Birds

Tags:
Dating doves, Parc Guell, Gaudi, Barcelona, Spain
Species
Columba livia (Domestic pigeon or dove)

Location
Parc Guell, Gaudi, Barcelona, Spain

Date of sighting
8 Sep 2007

This was a pretty peculiar sighting as one of the two pigeons was taking a bath and the other one was waiting for the first one and hurrying it to finish. This looked as many of those boyfriend, girlfriend relationships and one of them delaying the other before going out. The bathing dove didn't want out of the water probably because it must have been refreshing in the summer heat of that day.

Tags:
Spanish Sparrow (Passer hispaniolensis)
Species
Passer hispaniolensis (Spanish Sparrow)

Location
Garden of the Lions Castle of the Nazari Sultans, Granada, Spain

Date of sighting
20 Jul 2007

I found this bird blending in with the fantastic architecture of the Castle of the Nazari Sultans in the Garden of the Lions (Palacios Nazaries Patio de los Leones) in Granada, Spain.

Tags:
Gaviota en la mano de Cristobal Colon
Species
Larus fucus? (Gaviota - Seagull)

Location
Estatua de Cristobal Colon, Plaza del Portal, Barcelona, Espana

Date of sighting
17 Jul 2007

It was just interesting to see a bird just on the hand of Christopher Columbus. It looks as if Columbus is pointing at something and the bird is looking that way.

Tags:
Magellan Penguin  (Spheniscus magellanicus) at the Patagonia, Argentina
Species
Spheniscus magellanicus (Magellan Penguin)

Location
Penguin viewing location at Island South of Ushuaia, La Patagonia, Argentina

Date of sighting
22 Dec 2004

This image was taken by my wife during our honeymoon in the most southern part of the Patagonia, Argentina. It's one of the most beautiful and exotic places in the world, and it has many species of animals that don't really fear human beings.

Tags:
Great Thrush (Turdus fuscater) on Area de Pesca (Fishing zone) SignGreat Thrush (Turdus fuscater) Detail Orange beak and feet, gray body
Species
Turdus fuscater (Great Thrush)

Location
Laguna de Mucubaji, Paramo, Merida, Venezuela, South America

Date of sighting
1 Jan 2007

This beautiful bird is the first one I photograph in the Paramos of the State of Merida, Venezuela (tropical andes). The area is close to a lake called "Laguna de Mucubaji".  This is a bird about 8" inches from beak to tail with orange beak and feet, and yellow circles surrounding its eyes, and gray body. It was standing on a sign that said "Zona de Pesca" or Fishing Zone. I think this was some kind of muck sign because the bird was on a tourist site of a Venezuelan National Park where fishing is strictly prohibited. There were many tourists in the area so maybe this was a bread crumbs or corn chips fishing zone for these birds. Interestingly I could not find information on the net for this bird being observed on this area although I noticed there were many. It is nevertheless a very common bird in the neighboring countries of Colombia and Ecuador.

Tags:
Common Gallinule or Moorhen Male Red CrestCommon Gallinule or Moorhen Group Eating
Species
Gallinula chloropus (Common Gallinule or Moorhen)

Location
NorthPoint Business Park Pond West Palm Beach, Florida, USA

Date of sighting
18 Dec 2006

These are the very common (but not to me) Gallinae or Moorhen. They inhabit marshlands from Chile to Canada. I found these grazing in a pond in West Palm Beach in a very nice sunny day. Only when I got close enough to these birds did I notice that they were not ducks but in fact some bird I had never observed before that resembled black doves whith red beaks with yellow at the tip. You can read more about these birds at the Cornell University All about birds webpage.

Tags:
yellow-crowned-night-heron-Nycticorax-violaceus-tampa-electric_1.jpg
Species
Nycticorax violaceus (Yellow Crowned Night Heron)

Location
Tampabay Tampa Electric Manatee Viewing Center, 6990 Dickman Rd, Apollo Beach, Tampa, FL

Date of sighting
25 Nov 2006

Beside the manatees, the Tampa Electric Viewing Center provides a window into a extremely rich ecosystem thanks to the improved living conditions the warm waters bring. This is a yellow crested night heron; a small bird with a very interesting mask, we were able to videotape it in action while it ate some crabs. As it names implies, this is a bird usually seen only at night, but in this case it was out hunting in the middle of the day.


Tags:
White Cattle Egret (Bubulcus ibis) rides Black SUV
Species
Bubulcus ibis (Cattle Egret)
Suburban Vehicle (SUV)

Location
Oak Ramble Plaza Parking Lot, Near to Pappas Greek Restaurant, Tampa, FL 33617, USA

Date of sighting
11 Nov 2006

This beautiful bird was just there standing watching the traffic of cars coming in and out of the parking lot. It didn't really care much for people watching it.

Tags:
Egretta tricolor (Tricolored Heron) at USF Lake
Species
Egretta tricolor (Tricolored Heron)

Location
University of South Florida, Tampa, FL 33620

Date of sighting
13 Oct 2006

This is a tricolored heron (Egretta tricolor) also known as the Louisiana Heron in the USA. As this bird was stalking its pray I was stalking it with my camera. Obviously I am not as good of a stalker as this bird, since it noticed me and elongated its neck and moved its head from side to side as if it was giving each of its eyes a chance to look at me. The fact that this is one of most colorful of the large birds here in Florida might actually help it hide from its predators; as you can see in the picture, its color lets it blend very well with the swampy/water background. The colors that make this bird unique are blue, yellow, brown, black, and white; more than three if you ask this obviously non photonics / optics / lights expert.

Tags:
White Ibis (Eudocimus albus) at a USF lake, Tampa FL
Species
Eudocimus albus (White Ibis)

Location
University of South Florida, Tampa, FL 33620

Date of sighting
30 Oct 2006

The White Ibis (Eudocimus albus) is a very funny looking bird that you might find in many places here in Tampa. The bird in the picture was among ducks that were being fed by a student in a pond at USF. When the bird grabbed whatever the fellow student gave it, it (the Ibis) ran quickly to the edge of the water and soaked his/her grab in water before degluting it. This operation gave no chance to the ducks around to snatch the precious meal from the Ibis. You can find more information about this bird from "The Wild Ones" which is a trust for wild life conservation.