Birds Birds Birds

[Lussi05]

I think you are right about the Eagle Owl, but you make a mistake about Northern Goshawk. This is a sparrowhawk, I think the male, due to rusty color on the cheeks. And predator in last picture is male Honey Buzzard.

A Sparrowhawk, I need glasses. It's very difficult
What about the bird on the first picture? I almost don't dare to suggest anything, but I do it anyway, a Buzzard?


IKat, nice pictures of the Mockingbird and the other pictures on your blog..
( the boys too )
I think it's very interesting to see birds that are common in other places. They are exotic to me:)

[IKat]

IKat, nice pictures of the Mockingbird and the other pictures on your blog..
( the boys too )
I think it's very interesting to see birds that are common in other places. They are exotic to me:)[/quote]



Thank you Lussi.....I love looking at photos of the birds from places I know I will never see in real life....they are exotic to me too..

[IKat]

The hummingbirds are still migrating through to the south.....their numbers are decreasing so I think we will soon see them no more. A few disagreements about food happened while the crowds were here...on this particular day there were about 8 hummers flying around and fighting horribly for the feeders.....no one was injured but it was scary when they attacked one another....one pic shows two of them on the ground and then a pic of the "loser".....only a bruised ego....no real injury (thank goodness)......




Fighting on the ground...terrible chirping sounds too......







The battle "loser"...no injury except to the ego......

[vainamoinen]

A Sparrowhawk, I need glasses. It's very difficult
What about the bird on the first picture? I almost don't dare to suggest anything, but I do it anyway, a Buzzard?


Yes, of course, it's Common Buzzard.

[alice44]

Wow Ikat -- poor little fighting hummers (my dad is sure they really try to kill one another by driving them into glass). I have never seen them on the ground.

They don't migrate through here -- we have two kinds Rufous and Anna's. The Rufous are just here for the summer, but the Anna's are here year round.

[Flex]

Wow Flex. What lens do you use. Great pictures, I think.

Hallo fireblade1,

I photographed with an older OLYMPUS C750 UZ and with NIKON D80 70 - 300 and a little luck.

the second to last picture shows a Sparrowhawk which kills a pigeon and the last picture is an wasp-buzzard with an young bird (i think).

[alice44]

I was curious what the sparrow hawk was eating -- I almost thought jay.

[vainamoinen]

I was curious what the sparrow hawk was eating -- I almost thought jay.

I was curious about it too. Pigeon is big prey for Sparrowhawk.

[Felis silvestris]

This would be fine, because we have a sparrowhawk near my office and lots of pigeons, which we don't like at all ... but I think it's not the sparrowhawk doing away with them, but the kestrel in the church tower there

[vainamoinen]

Hallo fireblade1,

I photographed with an older OLYMPUS C750 UZ and with NIKON D80 70 - 300 and a little luck.

the second to last picture shows a Sparrowhawk which kills a pigeon and the last picture is an wasp-buzzard with an young bird (i think).[/quote]

Thanks for the explanation of the Sparrowhawk prey. Then it's however a female. Male couldn't hunt so big bird as a dove.

[fireblade1]

Hallo fireblade1,
I photographed with an older OLYMPUS C750 UZ and with NIKON D80 70 - 300 and a little luck.
the second to last picture shows a Sparrowhawk which kills a pigeon and the last picture is an wasp-buzzard with an young bird (i think).

Hello Flex Thank you very much for this answer. Hope I get a Tamron 70-300 this week. Also hope that it easier to carry. I will see the pic results.

Yes, the last winter the sparrowhawk killed some domestic pigeons around this house. And it was always the female and also hard work to fly with this heavy prey (was more dragging into the next bush/hiding)

[Felis silvestris]

Have been outside also today and met some birds - even in the city there are:

[Felis silvestris]

continued:







And this one flew very high, it's cut out and zoomed in and then uploaded



Some more "non-bird" pictures I'll post here: viewtopic.php?f=30&t=309

(and by the way, they are, today, not from the zoo!)

[Olga]

alice, that sure is an unusual looking squirrel. I've never seen one like that. We have several different types, here. Grey, black and then chipmunks and ground squirrels.

We have these which really are terrified of humans.



Then the chipmunks. They're so cute.

OMG, what sweet little squirrels! I didn't know you have some squirrels here also!

[Lussi05]

Felis, beautiful pictures from your trip outside. It looks like you have beautiful autumn weather

Ikat, thank you for your pictures of the Hummingbirds..I`m glad to hear that no one was hurt, maybe except from the pride

[Chimega]

I am very confused. I think a sparrowhawk in Europe is a very different bird than in the US.

[alice44]

I am very confused. I think a sparrowhawk in Europe is a very different bird than in the US.

Yes -- I think we brought the term here and applied it to another bird. I have not checked but I think theirs is something like a Coopers/Sharp Shined Hawk (an Accipiter) and here I think it is an old timers term for a Kestrel.

How these names came to mean different things in North America would be a very interesting study.

[Chimega]

Yes -- I think we brought the term here and applied it to another bird. I have not checked but I think theirs is something like a Coopers/Sharp Shined Hawk (an Accipiter) and here I think it is an old timers term for a Kestrel.

How these names came to mean different things in North America would be a very interesting study.

Yes, I agree. I can remember, also, as a little girl and being on my grandmother's farm in Illinois. My mother would say "Oh listen, there's a sparrowhawk!" and sometimes she would say "Listen, there's a chicken hawk!". After years of watching birds and owning many books, I know none of these exist by these names. But, like you say "our" sparrowhawk is actually a Kestrel and theirs in Europe are Accipiters, I believe.

With "chicken hawks" I have a feeling she was hearing a Red-tailed Hawk. According to wiki (*cough* as that is not the greatest source for truth) chicken hawk means either a Red-tailed Hawk, a Cooper's Hawk or a Sharp-shinned Hawk aka Sharpie. This is basically an obsolete "term" for any of the 3 above named raptors. Since I don't recall hearing a Sharpie or a Cooper's Hawk "scream" out over the fields, I am betting what she heard was the Red-tailed Hawk.

[Chimega]

OMG, what sweet little squirrels! I didn't know you have some squirrels here also!

Hi Olga

Oh yes we have so many different types of squirrels, here. We do not have the type you have in your avatar, but we have a type that looks similar and lives up high in the mountains. They are called Abert's squirrels. I happened to see a black one run up a tree and hide from me many years ago when I was living in Colorado. They come in almost every color except white, I believe but I could be wrong about that!! LOL!

Here is a black Abert's squirrel.


We also have black phase (I guess you call it that) squirrels here in town plus the usual grey squirrel. I have been to a place where the only squirrels in town were pure white and albino. They were highly prized, there, and protected as they are pretty rare, I believe. Here is a Fox squirrel and apparently, it's albino counterpart.


This is what people sometimes call a Red squirrel but it is really known as a Fox squirrel and is our biggest squirrel in the US.

[Olga]

Chimega, thanks for the information about squirrels in USA and for sharing the photos. I you want you could also add the message or a link and the photos on the Finnish thread. It's named 'Finnish season'. It just happened that I have 'personal' way the tell about the change of season, by telling mainly of squirrels.

The white Fox squirrel looks just wonderful.

I want to add here one of my last screen captures of a small bird, the Coal tit from yesterday. They have a short bodie and that's why the head looks quite big.



the video is here:
viewtopic.php?p=180183#p180183