Category: birds

Red-Bellied Woodpecker

I believe this is the red-bellied woodpecker. My area of New York is within its year round range. By comparing it to photos on All About Birds I would think this is a male as males have a red crown.

Red-Bellied Woodpecker

I could not get a good view of this bird. I only saw it for a short amount of time. When I moved to a side of the tree that was better for lighting it was not visible.

Re Bellied Woodpecker

This may be the first time I have seen this kind of woodpecker. This location is said to have red-headed woodpeckers also. I stop here frequently, but have yet to sight one. Enjoy your holiday weekend. Happy Veteran’s Day!

Black-Capped Chickadee

I believe this is a black capped chickadee. I saw this in a park on the Hudson River in New York. New York is within its year round range.

Black-Capped Chickadee

According to All About Birds the black-capped chickadee has a habit of investigating people. This bird flew right at me a few times then veered off. So that was certainly true.

Have a Happy Friday!

Ruby-Crowned Kinglet November

They say you usually do not see the crown unless this bird is agitated. It was a very windy day and the crown feathers are only partially visible and not standing up, so I do not think it was agitated.

Ruby-Crowned Kinglet November

This bird does not linger on branches. It moves from branch to branch and tree to tree like it is hyperactive.

Ruby-Crowned Kinglet November

Sometimes windy days can be good days for taking a photograph. Have a great Wednesday!

Downy Woodpecker in November

The Downy Woodpecker was another bird I saw in a park on the Hudson River in New York. New York is in the year round range of this bird, as is most of the U.S.

Downy Woodpecker in November

The park is mostly woods. However, these shots are at the edge of the woods close to an open area. They usually stick to woods, but can be found in parks and they say at your bird feeder. When I was allowed to feed birds, I would see them in the woods behind my apartment, but not at the feeder.

Downy Woodpecker in November

This Downy Woodpecker is a male as males have the red patch on the back of their head.

Downy Woodpecker in November

Have a great rest of your week! Enjoy the great outdoors!

Tufted Titmouse in November

I believe these are all tufted titmouse. I saw these in a park on the Hudson River in New York. My region of New York is within its year-round range.

Tufted Titmouse in November

Tufted titmouse were following me around at this park. They were really interested in where I was.

Tufted Titmouse in November

These birds will visit feeders. In the complex I live in we were banned a few years ago from feeding the birds due to a bear going through and raiding the bird feeders. No one has been feeding the birds since, but we still have bears wandering through.

Tufted Titmouse in November

According to All About Birds Tufted Titmice move from branch to branch in the forest looking for food. They will go on the ground after fallen seeds. The park I went to was made up mostly of forest along the river.

Tufted Titmouse in November

Enjoy the weather and have a great week!

White-Breasted Nuthatch

I believe this is a white-breasted nuthatch. I saw this in a park next to the Hudson River in the Hudson Valley of New York. Most of the US including New York State is part of their year-round range.

White-Breasted Nuthatch

According to All About Birds white-breasted nuthatches get their name from their habit of jamming large nuts and acorns into tree bark, then hitting them with their sharp bill to “hatch” out the seed from the inside.

Have a great weekend!

Peregrine With Falconer

This is the closest I will get to a peregrine falcon. I was in the front row at an outdoor falconry show at Warwick Castle in Warwick, England in July.

I had a zoom lens on my camera. It was raining and dark, so the lighting wasn’t the best and it was too difficult to get shots while they were in flight. The rain kept interfering with my auto focus.

Despite the weather and lighting conditions it was a great show to watch. Have a great week!

Ruby-Crowned Kinglet

This bird was tough to snap a picture of. It seemed to be ADHD. It moved quickly from tree to tree and branch to branch. I believe it is a Ruby-Crowned Kinglet. If I am wrong let me know.

Ruby-Crowned Kinglet

Ruby Crowned Kinglets are said to be hyperactive, which definitely fits this bird. This type of kinglet is said to have an uneven eye ring, which this one does. The Ruby-Crowned Kinglet is said to have brighter greenish edges on the wing and tail feathers, which you can see here.

Ruby-Crowned Kinglet

This bird was in a wooded area right next to the Hudson River in an area with different kinds of birds.

Ruby Crowned Kinglet

According to Merlin, the ruby crown is only on the males and is usually hidden. If it becomes agitated you might see it.

This bird was interesting to observe. The Hudson Valley in Southern NY is actually in its non-breeding range. What birds have you caught during this migration?

Owl Fledglings 2024

These are two of the three fledglings from the same tree hole in May. This appears to be the day these two left the nest hole. The third was still in the hole and was quite loud.

Owl Fledglings 2024

The two out of the tree hole looked so small for barred owls it was confusing. It did not help they fledged during a dark day where it was raining hard. This is why they look drenched. The one pictured above is on a tree branch on the ground. I called a friend and she came. To not upset the apple cart with the parents, who had to be nearby, we left the baby on the ground in hopes that it would climb a nearby tree. It looked exhausted.

Owl Fledglings 2024 I manipulated this dark photo a lot to try to get it sharper and with less noise.

This is the second fledged owlet. It was on a tree maybe ten feet off the ground. This is the last time I saw the owlets from this tree. I did see the parents hunting nearby several times, so I am thinking they were there somewhere. This year though the screech of the babies asking for food was absent. I have always heard that in the past. This year I only heard the screeching coming while they were inside the tree hole or at the hole. Hopefully the great horned owls coming on their territory did not result in the barred owlets being killed. I am hoping they moved them safely to another area.

Common Moorhen

Common Moorhens are medium sized water birds. Other names it could be known as are marsh hens, common gallinule (this may be a close relation), or skitty coot. I saw these birds in some of the royal parks in London.

It has long, green-yellowish legs that resemble something more reptilian. It is close in appearance to an American Coot. One of the main differences is the Moorhen has a red and yellow beak while the coot has a white one.

Have a great week!