South Island Saddleback are one of the success stories of New Zealand species conservation. Once common throughout the South Island, by 1962 they were restricted to just 4 offshore islands at the south of Stewart Island. Rat predation having seen the rest off. And then in 1962 rats were discovered ashore on these islands and […]
Lark Sparrow on Antelope Island
I had some luck with a cooperative Lark Sparrow (Chondestes grammacus) this past Sunday where the handsome bird stuck around for quite a bit on several different perches. Lark Sparrows are showing up in nice numbers this year on Antelope Island State Park and I am tickled that they are because they are great subjects. […]
Lush Green Spring at Chaffey’s Locks
We started bright and early for our carolinian adventure to Chaffey’s Locks. We had a hot and wonderful day exploring the area, where some of our best songbirds were Yellow-throated Vireo, Scarlet Tanager, Black-billed Cuckoo, Cerulean & Golden Winged Warbler. On the raptor side we had several Red-shouldered Hawks, a few Broad-winged Hawks and Coopers […]
Three birders covering an area of 710,000 km²
The whole of Saudi Arabia is under-watched bird wise, but the Eastern Province is particularly poorly represented with birders. This is mainly due to a lack of interest from the local population, with a few notable exceptions, and a restriction on foreigners travelling to Saudi Arabia unless they are working. Even if you are working […]
Armoured and Dangerous – In Cairns
The City of Cairns, in N. Queensland is Australia’s most recognisable and liveable tropical playground. But amidst this peaceful mixed playground, an armoured and dangerous predator is spreading. Armoured and Dangerous, the Australian saltwater crocodile, is one of the planets most efficient killers, and while two decades ago, it was an animal rarely seen or […]
Birding in Brazil – fourth of four days photographing in Serra da Canastra National Park
Day 22, the fourth day On the last day in the Serra da Canastra, our goal was Brazilian Merganser, Mergus octosetaceus. As it could not be any different, we left early from the hotel towards the Casca D’Anta waterfall, and on our way we would make some stops to try to see the duck. First […]
Warbling Vireo – singing from the nest (plus a bonus duck)
On a tip from a friend, I headed to a Boomer Lake Park here in Stillwater, OK yesterday morning to confirm the appearance of a rare duck. I found the Black-bellied Whistling Duck quite easily! Although Stillwater is a few hundred miles north of where this species is distributed according to range maps in most […]
My good friends
It took me long enough to put up some photos of my Golden-cheeked Warbler buddies. My favorite from this season so far is the fledgling preening. Come on! That’s cute stuff. Real cute. Don’t you just want to put the little guy in your pocket? Ahh, I love them, obviously. I keep coming back to […]