Friday, December 19, 2008

Wickedly close, but no Flicker yet

At least I think I came close.  I saw a flash of red fly over as I was focused on my neighbor's feeder yesterday, hoping to get lucky.  It was a bit larger than I was expecting, but it settled at the top of a pole, and I felt it must be a Flicker.  Just as I got my camera lined up, it flew off.  I still wasn't sure, until I blew up this bit of its tail feathers, the only tantalizing bit captured.  I do think it was a Flicker.  Maybe tomorrow.
I did have fun photographing other birds.  I know this is a Finch, although I'm not so sure of its exact name.  
And I think this is a Starling, although according to one site, it should have a yellow beak.  Mabye it's a Grackle?
I'm not sure what this is, but its silhouette looked elderly, cold, miserable, and sort of sadly bearded.   
Song Sparrow?  House Sparrow?  Tree Sparrow?  Well, I think the sparrow part is correct:)  Chubby little thing.  I wonder if it's fluffed up to stay warmer.
And a tenuous link to the rest of the post, but I liked this decoration hanging in the window at the downtown Wicked Cafe yesterday afternoon.  The connection?  Don't groan.  Starling? 
And an aside: Apart from the great lattes, I think I respond to The Wicked's slightly rebellious attitude.  

7 comments:

  1. Yes, that looks like a flicker bum to me (based on experience with our flicker friend).

    I've never seen a spotted grackle. Ours are black with deep blue heads.

    We have all sorts of fat little birds hanging out in our garage to keep warm. I don't know what they are, but I like to see them perched in unlikely places.

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  2. Definitely a flicker butt in that first shot. They are quite a large bird - about 12 - 14" - and multicoloured with a grey top to the head, red crown, black bib, tan face, speckled belly.

    I think you are right on the starling. The finch is a purple finch, by the looks of it.

    About this time you should also start to see the varied thrush which looks like a large robin in convicts stripes - black bib and black mask on orange, and orange stipes on crown and wings. They can often be seen on the snow picking up the seeds from under the feeders.

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  3. Thanks, Jean! Now, I have another bird to watch for:) Will let you know if I see the varied thrush (and the flicker, of course)

    dp, I think young grackles are spotted. At least they were in Ste. Agather, Que. Only intuition to go on (and now Jean's expertise) but I still think the one in the pic is a Starling, wrong color beak or not.

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  4. Oh, Carol, I should have mentioned that a starling's bill changes colour - it is yellow in spring and then gets progressively darker through winter, changing back to yellow in the spring.

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  5. You're right, I liked the bird photos! Nice to learn some of their names... I'm really bad at bird names, I think I've been calling the little fat ones chickadees. Do we even have chickadees out west? I'm not much of a bird-namer but I am a bird-admirer!

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  6. Yes, Mali, we do have chick-a-dees. I am very far from an expert, but it seems to me, most of them have black, or at least dark, caps. They're also a bit tinier than the sparrows. Bird admirer is what I would call myself as well. That's where it starts, don't you think?

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