Birds of the Brooklyn Botanical Garden

I walk through the Brooklyn Botanical Garden several times per day, at least four days per week. The garden itself is beautiful, but I've always especially loved birds. Some of the pictures here will be mine, others (with attribution) will simply illustrate which birds I've seen when I wasn't able to snap a picture in time. Useful Links: Audubon Quick Guide Cornell Lab of Ornithology Bird Guide National Geographic Bird Identifier Nest Watch Bird Nest Identifier WhatBird Identifier

[birdsofthebbg]

There are three ruby crowned kinglets in this photo I took last fall.

[birdsofthebbg]

Juvenile white crowned sparrow. These guys are very common further west, but New York is more likely go get white throated sparrows.

[birdsofthebbg]

Black and white warbler

[birdsofthebbg]

Blue winged warbler. Taken in the native flora garden.

[mikeschanbacher]

Blackpoll Warbler (1st year female) #blackpollwarbler #warblers #birds #birding #birdfreaks #birdextreme #birdstagram #birdphotography #birdsofinstagram #feather_perfection #woodshole #capecod #chasing_feathers #whats_chirping #nuts_about_birds #rsa_nature_birds #bns_birds #your_best_birds #kings_birds #tgif_aviary #udog_feathers #naturehippys #nature_sultans #nature_shooters #snap_wildlife (at Woods Hole, Massachusetts)

[birdsofthebbg]

Wow, compare her to this breeding male I saw during this year’s spring migration!

[think-progress]

These Maps Could Help Save Birds Threatened By Climate Change

It all started with a feather.

Or, to be more accurate, about 180,000 feathers. The University of California-Los Angeles’ Thomas Smith has been collecting feathers from migratory birds across North America for 25 years, and now, he and his team at UCLA’s Center for Tropical Research are using these feathers to find out exactly where birds are going when they migrate. That information, Smith hopes, will help researchers find out how birds are adapting to — or suffering from — climate change and other environmental impacts.

[pepperandpals]

Bird Fandom Roll Call

Do you have birds on the brain? Are you a parrot parent? A finch fanatic? A corvid connoisseur? Rabid over raptors? A sucker for songbirds? Wild about waterfowl? Hooked on hummingbirds? A budgie buff? Have a tendency for tiels and toos?

THEN REBLOG OR LIKE, FEATHER FRIEND.

Even if you just saw a bird once. Join us. Because birds.

[otterpillow]

Northern waterthrush in Bryant Park

[birdsofthebbg]

I saw one of these guys at the BBG last month!

[pepperandpals]

Bird Fandom Roll Call

Do you have birds on the brain? Are you a parrot parent? A finch fanatic? A corvid connoisseur? Rabid over raptors? A sucker for songbirds? Wild about waterfowl? Hooked on hummingbirds? A budgie buff? Have a tendency for tiels and toos?

THEN REBLOG OR LIKE, FEATHER FRIEND.

Even if you just saw a bird once. Join us. Because birds.

[tieltown]

WE ARE BIRB

[fightingforanimals-deactivated2]

Why feeding water birds bread is harmful:

Duckling Malnutrition: In an area where ducks are regularly fed bread, ducklings will not receive adequate nutrition for proper growth and development. Furthermore, because ducks will naturally seek out an easy food source such as human handouts, ducklings will not learn to forage for natural foods as easily.

Overcrowding: Where an easy food source is abundant, ducks and other waterfowl will lay more eggs and the pond or lake will become overcrowded. This makes it more difficult for the birds to seek out healthier food sources and increases the likelihood of territorial aggression.

Pollution: When too much bread is offered to ducks, not all of it will be eaten. The soggy, uneaten bread is unsightly and rotting bread can create noxious odors as well as lead to greater algae growth that can clog natural waterways. This concentrates the pollution and can eventually eradicate fish and other life in the vicinity.

Diseases: Feeding ducks bread can increase the spread of diseases in two ways. First, a carbohydrate-rich diet leads to greater defecation, and bird feces easily harbor bacteria responsible for numerous diseases, including avian botulism. Second, moldy bread can cause aspergillosis, a fatal lung infection that can decimate entire duck and waterfowl flocks.

Pest Attraction: Rotting supplies of food leftover from sated ducks will attract other unwelcome pests such as rats, mice and insects. These pests can also harbor additional diseases that can be dangerous to humans.

Loss of Natural Behaviour: When birds become accustomed to handouts, they lose their natural fear of humans and may become aggressive in order to get more food. Their loss of fear can also cause other dangers, such as a willingness to cross busy roads in order to reach picnickers and other likely sources of food.

Good Foods to Feed Ducks:

The best foods for ducks are those that provide the nutrients, minerals and vitamins the birds need for healthy growth and development. Many of these foods are similar to the natural seeds, grains and plants the birds will forage on their own. As omnivorous birds, ducks will eat a great deal of different foods, and the best foods to offer ducks include:

Cracked corn

Wheat, barley or similar grains

Oats (uncooked; rolled or quick)

Rice (cooked or uncooked)

Birdseed (any type or mix)

Grapes (cut in half)

Frozen peas or corn (defrosted, no need to cook)

Earthworms

Mealworms (fresh or dried)

Chopped lettuce or other greens or salad mixes

Vegetable trimmings or peels (chopped)

Duck feed pellets or poultry starter pellets (x)

[scalestails]

Every year I will reblog some kind of reminder of this! Please don’t feed waterfowl bread.

[woefulbadger2]

I used to volunteer at a country park and we would literally ban people if they fed the ducks and swans bread. People said it was because we wanted to make money via the seeds we sold in the gift shop (which were a special blend especially for waterfowl) but in reality it is because disposing of ducks that had died from being fed too much bread was starting to have a mental impact on the volunteers.

[princesslenore]

Oh wow I didn’t know this! Everyone should know this!

[etsy]

[birdsofthebbg]

The Art of Staying Aloft: a photo series by Gloria Wilson of Small Mysteries.

All birds that we have at the BBG. Gorgeous shots, too!

[avianawareness]

Join Us for 13th Annual National Bird Day

Monday, Jan. 5, 2015

Why National Bird Day?

The beauty, songs, and flight of birds have long been sources of human inspiration.

Today, nearly 12 percent of the world’s 9,800 bird species may face extinction within the next century, including nearly one-third of the world’s 330 parrot species.

Birds are sentinel species whose plight serves as barometer of ecosystem health and alert system for detecting global environmental ills.

Many of the world’s parrots and songbirds are threatened with extinction due to pressures from the illegal pet trade, disease, and habitat loss.

Public awareness and education about the physical and behavioral needs of birds can go far in improving the welfare of the millions of birds kept in captivity.

The survival and well-being of the world’s birds depends upon public education and support for conservation.

This is the reason for National Bird Day. Join us!

[birds-only]

Someone is stealing my (and other photographers') pictures

Dear followers, likers and fellow bird nerds,

Sorry to molest you with this again, but thousands of fans of original photography should be able to make that hell stop.

Sadly,

cutebirdsblog wildlifeworldblog naturegallerypictures somanycuteanimals and our-amazing-world

have all started to download photos that are not their own. They edit them, most of them put their signature on them and then upload them to tumblr as their own, source and credits removed.

This is a clear copyright infringement. It is illegal. And for an original photographer it means so much more. It is frustrating and degrading and makes me want to take down my blog - and if this abuse of my work continues, I will.

I have contacted the blogs, no reaction. They even post more and more (of my) stuff as their own. There is also something odd about these blogs as they look quite identical and have bizarre tags and lots of advertising and links to online stores on them. It looks like someone is using our pictures to make money.

I have contacted tumblr with links and screenshots but hey, I am just one person who takes pictures of ugly birds, so who cares.

I think it is time that you, the followers, support original photography. Please report these blogs. Please send them “fan mail” telling them about copyright infringement. Please reblog this post so that other photographers become aware that their work is stolen.

If you want to report to tumblr, please send them an email at [email protected] with links and screenshots of the art you consider stolen.

Thank you and a Happy New Bird Year! J.

[birdsofthebbg]

Northern flicker -- only my second sighting of this woodpecker-family resident in New York. In the top picture you can see the yellow on the wings that gives the eastern subspecies its name -- yellow-shafted northern flicker -- as well as the black "mustache" patches that indicate this bird is a male.

[birdsofthebbg]

Fairly sure this is a juvenile winter wren. I've never seen an adult so relatively out in the open and stay in one location for so long, especially chirping as much as this little one was.

[birdsofthebbg]

This bird is among my more exciting new sightings. It's an eastern (red) fox sparrow. These are winter visitors to Brooklyn, but I've never seen one before.

[birdsofthebbg]

This picture was taken the week of November 10, 2014, which is rather late for eastern phoebes. Most of these guys migrate in late September or early October. I'm hoping that this is just a straggler from farther north in the birds' range.