#birdlife

[starbirdpnw]

Glad to made it to Skagit for the shorties. Always fun and pleasure to watch and photograph.

[birds]

Barn owl, looking straight at me!

[birdsittingtoronto]

Another moment of fun sitting with Tina!✨🍃

For more bird content, see our website www.birdsittingtoronto.ca

[venerablemonk27]

I found the Snowy Owl! Using the recent sightings reported in the area as my guide, I went driving around Dane, WI yesterday. I stopped to scan a corn field with my binoculars and spotted this guy perched on a fence post.

[ID: A male Snowy Owl sits on a wooden fence post and stares directly at the camera. He is almost entirely white, with a few brown flecks on the wings and breast. His eyes are yellow and partly closed. A light snow falls around the Owl. End ID]

I knew right away the large white bird on the post was the Snowy I was after, so I quickly grabbed my camera and got out to find a good spot to set up. Of course, as soon as I got the bird in frame he decided to fly up to the roof peak of a farm building further away. Even so, I sat down and took a few long-distance bursts in case that was only look I would get. Then I noticed that there was a house among the farm buildings. If someone was home maybe they'd let me take a closer look?

[ID: A male Snowy Owl sits on a wooden fence post and looks into the distance to the left. He is almost entirely white, with a few brown flecks on the wings and breast. His eyes are yellow and partly closed. A light snow falls around the Owl. End ID]

Just as I'd hoped, the folks living there were home and they were happy to let me onto their property for a chance at a better photo. They even pointed out a good spot behind a concrete wall where I could stand totally out of sight of the corn field. It turned out to be such a good blind that all the shots in this post were taken there. And just as we were talking, the Owl flew back down to that same fence post!

[ID: A male Snowy Owl sits on a wooden fence post and looks into the distance to the right. He is almost entirely white, with a few brown flecks on the wings and breast. His eyes are yellow and partly closed. A light snow falls around the Owl. End ID]

He was very cooperative, sitting mostly still while I fiddled with settings and let the auto-focus pick between the snow and the post. I figure he was hunting, scanning the field for little creatures. Then he did a little preening and stretched his neck before taking flight!

[ID: A male Snowy Owl takes flight. He is almost entirely white, with a few brown flecks on the wings and breast. His eyes are yellow and partly closed. His wings are fully extended upward and his shaggy legs hang down below, showing just a hint of black talons. Its eyes are closed to slits. A light snow falls around the Owl. End ID]

[ID: A male Snowy Owl flies low over a snow-covered corn field. He is almost entirely white, with a few brown flecks on the wings and breast. His wings are extended downward, showing the full pattern of white and brown flecks on the flight feathers. His eyes are closed to slits. A light snow falls around the Owl. End ID]

He didn't immediately pounce on anything, instead wheeling up toward a tree across the field. I thought he would land up there, but instead he flushed a smaller dark bird and started chasing it! Zooming in on the photos of the sortie revealed that the enemy was either a Cooper's or a Sharp-shinned Hawk. I wish I could have seen how that encounter turned out, but they flew out of sight across the field.

[ID: A male Snowy Owl chases a hawk in the distance, flying through the snowfall near a large barn. End ID]

Even without a high-speed pursuit, seeing the Snowy Owl so close was my top birding moment of the year so far. Many thanks to Dean and Deb for welcoming me onto their property and making this moment possible!

[patricianicoloso]

Sabiá-laranjeira/Rufous-bellied Thrush

Turdus rufiventris

[yammpi3]

SKSHSEHA [tiktok smirk] drew a lil something for my..friend heh. (Was bribed with the promise of vbux/robux) SORRY I FUCKED U UP A LITTLE FUMI </33

© yammpi3 2024. All work belongs to @yammpi3. You can repost if you want to support my blog/art! Please don't modify, or steal in any way on ANY platform. I will piss and shit on your lawn if you do.

[gina025]

Birds feeding on canolas

[halltastic]

🐓

[ruttotohtori]

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A post shared by BirdLife International (@birdlife.international)

Kaitanokkakuovi (Numenius tenuirostris) on kuollut sukupuuttoon 🪦

[birdhism]

[WIP] Been wanting to continue my work on the D&D Chubby Birbs

[missedmilemarkers]

Geese Birdwatching Wildlife Photography Urban Wildlife Nature Photography Waterfowl Gooseblr Colorado Wildlife Birdlife MissedMileMarkers

[birds]

Bullfinch

[birdsittingtoronto]

Kiwi picture perfect!✨

For more bird content, see our website www.birdsittingtoronto.ca

[venerablemonk27]

I've done a lot of birding the past couple months and not a lot of posting, so I'm going back to our Tucson, AZ trip from April. I hadn't been to the Western US since picking up birding or wildlife photography, so I knew I was going to pick up a ton of lifers. One of our target species for the trip was also my fifth Owl species ever: the Burrowing Owl.

[ID: A Burrowing Owl stands on a mound of dirt. They are facing left and looking toward the camera. The sun is low in the sky off to the right, which illuminates the right side of the Owl's face and their back, while casting the rest in shadow. They have striking yellow eyes and a furrowed brow that gives them the appearance of a permanent scowl. Their oval-shaped head transitions naturally into a slender cylindrical body covered in mottled tan and white feathers. About half the bird's height is body and folded wings, with two naked grey legs planted on the ground. End ID]

This was the morning we had picked for me to do some solo birding, so I drove out to a spot west of Tucson where eBird indicated that Burrowing Owls were likely to appear. It was just after sunrise when I found the road cutting between farm fields where the Owls were reported. I drove slowly down the side of the road in my rented Dodge Charger, stopping occasionally to inspect a suspicious clump of dirt with my binoculars. I had not seen any sign of the Owls when a Land Rover pulled up behind me. A group of three folks in their 60s with binoculars piled out of car, clearly more birders here to do exactly what I was doing.

[ID: A Burrowing Owl stands on a mound of dirt, facing the camera. The sun is still low in the sky, but now the bird's face and chest are more brightly lit, showing the transition in feather colors from tan to mottled tan to white as they progress downward from collar to belly.]

They introduced themselves as coming from the UK, and had been visiting Arizona for several weeks in search of all the unique birds the state could offer. The driver was particularly puzzled about the location of the Owls, saying he was "absolutely foxed" that this place with no real habitat could host Burrowing Owls. I showed him the recent sightings on eBird and explained that it was possible the birds just hadn't emerged from their burrows yet.

After another 15 minutes of searching the fields, I offered to lead them to an alternate site nearby. We got in our cars and slowly drove back the way we had come. Just as we were approaching the end of the road, I spotted a small tan creature standing right on the edge of the irrigation ditch along the near side of the field. A Burrowing Owl! I swung the Charger around and flagged down my companions, who had also spotted the Owl.

[ID: A pair of Burrowing Owls stand on a mound of dirt. The one in the foreground looks decidedly sleepier and plumper than the one in the background (seen in previous images). Both Owls are similar in coloration, but the one in the foreground has an aluminum leg band for identifying them. End ID]

We got out to take a look and grab some photos from long distance, then slowly crept forward with my Charger as a rolling blind. There turned out to be four Owls spread out along the irrigation ditch, likely close to their burrows which were out of sight. They were surprisingly unbothered by the cars rolling up to them, probably because they see trucks and farm vehicles driving past all day every day. Once we were directly across the irrigation ditch from the closest pair, I climbed into the passenger seat to take some better photosm. Mostly the Owls just stood on their tiny hill and looked around. Though I did witness one of the pair above fly down to pounce on a grasshopper, then return to feed it to their partner.

[ID: A pair of Burrowing Owls stand on a mound of dirt. This photo was taken midday, with the sun directly overhead. At least one of these individuals is different from those above, as they have two leg bands instead of one. It's also apparent in the photo that the Owls are standing at the edge of a farm field from the row of green plants out of focus in the background. End ID]

I had such a great view of the Burrowing Owls that I had to bring my family back to see them on our last day in Tucson. Because we were heading out of town in the middle of the day, I was confident we'd find them right away and avoid testing the patience of my kid. It turns out I didn't have to worry. Not only were the Owls right where I left them, but the kid had fallen asleep on the drive, so we had to wake him up to see them! And seeing as I already had the camera within easy reach, I had to take a few more photos.

[ID: A Burrowing Owl stands on a mound of dirt. This one is looking alert in the midday sun, standing and scanning the area around the edge of the farm field. End ID]

On a trip full of exciting views, long hikes, and thousands of photos, it was nice to finish the trip quietly sitting in the car just a few yards away from such a compelling bird. And it always feels good to track down a lifer and share that experience with others!

[karvoja]

Presidentinlinnan itsenäisyyspäivän vastaanotolla eli Linnan juhlissa tullaan tarjoamaan Lapin makuja, kuten poroa, loimulohipiirakkaa ja riekkoa, tiedotti Presidentinkanslia viime viikolla.

Lintujärjestö Birdlifen suojelu- ja tutkimusjohtaja Teemu Lehtiniemi ei aluksi kuulosta riekkotarjoilusta kuullessaan erityisen järkyttyneeltä. ”Ei se erityisen pöyristyttävää ole, jos on varmuus siitä, että riekot ovat peräisin Ylä-Lapista ja että ne on pyydetty ampumalla eikä ansalangoilla”, hän summaa.

Pyyntitapa on kuitenkin Lehtiniemen mielestä tärkeä. Birdlife pitää ansalangoilla pyytämistä samaan tapaan epäeettisenä kuin Etelä-Euroopassa harjoitettua pikkulintujen liima-ansapyyntiä. Lehtiniemen ensimmäisen haastattelun jälkeen HS saa presidentinkansliasta vastauksen riekkojen alkuperästä. ”Riekko on ansapyydetty viime talvena Enontekiön alueelta. Tarjoiluihin on varattu yhteensä 32 riekkoa”, kansliasta kerrotaan sähköpostitse. ”Kun se näin on, niin ei se kyllä ole eettistä tarjottavaa”, Birdlifen Lehtiniemi kommentoi asiasta kuullessaan.

Ansalangat ovat perinteinen riekon pyyntitapa. Siinä riekkojen kulkureiteille tunturikoivikoihin viritellään siimalenkkejä, jotka kiristyvät riekon ympärille ja vangitsevat sen. ”Lintu jää siihen kiinni ja kuolee hiljalleen”, Lehtiniemi sanoo. Ansapyynti on sallittu Utsjoen, Inarin ja Enontekiön kunnissa. Pyyntialueet ovat suuria ja pyytäjä löytää linnun tyypillisesti kuolleena, Lehtiniemi sanoo. Metsäkanalinnut ovat voimakkaita lentoon lähtijöitä, jolloin ne paetessaan saavat lenkin kiristymään entisestään. Jos presidentinkanslian tiedosta pitää jotakin positiivista etsiä, se on Lehtiniemen mukaan se, että pyynti on tehty viime talvena, kun riekkojen tunturikanta oli erityisen korkea.

Metsästäjien oma käsitys on, että riekot kuolevat kiristyviin lenkkeihin melko nopeasti kuristumalla.

HS kysyi asiaa myös Metsähallituksen eläköityneeltä naalin suojelun asiantuntijalta Tuomo Ollilalta, joka on liikkunut paljon Tunturi-Lapissa ja puhunut pyytäjien kanssa. Ollilankin käsitys on, että riekot kuolevat ”kohtuullisen nopeasti” silloin, jos ansa on viritetty onnistuneesti. ”Toki jos se jää ansaan huonommin, se voi olla eri asia”, hän sanoo.

Yleisesti ottaen Birdlife on sitä mieltä, että uhanalaisia lintulajeja ei pitäisi metsästää. Ampumisen lopettaminen olisi helpoin tapa auttaa lajeja, Lehtiniemi perustelee. Suomessa ammutaan yhä esimerkiksi erittäin uhanalaisia tukkasotkia ja vaarantuneita heinätaveja ja jouhisorsia.

Ja pääruokana jokihelmisimpukkakeittoa, naalitartar sekä ilveksenmaksapalleroita kiiltovalkkupedillä.

[trendingimages-060612]

Bird in forest