Got any bird pics?

Kestrels are stunning birds!

Unscientific observation- this year some of the haunts I go to seemed to have way fewer birds- caspian terns and eagles were two species that definitely seemed down. Some seen fine (crows, great blue herons, canada geese, ducks, coots) The range of birds to my fountain seemed to be broader in years past and more limited now. Curious if others have noted it or if I should really aim for a the eye exam that I've been putting off. Maybe I'm viewing in bias mode due to knowing avian influenza is out there, on the other hand, was it out there and causing a big hit in bird numbers?
 
Wadin' Boot said:
Kestrels are stunning birds!

Unscientific observation- this year some of the haunts I go to seemed to have way fewer birds- caspian terns and eagles were two species that definitely seemed down. Some seen fine (crows, great blue herons, canada geese, ducks, coots) The range of birds to my fountain seemed to be broader in years past and more limited now. Curious if others have noted it or if I should really aim for a the eye exam that I've been putting off. Maybe I'm viewing in bias mode due to knowing avian influenza is out there, on the other hand, was it out there and causing a big hit in bird numbers?
Click to expand...

I remembered listening to the story below on NPR late last year, I also noticed a marked decrease in terns in Puget Sound. Eagles, geese and several marine mammals have also been affected, although personally I have not noticed changes on those in my outings. It has been a worldwide event for the last several years, with pretty large impacts on the Southern hemisphere too.

www.kuow.org

Most of Western Washington's largest Caspian tern colony is dead. Can the seabirds rebound?

More than 1,500 adult Caspian Terns made Rat Island, near Port Townsend, their home. Now 80% of them are dead.
www.kuow.org www.kuow.org

Avian flu comes to the Salish Sea | Encyclopedia of Puget Sound

A new strain of avian flu has been sweeping the globe since 2020, leaving thousands of dead seabirds in its wake. This past summer, it arrived at a colony of Caspian terns at Rat Island in the Salish Sea, with catastrophic results.
www.eopugetsound.org www.eopugetsound.org
 
Wadin' Boot said:
Kestrels are stunning birds!

Unscientific observation- this year some of the haunts I go to seemed to have way fewer birds- caspian terns and eagles were two species that definitely seemed down. Some seen fine (crows, great blue herons, canada geese, ducks, coots) The range of birds to my fountain seemed to be broader in years past and more limited now. Curious if others have noted it or if I should really aim for a the eye exam that I've been putting off. Maybe I'm viewing in bias mode due to knowing avian influenza is out there, on the other hand, was it out there and causing a big hit in bird numbers?
Click to expand...
I was just saying that to my wife during one of our frequent beach walks this past week… where were the Caspian Terns?
They’re such beautiful birds and I missed seeing them.

Now we know why.
 
I had a cock California quail pop up in front of me from a dense stand of Pacific madrone and Himalayan blackberry.
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After he gave the "all-clear" the hen emerged from the undergrowth.
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followed by several of this year's offspring.
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They weren't having it when I tried to get ahead of the covey for additional pictures and burst back down into dense cover. I could hear them making pit-pit-pit alarm calls, but I could not see them.
Steve
 
@Wadin' Boot as to the bird populations, I hear lots of different things. I know that by birding in the same family farm spot for 50 years now I have seen an incredible change in bird populations of individuals and species. We are on a very large tidal coastal river so it can have quite a range of birds. Over 200 species. Yet, some that were here in large numbers are gone and yet we have new species that were never even near the area becoming more common-like this Black Phoebe that have been around for about 10 years. Barred owls, Scrub jays, Yellow-breasted Chat are new. So many ducks are absent now. We also used to have Caspian tern all the time in the Spring when the smolt were heading out, but so few smolt now.

Our local crops have changed and so have the birds and other wildlife. Bear were never seen here in the flats as there was never corn raised. Bald eagles leave briefly in the Fall to go north for salmon as the local waters have so little fish now, then they return for waterfowl season.

Things are dry in Summer and then extra wet in many Winters. My one-off coastal Golden eagle has made it back three Winter seasons running. Hope it is four. It might be one to add to the discussion. Snowy owls irrupted in 2012 and in 2013. Not since. This will be 12 years since the last one (hope @Cabezon can get his - Thanksgiving is the deadline for arrivals..after that is not so much hope ).

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While visiting Jackson Beach on San Juan Island, I spotted a song sparrow hunting for lunch among the driftwood.
A09SongSparrow9515.jpg
It was followed by a smaller sparrow. I assumed that this was a Savannah sparrow and did not really look at it very carefully at the time. But it posed very nicely for several photographs.
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However, when going through the photographs at home I began to have second thoughts about my identification, especially with the distinctive dark crest. And rather than a yellow stripe over the eye that you would see in a Savannah sparrow, this bird had a buff "mustache" and a buff breast with the dark streaks. After reevaluation, I concluded that this is a Lincoln's sparrow.
Steve
 
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Sorry to hijack thread. Here is a striking banded Lincoln's sparrow I photographed locally in Winter a few years back. Handsome birds- and I believe only the 2nd leg-banded bird I have had here (Gyrfalcon was the other). Have had swans and geese with numbered neck collars,

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If you look up the definition of “frenetic” in the dictionary, the text will be illustrated by a picture of ruby-crowned kinglet. These birds, with their bright yellow feet, seem to be in continuous motion as they glean insects from branches and leaves. Photographing a ruby-crowned kinglet can be a real challenge – too fast, bad light, too much stuff in between.
But sometimes, the conditions are in your favor and you catch a bird that is relatively stationary, in good light, and in the open. This kinglet was focused on investigating the undersides of some blackberry leaves just above its perch. That slowed it down and provided me with the opportunity to capture some sharp images.
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RubyCrownedKinglet0079.jpgRubyCrownedKinglet0085.jpg
Steve
 
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