Birds of North America

A blog dedicated to the critters of north america. Tagged by species. Mostly birds, sometimes not birds (and conveniently tagged as such). Check out the biology and conservation tags as well for cool info!

[birdingnorthamerica]

tumblr still exists?!

wow-ee maybe I'll start posting in earnest again! Wonder if anyone I used to follow still posts.

[birdingnorthamerica]

I see so many gulls. Mostly great black-backed, herring and ring-billed but my optimism turns them into all the gulls I never see. When will my fantasy be reality?

[birdingnorthamerica]

Caw Caw

I’m back

[hiimlesphotos]

Baby Avocet

[birdingnorthamerica]

Greater yellowlegs

Franklin, ME

[caseygirard]

The Scaup! 

This bird is difficult to identify against the Lesser Scaup. They both have generally the same coloring and patterns. The differences are slight and take training your eye to see them easily. When I first encountered Scaup, I called my Mom who knows ducks because I was exasperated. She sent me a brochure that explains all of the differences. 

Generally, the Lesser Scaup’s head has a purple shine when it catches the sun and the Greater Scaup has a green shine. The Greater Scaup has a more rounded head, where the Lesser has almost a crest, giving it a pointy head. Their body has a greyish top and white bottom half, on the Greater Scaup this is more defined and the white is whiter. Another helper is Lesser Scaup are more often on fresh water vs salt water but, this can easily fail to be a true signifier as they can be on either kind of water. 

[debunkshy]

Anhinga

St Marks NWR, FL, 12-19-17

[birdsandbirds]

Loggerhead Shrike

Colusa NWR

Colusa, CA

[glowworm6]

Common Goldeneye sideview dive.  Just experimenting with slow motion, someone tell me what you think.  Semiahmoo Spit 01-20-2018

[birdsandbirds]

Female and male Gadwall

Colusa NWR

Colusa, CA

[debunkshy]

Yellow-crowned Night-heron

Jekyll Island, GA, 12-14-17

[debunkshy]

Dunlin

Sullivan’s Island, SC, 12-13-17

[debunkshy]

Common Eider

Folly Pier, SC, 12-13-17

[keithcurrypochy]

A Limpkin (Aramus guarauna) prepares to make a meal out of an invasive apple snail. The arrival of the invasive apple snail has been detrimental to native wetland plants, but it has been beneficial for limpkins and snail kites. The Limpkin and Snail Kite (Rostrhamus sociabilis) were near extinction in Florida due to the decline of their major food source; the Florida apple snail. 

Paynes Prairie Preserve State Park, FL

[scrumpyfan43]

@snailkites

[hiimlesphotos]

Flying Pintail

[brooklynbridgebirds]

Common Goldeneye (Juvenile male) Brooklyn Bridge Park, Pier 2

So excited about my 153rd patch bird! Meet the first 134 in Birding at the Bridge: In Search of Every Bird on the Brooklyn Waterfront.

[boy-warbler]

Red-breasted merganser. 01-20-18 (at Burlington, Ontario)