COMMON GALLINULE [moorhen]
Habitat map: Gallinule
NORTHERN HARRIER
Habitat map: Harrier
AMERICAN COOT
Habitat map: Coot
SNOWY EGRET
Habitat map: Egret
ROYAL TERN
Habitat map: Tern
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Showing posts with label Northern Harrier. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Northern Harrier. Show all posts
§ Harrier, Coot, Gallinule and More...
COMMON GALLINULE [moorhen]
Habitat map: Gallinule
NORTHERN HARRIER
Habitat map: Harrier
AMERICAN COOT
Habitat map: Coot
SNOWY EGRET
Habitat map: Egret
ROYAL TERN
Habitat map: Tern
Linking Tool is now closed
§ Channel Birding...
And...SEE NOTE below!
This past week, before the cold snap moved in across the coast, I took a jaunt, crossing the mudflats, on the back side of Packery Channel where it's a quiet area and I can usually see some plovers. This time thru I wasn't disappointed. Yet, very few birds other than the usual, gulls, ibis, egrets were aplenty. In fact around the curve, a whole group of gulls were lazily sunning on the shore, then a huge ruckus and off they flew! I was too far away from them for it being ME that disturbed them, so I looked upwards and saw the reason....a harrier flyover. No worries, the gulls came back and rested some more.
Here are a few of the birds I saw on the back side of the bay...
Here are a few of the birds I saw on the back side of the bay...
BLACK BELLIED PLOVER[winter plumage]
Habitat map: Plover
RUDDY TURNSTONE
Habitat map: Turnstone
GREAT TAILED GRACKLE
Habitat map: Grackle
NORTHERN HARRIER
Habitat map: Harrier
OSPREY
Habitat map: Osprey
MARBLED GODWIT
Habitat map: Godwit
[below--always a favorite photo op for me personally, I love the rear view. I tend to think, "what are they thinking?"]
PIPING PLOVER
Habitat map: Plover
PLEASE NOTE: I will be taking next weekend off from setting up any linking tool! I will be very busy with Thanksgiving and then, getting our house decorated and "set up" for company for the holiday arriving before Christmas! It will take me about a week to accomplish. The next linking tool will be set up to link your birds/photos on December 4th at noon!!!
New linking will begin on December 4th!
§ Sunday Morning Birding...
As I mentioned on my personal blog, Hootin' Anni's Day Trippin', I drove to an all nature area that is usually a difficult trek because it's mostly unkempt and difficult to traverse on foot. If you use the link I provided, you can see the beautiful serene landscape of the area! This past weekend I was lucky enough to arrive shortly after the city actually mowed the trail. There I saw few birds, and ended up driving to a park off the Kingsville, Texas exit from the interstate and sighted some, but not many, birds. Here, I share some of what I photographed. The lighting isn't good mostly since some of the birds spotted [the kingfisher!] I was looking INTO the sun. They will have to suffice for this post. Ready?
BELTED KINGFISHER [American Wigeon in background]
Habitat map: Kingfisher
LADDER BACKED WOODPECKER
Habitat map: Woodpecker
NORTHERN HARRIER
Habitat map: Harrier
GREAT KISKADEE
Habitat map: Kiskadee
ANHINGA
Habitat map: Anhinga
Linking tool is now closed for the week, return on Saturday for a new one.
§ Country Roads & Park Lanes...
These past couple weeks, there has a lot of birding from the car since a few light frosty mornings [with temps in the mid 30's to freezing]. Factoring in the humidity here, and other days foggy and wet; it's kept me inside the vehicle when I DID go out. On good days, it's been chilly in the morning, but nice and sunny enough to be out walking the park trails and coming upon the ponds with water fowl, and seeing birds in flight out in the fields...groups of dozens together, some couples, some individuals. These were seen recently at Oso Bay Wetlands, Bazemore Park, Paradise Pond, and Lakeview Park...
SANDHILL CRANES
Habitat map: Cranes
NORTHERN HARRIER
Habitat map: Harrier
WHITE IBIS
Habitat map: Ibis
YELLOW BELLIED SAPSUCKER [junvenile]
Habitat map: Sapsucker
HOODED MERGANSER [1st image, male and female]
Habitat map: Merganser
§ County Road Birds....
A couple of weeks ago, on the Rare Bird website of ebird.org, I read that there was a rare hawk spotted in our county, nearby our home by only 20 miles. It was a dark, misty, morning and Bud and I were bored sitting around just reading our books. I asked him if he'd like to go drive out to the ranch land, where the hawk was last seen according to the report, and he and I took off to drive and see if we could find it. The chances were close to nil it was still in the vicinity...but, it was something to do besides sitting around the house. Bud grabbed his binoculars and we took off, heading south by southwest, into the area where the cotton fields were being plowed, readying for the next crop this summer. If indeed we were to spot this rare hawk, the hawk would be about 200 miles off the habitat course of its 'normal' residence as you can check out the link I provided below.
Once on the county roads, we saw harriers, godwits, horned larks, meadowlarks [Meadowlarks are a challenge, since both species' habitat ranges intermingle in Texas I believe they were Eastern meadowlarks because of the wider white markings than the Western species], vultures, a dark morph or juvenile red tailed hawk, and then...near the tree outcropping, high up on the power line, another very large hawk. I snapped photos!! When I took the images off the camera's card at home, I noticed it was the rare one!! The sure ID points were size, the unusual coloring, and the tell-tale, very long, gape line crossing more than half the facial area. YES! I'm quite sure this is a juvenile, since the legs lack the adult rusty leggins. When adult; it will become the largest of all North American Buteos. This sighting makes my list of different species now up to the count of 280 birds, just in the state of Texas [all within a 75 mile radius of home]. It's a 'new' species for me and my record keeping!
KILLDEER
habitat map: Killdeer
length: 9-10 inches
wingspan: 19-21 inches
MEADOWLARK [Eastern]
habitat map: Meadowlark
length: 9-11 inches
wingspan: 14-17 inches
RED TAILED HAWK [juvenile?]
habitat map: Hawk
length: 19-25 inches
wingspan: 46-58 inches
HORNED LARK
habitat map: Lark
length: 7.5 inches
wingspan: 13 inches
MARBLED GODWIT
habitat map: Godwit
length: 18-20 inches
wingspan: 42 inches
NORTHERN HARRIER
habitat map: Harrier
length: 18-22 inches
wingspan: 40-48 inches
FERRUGINOUS HAWK
habitat map: Hawk
length: 22-28 inches
wingspan: 56-60 inches
ferruginous [ fuh-roo-juh-nuhs ]
adjective: of the color of iron rust.
Those that participated this week are :
Phil UK
Rosyfinch Ramblings
The Early Birder
Birds Seen in Europe and Africa
Crafty Gardener
NatureFootstep PhotoArt
Lavender Dreams
Lea's Menagerie
Linda, Virginia, USA
Lea: Vultures
Eileen
Cranium Bolts
Christina, Sweden
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