Stellar’s Jay Originally uploaded by Life of David The Stellar Jay, another bird found locally, is today’s bird of the day. It’s scientific name is Cyanocitta stelleri. It is common throughout the U.S. but I love it. I like to look at them. They are interesting and beautiful. They like seeds, nuts, berries, fruit, invertebrates, eggs, other bird’s nestlings (GASP!), acorns, conifer seeds and other things like them. It will join you for a picnic, if you bring the right food. You can read more about the Stellar Jay, even hear its call, here. http://www.birds.cornell.edu/AllAboutBirds/BirdGuide/Stellers_Jay.html
day bird Archive
GBH Originally uploaded by sproutter The Great Blue Heron…one of my favorite birds, albeit I have so many. This bird is so beautiful. I remember the first time I seen one. I was mesmerized by it and ever since, I’ve been on the lookout for it whenever I am near its habitat. Also known as Ardea herodias in the scientific world, this bird is the largest heron in North America. It can be from 36 to 55 inches from head to tail and has a wingspan of 66 to 79 inches! Many inches of awesome. =) It has a scratchy, throaty call. You can hear it here. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Great_Blue_Heron.ogg It eats small fish mostly but it will also eat shellfish, insects, rodents, amphibians (such as frogs),
Bewick’s Wren Originally uploaded by sproutter Another birdy found in Washington State, the Bewick’s Wren, (Thryomanes bewickii). I read this species is the only one in the category Thryomanes and that there is a subspecies called the Seattle Wren. I think you can guess what tomorrow’s bird of the day will be… =) It is a small bird who likes to live in urban areas, near houses and once found throughout the eastern part of the U.S., it is mostly located in the western part now. They speculate this is because of the tricky ways of the House Wren. I seen one of these eating something near the peanuts I fed the crows this morning. It is about 5 inches and likes spiders and insects.
American Avocet Originally uploaded by Wayne Weber I did a search for bird of Washington State and found this bird, the American Avocet (Recurvirostra americana). It is found around marshes, beaches, ponds, and shallow lakes. It gets to be about 18 inches tall, about the size of a toddler. =) Straight from Cornell Lab of Ornithology, here are some cool facts about the American Avocet: # In response to predators, the American Avocet sometimes issues a series of call notes that gradually changes pitch, simulating the Doppler effect and thus making its approach seem faster than it actually is. # Nesting American Avocets aggressively attack predators, sometimes physically striking Northern Harriers or Common Ravens. # A female American Avocet may lay one to four eggs
White Breasted Nuthatch Originally uploaded by iceberg_ca White Breasted Nuthatch (Sitta carolinensis) was an adorable bird we came across in our search for Anna’s hummingbird. In the photograph we looked at it was upside down. So cute! The White-breasted nuthatch eats insects out of tree trunks and branches, as well as seeds, acorns and hickory nuts. They live in trees, in small holes. It is about 5-6 inches long with a wingspan of 8-11 inches and weighs in at about 1/2 to 1 ounce. There are 9 subspecies of the White Breasted Nuthatch. One of these subspecies, the Sitta carolinensis aculeata, are found in Washington State! YAY!
Anna’s Hummingbird Originally uploaded by lselman Calypte anna, also known as Anna’s Hummingbird, flew into the bird of the day by flying into the tree right by my railing while we were feeding the crows the other day. We spent about an hour identifying it and now we know for certain, it was an Anna’s Hummingbird. How adorable it is… and this photograph is an amazing shot of a mom feeding her chick. They are sweet. Anna’s hummingbird is known as a medium sized hummingbird at about 4 inches long with a wingspan of 5 inches and only weighing between 0.11 and 0.21 ounces! This is a tiny little bird but apparently not so tiny in comparison to other hummingbirds. I got the following cool
Poecile sclateri. Originally uploaded by Pablo Lèautaud. I found the Mexican Chickadee (Poecile sclateri) in my National Wildlife Federation Field Guide to Birds of North America. I was looking for a hummingbird we wanted to identify. We feed some crows everyday and when we put out the peanuts for them the other day we noticed a hummingbird in the tree near our railing. This was very exciting for us! We may be getting a hummingbird feeder soon! YAY! =) Ok, back to the Mexican Chickadee. While flipping through the book I passed by it and wrote it down. I just had to include it as today’s bird of the day because it is a puff ball. It is a songbird. YAY for songbirds! They are
Grosbeak the Rose-Breasted type Originally uploaded by ut.law97 The Rose-breasted Grosbeak (Pheucticus ludovicianus) is the bird of the day! =) I read about him in the book, A Supremely Bad Idea: Three Mad Birders And Their Quest To See It All by Luke Dempsey. It prefers to live in “open deciduous woods” and can be found in Canada and the Eastern part of the United States. It has more recently began to extend its range towards the west because of “misguided fire prevention policies which have created habitat on the Great Plains.” The Rose breasted Grosbeak eats insects, seeds and berries. It prefers a thinner nest, so thin you can often see through the nest to the eggs from below it. (Cornell Lab of Ornithology)
Common Grackle Originally uploaded by Ken Blackwell The Common Grackle, Quiscalus quiscula, is today’s bird of the day. Hurray. Aren’t they pretty little birds? I found the following on Wikipedia about this bird: The breeding habitat is open and semi-open areas across North America east of the Rocky Mountains. The nest is a well-concealed cup in dense trees (particularly pine) or shrubs, usually near water; sometimes, the Common Grackle will nest in cavities or in man-made structures. It often nests in colonies, some being quite large. This bird is a permanent resident in much of its range. Northern birds migrate in flocks to the southeastern United States. The Common Grackle forages on the ground, in shallow water or in shrubs; it will steal food from
The White-billed crow can only be found in central part of the Solomon Islands. They are officially called Corvus woodfordi. It is a stocky short bird who prefers the forest. It has a squared off tail and a big head. It has a distinct deep and curved pale ivory colored bill with a darker tip, resembling the coloring of wing tip shoes to me. =) Overall it is glossy black with a purplish-green gloss to the head and purple gloss to the rest of it. The iris of the White-Billed Crow is pale gray or white and the legs and feet are black. The White-billed Crow lives in small families and together they look for insects and fruit to eat. There is not a lot
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