Favorite Birds!

When I used to backpack in the Eastern US, I always knew when daybreak was approaching because right before dawn the whippoorwill would begin its song. Right after dusk the illusive bird sounds off again. The song lasts for about 10 to 15 minutes.

Favorite birds? Too many to list!

"Quite often I see them building nests in rocks behind waterfalls." Sort of like this? The picture was taken after a couple of very dry winters in the Sierra, back in the mid 90's, up in Thunder Basin in the Upper Kern. The waterfall had receded, exposing the Ouzel nest behind it. The waterfall in question was either the second or third in the chain of four, and you, Adan, and I were standing within feet of where the picture was taken at some point in our wandering around up there. I finally found the picture this afternoon, when I was rummaging thru some old Sierra photos.

Ouzel nest w/ adult. One of my best shots ever. stephan

"Ouzel nest w/ adult. One of my best shots ever." Way cool! I'm amazed they occupied the nest when it wasn't concealed behind a sheet of water. Where was the picture taken?

Very cool nest pictures guys, thank you.

Howdy, Tom this image shows that the nest is under an overhang, about a meter above a thundering cascade. Inaccessible to any predator. Taken off trail, above the inlet of Merced Lake. stephan

"Tom this image shows that the nest is under an overhang, about a meter above a thundering cascade. Inaccessible to any predator." Ouzels aren't stupid, so there had to be a reason. Thanks for the follow up explanation, Stephen. I have updated my store of Ouzel lore accordingly. :0)

Vancouver Island day hike today. Barred Owl I think.

that's quite an owl. Looks like you locked eyes with it–or camera eye. did it stay in place or did it fly off? I sometimes think that if we could really see–sense–these animals, in a calm way out in nature, that we would be blown away. I mean, we are of course. I'm not quite sure of what I'm trying to say…in your photo, it looks like the owl is communicating with you through its eyes. Maybe I'm projecting. We all know about calmly being with deer for some time before they bound off when we come too close. I guess I'm just writing about this.

Goshawks are incredible birds. This 4 minute video has some great footage. You cam skip the takedown of a squirrel at the beginning. Starting at about minute 2 is the hawk flying in between trees: it almost brought tears to my eyes. http://youtu.be/FbnPxoSANd0

Goshawks are incredible birds. INDEED! Not to mention drop dead gorgeous. That is very cool obstacle course video, maneuvering though a forest like they do is amazing … in wing vs branch meetings the branch almost always wins This video http://bit.ly/1lnRU3p starts out with a Peregrine and finished with a Gos.

nice video I was walking on a trail near a Goshawk nest (that I never saw). It kept swooping down and hitting me in the head, knocking my hat off. Very clever at flying in from behind a tree, and only at the last moment could I see it. It would screech at me, then when there was a period of silence, I knew I was in trouble, next attack. The person behind me a couple days later wasn't wearing a hat and got scratched.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2CFckjfP-1E And there are many more.

To this day, I have a soft spot for Western Grebes. They have cool red eyes, a neat mating dance, but more importantly, they are a part of how my boyfriend of 20 years and I connected. I had been at my first job out of veterinary school for only 4 weeks, and someone brought in a “duck”–really a Western Grebe–that needed help. Bill was a volunteer at the time for a local wildlife rehabilitating organization, sadly long gone now. My boss, who I barely knew, told me to take the rest of the day off and go with Bill to see the wildlife rehab facility. So, naive little me, I hop in a car with this guy I’ve only met once to go gallivanting off somewhere that I have no idea, carrying this Western Grebe. Fortunately it worked out well, and it was neat to see the facility. On the way back, we stopped for pizza, and the rest is history. A couple years after the facility had to close to make way for a highway overpass ;-( Here’s a video of their mating dance: grebe video And, if anyone is interested, the Merlin Bird ID app by Cornell University is pretty good. Doesn’t have everything in it, but it has good pictures and it has the calls available right there in the app. I think it’s free, or if it is not, it is a minimal fee. Huge file size, but once loaded to your phone, it can be used off-line.