A White Christmas!

I love listening to the reeds on the walk out to the dunes of the beach. Oddly, I find Jones Beach much more inviting in the winter.

     Since becoming a teacher, my free time has become limited, which has not enabled me the ability to just go out on my usual treks to be immersed in nature. So since it is the holiday break, I made sure that I was able to get out and enjoy what winter brings with it, some nice migrants from the North.
     In round two of three, as far as Christmas goes, my husband and I traveled out to Long Island to spend some time with my parents. We also made sure to go to Jones Beach hoping to visit some awesome winter migrants. It was a great day for the beach, 40 degrees, sunny, the wind made it feel colder, but I have definitely been there in much colder weather with far more layers on!
     All we had to do was look for people standing around and we had the pleasure of seeing two snowy owls on the West end beach, both within a 7-10 minute walk of one another!
     Enjoy the sights:

The first snowy is either a young male or a female bird. Unlike the birds I have seen the last two years, which were all white- indicating an older male, these had black barring.

This bird was fairly active, preening its feathers.

It was fun being able to see this bird move around and change its posture!

A sneaky peek of that beak!

Then a flock of black bellied plovers flew by.

These birds, like the snowy owl, normally live in the Arctic, but come down South for winter. I was able to ID them because of that black patch in their "wing-pit." ("Wing-pit" is NOT a scientific term)

Beautiful!

Evidence of feathered friends...

Snowy #2.

I wonder if they come for the people watching, as we come for the bird watching...

I highly recommend a visit: Jones Beach State Park, West end beaches, park on the SW corner of the lot, take the beach trail down and look among the dunes. Make sure you give the birds a respectable distance and bundle up! If they say it's going to be 40, dress for 25-30. Bring some binoc's and a camera - and for extra fun, the Coast Guard Station on the inlet side usually has good migrant waterfowl viewing and seal viewing.

Christmas in North Carolina

     My husband and I traveled to North Carolina for a much needed visit with family this holiday break. Our trip began with temperatures in the 80's and by time we left we had to scrape ice off the car. Bizarre weather, for sure!
     I took a stroll around a pond on Christmas Eve and on Christmas Day my husband and I both hiked around at Carl Alwin Schenck Memorial Forest. We both felt that the forest, while beautiful was not very diverse in bird life, until we got out of the forest and reached some ponds and fields, where we came across lots of Eastern blue birds, goldfinch, nuthatch, chickadee, and golden crowned kinglets.
     Enjoy what we were able to capture:

Spotted this pileated woodpecker from across the pond. I absolutely love seeing these guys and am super jealous that my family gets to see them on a regular basis!

Song Sparrow

Fairly sure this is a chipping sparrow.

All fluffy and warm after the temps went from the 70's yesterday to the 40's on this day.

After trying to figure out where the drumming was coming from, I noticed pieces of bark falling from above. Looked straight up and saw this hairy woodpecker.

It's the only shot I got of a blue bird, but they are so pretty still, even in a cruddy photo.

Many palm warblers foraged along the edges of the fields.

Pigeon Portraits

     I like pigeons. They get no love from most but I love them. I think pigeon haters are just misinformed. These birds are intelligent,  adaptable, and even beautiful. Pigeons are more than just "rats with wings." Pigeons, in real life are called rock doves, the ones we know (and love) and are related to the now extinct dodo bird and other species of doves and pigeon.

A mourning dove overlooks Greenwood Cemetery from my yard. A relative of the pigeon, these doves make a mournful sound that is often confused for an owl.

This is from when I used to work at Central Park Zoo, this a a pigeon. The largest species in the world, the Victoria Crowned Pigeon.

     Rock doves are amazing. I sat on a bench for 45 minutes in a small park near my home and they were the only living things that kept me company, strutting right near my feet and seemingly stepping it up when I pulled out my camera. They didn't judge me, they came right over. I hope my pictures can convince you that these guys are better than you thought:

This one is a pied (for the white primary wing tip feathers) and a checker- for the checkered black markings on the wing itself. The iridescent feather of the neck are stunning. Pigeons have different names for their plumage, which makes sense because all pigeons do not look the same! Also noticed this guy had some twine strung up around his foot. Poor thing.

Same pigeon as above- gorgeous, right?

This is the "blue bar" plumage- the usual look for a rock dove.

Show off...

Everyone complains how  "dirty" they are... honestly, does this guy look dirty?!  Birds spend tons of time preening- keeping their feathers clean and in tip-top shape. If pigeons were filthy, they wouldn't be able to fly.

So sweet!

Another checker who ventured very close to me, which I welcomed. I love those orange eyes!

An absolutely stunning dinosaur. Birds are indeed living dinosaurs....

Terrace Birdwatching

 Lately to pass time I sit on my (very very tiny) terrace and watch the birds coming into the yard. Being that I am within close proximity to Greenwood Cemetery, the birding isn't the worst in the world, every so often there is something interesting out there.
     Also included is my pet bird Gizmo. Most of my bird watching now is mostly of this guy. He is awesome.
     This post is for you dad, so you can stop bugging me now ;-)  (I say such things with lots of love!)

Gizmo, my Senegal Parrot has been such good company for me and like any pet has been so good to me and keeping me happy. He is a rescue from a local shelter and has been with us just a little less than a year and in that time has accomplished so much. I am so proud of him and love him with much of my heart (it can't be all because there are 6 other pets and a husband I share and love with my heart). 

A male cardinal in the yard, causing a ruckus. 

I often hear mocking birds out in the yard, especially in the night as they continue to sing in the dark. 

A male house sparrow. 

The 2 pigeons in focus are females. They were just hanging out on their window sill.... 

The male pigeon on the far end was strutting his stuff, vocalizing, and really putting on a show for the ladies who do not seem very impressed..

An Endangered Species!

... Not what you were expecting right?

     In their native England, House Sparrows are actually on the decline, as much as 71% since the 1970's!
Learn more here:
Royal Society for the Protection of Birds
The Guardian
The Deccan Herald

I did more (tiny) terrace bird watching, and this little guy was easiest to photograph.

Autumn Parrots

I went for a walk in my neighborhood and happened to have my camera on me. Found some quaker parrots on Fort Hamilton Parkway and E 3rd Street in Brooklyn. They were absolutely beautiful among the fall leaves. I miss that green of summer, so they were a pleasant sight, and glad I had my camera because they were in a small tree and in close range.
I had been hearing them all day outside our apartment so running into them was a nice treat.

Some members of the flock. They were feeding on these fleshy berries of this tree. The cars underneath clanged as they dropped half eaten fruit all over them.

Native to Argentina and from a temperate climate, these parrots stay here all winter and do well. The only threat they pose is to the electric company as they sometimes nest on power lines and can cause power outages.

Yum! 

How lovely is this guy in the last of the autumn leaves?!

More Tiny Terrace Bird Watching...

The elusive house sparrow...

Love the birdy head tilt. Usually when you see birds low to the ground do this, follow their lead, there could be something interesting up above...

My attempt at being "artsy."

I appear to be interrupting something.

I believe this bird is asking me to get his "good side."

The crows were active today, because the lowest bird in this photo is a red tail hawk and they were not happy about it being in the area. Crows are really really intelligent and will do their best to find predators and let them have a piece of their mind until the skiddaddle.

The hawk winging it out.

And the crows follow.

This blue jay is in the corvid family, in other words, it is in the same family as crows. These guys push their weight around too, especially at the feeder.