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Egyptian geese (Alopochen Aegyptiaca) preening
Warmer Damm Park, Wiesbaden, Germany.
The Egyptian Goose, a striking and noisy species introduced to England in the 17th century, has recently expanded beyond its former stronghold in Norfolk. From an estimated population of around 900 in 1991—mostly in East Anglia—it has since spread to London, the Home Counties, and is likely to move into the East Midlands. It breeds early in the year, nesting in large, hollow trees, with males remaining nearby during incubation.
Ornithology, British Trust for. ‘Egyptian Goose’. BTO - British Trust for Ornithology, 7 April 2015. www.bto.org/understanding-birds/birdfacts/egyptian-goose.
13/100 bird life and action, 3/10 birds with open wings
Notice how its body is forming a heart shape as it raises its wings to preen (as seen from the rear). A short video of this session is linked in the comments.
Monday June 27th 2010
Preening must be another instinctive activity as we have watched our birds even at the down covered stage running their little bills amongst the fuzz. Birds in general spend a lot longer than most creatures preening as their body covering is not just there for warmth and camouflage but is integral to their ability to fly. If you’ve ever picked up a feather you will know how satisfying it is to smooth it out and to make sure any gaps are ‘zipped up’.
Most birds have a uropygial or preen gland that secretes oil to make them waterproof . This Canada Goose on Derwent water has feathers that moisture will just run off. Ospreys, despite the fact they plunge dive, are not so well coated - but look at the chick in the video below. Although it’s unable to get down to the Lake, it’s having a really good stand up dry-wash. When the rain started again this afternoon it was all set up with its shower-proof feather anorak. As well as this the act of preening removes lice and other parasites that cling to the feathers, the oil assists in reducing their grip and also contains anti-bacterial agents. Our own sebaceous glands work in a similar fashion, so perhaps in the face of the drought we should take an environmentally friendly leaf out of their books and just buff up with a dry cloth 2 or 3 times a day!
Parker River National Wildlife Refuge
Plum Island, MA
birdwatchingdaily.com/blog/2013/12/24/photo-showcase-11-s...
Cedar wax wings preening in the morning sun. A bit of frost on the grass this morning and a flock of wax wings waiting to warm up.
Thanks to Miss Tiggywinkle for naming this bird for me. We had great fun walking around the shores of Sydney Harbour
www.flickr.com/photos/62267983@N06/6852879762/in/photostream
Australian Darter, or Oriental Darter, Anhinga Novaehollandiae
Mama II, my backyard bluebird, preening in the early morning light. She has four little powder blue eggs in the box, her fourth clutch this season. Read about my bluebirds at bluebirddiary.wordpress.com/
RAW, PS Elements.
Same one preening in earlier photo but kind of liked the inclusion of another one with it that was closer.
Went to Loess Bluffs National Wildlife Refuge near Mound City, Mo. again for a few hours. Their count showed 775 migrating trumpeter swans scattered over the refuge, down a bit from 900 the week before. Love watching, listening and taking photos of these, some not the sharpest. Sorry for so many photos of the same thing, just saving to my album. Will post photos of other wildlife there later.
From Wikipedia:
"The ibises are a group of long-legged wading birds in the family Threskiornithidae. They all have long down curved bills, and usually feed as a group, probing mud for food items, usually crustaceans. Most species nest in trees, often with spoonbills or herons.
This Australian White Ibis was investigating and feeding at the Fish Markets, in Sydney Australia."
It was great to have the opportunity to view the beautiful colours and markings on this wonderful bird's plumeage closely...it really is a stunning bird :)
A bit of a change for me, going from the smallest birds to the largest birds in the local park. One of the problems is getting the bright light required to up the speed to freeze the motion but not at the expense of the aperture, the large birds require a good depth of field to get an overall reasonable focus. This is not as critical with the small birds, although a reasonable light works wonders. This swan along side it's mate was doing a lot of preening and wing flapping making use of the sunny morning.
After a short flight, the immature snowy owl settled on a chunk of snow and preens before flying.
Musser School Road, Lancaster County, PA.
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Aug 21 - Here's that same loon in stopped action...as I mentioned, he was flapping his wings and scooting under the water and preening and splashing all over the place. It was pretty adorable to watch.
Apparently, Jeff needed some preening.
Sorry for the horrible quality, it's as best as my little old nikon point-n-shoot would do!