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  • Birding

    Jack and I took up birding/birdwatching while in Costa Rica. We've kept at it since we got back. Use this thread for general birding stuff. The photography thread has some amazing stuff in it. This is more for reports of things.

    We spent the night in Myrtle Beach last night and Jack and I got up at 6:30AM to be at Huntington Beach State Park for sunrise. About 7:30AM, we saw a roseate spoonbill take off in a panic, sounding alarms, because a bald eagle was after it. It got away, and the eagle rested in a pine for about ten minutes before darting after a little blue heron. It chased it for about 40 seconds, caught it in mid-air, killed it while flying, and then landed on a post and ate the thing. We couldn't believe what we saw. If I'd had a zoom lens, the photos would've been amazing, but here's what we got otherwise. Here's the whole sequence: http://imgur.com/a/LatOL
    "Yeah, but never trust a Ph.D who has an MBA as well. The PhD symbolizes intelligence and discipline. The MBA symbolizes lust for power." -- Katy Lied

  • #2
    Some white ibises feeding. We saw several flocks of them migrating south....including one of all juveniles (noted by their brown plumage).

    "Yeah, but never trust a Ph.D who has an MBA as well. The PhD symbolizes intelligence and discipline. The MBA symbolizes lust for power." -- Katy Lied

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    • #3
      I helped one of my students with her senior research project this morning. She is studying the antibiotic properties of uropygial gland secretions, and she invited me to help her band, measure, weigh, and take samples this morning. We caught 8 birds and were able to band and study six of them. The federal licenses for banding and catching are incredibly strict, so because the Dark-eyed Junco and Hermit Thrush aren't on her approved list, we can only take a sample and then let them go. 2 Carolina Wrens, 3 NOCA, 1 NOMO, and the Junco and HETH.




      This NOCA didn't want to leave; he preferred to stay and bite.




      "Yeah, but never trust a Ph.D who has an MBA as well. The PhD symbolizes intelligence and discipline. The MBA symbolizes lust for power." -- Katy Lied

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      • #4
        Birding

        Sounds like a cool morning Wuap. Her in Vegas our winter residents are just starting to show up after a pretty mild fall. We've had wigeons and Northern pintails show up in the hundreds this week.
        Last edited by Dwight Schr-ute; 11-22-2014, 10:10 AM.
        I told him he was a goddamn Nazi Stormtrooper.

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        • #5


          Up close the titmice's eyes don't look like soulless black wells of despair.








          We also caught a very unlucky purple finch with some serious conjunctivitis.


          Last edited by wuapinmon; 02-12-2015, 11:37 AM.
          "Yeah, but never trust a Ph.D who has an MBA as well. The PhD symbolizes intelligence and discipline. The MBA symbolizes lust for power." -- Katy Lied

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          • #6
            We have some large windows on the East side of the hospital where I work. I guess we are in a migration path because ducks seem to hit the windows on a regular basis. Any thoughts on what this could be?

            "You interns are like swallows. You shit all over my patients for six weeks and then fly off."

            "Don't be sorry, it's not your fault. It's my fault for overestimating your competence."

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            • #7
              hostile,

              Can you give us an idea of the size and the coloration. It's hard to tell what that is. It might be a feral muscovy, but without bill color (and shape), size, and maybe foot color, it's hard to know.
              "Yeah, but never trust a Ph.D who has an MBA as well. The PhD symbolizes intelligence and discipline. The MBA symbolizes lust for power." -- Katy Lied

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              • #8
                A dead duck.
                "Either evolution or intelligent design can account for the athlete, but neither can account for the sports fan." - Robert Brault

                "Once I seen the trades go down and the other guys signed elsewhere," he said, "I knew it was my time now." - Derrick Favors

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                • #9
                  It might be a gadwall:

                  or a Clark's grebe:
                  Last edited by wuapinmon; 02-12-2015, 02:10 PM.
                  "Yeah, but never trust a Ph.D who has an MBA as well. The PhD symbolizes intelligence and discipline. The MBA symbolizes lust for power." -- Katy Lied

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                  • #10
                    This flew into my backyard tonight, trying to get away from a mob of blue jays.

                    "Yeah, but never trust a Ph.D who has an MBA as well. The PhD symbolizes intelligence and discipline. The MBA symbolizes lust for power." -- Katy Lied

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                    • #11
                      "Yeah, but never trust a Ph.D who has an MBA as well. The PhD symbolizes intelligence and discipline. The MBA symbolizes lust for power." -- Katy Lied

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                      • #12




                        "Yeah, but never trust a Ph.D who has an MBA as well. The PhD symbolizes intelligence and discipline. The MBA symbolizes lust for power." -- Katy Lied

                        Comment


                        • #13
                          "Yeah, but never trust a Ph.D who has an MBA as well. The PhD symbolizes intelligence and discipline. The MBA symbolizes lust for power." -- Katy Lied

                          Comment


                          • #14
                            It was far too glorious a day to spend in my office, so I knocked off at 12PM and headed north to the Carolina Sandhills NWR. I bumped into a Fish & Wildlife ranger who was going around checking Red-Cockaded Woodpecker nest cavities for nestlings. She let me tag along for an hour, and I got some photos. No babies in these trees, but we did find a Northern Flicker nest with seven eggs in it.




                            "Yeah, but never trust a Ph.D who has an MBA as well. The PhD symbolizes intelligence and discipline. The MBA symbolizes lust for power." -- Katy Lied

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                            • #15
                              Shot through my bins, but I got this guy to come out of the brush after playing a song.

                              "Yeah, but never trust a Ph.D who has an MBA as well. The PhD symbolizes intelligence and discipline. The MBA symbolizes lust for power." -- Katy Lied

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