Alauda arvensis

April 29, 2001: Aberlady Bay Local Nature Reserve, East Lothian, Scotland

My first view of one of these birds was not much more than a speck fluttering about in the sky above us. Throughout the day we saw several more, though, some flying at closer range, and finally one on the ground foraging on the golf course. They have a distinctive, lovely song which the sing while fluttering higher and higher – they get really high eventually. Drab to look at, but their interesting behavior and pretty song make them rather more appealing.

Falco tinnunculus

April 27, 2001: Marine Terrace, East Lothian, Scotland

While I’ve seen these before, mostly along the roadsides from the car, this is the first one I’m actually documenting as having seen from the yard.

Accipiter nisus

March 28, 2001: Boggs Holdings, East Lothian, Scotland

A wonderful sighting, right in the garden. I happened to notice that there were NO birds at the feeders (which is quite unusual). A few minutes later, a second look out the window told me why . . . a small hawk was sitting on the garden wall, facing out over the yard at the side of the house. The bird had thick dark grey bands on the tail, and was brown with some reddish patches, especially on the nape. A very distinctly yellow eye, and there was a blue patch on the otherwise black beak. Not much bigger than a blackbird, but with a longer tail and yellow feet. All the while I was watching it, I assumed I was looking at a kestrel, based on the size of the bird. Plus, I’d been seeing kestrels near the roadside frequently. I resisted getting out my book until the bird had flown – instead, I spent the time (close to ten minutes) really studying the plumage, etc. Not long before it flew, I thought to myself that it was actually more accipiter-like, not like a falcon at all. So after the bird flew, I went to the book and realized I had not been looking at a kestrel, but at a sparrowhawk. I really enjoyed this bird.

Prunella modularis

March 1, 2001: Boggs Holdings, East Lothian, Scotland

Spotted this sparrow-like bird in the yard today. Apparently, they are vey common in Britain, which means I’d probably seen them on our previous trip here and just not managed to ID one. A cute little bird, and very different from a sparrow once you actually take the time to look at the beak.

Antrostomus carolinensis

June 28, 1998: Orange Park, FL Starlight Lane, Orange Park

I was thrilled to hear this bird singing from the edges of my Dad’s backyard. I wasn’t able to spot the bird, but it definitely gave a wonderful vocal performance for me to enjoy!

Aphelocoma coerulescens

June 26, 1998: Merritt Island, Brevard County, FL

Another bird I’d hoped to see today. After lunch, it stopped raining and the sun came out. We headed over toward Kennedy Space Center (where we were to meet Dad, Karen and William, who planned to visit the center). Along one of the roads north of the Space Center, I spotted a couple of these wonderful jays. They were up on wires and down in the tall, dry grass. I have always enjoyed the scrub jays in California, and am glad to have seen the Florida species now, as well.

Cairina moschata

July 13, 1996: Kew Gardens, London, England

(Cairina moschata var. domestica) Probably a collection bird.

Protonotaria citrea

May 24, 1998: Alligator River National Wildlife Reserve, Dare County, NC

We stopped at Alligator River WR specifically to see this bird, and it was one of the first we spotted! Absolutely beautiful, and we had a wonderful look at two individuals. One was singing right alongside the path, and allowed us to view him for a couple of minutes before darting off. A large warbler, and the yellow on the head and breast is so BRIGHT! Really very pretty, and I noticed the grey on the back as one flew away.

Calidris fuscicollis

May 24, 1998: Pea Island National Wildlife Refuge South Pond, Dare, NC

Another wonderful find for the day. This one was spotted by Steve in a swarm of semi-palmated’s. Don’t ask me how he noticed it, but the bird was slightly larger than the other sandpipers, and the white eye-stripe was clearly visible in the scope. The wingtips extending slightly beyond the tail were also apparent. Although Kevin and Steve saw the redcap, I wasn’t able to really see a whole lot of red – just a bit of a tinge. Maybe it was the lighting. Still, this was a wonderful bird to find, especially since they are only in the area for about two weeks in the spring before moving on up north.

Calidris canutus

May 24, 1998: Hattaras Island, Dare, NC

Yeah! I finally get to see this interesting bird, and in breeding plumage! A pretty, medium-sized shorebird with a red breast, we saw two of these on the beach behind the motel, first thing in the morning!

Piranga flava

December 31, 1997: Patagonia-Sonoita Creek Preserve, Santa Cruz, AZ

(Northern, hepatica Group) This bird almost became the greatest mystery of the trip, but after studying the National Geographic field guide, I figured it out! This was one of the first birds I spotted early in the morning. As we walked the creek trail, we’d been flushing hundreds of sparrows, and in the midst of all this activity, I spotted this bird up in one of the larger trees along the trail. My first impression was of a yellow-throated bird, about 8 inches long with a short tail and medium length bill. When the bird turned, the sun hit its throat which then blazed the most amazing, brilliant orange color. I’d never seen anything like this! The orange was just on the throat, with the upper chest and the face a normal yellow color. Unfortunately, the bird flew out of sight before a better look could be had. After looking through the Peterson’s, I was completely stumped. There was simply nothing that matched this description. Kevin thought the bird reminiscent of an oriole, but the tail and bill were both too short. And it was bigger than any of our warblers. It had been a long time since a bird was so confusing! I often have to give up after narrowing it down to two or three species, but I had NO idea about this bird. Later, I sat down and studied the National Geographic Guide, and noticed that the female Hepatic Tanager was pictured with a slightly more brilliant throat than upper chest. Sure enough, the description listed that throat as being distinctive. A birding mystery solved! An unusual occurrence, to match the unusual bird that prompted it! This one was fun and satisfying!

Pooecetes gramineus

December 30, 1997: San Rafael Grasslands, Santa Cruz County, AZ

Another sparrow in which I invested some time. This bird had barely noticeable rufous patches on the wing, and white edges to the tail in flight. Yay!

Calcarius ornatus

December 30, 1997: San Rafael Grasslands, Santa Cruz County, AZ

Spent LOTS of time on these birds. We found several flocks of these sparrow-ish birds along the roadside. The white tail flashes were easy to see, but it took a while to distinguish these from the McCown’s, which are also supposed to be found in this area. Finally, after chasing dozens of these little flits around, I got a good enough look at one flying away to call it a Chestnut-collared. Definitely a dark triangle on the tail – not the T-shape of the McCown’s. Someday, I’d like to see these birds in breeding plumage – they were pretty much entirely drab!

Falco mexicanus

December 30, 1997: San Rafael Grasslands, Santa Cruz County, AZ

After seeing so many harriers, this bird was immediately recognizable as different. Obviously a falcon, very light in color, with dark markings under the wing. We watched the bird reasonably close as it flew over the prairie before moving into the distance. A lovely sighting!

Anas diazi

December 20, 1997: Saddlebrooke, Pinal County, AZ

A few ducks on the golf pond.

Calonectris diomedea

August 30, 1997: Oregon Inlet Pelagic-Gulf Stream, Dare, NC

The second species of large shearwater we saw turned out to be even more plentiful than the Greater Shearwaters. As with the Greaters, by the end of the day I was able to identify the Cory’s from a reasonable distance by their generally uniform appearance and a general sense of their flying style with slower wingbeats. Numerous Cory’s were also in the large flock we saw in the afternoon, so I was able to see several at quite close range.

Ardenna gravis

August 30, 1997: Oregon Inlet Pelagic-Gulf Stream, Dare, NC

We were to see dozens of these birds throughout the day, and they are attractive close up, when you can really see their coloration and plumage. The first few of the day were just large flying blobs to me, pointed out by the guides, but by the end of the day I was calling them with great confidence, based on the rump band, and head and neck coloration. I got a bit of a sense of this bird, but not so as to be able to tell just by flying style. Great Shearwaters were among the stars of one of the highlights of the trip. It was afternoon, most everyone seemed fairly burned out, and we hadn’t seen many birds in quite a while. Suddenly, we could see a huge flock of birds in the distance, apparently drawn to this location by a large school of fish. Dozens of birds, all doing their thing – floating on the water, or flapping wildly fighting over fish, or skimming effortlessly through the air. It was wonderful, and included both Greater and Cory’s Shearwaters, a Pomarine Jaeger, and Sooty, Bridled and Common Terns.

Callipepla californica

December 27, 1996: Buena Vista Recreation Area, Kern County, CA

While following a couple of owls, I crossed the main road to find a field filled with these incredibly cute birds. There must have been at least fifty of them, probably more (I didn’t count). Big ones and smaller ones, all bopping around foraging in the field. They didn’t seem to notice me there, and I viewed them until Kevin came back to pick me up. I was glad he got to see them. Very cute!

Mareca americana

December 21, 1996: Malibu Lagoon, Los Angeles, CA

Spotted these birds on the ponds north of the Lagoon. Immediately, I guessed they were wigeons although I’d never seen this species before. Hey, my identification skills are improving!

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.

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!

Tadorna tadorna

July 8, 1996: Belfast Harbour, Belfast, Northern Ireland, United Kingdom

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! 🙂