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!
This is a white headed duck. I only got off one shot where its head was raised. They seemed to be sleeping with their head in their body. This is another bird I photographed on a body of water near the Thames in London.
According to eBird, White-Headed Duck males “have a striking white face and black crown that contrasts with their large blue bill and chestnut body.” They are a diving duck with a long tail. Unfortunately I did not get the whole of it’s tail in one picture.
Personally, I would have named it related to it’s blue bill. Have a great Friday!
I believe this is a green winged teal. If I am wrong let me know. This is one of the many birds I saw in London in one of the parks.
The green winged teal is a dabbling duck. According to Ducks Unlimited they visit shallow waters such as flooded fields and marshes. They feed by tipping up rather than diving.
I am still going back to the many bird photos I took in England and trying to identify them. Happy Columbus Day if you are in the U.S. Happy Thanksgiving if you are in Canada!
This was another first for me. Owls occupy most of my birding. I saw the glossy ibis at a large wildlife refuge in Central New York during a long weekend vacation trip.
All of these are quite far away taken with a zoom lens and heavily cropped. The first day I was there they mainly stuck to hiding amongst the plants. They were farther away the first day and luckily someone at the refuge with a powerful spotting scope located and let me view them.
They seemed to stick to the island like areas in the wetlands and occasionally on the second day went in the water. They came closer the second day and these images are from then.
There were two of them. Sometimes they were close together and other times they were near to each other, but not that close.
These images are not that great, but I was happy to see them regardless. Maybe sometime in the future I can witness them up closer. Have a great week.
These are the first birds I photographed at a large wildlife refuge in Central New York. After I climbed a viewing tower they flew towards me then passed by. I only had a chance to get off one shot.
They appear to be Sand Hill Cranes. There were three flying together. The next shot is an even closer cropped image of the first shot. This is the first time I photographed this bird. As you can tell I am far from an expert.
My understanding is it is the only crane that nests in New York. There are reports in the Adirondacks of nesting sights as well as other areas. It does appear to be not so common to see one in New York.
When visiting a wildlife refuge be prepared to take shots as soon as you arrive. Otherwise you might miss out.
I had a long weekend, so I made the trek out to central New York to visit a wildlife refuge. I saw this small water bird that was swimming not too far out from the wildlife drive. It seemed to spend more time underwater then above water, so it was hard to capture.
To me it is very cute. Can anyone confirm what kind of water bird this is? Is it a pied billed grebe? Have a great week!
While kayaking a lake that is mostly shallow, I saw this osprey hanging out there. I think it flies between another body of water and this one. It seemed to come back to the same area of the lake when it caught the fish.
I did see it splash into the water on the other side of the lake before it flew back in circles with a fish. Lucky for me that it landed nearby.
Look at those talons speared into the fish. I am assuming the fish is already dead.
He seemingly holds on with one foot. This was a cloudy day and very windy. Sitting in my kayak to try to take shots was far from steady. I’m still okay with these. Here’s hoping to see one dive in close by in the future. Have a great weekend.
Kingfishers in New York , known as belted kingfishers, are less colourful than the kingfishers in England (common kingfishers). They are interesting to watch. They are very skittish though and do not let you come to0 close usually. I was kayaking on a windy day and was surprised when this one let me drift closer than usual. It was not until I got home and looked at the images on my computer that I may have seen why.
This kingfisher seemingly has a fishing line attached to it. It did fly from tree to tree overhanging the water and I did see it drop into the water. However, I hope if it needs help, it will allow someone to get close enough to bring it to help.
According to NOAA Fisheries: “Entangled animals may drown or starve because they are restricted by fishing gear, or they may suffer physical trauma and infections from the gear cutting into their flesh.”
The lake I went on is popular with fishermen on shore and on fishing kayaks. Although this bird was on an unpopulated side of the lake, those on kayaks could fish in that area.
It was not possible for me to get there before dark today, but I have put the word out. Incidentally, I also have a picture of a turtle with fishing line stuck to it as well from the same outing. Hopefully if this bird needs help it will allow someone to get close enough to grab. The hazards of life for wildlife that depend on water seem to be many.
This great blue heron showed no fear. It hung out near a boat launch. I kayaked out a short ways and it actually walked towards me. It was fun to watch.
As usual these are taken with a zoom lens. I am thinking this is a juvenile. It seems it is not as knowledgeable as it should be in the ways of the world. As much I enjoyed it walking towards me and these are not cropped a lot, I just hope it becomes more knowledgeable about safety in the future. Have a great week!
I could not tell what this Greenie was trying to catch. Is it a feather, or some kind of bug? Is it something from a tree?
I think it was hoping for a dragonfly. Do you know what the object of his attention is?
