Jim F.
Still a Genuine Montana Fossil
Ditto this! What great photos and insights you provide. Both are appreciated.
Got any bird pics?
- Thread starter Wadin' Boot
- Start date
Jim F.
Still a Genuine Montana Fossil
Snowy Owl. I did see a Flamingo that showed-up around here a number of years ago.
Bajema
Life of the Party
Great question. I’m not sure I have a specific top three, but I would like to try and find a short-eared owl this winter. I also still need to see a parasitic jaeger (image already got pomarine and long-tailed) but that will probably have to wait for another pelagic trip next year.
Does this count? 
It walked up me today while I was taking off my waders.
SF
It walked up me today while I was taking off my waders.
SF
Gyrfalcon22
Life of the Party
Sunday/today evening. Not native or wild, but this Ringed-neck pheasant is about as pretty as I can recall seeing. We do have some that reproduce every year here, but hard to know if this is one (coastal county). That is a tail !
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Gyrfalcon22
Life of the Party
That sure is a great bird! @Bajema , you mentioned Short-eared owls. EBirders and people I talk to on our loop road (grays harbor county) have seen a SEO about 1.5 miles from here in Winter for the past 4-5 years. I starting riding my bike that way last year, still nothing there for me. I did see a Rough-legged hawk that was in that area for many months and the plentiful Northern harriers, but never came across the SEO at that location.
I have had great views of SEO's were around Steptoe Butte in the mid-80's.. I saw those birds in one of the most stunning backdrops one could imagine. Great colors and lighting with vast expanses and no trees. About that same time I was fishing areas near Sprague lake and came across my only experiences with Burrowing owls. That was pretty exciting. Easy to ID sitting on fence posts. A ball of feathers and long legs. These were times well before the internet.
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Gyrfalcon22
Life of the Party
I need to get out on one of those pelagic trips. I live so close to Westport. Albatross of any type would be a real thrill. I saw a Frigatebird in Hawaii once as my best saltwater bird. I have my flamingos like @Jim F. -mine were in Italy in the Venetian Lagoon. A good surprise that was.
Both condor species in the wild would be amazing. Add Harpy eagle..or Philippine eagle I might as well as top birds to see.
Is that three?
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Jim F.
Still a Genuine Montana Fossil
And now we know why THAT chicken crossed the road anyway . . . sometimes observing wader removal can be immensely entertaining. I know I've had my moments . . .Does this count?
It walked up me today while I was taking off my waders.
SF
Gyrfalcon22
Life of the Party
Not an easy bird to get to for sure. The way this guy handling a Harpy is sweating, he must not be the handler. Or, even worse, he IS the handler !
(I think that is a younger Jim Fowler from Wild Kingdom?)
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With those shoulder bars, I think you're still dealing with a red-tailed hawk. The various morphs make it difficult and I'm admittedly often confused.
Rough-legged hawks have carpal patches that are more lateral to the shoulder bars on red-tailed hawks, which is my key to comparing the two. I rarely get a good enough look to see the insulating feathers going all the way down to their smaller feet. The other trick is looking at the belly band. Rough-legged hawks have a very dark belly band where red-tailed hawks are more indistinct.
Here's a somewhat old picture I got of a rough-legged hawk demonstrating the carpal patches that is my key to recognizing them. They also tend to hover and flap like a kestrel which helps identify them by behavior.
Rough-legged hawks have carpal patches that are more lateral to the shoulder bars on red-tailed hawks, which is my key to comparing the two. I rarely get a good enough look to see the insulating feathers going all the way down to their smaller feet. The other trick is looking at the belly band. Rough-legged hawks have a very dark belly band where red-tailed hawks are more indistinct.
Here's a somewhat old picture I got of a rough-legged hawk demonstrating the carpal patches that is my key to recognizing them. They also tend to hover and flap like a kestrel which helps identify them by behavior.
There is a free bird i d app from Cornell called Merlin. It's very simple to use.
merlin.allaboutbirds.org
Merlin Bird ID - Home
Bird ID Wizard—Step-by-step Answer three simple questions about a bird you are trying to identify and Merlin will give you a list of possible matches. Merlin offers quick identification help for all levels of bird watchers to help you learn about the birds across the Americas, Europe, Asia, Afric
merlin.allaboutbirds.org
Bonefish Jack
Steelhead
This app is amazing to use. I have used it for a number of years. It has replaced all of my "bird books." So much information, on so many birds from around the world
One particularly useful feature - you can take a photo, upload the photo into the Merlin app, and it will suggest an identification for the bird. It is usually very accurate. I have used this in the Bahamas and in Mexico, with excellent success.
A few blob squatch-ish bird shots with my cell this weekend.
Car window (passenger) shot of the white pelican hang-out near the east end of the Youngs Bay Bridge in Astoria.
An unidentified woodpecker. Didn't see any red so assuming it's not a Downy (?). The little bastard kept ducking his head into the tree every time snapped a pic.
Car window (passenger) shot of the white pelican hang-out near the east end of the Youngs Bay Bridge in Astoria.
An unidentified woodpecker. Didn't see any red so assuming it's not a Downy (?). The little bastard kept ducking his head into the tree every time snapped a pic.
