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This thread is for the birds! (1 Viewer)

Scott Merryfield

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If it is a cardinal, it must be an immature one, as it was pretty small for a northern cardinal. I have not found anything else on the list of birds from Huntington Beach S.P., though, that seem to match, so it may very well be a cardinal.


Here are a couple of other shots from the trip:


Cormorant

451A2650-X2.jpg



Egret

451A2676-X2.jpg
 

Mike Frezon

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Oooooh. That's a pretty, big bird. Doesn't look like the herons I'm used to seeing in these parts--the Great Blue Heron (not THAT's a BIG bird).


I wonder what those white feathers atop the head are all about?
 

Scott Merryfield

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Not sure about those feathers, but they are unusual herons. They nest in trees. There are about 40 nests in a couple of trees. One of the zoo employees told us they nest there because it's near the African pelicans, and they like to steal their food.

Edit : according to Wikipedia, the feathers on the head are for greetings and courtship.
 

Scott Merryfield

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Thanks, Mike. I never knew that herons nested in trees. I have always seen blue herons in water, so just assumed they nested there, too. It makes sense, though, to protect the nest from predators. That's a bigger nest than the ones we saw yesterday for the night herons.
 

Scott Merryfield

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Just to follow up on our attempted identification of my bird shots from Huntington Beach State Park, it appears that Sam is the winner! I captured this in our back yard tonight - a cardinal with different coloring than the complete red ones I normally see around here. I'm guessing this is a female, and a complete red one is a male. I was just messing around shooting doves on my wife's bird feeder when it appeared - I have never noticed one of this coloring around here in the past.


i-5kDF5Xx-X2.jpg



Here is the original shot from Huntington Beach as a comparison. I still think this is an immature bird, as it looks smaller (or maybe they are smaller in the South).


451A2616-X2.jpg
 

Mike Frezon

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The bird in the first image is most definitely the female cardinal, Scott.


As to whether you have proof that the bird in the second image is a young female cardinal...erm, maybe! :biggrin:
 

Mike Frezon

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Holy crap, Scott...


Thanks for posting it here, too, or else I would have missed it.


Any idea what that bird standing on the table is?
 

Scott Merryfield

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Mike,


The bird on the picnic table is a raven. They were all over the park, and most of them were huge. The photo really doesn't do justice to the size of the bird, but it was the best one I got.


The osprey nest is in an incredible setting in the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone. Here is a wider shot, to give you an idea of the location. The nest has been there for many years.




NC7A1095-X2.jpg





And here is a shot down canyon, to give you an idea of the general area


451A3806-X2.jpg




...and finally, here is a shot up canyon


451A3813-X2.jpg
 

Citizen87645

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Last week we paid a visit to the Cascades Raptor Center, a local bird sanctuary and rehabilitation facility. All the birds were in enclosures, so getting shots of the more impressive birds, like the bald eagles, was not really possible. But it was fun getting snaps of the more approachable (and kind of cute) ones.

 

Scott Merryfield

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Mike,


There is an osprey nest on a utility pole along the roadside near my parents house in northern Michigan, too. It's been there for years. It's amazing some of the places they build their nests.


This isn't an "in the wild shot", but I took it during our zoo visit last Sunday. The eagles are usually quite close and posing, plus the exhibit has no glass or fencing, making for a great photo op.


NC7A1481-X2.jpg
 

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