A fine looking Hawk all fluffed and looking sharp and perhaps a little bit full of himself as he had just finished mating a female just a few fence posts down the road.
Tag: bird behavior
As the tide went out
As the tide rolled slowly out the Black Oystercatchers rolled in to feast on mussels freshly exposed. As this pair feasted on mussel and crab we feasted on that brilliant orange bill , yellow and orange eyes and pink legs of these beautiful birds in the early evening light. And oh yes, that wonderful call when they take to the air.
Seeing and hearing the Black Oystercatcher always gives us the feeling we have reached our destination on our occasional trips to the Pacific coast.
Now you see me….
Now you don’t…
In the span of less than a minute this beautiful male Cinnamon Teal went form being extreme show-off to shy guy.
Wishing you all, extrovert or introvert, a wonderful weekend.
Wake up call
One of our favorite experiences when walking along the edge of a marsh is listening to the wonderful call of the Marsh Wren. Listening to maybe a half dozen or more at times belting out a little tune. Some days the wren stay hidden in the cattails and marsh grasses and that’s ok, but every once in awhile, they pop out in full view and then let the show begin.
Red-winged Blackbird
A female Red-winged Blackbird perches in a sea of cattails as she listens to the males sing.
White-crowned Sparrow
An immature White-crowned Sparrow soaking in some of the golden morning sunlight.
We love listening to adults sing their songs each spring and according to the All About Birds website:
A young male White-crowned Sparrow learns the basics of the song it will sing as an adult during the first two or three months of its life. It does not learn directly from its father, but rather from the generalized song environment of its natal neighborhood.bird
https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/White-crowned_Sparrow/overview
Celebrating World Migratory Bird Day
Imagine moving twice a year in a changing landscape that presents you with constant danger.
A new article published on all about birds titled “Is Bird Migration Getting More dangerous” details the dangers birds overcome and the challenges they face during the most dangerous time of the year for birds. A piece well worth the read as a tribute to the avian world on a celebratory day.
The snood
Ah the snood. That fleshy protuberance that hangs down over a wild turkeys beak. On males Turkeys the snood can grows up to 5 inches in length. When a male is trying to impress a female the snood turns bright red and elongates even further. The males with the longest, brightest snoods tend to attract the most mates.
Here two males are in full display mode however it is curious that one of the males snoods is blue the other red.
While mature female turkeys develop a short snood three evolutionary function remains a mystery.
Strutting
Over the course of about fifteen minutes we were also privy to his show. Each display period only lasted a few seconds or so but boy what a show.
From a remarkable collection of feathers and unique anatomical features Wild Turkeys are fascinating birds.
Blue Friday
Perched along a country road the male Mountain Bluebirds have return to lay claim to the nest boxes nearest to what they consider the best feeding grounds. While the ground may still bear snow these guys know the early bird gets the girl.
nature has no boss 
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