Some pictures I took recently

Now I don't know if photos taken in a Zoo count as wildlife... maybe not, but I had such a great time at Lincoln Park Zoo in Chicago thought I thought I had to post some of these.

Part 1 - Birds

Bald Eagles






Vulture


Cranes?


Ostrich


Flamingo


Part 2 will be Mammals!

adding a few pics i took at the end of dec and last week. curious about an id on the last one, thanks.




coal tit at the peanuts.




treecreeper i shadowed round the garden for a bit.




spot the treecreeper!





love little redpolls. males? females? one on far right a male and bottom left i think. others...not sure.




love our great tits who nest in a hole in the wall out the back every year. def have more chaffinches in the garden than any other bird, have counted 40 at a time under the feeders.




my favourite - the blue tit!




left male, right female?




goldfinch checkin me out.




goldfinches causing a ruckus as usual! : )




pretty bullfinch in the ash tree. they seem to stay in pairs all year, is that right? rarely see a male without a female or vice versa.




what happens if you leave the seed bucket unattended! :P



a fluffed up female chaffinch? or something else?
same bird below...

IMG_4645 by carl cotter, on Flickr


Great Black Backed Gull by carl cotter, on Flickr


IMG_4638 by carl cotter, on Flickr

Some snaps from Bray area today..

was Iceland Gull, new ID update as a Kumlien's Gull by irishbirding.com..





Turnstone being chased by Black-headed Gulls..





Black Headed Gull..



Egrets in Portmarnock, Co. Dublin..


Black Necked Grebe..(last week)..

Traonach wrote: »

That's a beautiful looking kumlien's Gull V Bull:)
(just noticed the grey primaries)

Looking at the pictures, the primaries don't like anywhere near dark enough for Kumlien's Gull. They are certainly smudged grey, but I would expect a much clearer pattering. Anyway, I'll have a look for it in Bray tomorrow.

Some more gull action - a Caspian Gull at Lake Constance (southern Germany).

V Bull wrote: »

V Moth = Looking at the pictures, the primaries don't like anywhere near dark enough for Kumlien's Gull.

Another photo, might be a bit clearer..

Kumlien's Gull.JPG

Thanks for that. This website (http://www.tertial.us/gulls/tkg.htm) gives a good overview of the Iceland/Kumlien's/Thayer's Gull complex. Just as overview for those unfamiliar with the group, Kumlien's Gull is either considered to be a subspecies of Iceland Gull or a hybrid between Iceland and Thayer's Gull (which replaces Iceland Gull in North America).

Personally, I would think the latter is the case as Kumlien's Gull tend to be extremely variable for a gull species - light or dark eye, primary colouring. This pic shows that quite well.

By the looks of it, the Bray Gull may have some Kumliens "heritage", but whether its a pure Kumlien's or a backcross (parents were Iceland & Kumliens) would be difficult to tell.

Hey, so part 2 of my Lincoln Park Zoo photofest is of mammals, I still feel like zoo photography is cheating...

My first Water Rail..:)

Hey guys, so I am in Austin, Texas at the moment and I have come across some pretty interesting birds that looks a bit like ones back home, but not quite... so I was wondering if you know what they are?

1. Like a collared dove but way smaller


2. WHITE heron???


3. Corvid of some description, quite slender, makes a bizarre cackling almost growling call


Think this might be a female version


4. ?


5. Vultures!? These guys were right near downtown, and had SOME wingspan on them




6. Hawk of some ilk??



Help appreciated on giving these guys a name, jeez as soon as I leave Ireland I have no clue what Im looking at!

1 - White-winged Dove
2- Cattle Egret
3- I'd go with Great-tailed Grackle on this one. Looks too large for Common Grackle, but is tricky without size comparison or hearing the calls. The second picture is a female Common/Great-tailed Grackle.
4- Northern Mockingbird
5- Turkey Vultures.
6- Judging by the size, I would be 90% certain its Cooper's Hawk rather than Sharp-shinned. However, the two are quite tricky to separate without size comparison.

The Nation Geographic or Sibley (bird) field guides are very good and widely available.

I went for a walk in Corkagh park today and took some pics of the birds enjoying the sunshine, I know they are not too exotic but thought I'd share some with you... Hope you like them..


Swans by Lucan Snapper, on Flickr


Swan by Lucan Snapper, on Flickr

Enjoying the sun....


Heron by Lucan Snapper, on Flickr


Duck by Lucan Snapper, on Flickr


Coot by Lucan Snapper, on Flickr


05-012 107 by Lucan Snapper, on Flickr


Swan by Lucan Snapper, on Flickr

Some were camera shy...


Ducks by Lucan Snapper, on Flickr



Duck by Lucan Snapper, on Flickr