CNU Ornithology Class Blog

Young Black Vultures

2009-04-24T20:30:00.002-04:00

Saw these in NOVA, the parents were watching from afar from a tree. They were too far away to get a picture though. (and no, no projectile vomiting; probably too young)

Birds @ Duke Marine Lab trip

2009-04-18T22:02:00.004-04:00

Over all there were many many laughing gulls and no vultures. Usually where evere I go in VA there are vultures gliding around but there weren't any in NC at the Duke Marine Lab. Also little dicky birds like mocking birds, cardinals, wrens and others weren't around at all or not as much through out the day as they would be in Newport News but in the early morning they were all out flying and singing.

We were out on the boat @ doing some tredging and trawling and as one of our trawling loads were coming up, laughing gull picked up a small fish. As I watched it swallowed the fish whole while it was flying behind the boat.

One bird that I wasn't expecting to see that Hillary pointed put was an Ibis; we saw one or two Ibises on a marshy, duney island. They were white shorebirds with a long curved down bill. We also saw hunting sandpipers.

Cygnets

2009-04-17T09:21:00.003-04:00

Look closely and you can see some of the 5 - 6 cygnets (baby swans) i found in Yorktown

Red-Bellied Woodpecker

2009-04-01T00:58:00.001-04:00

Noland Trail 3/28/09

2009-03-30T16:17:00.005-04:00

On the Noland Trail starting from the North entrance I saw a male hooded merganzer, mallards sleeping on the same log as turtles.

There was a pie-billed grebe around a bridge I was crossing and despite me hanging around for about 5 minutes and other people crossing it stayed within the proximity of the bridge (pic). It kept diving which made me wonder if there was something yummy around and that's why it wasn't leaving.

After a while proceeding down the trail I heard laughing gulls; these and some I had heard Tuesday (3/24) during oceanography lab at Lion's Bridge were the first I've heard/ seen in person since learning about them in class. But as I was looking up, looking for the gulls I saw a bald eagle soaring around the trees and lake (pic).

On my way back heading towards the South Entrance I started seeing some ospreys flying around. And one was in a tree that was practically right on the trail, eating a fish (pics). I could hear it taring off the peices and see some of the pieces fall as it was eating. It looked like it was eating the fish head or gill first and the tail was hanging over the branch.

Newport News Park (Lab 3/23/09)

2009-03-27T18:34:00.002-04:00

Here are a few birds of the many that we saw during lab on March 23rd at Newport News Park.
1) Brown-headed Nuthatch
2) Red-headed Woodpecker
3) Osprey
4) Dark-eyed Junco

Out West

2009-03-19T08:48:00.007-04:00

I was able to spend my break at Ash Meadows National Wildlife Refuge in Nevada. Since spring is right around the corner the bird diversity at the refuge was amazing. I don't know if it is always like that or if I am just more aware of it now, but birds were every where! Some of the note worthy observations include:

Lesser black backed gull (only the second one ever seen in Nevada), Gambles quail, northern harrier, Great blue heron, Black-necked Stilt, American Coot, and a Greater Roadrunner.

Unfortunately, photographing most of these was difficult although I was able to snag a few shots.

Birds of Jupiter

2009-03-19T07:45:00.003-04:00

Isaac, Jenevieve and I went birding throughout the week on our vacation to Jupiter Island. Most of our trips took place on Jupiter, but locations also included the Palm Beach Zoo (lots of migrating ducks) and Jonathan Dickenson State Park.

Bird Species: Little Blue Heron, Boat-tailed Grackle, Swallow-tailed Kite, Sandpiper sp., Great Blue Heron, Canada Goose, Rudy Duck, Redhead, Anhinga, Northern Pintail, Green Heron, Northern Shoveler, Turkey Vulture, Sandhill Crane, Osprey, Peacock, Double Crested Cormorant, Flamingo, Scarlet Ibis, White Ibis, Herring Gull, Ring-billed Gull, Barrow’s Goldeneye --> Should have been in Canada!

Barrow's Goldeneye

Jamin Valentine's Adventure: The 2nd Installment

2009-03-18T17:58:00.011-04:00

Below are some of the avian wonders I observed while at Indian River Park in Hampton, VA. This little excursion wasn't as productive as I would have anticipated in that the vastness of birds wasn't quite so vast (mallards, geese, and gulls) ; so I coupled it with a few random sightings from around my neighborhood along with some others that I couldn't identify from earlier trips.

This is one of the birds I couldn't identify on my first trip. It has a large knob on its bill. Exotic much?

This is the other bird I couldn't identify with the poof ball on its head. High-fashion maybe?

If you look closely, this is a mix of Mallards and a female Hooded Merganser.

Graylag Geese (domesticated and a wild type)

Graylag Goose

Why did the Ring-billed Gull cross the street?

Jamin Valentine's Adventure: Bluebird Gap Farm, USA

2009-03-18T16:36:00.013-04:00

Below are some of the magnificent organisms of Class Aves I observed while at Bluebird Gap Farm in Hampton, VA:

Indian Blue Peafowl showing its gorgeous display feathers.

White Peafowl showing its heavenly display feathers.

Wild Turkey gobble-gobbling loudly.

Turkey Vulture sunning its broken wing.

Black Vulture watching the Turkey Vulture.

Barn Owl striking a pose for my camera. Say cheese so the mice can come-a-runnin'!

Rock Pigeon scouring the ground for lunch.
Mute Swan gracefully swimming.

The Great Starling Rescue

2009-03-17T21:04:00.004-04:00

During my spring break, instead of going to the birds they decided to come to me! I heard something in my chimney and figured there was a critter there but at the time I didn't know what it was. So I didn't worry much about until I still heard it the next day as well. My husband and I knew that it was a bird because we could hear flapping, so we decided to smoke it out. Well, that didn't work. We removed one small piece of the wood stove and could see the blackbird (which turned out to be an European Starling) and at that point we knew it was much to big to get out by itself. So when he settled down I was able to get my hand in the stove and pull him out by the tail. He initially went into shock and I wrapped him in a towel and got him outside. I cleaned off his beak and he just laid on the ground for a couple of minutes. As I got the camera out to take pics of him he hopped up and walked off a little. He got into the grass in the yard and ate for awhile. Later, he flew away that night. Another birdie bar-b-que adverted!

Another Birdie visitor...Mourning Dove

American Robins are everywhere!

Myrtle Beach, SC

2009-03-17T20:01:00.006-04:00

While my camera isn't too good at long-range shots, I was able to get a few distinct pictures of ring-billed gulls at Mrytle Beach, and one of wild turkeys at nearby Brookgreen Gardens.

Bahamian birds

2009-03-17T19:30:00.002-04:00

Thought this might be interesting to the class but i went to the Bahamian islands and visited a local zoo there. i remembered i had some pics of birds so i want to show you some birds from out of the united states.

March 14, Bird Watching in Prince Wiliam County Park

2009-03-16T16:37:00.002-04:00

On Saturday, March 14, I went for a hike in the Prince William County Park up in Northern Virginia. It was a cloudy day, kind of chilly as well, so I didn't expect to see much out there. I forgot to bring my camera, so sorry guys no pictures this time. I saw a few Northern Cardinals, an Eastern Bluebird, two Northern Flicker, a bunch of vultures flying around and eating a dead deer, and Carolina Chikadees, and finally a few White throated Sparrows. Like I said it was pretty couldy and cold, and stared to drizzle a little bit towards the end of the hike. I heard some crows and a red tailed hawk, but other than the birds mentioned I didn't see anything else really. I heard some other birds, but I couldn't identify them by their calls. The only birds I got to really focus on and watch for a little bit was the vultures, which wasn't too exciting seeing as how all they were doing was eating the dead deer. The trail I went on didnt take me by any real body of water, so that probably also is why I didn't see many birds.

some pics from my various birding adventures

2009-03-15T21:01:00.009-04:00

An Osprey I saw at Riverview Park.

Here's a Carolina Chickadee perched in my backyard.

A Red-bellied Woodpecker that frequently visits our yard.

A Yellow-bellied Sapsucker that has long claimed a particular tree in my backyard. I finally got a close enough shot of it (though it's bad quality).

A Ruby-crowned Kinglet (though you can't see the red crown here) that I was finally able to snap a shot of. It likes to mooch off the labors of the above Yellow-bellied Sapsucker by stealing a meal from the holes in the tree.

This is a female Cardinal that will sit at our window ALL DAY and "fight" with her reflection. It drives me crazy.

Elizabeth, Michelle and Amanda visit Newport News Park

2009-03-15T20:50:00.005-04:00

We drove all the way back to the far lake. Walked across the bridge that was filled with Ring-billed gulls. The birds would not take a hint that we didnt want to feed them.

While walking around, we observed three turkey vultures that were soaring over the trees and lake. They soared in circles. If they got close to the trees they would need to flap their wings in order to get back to the wanted height.

We saw all the normal Virginian birds seen on our birding trips. However, we got to see some Tundra swans swimming on the lake.

Amanda's Backyard in Chester, VA

2009-03-14T17:30:00.017-04:00

Standing in my backyard I took a bunch of pictures because we have alot of open land and consequently alot of birds.

- Turkey Vultures

- Cedar Waxwing (dead... obviously... but I found it outside the window at my dad's office & was going to bring it in for lab, but decided to try and take a picture of it on the deck and walked inside to get my camera, then came back outside and it was gone... soooo one of our outdoor cats got a nice little snack, but the pictures are still pretty!)

- Northern Cardinal

- Chickens
~ 1st pic are Japanese Silky Bantum hens
~ 2nd pic is a Rhode Island Red dust bathing)

- Dark-eyed Junco (Slate-colored)

- White-throated Sparrow

- Tree that has been completely covered in holes from a sapsucker

I also heard alot of birds but either could not find them or they were too far away to photograph, including:

- Northern Bobwhite
- American Robin
- Tufted Titmouse
- European Starling
- American Crow
- Carolina Wren

Norfolk Botanical Gardens

2009-03-13T16:05:00.005-04:00

The gardens had not yet bloomed, however that didnt keep the birds from being active. While there we saw Ring-billed gulls, some Mallards, several Northern Cardinals, a pair of Mourning doves, a couple Great Blue Heron, tons of European Starling, Canada Geese, American Crows, a Common Nighthawk, an American Robin, and a Tufted Titmouse.

It was pretty difficult to identify the nighthawk.

American Robin

Canada Geese

Great Blue Heron

Mourning Dove

Loudoun County, No. VA, During Wetlands Research

2009-03-11T01:56:00.004-04:00

Four days of planting trees with the Center for Wetland Conservation in Loudoun County, VA. Tons of Bluebirds and other little birds that flew away before I could snap a picture. Did see a Kestrel and an American Woodcock also.

Swans at Yorktown

2009-03-06T14:13:00.004-05:00

This is a great site, Bald Eagles, Wood Ducks, Bluebirds, Lots of Woodpeckers, and or course Mute Swans.

Mourning Dove hunkered down for snow day

2009-03-03T12:15:00.001-05:00

Kelly's Birdwatching At Sandbridge

2009-03-02T18:24:00.002-05:00

Canada Goose - saw many droppings but most of it was undigested grass, thus Canada geese do not digest efficiently and like on the video, poop what they don't digest immediately.
Herring gull and Cormorants - they were in a flock together even though each species kept to it's own, when the herrings were scared and flew off, the cormorants decided it was best to be safe than sorry thus they flew off right after them.
i also saw the usual birds of Virginia...
robin, great black-backed gull, ring-billed gull, some killdeer on the waves, (also saw a you tube of the broken wing act, it was pretty cool) American crow, (an their annoying call) some mallards, gadwalls, and finally i saw the first of the songbirds, including a chickadee. suprisingly most of the birds could be spotted just driving around and never having to step out of my car. sorry no pictures. camera drives are full and i need to download.

Kenton, Jenevieve, and Isaac's Birding in Snow

2009-03-02T15:39:00.008-05:00

Location: Noland Trail (South entrance)

Bird Species:
Dark-eyed Junco
Canada Goose
Double-crested Cormorant
Ring-billed Gull
Herring Gull
Mallard
Great-blue Heron
Downy Woodpecker
Muscovy Duck
Snow Goose
Brown-headed Cowbird
White-throated Sparrow

We intended to go out yesterday, but the weather was terrible. Birding in the snow was great! At first all we saw were waterfowl, but as we got down the trail we began to see songbirds and a Downy Woodpecker feeding in some bushes over the water. Happy snow-day everyone!

John and Nick's Trip to Newport News Park (Independent Lab)

2009-03-01T21:08:00.005-05:00

1) Female Hooded Merganser
2) Northern Flicker
3)Tufted Titmouse
4) Carolina Chickadee
5) Red Headed Woodpecker
6) Ring-billed Gulls

These are just a few of the birds we saw at Newport News Park. We also saw a bald eagle, an osprey, and lots of ducks.

Raccoon at Deer Park

2009-02-26T20:27:00.003-05:00

Not a bird, but a pretty cool find (good work to whoever found this little guy!)

Killdeer at Sandy Bottom

2009-02-26T20:23:00.002-05:00

One of several Killdeer we saw during our field trip that day

Lab Field Trip Images

2009-02-26T20:09:00.007-05:00

Watching pair of Great Horned owls in Deer Park.