Broad-Winged Hawk Bird – Bird of Prey – 12/29/2017

This Broad-Winged Hawk was photographed in Pittsboro, North Carolina

Select this link to see photos of the Broad-Winged Hawk

The Broad-Winged Hawk is a small hawk (about the size of a Crow) with brown back and head, a tanned patterned chest, a white tail banding about as wide as the black, and with white wing linings. Its range is southern Canada and eastern half of United States. It winters in Central and South America. It has a habitat of coniferous forests, and groves often near water and/or clearings. It feeds on small mammals, amphibians, reptiles, and birds. It hunts small prey from a perch in the woods.

 

 

Yellow-Bellied Sapsucker Bird – Nonpasserine Land Bird – 9/26/2014 to 12/29/2017

The adult male Yellow-Bellied Sapsucker was photographed at Lake park in Milwaukee, Wisconsin

The adult female Yellow-Bellied Sapsucker was photographed at Fearrington Village in Pittsboro, North Carolina

The immature Yellow-Bellied Sapsucker was photographed at Lake Park in Milwaukee, Wisconsin

Select this link to see photos of the Yellow-Bellied Sapsucker

The male Yellow-Breasted Sapsucker is patterned dark gray above and light gray below with a distinctive white wing patch, and with a red forehead and throat patches. The female is similar to the male except it has only the forehead red patch and the upper and under has a light brown tint. The immature has no or slight red patch and may have no or slight brown tint. It has a range of Canada to the Southern Appalachians. It has a habitat of woodlands, aspen groves, orchards, and other trees. It feeds on insects, tree sap, berries, and fruit. Sapsuckers drill orderly rows of small holes in trees for sap, and visit them periodically to obtain sap.

 

 

 

Common Shelduck Bird – Exotic – 7/7/2016

The Common Shelduck was photographed in Duke Gardens at Durham, North Carolina.

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Select this link to see the photo location

The Common Shelduck is black and white with a reddish chest band, a dark green head, and the drake has a knob on its red bill. It has a range of Europe and Asia. It has a habitat of mudflats, saline and brackish lakes, and fresh water rivers or marches. It has a diet of salt-water mollusks, insects, worms, seeds, and small fish.

 

Barnacle Goose Bird – Swimmers – 5/19/2011

This Barnacle Goose was photographed at the Sarah P. Duke University Gardens in Durham, North Carolina.

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The Barnacle Goose is a small black and white goose with a black neck to the waterline, and a white face. It is heavily scalloped above. It is from the Arctic Coasts of Greenland and Siberia (it may occasionally reach northeastern North America), but it is considered an aviary bird. Its habitat is mainly salt bays, lakes, estuaries, and tundra. It eats stems and roots of grasses, seeds, berries, and aquatic plants.

 

Chipping Sparrow Bird – Passerines – 7/15/2012

This Chipping Sparrow was photographed at a small sub-division in Pittsboro, North Carolina

 

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The Chipping Sparrow is a small gray-breasted sparrow with a bright rufous cap, a black line through the eye, and a white line over it. A gray rump usually can distinguish it, if it can be seen. The sexes are similar. It has a range over Canada, and the United States to Nicaragua. It habitats open woods, conifers, orchards, farms, and towns. The diet is mostly insects and seeds.

 

Rufous Sided or Eastern Towhee Bird – Passerines – 4/3/2010

For the nesting season males become bolder and may be seen singing in the braches instead of normally scratching leaf litter under dense thickets

These Rufous-Sided or Eastern Towhees were photographed at Fearrington village Camden Park in Pittsboro, North Carolina

Select this link to see photos or a slideshow of the Rufous Sided Towhee

The male Rufous-Sided Towhee has a black chest, head, and back with rufous sides and a white belly. The female is similar to the male except for being brown where the male is black. It has a white streaked pattern in the wings and tail. It is smaller and more slender than a Robin. It has a red eye. It has a range in the eastern half of the United States. It has a habitat in open woods, undergrowth, and bushy edges. It is a secretive bird that is found industrially scratching in the leaf litter under dense thickets. It feeds mostly on insects, seeds, and berries.

 

 

Turkey Vulture Bird – Birds of Prey – 12/25/2012

This Turkey Vulture was photgraphed on a power line right-of-way in Pittsboro, NorthCarolina.

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The Turkey Vulture is an eagle sized (spread 6 ft) black bird with a red turkey like head. Immature birds have black heads. When overhead note the 2-toned blackish wings as it soars, rocks and tilts unsteadily. It is a familiar sight over much of North America. It is a bird-of- prey and plays an important role in natures clean up, quickly disposing of carcasses of dead animals. It has a range over the United States and Southern Canada. It migrates in flocks and may travel long distances without feeding. It has a widespread habitat over open country, woods, deserts, and foothills. It varies from the Black Vulture by having a red head and a longer tail. It feeds mostly on carrion (dead animals and fish).

 

Pine Siskin Bird – Passerines – 2/4/2012

The male Pine Siskin was photographed at the Bong State Recreational Area in Kansasville, Wisconsin

The female Pine Siskin was photographed with the male at Bong SRA. It has a duller appearance than the male.

Select this link to see photos or a slideshow of the Pine Siskin

The Pine Siskin is a small, brownish, heavily streaked finch with a deeply notched tail, and sharply pointed bill. Usually shows a touch of yellow in the wings and base of tail. They have a Range from southern Canada to southern United States. The Pine Siskin has a habitat in conifers, mixed woods, alders, and weedy areas. They feed on thistles and sunflowers, and feeders. They are very similar to the American Goldfinch. They usually roam in twittering flocks and descend on fields of thistles and wild sunflowers.

 

 

 

 

Green Heron Bird – Long Legged Waders – 5/16/2010

The Green Heron was sited and photographed at the Wehr Nature Center, Milwaukee, WI

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The adult Green Heron has a bluish back, deep chestnut neck, and greenish yellow or orange legs. The immature Green Heron has a streaked neck. It has a habitat of lakes, ponds, marshes, swamps, or streamsides, and ranges on the eastern half of the United States.

Select this link to a canoe trip where the Green Heron was sited and photographed

 

Tufted Titmouse Bird – Passerines – 5/9/2011

A small gray mouse colored bird with a tufted crest. It lives in the eastern half of the United States.

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The Tufted Titmouse is a small gray colored bird with a tufted crest and rusty colored flanks. Its range is from southern tip of Ontario south to the Gulf States. It is common all year in the eastern states and likes sunflower seeds at feeders. Its habitat is woodlands, shade trees, groves, and feeders.

The above Tufted Titmouse was photographed at the Sarah P Duke Gardens at Duke University, Durham, North Carolina.

Select this link to see panoramic photos of the Sarah P Duke Gardens