American Birds Post

Ok so I know this is generally for local wildlife but I finally saw so many of my bucket list NA species and am super excited so I'll make just this one post to share a few! Promise after this British birds to follow :)

Male and Female Eastern Bluebirds (Sialia sialis - which means 'bird' so its name is "The Birdiest Bird" and that makes me very happy indeed. They were once very common so maybe that's why? These two were relaxing on a very noisy location and completely unafraid. Such a treat.)

American Robin (a thrush, Turdus migratorius. These guys have a BUNCH of subspecies and trying to study them all hurt my brain! We need a good chart comparing them. If anyone has a good resource please please let me know. Otherwise I might be forced to make a chart myself. These were super common everywhere we went and very cheeky, even fighting their own reflections in vehicles and windows :o  )

A male carpenter bee (Xylocopa virginica). They're huge and whe on the hunt for mates they are everywhere and very unafraid! not a bird but about as noisy as one...

American song sparrow (Melospiza melodia). These cuties were loud but rarely left the safety of the shrubs. In fact a lot of my photos ended up being like this:

Not to be mistaken for the White-Throated Sparrow (Zonotrichia albicollis) above! So many sparrow species and allies there it was a challenge sorting them all!

A super exciting find! 'Gray catbird', another loud but good at hiding species with an irritatingly difficult name (Dumetella caolinensis, it just doesn't flow very well from the tongue!)

Male and female for my efforts at actually sitting still for once, aha. I'm terible at being still.

There were so many birds of prey in the skies, it astonished and pleased me no end. Ospreys (the white American ones), vultures, hawks, eagles, kites... Unfortunately my camera I took is not very good at capturing airborne birds so most of the pics are good for ID only and not very focused or pretty.

The only slightly good pic I got of an American Osprey (Pandion haliaetus = one of the most frustrating scientific names in existence for so many reasons, look it up if you feel like a linguistic rabbithole adventure) but I'll take it! Watching it land and eat its catch was so special.

Bank swallow (Riparia riparia) considered a pest there whereas here we are desperate to spot them! It was a real treat to get to see so many even if photographing them was hellishly difficult for me XD

Here's an interesting thing: Their mallards are very different to ours. Longer, leaner, and slightly larger. More reminiscent of Asian species and also more blue than green. A curious thing. They also have 2 local species that closely resemble mallards but are wild. It was a fun ride IDing them all.

I think this is a Bushtit (Psaltriparus minimus). I didn't get any great pics but it was an unusual spotting :)

A Chihuahuan Raven (Corvus cryptoleucus) which was quite a surprise and a really good one at that. These guys stayed quite high so good photos were hard but they buzzed me for food so I got to see them close. Gorgeous, easily one of my favourite corvids.

The red cardinals (Cardinalis cardinalis) also known as Northern Cardinals/redfinches/redbirds, etcetc were in full flash as it was the height of breeding season. The females have an unusual purple wing/green body combo that makes for a startling experience when they fly by.

This animated green leaf gave me no end of fun tracking it through the trees. Tiny and green and the same shape as a bamboo (invase, very sad) leaf from below, it really loved langing directly over me behind twigs and once it stopped moving i could barely tell where it was. Instead of a percher, I believe it's a tree clinger. ID not confirmed but it could be an Acadian Flycatcher (Empinodax virescens) or maybe a Vireo of some sort. I hope it is a flycatcher cause that would be an epic sighting for me!

There were bluejays (Cyanocitta cristata) everywhere but they stay high and in trees so I was so glad to get these few snaps of one out in the open in good light! Their feathers are quite something.

Bonus red fox (Vulpes vulpes [flufficus]) for you. This one was so ruggedly fluffy and contented looking. American foxes up north tend to be heftier than ours from what I can tell.

I reckon this is a white-breasted nuthatch (Sitta carolinensis). they have so many tree creeping species, even a few blue woodpeckers!

A hermit thrush unless I'm mistaken! (Catharus guttatus) Barely saw this little one and they were very, very quiet when out in the open. Very reedy and tinny voice when they're hiding, almost uncannily so.

I think this is the best photo I got of a chickadee (I think black-capped, Poecile atricapillus). They are very sneaky, tiny, highly arboreal and like to stay above my head! Heard them everywhere though, which is nice.

I got to see all but 1 species of NA woodpecker which was just breathtaking, including this Pileated (Dryocopus pileatus) of Woody Woodpecker fame. The cry is hauntingly like a laugh. Poor light and super far away so forgive blurriness :(

Ok that's it for now, I'll save this and add more later when I get a mo :)