Calonectris diomedea

August 30, 1997: Oregon Inlet Pelagic-Gulf Stream, Dare, NC

The second species of large shearwater we saw turned out to be even more plentiful than the Greater Shearwaters. As with the Greaters, by the end of the day I was able to identify the Cory’s from a reasonable distance by their generally uniform appearance and a general sense of their flying style with slower wingbeats. Numerous Cory’s were also in the large flock we saw in the afternoon, so I was able to see several at quite close range.

Ardenna gravis

August 30, 1997: Oregon Inlet Pelagic-Gulf Stream, Dare, NC

We were to see dozens of these birds throughout the day, and they are attractive close up, when you can really see their coloration and plumage. The first few of the day were just large flying blobs to me, pointed out by the guides, but by the end of the day I was calling them with great confidence, based on the rump band, and head and neck coloration. I got a bit of a sense of this bird, but not so as to be able to tell just by flying style. Great Shearwaters were among the stars of one of the highlights of the trip. It was afternoon, most everyone seemed fairly burned out, and we hadn’t seen many birds in quite a while. Suddenly, we could see a huge flock of birds in the distance, apparently drawn to this location by a large school of fish. Dozens of birds, all doing their thing – floating on the water, or flapping wildly fighting over fish, or skimming effortlessly through the air. It was wonderful, and included both Greater and Cory’s Shearwaters, a Pomarine Jaeger, and Sooty, Bridled and Common Terns.

Callipepla californica

December 27, 1996: Buena Vista Recreation Area, Kern County, CA

While following a couple of owls, I crossed the main road to find a field filled with these incredibly cute birds. There must have been at least fifty of them, probably more (I didn’t count). Big ones and smaller ones, all bopping around foraging in the field. They didn’t seem to notice me there, and I viewed them until Kevin came back to pick me up. I was glad he got to see them. Very cute!

Mareca americana

December 21, 1996: Malibu Lagoon, Los Angeles, CA

Spotted these birds on the ponds north of the Lagoon. Immediately, I guessed they were wigeons although I’d never seen this species before. Hey, my identification skills are improving!

Aegithalos caudatus

July 14, 1996: St James’s Park, London, England

A new bird for the last day of our vacation! I spotted this gorgeous bird flitting about in the bushes near one of the lakes.

Alcedo atthis

July 9, 1996: Kildare, Leinster, Ireland

I glimpsed this beautiful bird on a perch over the stream which ran next to Brighid’s Well. Unfortunately, it flew away before I had time to study it, but the colors were incredible! So bright, gorgeous. I hoped the bird would return, but no such luck!

Tadorna tadorna

July 8, 1996: Belfast Harbour, Belfast, Northern Ireland, United Kingdom

Milvus milvus

July 5, 1996: Highlands, Scotland

Spotted this bird while we were driving. Its was flying and kiting right along the side of the road. Although I had my best look after the bird had flown a ways away, there was no chance of misidentifying this really distinctive and beautiful bird. The sweeping line of the tail and the color made me certain of this ID, even though the bird was a bit out of its normal range. This bird is in the process of being reestablished into Scotland, so this may have been a released bird – but it was still a red kite for me! 🙂

Buteo buteo

July 4, 1996: Scottish Lowlands, Fife, Scotland

First seen while driving through the lowlands in Scotland. This most common hawk in Britain is very similar to our Red-tailed, and certainly fills a similar niche. I enjoyed seeing these familiar, yet new, birds throughout Britain.

Bufo bufo

July 3, 1996: Scottish Borders, Scotland

While driving after dark, there were dozens of amphibians hopping around on the roads. At first, I assumed they were frogs, but it turns out that Common Toads are more likely to be seen on the road, during their migration events. There were so many of them, and we were continually needing to swerve and slow down to avoid squishing them.

Apus apus

July 1, 1996: Museum Gardens, North Yorkshire, England

This European variety is simply called Swift in Britain. Very cute, similar to our North American variety when seen in flight.

Anser anser anser

June 29, 1996: St James’s Park, London, England

Saw both eastern and western form birds.

Cygnus olor

June 20, 1996: Saint Mary’s Lake, St. Joseph County, IN

While while walking on the sunny Notre Dame campus with my mom, we saw a pair of adults with three young birds. First we walked by them while they were foraging on the shore (they were only a few feet away from the path). Later we watched them swimming on the lake. HUGE and beautiful birds. Plus, I always enjoy seeing juvenile birds.

Aphelocoma wollweberi

November 21, 1995: Madera Canyon, Pima County, AZ

After hiking back down, we were rewarded by seeing several of these lovely birds in the trees in and around the parking area! We later saw them throughout the park. Noisy, but attractive birds.

Callipepla gambelii

November 19, 1995: Dead Horse Ranch SP, Yavapai County, AZ

As Kevin and I were walking through a dry, scrubby area, we heard a family of quail in the brush. Kevin walked closer and flushed them out of their hiding place. What a racket! I’d never heard anything like the sound they were making. I hadn’t seen them for more than an instant, so we continued on, looking carefully. We spotted a few of them. One in particular was bopping about on the trunk of a fallen tree. Gorgeous birds!

Baeolophus wollweberi

November 16, 1995: Red Rock State Park, Yavapai County, AZ

Saw these while hiking up high in the mountains. Charming, beautiful birds! I love titmice anyway, they are so cute, and this species is really striking!

Cardellina canadensis

May 13, 1995: Baugo Creek, St. Joseph County, IN

A striking little bird. I don’t have documentation of this sighting (it didn’t happen on this particular day), but I do remember clearly having spotted this bird at some point this spring.