has brown on her body as well as some red. But [ Read More ]
People often ask how I became a beekeeper. It was a conversation in Mr. Neil’s office a few years ago. He said off hand while working on his computer, “I’ve always wanted to have bees on my property to pollinate my trees. My plum tree never has plums because we don’t have bees.” I was [ Read More ]
I’ve been without my tripod for my scope for a few days while it’s getting a bit tweaked and haven’t been able to do any digiscoping. Non Birding Bill and went out to Mr. Neil’s to check on our bees and I found his digital camera with a zoom lens unattended and thought I’d see [ Read More ]
Here is a video so you can hear the sweet song of the Himalayan rubythroat. You’ll hear some talking in the background and a man calls it an accentor, but it’s not. He was just looking at it without binoculars, as soon as he saw it in the scope, he said, “Oh! Rubythroat!”
I’ve blogged quite a bit about the first part of my amazing trip to Kazakhstan. We spent the first half on the Steppes (short grass prairie) and then flew from Astana to Almaty. I think my favorite part of the trip was exploring the Tien Shan Mountains near Almaty–beautiful, remote, rugged. Everywhere you went, even [ Read More ]
Don’t forget that Birds and Beers will Thursday, July 9, 2009 at 6pm at Merlin’s Rest. Birds and Beers is an informal gathering of birders of all abilities–if you’re interested in birds, you’re invited. You can meet other birders–maybe find a carpool buddy, ask about where to find target birds, share cool research projects you [ Read More ]
This is a brown dipper that we saw in Kazakhstan. Apart from being brown, it looked just like the American dipper we can see in the western US–right down to the white eyelids! More coming.
