This is a picture of me looking at double-crested cormorants in the distance. A double-crested cormorant is a water bird. It is usually black with orange feathers on its face.
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| First three photos by my mom. |
This, of course, is a goose. A Canada goose. Canada geese are among the best known migratory birds, and many people recognize their V formation in the sky. But other birds make the V formation in the sky, too. Migratory birds are birds that migrate, or travel, to warmer parts of the world for the winter.
Below is a photo of tree swallows entering the cavities of tree. Just like cavities in your teeth are holes in your teeth, cavities in trees are holes in trees, and birds nest in there. The cavities are often formed by woodpeckers.
The top half of adult male tree swallows' bodies is iridescent blue and the bottom half is white.
Here is a photo of a sora that I found doing an image search the way my former 3rd grade teacher and computer teacher taught me. This photo was taken in Morro Bay, California.
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| "Mike" Michael L. Baird [CC BY 2.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0)], via Wikimedia Commons |
I look forward to sharing more about Horicon Marsh.
Did you see any birds this summer?
Dear Troy,
ReplyDeleteI LOVE your birding blog! What a fabulous way to incorporate your hobby of bird watching while keeping your writing skills strong. I added you blog to our blog roll.
Your mom's photo are superb! I especially like the first one. The sky and the water look beautiful, and I like how you are looking away. The picture tells a story without revealing too much personal information.
While I was in Minnesota this summer, I observed several different kinds of birds. One very pretty one was the white pelican. Do you know anything about that bird?
I like how you used the photo by "Mike" Michael L. Baird. It is a beauty! I like how you used the Creative Commons license. I am proud of you!
Your proud former teacher,
Mrs. Y♥llis
@Mrs. Yollis,
ReplyDeleteThank you for visiting my blog. White pelicans are not entirely white. Under their wings when they are flying, black patches are visible. I also saw white pelicans at Horicon Marsh.
Right now I am reading a book centered around some birds. The book is called Hoot. It is about a construction site being vandalized and the cops keep tripping over owl burrows when they are trying to find out who the vandals are. There is a character named Roy is wonders why they're going to bulldoze the building when they know there is an owl burrow right there.
How is your class?
Sincerely,
Troy
Hi Troy,
ReplyDeleteIn the last two weeks I have seen three interesting bird experiences in my yard. The first was a female downy woodpecker eating at my suet feeder. I know it was a female as she looked just like the male downy but did not have any red markings on her head like the male does.
The second thing I saw was 5 - 6 new birds I had never seen before. They definitely were not sparrows. They were dull brown with no special markings and larger than a sparrow. At the exact same time they showed up, a new woodpecker visited my suet feeder. Though I could not see this woodpecker's chest, the back of his head was really red and he was quite large. I am certain he was not a downy or hairy woodpecker as he had lots more red on the back of his head than they do. When I looked up what kind of woodpecker this could be, the most likely candidate was a yellow bellied sapsucker based on size and coloring. Interestingly, the young of that woodpecker are dull brown in color and there are usually 5 - 6 eggs hatched at a time. Also, the yellow bellied sapsuckers are migrating through my area right now. They did not return to my feeders so I could not do further research to confirm my theory.
Finally, I saw the most unusual thing. Do you remember where you hung the oriole feeder in my lilac tree? I was weeding in the area where you planted your sunflower garden and looked up to find a chickadee perched on the branch where the oriole feeder is hanging. Then the chickadee jumped down onto the oriole feeder and stuck his beak into one of the holes. I did not know that chickadees would do that. Do you think that could be why the liquid in my oriole feeder is disappearing even when there are no Baltimore orioles around?
The chickadees are getting very used to me coming and going near the feeders. I have a hunch that by next summer they will be calm enough to eat seed right out of your hand.
Thanks for sharing the Horicon Marsh photos and observations. The Sora bird was particularly interesting. I had never heard of that species.
Keep on blogging! I love reading everything you write about.
Your Blogging Grandma from Wisconsin
Dear Birder Troy,
ReplyDeleteI just read and responded to your comment on my frigate photo posted on Mrs. Yollis' 365, and I was so excited and happy to read about your new blog!
Your blog is so impressive! I love the background photo you used of the finches visiting your backyard fountain. This post about the Horicon March was very interesting to me. I have never spent time in Wisconsin, but it certainly sounds like a place I'd love to visit. Your mom's photos are fabulous, and your text is very well written. Cormorants are plentiful at the beach here in California, and I love to watch them. I have also seen many swallows on my hikes in Malibu Creek State Park. Canada geese flying in their V formations are also a common site here. However, I, like you, have never seen a sora before, so I was most interested to learn about them! A couple of facts I have learned about soras are that they build floating nests and that they eat seeds, as well as small invertebrates that live in their marshy habitat.
I look forward to reading more of your wonderful bird-filled posts!
Your bird-loving friend,
Mrs. Ranney