Rainbow Lorikeet

***Trichoglossus moluccanus* *moluccanus***

April 11, 2005 Hyde Park, Sydney, New South Wales

OMG, what a thrill to see the flashes of red and green when these birds flew, and I realized that for the first time ever I was seeing psittacines in their natural habitat! And these are such beautiful birds – bright blue, green and red. They’re very active and noisy, flying about in smallish flocks (maybe up to 10 or so birds) while calling to one another. What fun! I just love these birds!

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April 11, 2005 0

Greater Sulphur-crested Cockatoo

Cacatua galerita galerita

April 11, 2005: Hyde Park, Sydney, New South Wales

OMG! We were nearly through the park on the way back to the hotel when I spotted large white birds on the grass. When I realized what they were, I was SO excited. OMG! Cockatoos! Genuine, honest-to-goodness WILD cockatoos! It was almost unbelievable to me to see them there foraging on the ground for food and I’d half-convinced myself that they can’t possibly be wild – they must have been escaped pets. But no, the book says there are large flocks in the cities. OMG! SO INCREDIBLY COOL! They are really pretty and it’s funny to see a bird so familiar, and yet be seeing it for the first time. These two foraged for only a few minutes and then flew up into the tree making a rather horrible screeching noise, and began displaying their crests and raising their wings – trying to chase away a couple of ravens in the tree. It looked as though the ravens were interested in a nest, but I couldn’t tell for certain. The cockatoos made quite a fuss, as did a couple of Noisy Miners. I really loved seeing these birds!

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April 11, 2005 0

Common Myna

Acridotheres tristis

April 11, 2005: Hyde Park, Sydney, New South Wales

First spotted one of these while waiting for the Sydney Explorer Bus at Darling Harbor, and it took me a while to find it in the book (these birds and the Noisy Miners stumped me at first, because I had no idea even what section to start with). I discovered that this is an introduced bird which has done well in big cities – unlike the Starling in the U.S., the Myna hasn’t spread across the whole continent (yet, anyway). They are fun to watch, and sing some very pretty songs.

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April 11, 2005 0

Maned Duck

Maned Duck

Chenonetta jubata

April 11, 2005: Hyde Park, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia

First spotted these two ducks asleep standing up next to the reflecting pool in the park. Took a few pictures, but was only able to really ID them on the way back when we returned to the pool to find them swimming around. Then they got out of the pool and walked over to the grass where they began feeding on berries. Very pretty ducks, and apparently the common species on this continent.

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April 11, 2005 0

Hyde Park and City Bus Tour

Laughing Kookaburra

April 11, 2005

Our hotel was one block south of Hyde Park, so that was the first place we visited (and would be the place we visited every day in Sydney, on our way to and from everywhere. This park is smaller than the one in London, which I assume is its namesake, but it’s lovely. Of course, after seeing Silver Gull at the airport, I was thrilled to see more Australian birds, all of which were new to me.

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April 11, 2005 0

Black Swan

Cygnus atratus

April 16, 2005: Subiaco Park, Subiaco, Western Australia

Decided to take an early morning walk to the park and when I walked out the door of Helen and Daniel’s home, the first thing I saw were these swans flying across the sky in front of me. I’d very much wanted to see these birds and was thrilled about the sighting, even though I only caught a short glimpse. They looked gorgeous flying through the sky – the contrast of black and white is lovely.

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April 4, 2005 0

Ross’s Goose

***Anser* *rossii***

January 30, 2005: MLK Jr. Regional Shoreline-Arrowhead Marsh, Alameda County, CA

This bird was reported on the EBB list as a Snow Goose, but in studying my photos I’ve decided that the bill is more consistent with the smaller Ross’s Goose, so that’s what I’m calling this bird. There are still a few things which make it seem Snow Goose-ish, particularly the size (which I recall as being somewhat large), and there is a bit of rusty staining on the head and body. Not extensive staining, though, and the head is rounder, as pictured for Ross’s. Possibly a Snow/Ross hybrid.

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January 30, 2005 0

Cackling Goose

Cackling Goose

***Branta* *hutchinsii***

December 6, 2004: Lake Merritt, Alameda County, CA

(Branta hutchinsii leucopareia) In with the regular Canada Geese, I noticed a bird that was significantly smaller. About half the size of the others. I remembered hearing that Canada Geese had been split and guessed that I was looking at a life bird, although I didn’t know which one. Actually, split or not, I don’t remember ever seeing a Canada Goose this small, so it was a new bird either way. When I got home I discovered it was a Cackling Goose. Very cute.

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December 6, 2004 0

Greater White-fronted Goose

Greater White-fronted Goose

Anser albifrons

December 4, 2004: MLK Jr. Regional Shoreline-Arrowhead Marsh, Alameda County, CA

Three of these birds flew overhead, and I might have ignored them, except that I overhead a teacher telling one of her students (I think it was a Cal Berkeley class doing wetlands restoration) that they were white fronted geese. So, I snapped off a few pictures – not great, but good enough to see the white rim on the edge of the tail.

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December 4, 2004 0

Monterey Pelagic Birding Trip

August 13, 2004
7:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.

I took another pelagic birding trip in Monterey Bay, and had a FANTASTIC time! We saw some fabulous birds (although I only saw one new species, so I’m still a few short of 500), but what I enjoyed even more was the other wildlife. The short version: I saw 31 species of birds, including the much-coveted Scripps’s Murrelet; 3 species of pinnipeds, 4 cetacean species (including breaching!!! Humpback Whales), a Leatherback Turtle (rare!), and some fish and jellyfish.

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August 14, 2004 0

Fishes

Rottnest Island Fish

Australian Long-finned Eel
Anguilla reinhardtii

April 12, 2005: Royal Botanic Gardens, Sydney, New South Wales

Seen swimming in one of the lakes in the Royal Botanic Garden.

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August 13, 2004 0

Albacore Feeding Grounds

September 14, 2003

I took my first pelagic trip off the West Coast today, through Shearwater Journeys. It was a long day – we left at 5.30 a.m. and returned at 5.30 p.m. – and we saw a lot of terrific things, although not quite as many birds as I’d hoped to see.

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September 14, 2003 0

Short-tailed Shearwater

Ardenna tenuirostris

September 14, 2003: Offshore-WNW Pt. Sur (35-80 nmi), Monterey, CA

One of the birds seen on this pelagic trip.

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September 14, 2003 0

Pink-footed Shearwater

Ardenna creatopus

September 14, 2003: Offshore-WNW Pt. Sur (35-80 nmi), Monterey, CA

My first sighting of this bird was of an individual floating in the water. I got a really good look at him, for which I was glad. Later, we saw several more, and by mid-journey, I was able to call these guys, as well . . . black neck, but light underneath. Cool.

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September 14, 2003 0

Flesh-footed Shearwater

Ardenna carneipes

September 14, 2003: Offshore-WNW Pt. Sur (35-80 nmi), Monterey, CA

Saw just one of these early in the day. Unfortunately, I didn’t get a very good look – just a dark bird flying by. I’m going to trust the ID of others, though.

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September 14, 2003 0

Buller’s Shearwater

Ardenna bulleri

September 14, 2003: Offshore-WNW Pt. Sur (35-80 nmi), Monterey, CA

This was a bird that had been seen in the morning, but I’d missed it. When looking at shearwaters, I realized that this one looked different than the pink-footed’s (which is what I thought it was at first). Sure enough, it was different! I was thrilled that I was able to spot this (and that I saw a new bird). Saw a few more later in the afternoon, as well.

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September 14, 2003 0

Monterey Bay Aquarium

Spotted Jelly. ©2017 Wendy A. St. John

June 5, 2003

Looking for a fun way to spend the day, Eclipse and I made the two-hour drive to Monterey, to visit the world famous Monterey Bay Aquarium. This fit in well with the fact that we’d been watching “Finding Nemo” lately. One of my kiddo’s favorite parts of the film features the jellyfish forest, so our first stop at the aquarium was to visit the special exhibit on jellies – “Jellies: Living Art.” It’s a fantastic exhibit. We went through it several time, and I was pleased with some of the photos I took.

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Cinnamon Teal

Cinnamon Teal

Spatula cyanoptera

February 22, 2003: Coyote Hills Regional Park, Alameda, CA

In looking through the bird book the previous night, I was looking forward to the possibility of seeing these birds, as they are to be found in the area. I was in luck, and saw several throughout the day. My first were a pair, and later I saw a group of four males and one female. The males appeared to be fighting amongst themselves – flying and chasing one another around the pond. They are beautiful ducks.

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February 22, 2003 0

Whooper Swan

Whooper Swan

Cygnus cygnus

December 23, 2002: Aberlady Farm Field, East Lothian, Scotland

Driving home from Haddington around 2:30 p.m., I noticed a couple of swans in a farm field with a flock of pink-footed geese. A car was stopped at the side of the road, so I stopped too and asked the fellow in the car if I could borrow his binoculars. The swans were definitely not mutes, but a bit far away to tell whether or not they were Whoopers or Bewick’s. I decided to go home and return with my scope. The birds were still there, and I was able to verify that they were whoopers. Fabby! I’ve been trying to find a couple of these birds for quite a while, so I was so glad to find them before moving back to the U.S.

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December 23, 2002 0

Eurasian Jay

Garrulus glandarius

November 6, 2002: Whinlatter Forest Park, Cumbria, England

While looking at the beautiful view from the overlook, I caught a glimpse of a bird – flashes of color – blue and pink. Somehow, I just knew it was a jay. However, it had landed somewhere and I couldn’t re-locate the bird right away. I looked in my book just to remind myself what I was looking for. Then, a few minutes later, it flew again. I didn’t get a long look, but enough to be certain that it was, indeed, a jay. On the way back from the nature centre, we stopped here again, and the bird (or perhaps another individual) was perched atop a branch, so I was able to view it for several minutes. It wasn’t too close, but still close enough. A beautiful bird!

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November 6, 2002 0

Eurasian Wigeon

Eurasian Wigeon

Mareca penelope

October 3, 2002: Aberlady Bay Local Nature Reserve, East Lothian, Scotland

Another life bird for me this day, although I didn’t realize I’d not seen them before until I began making this entry! Beautiful ducks.

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October 3, 2002 0

Barnacle Goose

Barnacle Goose

***Branta* *leucopsis***

June 30, 1996: St. James Park, London, England

Along with the huge flocks of pink-foots there was a small flock of these pretty geese – only half a dozen birds at most.

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October 3, 2002 0

Birding the Bass

Northern Gannets

August 16, 2002

While living in Scotland, this is one of the adventures I didn’t want to miss – a chance to see the northern gannet rookery on the Bass Rock, off the coast of North Berwick. It was well worth the trip!

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August 16, 2002 0

Pink-footed Goose

Pink-footed Goose

Anser brachyrhynchus

October 4, 2001: Marine Terrace, East Lothian, Scotland

From inside our home, I heard a cacophony outside and rushed out to find THOUSANDS of pink footed geese flying overhead, one huge flock after another. Eclipse also enjoyed seeing and hearing these birds. What fun! Flocks like this flew over several times in the next few weeks.

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October 4, 2001 0

Little Owl

Athene noctua

September 13, 2001: Marine Terrace, East Lothian, Scotland

While Kevin and I were sitting in the kitchen late this evening, I heard an unusual sound from outside. I went outside to listen to what was obviously an owl calling from a tree very near where I park my car. I decided not to go looking for it with a torch, but did get to listen to it for several minutes. After coming in, I listened to my British Birds DVD and determined that the bird was a Little Owl. Not common here in East Lothian, apparently, so quite a lovely surprise!

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September 13, 2001 0

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