Aegithalos caudatus
July 14, 1996: St James’s Park, London, England
A new bird for the last day of our vacation! I spotted this gorgeous bird flitting about in the bushes near one of the lakes.
Continue reading “Long-tailed Tit”Long-tailed Tit
Common Kingfisher
Alcedo atthis
July 9, 1996: Kildare, Leinster, Ireland
I glimpsed this beautiful bird on a perch over the stream which ran next to Brighid’s Well. Unfortunately, it flew away before I had time to study it, but the colors were incredible! So bright, gorgeous. I hoped the bird would return, but no such luck!
Continue reading “Common Kingfisher”Common Shelduck
Tadorna tadorna
July 8, 1996: Belfast Harbour, Belfast, Northern Ireland, United Kingdom
Continue reading “Common Shelduck”Red Kite
Milvus milvus
July 5, 1996: Highlands, Scotland
Spotted this bird while we were driving. Its was flying and kiting right along the side of the road. Although I had my best look after the bird had flown a ways away, there was no chance of misidentifying this really distinctive and beautiful bird. The sweeping line of the tail and the color made me certain of this ID, even though the bird was a bit out of its normal range. This bird is in the process of being reestablished into Scotland, so this may have been a released bird – but it was still a red kite for me! 🙂
Continue reading “Red Kite”Cairngorm Mountains, Scotland
July 5, 1996
Rainy and cool
After our late night, we slept in and went down to breakfast at 9:00 (as we’d promised John the night before). When leaving, John bid us a fond farewell, and gifted me with a framed poster (he took it right off his wall!) that had the lyrics to a song called “The Highland Welcome.” Very touching! He is such a lovely man.
Continue reading “Cairngorm Mountains, Scotland”Scottish Lowlands and Tay Forest
July 4, 1996
We woke today to a light drizzle (this seems to happen quite frequently in Britain), and headed for Edinburgh. It is fortunate that no one seems to mind vehicles pulled half-way off the side of the road, because we’ve been doing a lot of that along the way, stopping to see birds. We saw a flock of Eurasian Oystercatchers on a grassy hill, and an adorable Yellowhammer singing exuberantly from a grassy area at the side of the road. Pied Wagtails, the British Isles race of the White Wagtail, were spotted at the roadside, and we saw our first Ring-necked Pheasant this morning, as well. We also spotted a bird kiting over the highway, whose markings under the wing and on the tail matched a Rough-legged Buzzard closer than any other, although this would have been outside of the bird’s normal summer range. Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to see it closely enough to be certain.
Continue reading “Scottish Lowlands and Tay Forest”Common Buzzard
Buteo buteo
July 4, 1996: Scottish Lowlands, Fife, Scotland
First seen while driving through the lowlands in Scotland. This most common hawk in Britain is very similar to our Red-tailed, and certainly fills a similar niche. I enjoyed seeing these familiar, yet new, birds throughout Britain.
Continue reading “Common Buzzard”Common Toad
Bufo bufo
July 3, 1996: Scottish Borders, Scotland
While driving after dark, there were dozens of amphibians hopping around on the roads. At first, I assumed they were frogs, but it turns out that Common Toads are more likely to be seen on the road, during their migration events. There were so many of them, and we were continually needing to swerve and slow down to avoid squishing them.
Continue reading “Common Toad”Whitby, England
July 3, 1996
Although I was sad to leave York, we did have more adventures ahead of us, so I turned my attention north and east, to Whitby. To get there, we drove through the well-known (possibly infamous) Yorkshire Moors, which I loved. They are absolutely gorgeous – misty, and dark, and lovely.
Continue reading “Whitby, England”Common Swift
Apus apus
July 1, 1996: Museum Gardens, North Yorkshire, England
This European variety is simply called Swift in Britain. Very cute, similar to our North American variety when seen in flight.
Continue reading “Common Swift”Wildlife in York, England
July 1, 1996
Since Kevin was working on this day, I ended up sleeping very late (11:30), then wandered on my own into York under a light drizzle to change some currency. I discovered that the York City Centre is a charming warren of shops, pubs, and ancient buildings. After lunch and a guided bus tour, I found myself strolling through the Museum Gardens.
Continue reading “Wildlife in York, England”Greylag Goose
Anser anser anser
June 29, 1996: St James’s Park, London, England
Saw both eastern and western form birds.
Continue reading “Greylag Goose”Birding London ( England) Parks
June 29, 1996
On our first day in the British Isles, we took a bus tour through London, to orient ourselves to the sights. After finishing the tour near Buckingham Palace, we walked back to our hotel via St. James and Green parks, to look for birds along the way. Some of the first birds we encountered were familiar from back home: Mute Swans with cygnets, and Mallards, but of course, many others were new to me.
Continue reading “Birding London ( England) Parks”Mute Swan
Cygnus olor
June 20, 1996: Saint Mary’s Lake, St. Joseph County, IN
While while walking on the sunny Notre Dame campus with my mom, we saw a pair of adults with three young birds. First we walked by them while they were foraging on the shore (they were only a few feet away from the path). Later we watched them swimming on the lake. HUGE and beautiful birds. Plus, I always enjoy seeing juvenile birds.
Continue reading “Mute Swan”Mexican Jay
Aphelocoma wollweberi
November 21, 1995: Madera Canyon, Pima County, AZ
After hiking back down, we were rewarded by seeing several of these lovely birds in the trees in and around the parking area! We later saw them throughout the park. Noisy, but attractive birds.
Continue reading “Mexican Jay”Gambel’s Quail
Callipepla gambelii
November 19, 1995: Dead Horse Ranch SP, Yavapai County, AZ
As Kevin and I were walking through a dry, scrubby area, we heard a family of quail in the brush. Kevin walked closer and flushed them out of their hiding place. What a racket! I’d never heard anything like the sound they were making. I hadn’t seen them for more than an instant, so we continued on, looking carefully. We spotted a few of them. One in particular was bopping about on the trunk of a fallen tree. Gorgeous birds!
Continue reading “Gambel’s Quail”Bridled Titmouse
Baeolophus wollweberi
November 16, 1995: Red Rock State Park, Yavapai County, AZ
Saw these while hiking up high in the mountains. Charming, beautiful birds! I love titmice anyway, they are so cute, and this species is really striking!
Continue reading “Bridled Titmouse”Canada Warbler
Cardellina canadensis
May 13, 1995: Baugo Creek, St. Joseph County, IN
A striking little bird. I don’t have documentation of this sighting (it didn’t happen on this particular day), but I do remember clearly having spotted this bird at some point this spring.
Continue reading “Canada Warbler”Ferrettie/Baugo Creek County Park
May 13, 1995
7 to 11 a.m.
I was up at 7 a.m. today for a solitary birding trip where I spent four hours working on patience. Much of my time was spent at one of three or four spots, just sitting still for 30 – 45 minutes, watching the birds go about their business. This was an amazing day with a LOT of lifers for me!
Continue reading “Ferrettie/Baugo Creek County Park”Ferrettie/Baugo Creek County Park
May 7, 1995
Sunny, 70°F
Kevin and I took a leisurely walk through the park, and discovered a good spot to watch warblers: at the top of an embankment overlooking the creek. From the ground, it can get painful very quickly while straining the neck to get a glimpse of these tiny birds in the tops of the trees, but this lovely spot put the birds directly at eye level.
Continue reading “Ferrettie/Baugo Creek County Park”Baugo Creek
May 2, 1995
Hazy, 65°F
After an appointment in town, I took a late morning walk through the park. I saw lots of birds by the bridge, and also found a path down on the other side of the creek which was very isolated, and gave me a great view of the birds going about their business.
Continue reading “Baugo Creek”Broad-winged Hawk
Buteo platypterus
April 15, 1995: Potato Creek State Park, St. Joseph County, IN
Kevin spotted this bird through the trees while hiking one of the trails through the woods. It took flight, revealing the distinctive tail bands which allowed us to identify. A great sighting of an exciting bird!
Continue reading “Broad-winged Hawk”Potato Creek State Park
April 15, 1995
Hazy, 50°F
Kevin suggested this expedition to take advantage of spring migration. He has become quite interested in birding and hiking with me since our trip to Florida, and this was one of the first specifically “birding” trips we went on together. We had a lovely morning, hiking trails One and Two (Two is terrific, by Lake Worster). We also followed a few deer trails, covering a total of about 6 miles, and there were many life species for both of us.
Continue reading “Potato Creek State Park”Honey Island Swamp, Louisiana
January 23, 1995
Hazy, ~50°F
Kevin and I took a boat tour through the swamp and bayou. Things were a bit quiet, probably due to the weather and the time of year. Still, we got an idea what the bayou is like . . . it’s beautiful!
Continue reading “Honey Island Swamp, Louisiana”Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge
January 18, 1995
Afternoon
We arrived at Merritt Island Wildlife Refuge after noon, so we only had a couple of hours to spare before heading to Orlando to meet Deb and OD for dinner. Even with such a short period of time, it was WELL worth it! Merritt Island is one of the premier spots I’ve birded thus far in my young life, certainly at this time my favorite. I will return in the future – it’s WONDERFUL!
Continue reading “Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge”