#birdlife

[starbirdpnw]

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

[noseysilverfox]

March 2025

The laughing dove, Senegal dove, or little brown dove (lat. Spilopelia senegalensis) is looking for a place to nest🪺🕊

It's interesting that the cooing of this bird sounds like laughter, which is why its English name is "laughing dove." From personal experience, I can say that sometimes, especially early in the morning, the turtledoves like to make this sound, which, to me, resembles the chuckle of an old woman with a sore throat😅 It's both funny and eerie, especially if you hear it for the first time!😂

Малая горлица, египетская горлица (лат. Spilopelia senegalensis) ищет место для гнезда🪺🕊

Интересно, что воркование этой птицы напоминает смех, отсюда и английское название птицы: «смеющийся голубь». Исходя из личного опыта, скажу, что иногда, особенно ранним утром, горлицы любят издавать такой звук, лично мне напоминающий смешок старушки с простуженным горлом😅 И смешно, и жутко, если слышишь его впервые!😂

[birds]

Barn owl, looking straight at me!

[elegantpersoncreation]

Bird of the year 2025 - Granmeis - Willow Tit

📷Anna Mari K.Priésner

[patricianicoloso]

Sanhaçu-cinzento/Sayaca Tanager

Thraupis sayaca

[birdsittingtoronto]

Another moment of fun sitting with Tina!✨🍃

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

[missedmilemarkers]

[gina025]

Birds feeding on canolas

[halltastic]

🐓

[coffeenuts]

[lintulinssi]

Bird action during a warm january.

Coal tit // Eurasian treecreeper // Yellowhammer // Blue tit

[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.

[birds]

A beautiful heron on the golf course at the back of my house. These birds are so majestic, and almost prehistoric in the way they move and fly.

[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!

[patricianicoloso]

Cardeal/Red-crested Cardinal

Paroaria coronata

[birdsittingtoronto]

Kiwi picture perfect!✨

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