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That trip was to take my wife and I to Turkey, Jordan, and southern Spain, with stopovers near Paris. I was soooo excited about getting to know the Middle East, as well as some of its exotic species. The Streak-backed Oriole shown at the head of this post is far from an uncommon species in Paso Ancho.
Many species build nests of sticks or mud or spit on human-made structures , or in houses we’ve constructed specifically for their use. The family is global in its distribution, with 83 species of around 19 genera. Bank-Swallows Digging Burrows and Building Nests – Larry Jordan, The Birder’s Report.
This Peregrine close-up courtesy of Larry Jordan. And they point out that sometimes, endangered species rebound so strongly that they endanger other species (such as Golden Eagles which decimated the population of Island Foxes in California’s Channel Islands). What do you think?
Despite their predilection for the watery realm, there are some species of grebes that are long-distance migrants. Larger species like the Western and Clark’s Grebe of western North America, the wide-ranging Great Crested Grebe of Eurasia and the beautiful Giant Grebe of South America, are strong flyers and e xcellent dispersers.
Black-necked Stilt ( Himantopus mexicanus ) photos by Larry Jordan Click on photos for full sized images. The male of the species has the upper portion of the head, back of neck, back and wings all glossy black. He also has longer legs than the female.
The smellier the better, particularly as, unusually for birds, many species can boast a robust sense of smell. In any case, our hang-ups with vultures clearly stem from our own issues rather than any inherently bizarre trait of the species themselves. Vultures famously feed on carrion. Dead things. New World Vultures.
My wife and I had the privilege of visiting Mexican friends in Jordan in early October. Even upon our departure from Jordan, I was informed that my ever-so-dangerous binoculars could not go in my carry-on bag. However, Bethany-on-the-Jordan, the site of Jesus’ baptism, was my first shot at some real habitat.
First, we had our five-week trip to Spain, Turkey and Jordan in September and October. This meant I saw some truly domesticated species there, like these Graylag and African (domesticated Swan ) Geese : Fortunately, all the other birds I saw there were truly wild. To summarize, I managed to see 42 species with a quick two-hour visit.
Western Screech-Owl ( Megascops kennicottii ) photos by Larry Jordan It’s been an interesting winter in my neck of the woods. Birders in Northern California have been treated to rare sightings of several species, sending avid twitchers from all over the west in our direction.
The group has a worldwide distribution; 28 species living and two additional extinct. Both extinct species were island-dwelling and flightless, suggesting a propensity of the group to disperse over long distances , a characteristic that any birder in late summer is familiar with. Scarlet Ibis , photo by Natalia Ocampo-Peñuela.
Bufflehead ( Bucephala albeola ) Female at Cavity Entrance photos by Larry Jordan “Some 85 species of North American birds excavate nesting holes, use cavities resulting from decay (natural cavities), or use holes created by other species in dead or deteriorating trees.
The first, the much caricatured hard-nosed lister who stops at nothing to get just one more bird, and the second, the deep-patch birder who just wants to hang around the common species. Take, for instance, the Lesser Black-backed Gull I happened upon on the recent Jordan Lake Christmas Bird Count. Not worth consideration?
Lewis’s Woodpecker ( Melanerpes lewis ) In Flight, photos by Larry Jordan Driving home from work last week I finally saw my first Lewis’s Woodpecker ( Melanerpes lewis ) of the fall. Lewis’s Woodpeckers are a cavity nesting species, excavating the trunks or large branches of dead or decaying trees.
Pochards: Last Lifer of the Trip About the Author Larry Larry Jordan was introduced to birding after moving to northern California where he was overwhelmed by the local wildlife, forcing him to buy his first field guide just to be able to identify all the species visiting his yard. Forgotten Owls When Is A Tanager A Spindalis?
BOC has 95 colour plates illustrating more than 400 species (three country endemics, Cyprus Wheatear , Cyprus Scops Owl and Cyprus Warbler , among them), with text and distribution maps on facing pages. His work in Iraq, Jordan, Saudi Arabia and Turkey remains inspirational to researchers throughout the region.
Greater Yellowlegs ( Tringa melanoleuca ) photos by Larry Jordan Shorebirds. Take a look at these range maps for the two species. ” Once you hear the calls of these two species, you will have no problem telling them apart. Why are they seemingly so difficult to identify? Plus many sandpipers plumages are very similar.
If we hadn’t we might be there still — stuck, perhaps, in Turkey or Jordan. The Indigo was even on its way to becoming my default species for any indescript female LBJ. But, until 2020, I almost never saw it, which is frustrating with such a loud species. But then things went crazy, and we cancelled the trip.
It may be as sick as deliberately targeting an endangered species for death. Birders know that the light’s not always perfect or even particularly good when you’re trying to tell one species from another. Speculation is useless in acts of vandalism. It may be as simple as trying to hit the big white one. The big white one. It flies on.
An op-ed in the Washington Post by Gabriel Foley and Jordan Rutter is a fine summary of the arguments, and there is a good background article at Birdwatching magazine. The species was named after John P. I suspect there is little opposition to changing the names of species with particularly sordid namesakes.
Lark Sparrow ( Chondestes grammacus ) photos by Larry Jordan Nearly two years ago I wrote my second post as the West Coast Beat Writer on Lema Ranch, a Northern California birding hot spot.
Larry Jordan wrote a profile of The Unique Black-Necked Stilt for 10,000 Birds in 2011; he points out that they have the second longest legs in proportion to their bodies of any bird, exceeded only by the Flamingo (another Pink Bird). BNA says that both species share a passion for brine flies, and tend to share habitat.
Some of this tourism occurred because we were supposed to visit Jordan, but recent geopolitical events have made Americans rather unwelcome in that corner of the world. Fortunately, two species of Mergansers sometimes stray to Cuba, and so my friend suggested, correctly, that ours was a female Hooded Merganser. But which one?
Although not covered in the paper in the Wildlife Society Bulletin, the authors have suggested elsewhere (at conferences) that a different species of duck stamp be developed, with different price levels. Most wildlife watchers are anxious to contribute their resources toward that end. Check out their site.
I vastly prefer the latter, particularly those species that don’t frequent this area during the warmer months. Female Bufflehead by Larry Jordan (Have you ever seen a Bufflehead search for a nesting cavity? November visits upon New York dank, leaden chill and multitudes of ducks. Bufflehead are fascinating little creatures.
In the end, it gave me 44 lifers: 10 from Turkey and 8 from Jordan, which I had not visited before, and 26 from Spain, which I had visited previously, but in which we spent much more time. This peak lines up with the arrival of multiple migratory hummingbird species. Most reach peak bloom as the rains end, in September or October.
Mostly the ducks were Red-breasted Merganser and Greater Scaup , the two most prevalent species on the pond, but there were a few other birds mixed in as well. Larry Jordan Mar 17th, 2011 at 12:13 am Wow Corey, that must have been some sight to behold, and sound too! Were you and Jeff the only witnesses? What a spectacle indeed.
juvenile Parasitic Jaeger by Larry Jordan Jochen enjoyed a plover : My Best Bird of the Year is a White-tailed Lapwing I “twitched” in Germany in June. This year I watched them from the day they arrived , until two chicks successfully hatched, the northernmost breeding record for the species.
I briefly entertained the idea that I had found a rare species never before seen in New York but quickly came to my senses and realized that I was dealing with a leucistic individual. What I am getting at here is that I have seen lots and lots of Ruddy Ducks at Jamaica Bay but never one that looked like this particular individual.
Northern Pintails ( Anas acuta ) photos by Larry Jordan (click on images for full size) It was a dark and stormy night … OK, it was a dark and stormy morning when I got to the photo blind (also known as a hide) an hour before dawn, as is required by the refuge rules.
My best bird of the year is based on the sighting rather than the species. Obviously my best bird of the year is going to come during this trip, what with several species of endemic pitta and broadbill possible, not to mention 8 species of hornbill and numerous babblers, storks, kingfishers, trogons and even the endemic Bornean Bristlehead.
Hit the coast these days and you will see that river of birds but there won’t be as many species as Eilat, nor as many chances at vagrants, and especially, not as many raptor species. Note- the featured image shows Glossy Ibis with the flag of Jordan in the background. VisitIsrael.
The smooth mass of bronze (photographed at right by Jordan Mann) was a stylized version of a Great Auk —a bird that no longer exists. These vestiges of forgotten species, some solitary, others joined in sad little troupes, are the work of sculptor Todd McGrain. A species, wiped off the earth, never to exist again.
Here is another photo of this beautiful species. About the Author Larry Larry Jordan was introduced to birding after moving to northern California where he was overwhelmed by the local wildlife, forcing him to buy his first field guide just to be able to identify all the species visiting his yard. Does anyone know for sure?
It’s better that the species name, citrea , obviously refers to the French car-manufacturer Citroën, whose automobiles are known to be lemons*. But it certainly appeared that this tree stump just off the trail on a far arm of Jordan Lake would do. Now back to all the transient species that I can’t bear missing.
One of the more exciting birds this summer in this little corner of North Carolina is undoubtedly the King Rail s that have been regularly reported in a still-water back-arm of Jordan Lake in Chatham County, just south of where I live. I’ve heard the species a handful of times in Florida, but I’ve never actually put eyes to one.
Because depending on the angle and the light Pine Warblers have the rather unusual distinction of appearing to look like nearly every single other species of migratory passerine in eastern North America. All of the following photos were taken at Ebenezer Point on Jordan Lake in Chatham County in about an hour.
In trying to find further evidence of the warbler’s behaviour and the sapsucker’s lifestyle, I found numerous mentions of Rufous Hummingbirds and “other species” coming to feed from sap wells. Birds Bird Behavior Red-breasted Sapsucker Townsend''s Warbler'
This bird represented only the second documented record of this species in Florida. 2012 has certainly been a bumper year for me with an estimated year list of around 3,000 species after extensive travels to South Africa, Ethiopia, South Korea, Indonesia, the Russian Far East, United Kingdom, Peru, Guatemala and Panama.
Cinnamon Teal ( Anas cyanoptera ) pair by Larry Jordan (click on photos for full sized images) Winter is the time to visit the National Wildlife Refuges in California. These wildlife refuges are literally essential for the survival of many migratory species of the Pacific Flyway.
And it’s no wonder, considering how millions of years of evolution have bred species with the capacity to command a room well before they enter it, if you know what I mean! Humans are hardly the only organisms that look for more in prospective mates than just loyalty, kindness, and a great sense of humor. inches long.
But for those of us in the Americas, the cup runs over with species of Troglodytes. Particularly in the Neotropics where wrens reach their biodiverse zenith with species of varying shades and patterns of brown, gray, and cream , and all with impressive, elaborate, voices and varying attitudes about revealing themselves for desired looks.
In southern Africa, there are two species. I too am fascinated by the name of this species. Larry Jordan Mar 21st, 2011 at 12:31 am Awesome photos Redgannet! Frank Mar 22nd, 2011 at 8:02 pm Awesome images of a species that looks somewhat prehistoric. How do we know this? Feeling lazy, or I would do the research myself.)
From my poolside viewpoint I can encompass four countries: Egypt where I am and, over the sea, Israel to the far left (there’s a birding mecca of Eilat), Jordan in the middle and finally the endless deserts of Saudi Arabia to the right. Waves, deep blue sea and that salty scent. Oddly, not a single gull in sight. White-spectacled (a.k.a.
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