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During the start to fall migration large flocks of sandhill cranes- - - thousands of birds- - -gather in the fields around Desbarats, Ontario.
Joshua Tree, Yucca brevifolia, in the Mojave Desert, Pahranagat National Wildlife Refuge along Highway 93 in Nevada, USA
I haven't been doing much bird watching as I'm not as into fall migration as spring BUT as I recently got diagnosed with Hodgkins Lymphoma (and start chemo treatment soon) I figured getting out for hikes might do me some good. Unfortunately it's hot as hell here in PA, so it wasn't a long one. Went back to Evansburg State Park and it was funny I saw nothing really till the end.
If you look in the photo you can see a apple I was eating earlier. I chucked it into a gully and sure enough on my way out all kinds of warblers surrounded it. American Redstart, Pine and Tennesee warblers to be exact.
This Ross' Blue Phase Goose presented himself up front and center strutting his handsome coloring amongst all the white. The Blue Phase continues to be a rare sighting. This early in the season there were a lot of young Snow Geese still sporting their gray coloration, but the distinctive black of this guy really stands out. Among the thousands and thousands of Snow Geese present this day, with the aid of binoculars I was able to spot a total of 5 Blue Phase. In one area there were two immatures still showing a grayish body with the undeniable markings on the white head. All in all, a most satisfying day of birding.
The image below is the full frame of the top one.
Why do birds fly and how do birds fly? These questions have always been in my mind since I was a little girl. ....
In order to fly high in sky, birds have to do a lot of sacrifices and adaptation. Their hollow or semi-hollow bones form the lightweight skeleton. They evolved to lose all their teeth in replace of a lighter jaw. Unlike mammals convert ammonia waste in the form of urea, birds excrete uric acid, which does not dissolve in water easily, so there is not much water to be wasted or needed. In order to maintain the energy they need to fly, their high metabolism could produce feces in as less as 20 minutes after feeding. The most distinctive part distinguishing birds from all other animals is feathers. Not only do feathers play important roles in mating, territorial dominance and thermal regulation, the plumage at different ages and seasons protect birds from predators. Feathers provide a crucial function in most birds, to be able to fly. From the smallest number of feathers in Ruby-throated Hummingbird (about 1,000 feathers) to the most feathered Whistling Swan (over 25,000 feathers), birds control shapes of their wings and tail during flight, chasing and feeding, even use facial feathers as an auditory medium to carry sound into ears like in Barn Owl.
Fly is a symbol of freedom. Thanks to the modern technology of digital photography, it allows me to capture birds in flight that normal eyes could hardly glimpse such a beautiful action. Hummingbirds are migrating to the central and south America for the winter. According to my eBIRD record, they should be all gone by the mid of October. This is a sad month for me as saying farewell to my beloved birds. Would I be luckily enough to have a winter hummer visit my yard this year? I hope so and you will be the first one to know :)
Thanks for viewing and commenting my work :)
Emily Murphy Park, Edmonton, AB, Canada
August 16, 2010
Saw the male feeding a juvenile, but I had no opportunity for a clear shot because of the leaves and branches. However, with the male continuously searching for food, he gave me a chance for these shots.
Kingston, Ontario Canada.
I've never seen a bird with a black, grey and white tail. Didn't get any good pictures of the face, but it had two white wing bars.
Photographed 24 September 2022, Morning Flight,
Gooseberry Neck, Westport, Bristol County, Massachusetts
It's crappy, but it's my first Yellow-rumped Warbler of the season. The number 19th of the fall. I thought I got number 20 as well, but I'm pretty sure that it is a female Black-throated Blue.
Project: Backyard Pishing; Private Residence, Talking Rock, Pickens County, North Georgia, USA
Date: 2012.10.04; Pleasant day with some Sun
Camera: Kodak Z740 Zoom
In this second of 3 pics taken in a series, a male Northern Cardinal (Cardinalis cardinalis, NOCA) is now in a secondary stage of reacting to a Fall migrating juvenile male Rose-breasted Grosbeak (Pheucticus ludovicianus, RBGR) that is eating on HIS PLATFORM FEEDER. The Cardinal has leaned away now and dropped his wings some. Resembles where I've repeatedly seen at least one male Cardinal crouch (drop) down and flutter his wings at another platform feeder. Best as I can tell, darn thing is BAITING in other birds so he can whomp them and chase them away. By fluttering his wings, it looks like he assumes the body language behavior of fledglings. Doing so would give any wary birds a false sense of security about landing on the feeder near him. Have seen it time and again in the last two years, just not sure if it's only one male that does it or if others do, too.. Little bugger.. :))
Pretty funny to see the male Cardinal choose to sit this one out this time and wait for the Grosbeak to finish. In a similar looking 4 image series a few months back, a male Cardinal presented similar body language on a different feeder as he stood his ground and ate while an immature Gray Catbird (Dumetella carolinensis, GRCA) pondered from about a foot away.
A flock of Canadian Geese takes flight on a November afternoon at Sauvie Island near Portland, Oregon.
When I embarked on a mid-afternoon hike up Kennesaw Mt to try out my new binoculars, the farthest thing from my mind was what I would encounter on the top of the mountain. You don't see much in the heat of the afternoon but my morning was consumed with work and I wanted to walk the Mountain...And in the midst of fall migration, well you just never know. I reached the top, having seen only a Scarlet Tanager, and a Red-eyed Vireo. Then I saw movement in the tops of some tall trees in the distance. I raised my new glasses and I saw a Vireo in the distance. It looked like another Red-eyed at first, but wait. Such a vibrant yellow throat and breast. Turns out there were 2 Philadelphia Vireos and they came quite close. Thankfully I had my camera. This series of 4 shots is handheld. I believe both birds are represented in these pictures. This Vireo is a uncommon fall migrant here in Georgia. It closely resembles the Red-eyed Vireo but is smaller (more warbler size) and has a lot more yellow especially the fall bird.