The Red-tailed Hawk (Buteo jamaicensis) is one of the most widespread and commonly observed birds of prey in North America (click on photos for full sized images). The buff yellow iris in this bird, photographed at Colusa National Wildlife Refuge, identifies it as a juvenile. If you like birds, you’ll love World Bird Wednesday! Go […]
Author: Larry Jordan
Larry Jordan is an avid birder and amateur photographer living on the Pacific Flyway near the Central Valley of Northern California. He is a board member of his local Audubon Society and is a bird and wildlife conservationist. Larry contributes to several wildlife conservation organizations and is a BirdLife International "Species Champion." He is also Habitat Manager for the Burrowing Owl Conservation Network, an organization dedicated to the protection and restoration of the Western Burrowing Owl population in the United States. Larry has been blogging about birds since September of 2007 at TheBirdersReport.com
Ash-throated Flycatchers Nesting in a Natural Cavity
Ash-throated Flycatchers (Myiarchus cinerascens) migrate to Northern California from Mexico and Central America every Spring to nest. They are cavity nesting birds and I one of the species that nest in my birdhouses every year. Every May I look forward to waking up in the morning hearing that sweet gurgling call. The gathering of nest […]
Violet-green Swallows Are House Hunting
About a week ago I began seeing Violet-green Swallows (Tachycineta thalassina) flying overhead. The year before last, I was fortunate to have Violet-green Swallows nesting in one of my birdhouses but they also nested in this same oak tree last year. The photographs taken below were snapped a couple of hours before sunset when I […]
Hunting Purple Martins
Last week my friend Gary Stacey, the new Wintu Audubon Society president, took me out on Shasta Lake in search of Purple Martins (Progne subis). You see, Gary had told me that last year when he was out on the lake he saw Purple Martins feeding their young, and had gotten a good close look […]
A Visit From A Peregrine Falcon
Peregrine Falcon (Falcon peregrinus) photos by Larry Jordan Recently I had a photo blind reserved at Delevan National Wildlife Refuge, part of the Sacramento National Wildlife Refuge Complex. When I arrived at the blind about an hour before dawn, as is required, I was not too excited. As the sun rose above the Sierra Nevada […]
Over Two Thirds of Fatalities of Endangered California Condors Caused by Lead Poisoning
Here is another no-brainer for you. A new study authored by San Diego Zoo Institute for Conservation Research scientists has found that 67 percent of adult condor deaths are attributable to lead poisoning! The massive effort to save the California Condor (Gymnogyps californianus) was initiated in 1982 when the remaining 22 wild birds were captured […]
California’s Largest Burrowing Owl Population Is in Rapid Decline
Burrowing Owls (Athene cunicularia) are listed as endangered in Canada and threatened in Mexico. They are considered by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) to be a “Bird of Conservation Concern” at the national level, in three USFWS regions, and in nine Bird Conservation Regions. They are also listed as endangered in Minnesota, threatened […]