Greater Scaup - 03Jan2018 & 20Jan2024

Pea Island on the OBX in North Carolina is a great place to pick up Greater Scaup.

This is a classic adult with the nice rounded head, clean white flanks and honker of a bill.

Young scaup are tricky to ID when separate, but when you get them side by side it's fairly easy.  This was one of those times with both species photographed at Carolina Beach Lake which is a good place to get both.

The Greater on the left has a more round head profile with the Lesser showing a bit of a peak on the back of the head.  The Greater is a tad bit larger, but the bill is noticeably so with a larger nail (tip).  The white around the bill is more pronounced on the Greater.  Male birds have color differences but depending on the light, they can be misleading.

Sandhill Crane - 26Mar2018 & 17Dec2017

I think I was holding off for some close-up shots but these will have to do for now until I get them.  I know I have seen them up close in Florida but for some reason I don't have pics saved.  I also went to Nebraska and took a zillion closeup pics but that was back when I had a crappy camera and I am not sure what happened to those pics.

The first pic is Colorado in March 2018.

And here is the typical far off view from NC taken in the fields near the Beaufort, NC airport in 2017.

American Crow - 04Oct2017

Somehow I did not have one of the most common birds in NC saved in my archive list so here it is. I think was waiting for good video as you really need the bird to be calling to differentiate between American and Fish.  Fish Crows are a bit smaller and shorter legged, but without perspective its best to stick to voice which is much more nasal on a Fish Crow.  I must have heard this one as I had tagged it as an American.  

Common Redpoll - 16Jul2017

I have been going through pics in my archives and realized I never reported these photos from Iceland.  Probably I was confused at the time because this Redpoll was immature and not the typical red-capped adult.  I do have one from years ago in NC but I must have lost the pic.  Hopefully I will get one this year as we are having a finch invasion year and a couple have been seen.

Scaly-naped Pigeon - 25Dec2014

Here is a Scaly-naped Pigeon from one of my first trips with family that was planned around birds.  This was from my Puerto Rico trip in 2014.  I ended up seeing more on my trip to Cuba in 2016 but the photos were even worse if you can believe that.

American Black Duck - 14Dec2016 & 14Nov2020

Somehow I still didn't have an entry dedicated to American Black Duck in my archives and now that I look through my pics I could only find a few.  That is what happens to the more common species that are a bit drab, they get neglected.

This pic is from Massachusett's but it could have been anywhere on the east coast.

Here is one from NC with a nice comparison to Mottled Duck which also has a clean yellow bill on the males.  The Black Duck on the left is a female paired with this stud Mottled male.

Wedge-billed Woodcreeper - 29Nov2016

This furtive woodcreeper with a dainty bill was spotted at La Paz Waterfall Gardens in Costa Rica.  

Chestnut-capped Brushfinch - 29Nov2016

Another lurker of the understory, this pic will have to do for now.  This brushfinch was lurking on the grounds of La Paz Waterfall Gardens in Costa Rica.

Tawny-throated Leaftosser - 29Nov2016

Here is a species I am unlikely to get a decent picture of unless I start getting into flash photography as they tend to lurk in dark understory doing what else but tossing leaves.  Photo taken at La Paz Waterfall Gardens in Costa Rica.

Cocoa Woodcreeper - 27Nov2016

Although this particular trip to Costa Rica was literally a wash (one of the few hurricanes to hit this area happened during our vacation), I have fond memories and I managed to bag some lifers including this Cocoa Woodcreeper.  Photo taken at the famous La Selva Biological Station on the Caribbean slope.

King Vulture - 27Nov2016

I am starting to think I will only ever see this species soaring high in the thermals, so I am posting what poor pics I have.  Pictures taken at the famous La Selva Biological site on the Caribbean slope side.

Emerald Tanager - 23Nov2016

Despite being a generally poor photo (it was raining and the bird is on a fetid fruit feeder), it makes me nostalgic for geri-birding in Costa Rica.  Photo taken at Arenal Observatory Lodge.

Band-tailed Pigeon - 23Nov2016 & 15Jan2014

Here is a bird I most definitely need to get some better photos of and considering their range it shouldn't be hard.  I have seen them in the Pacific Northwest, Costa Rica and even one in NC.

Here is a photo from Poas Costa Rica.

And here is the awful photos of the one in NC.  Back then I had a crappy camera and really didn't care about quality much.

Long-tailed Silky-flycatcher - 23Nov2016

The problem with the cloud forests is that it is always cloudy and difficult to get decent photos.  This was my only Long-tailed Silky-flycatcher, so this pic will have to do.  Taken at Poas Costa Rica.

Flame-throated Warbler - 22Nov2016

In cleaning my old pics I saw this one I never posted to my list, probably because the photo was subpar and I was hoping to re-acquaint myself soon.  This little stunner is a high elevation bird that typically lives from 6500ft to timberline and this particular one was at the top of Volcan Poas in Costa Rica.

MacGillivray's Warbler - 04Dec2020

I was just taking up birding when the last chaseable MacG's Warbler was seen, I think at Lake Mattamuskeet, so I wasn't quite a twitcher yet.  I have seen them out west but my photographs leave something to be desired, so it didn't take long to convince myself to chase this one when it was found in Duck on the OBX.  I truly had to work hard for this one.  When I arrived at 9am, no one had seen it yet and in fact the whole boardwalk area where it was seen was very quiet with almost no birds well past noon.  Birders came and left with no luck.  At around 2pm I was walking back to my truck and noticed a small feeding flock with Chickadees, Cardinals and a wintering Parula so I waited and out popped MacG!  

MacGillivray's are not usually seen sitting in an azalea bush.

Black Storm-Petrel - 30Mar2016

Here is another poorly photographed species that I was saving for a better photo, but with pandemics raging and life being so short, I figured I would get it immortalized on my blog.  There are quite a few dark Storm-petrels that hang around San Diego waters but I remember passing this one through an expert and he concurred.  I can't wait to get back out on a San Diego pelagic!

 

Calliope Hummingbird - 04Mar2016

I was waiting for a nicer photograph but who knows when another Calliope will show up in NC.  This ratty looking bird was hanging out at someone's feeder in Swepsonville, NC.  Its been so long I forgot such a town existed!  A bird bander had been there before me and painted its forehead which is the reason for the cowlick.

Pyrrhuloxia - 25Nov2015

I was reconciling my bird photos and found this one from 2015 never was captured in my list!  Here is a damn good bird and a decent pic.  The SW version of our cardinal, although it's true they overlap in Arizona.

Pileated Finch - 30Jul2019

Per Wiki: The grey pileated finch (Coryphospingus pileatus), also known as the pileated finch, is a species of bird in the family Thraupidae, where it has recently been moved to from the Emberizidae. It is found in Brazil, Colombia, French Guiana, and Venezuela in subtropical or tropical dry forests, subtropical or tropical moist lowland forests, subtropical or tropical dry shrubland, and heavily degraded former forest.

We found these in La Guajira, the dry forest in Riohacha, Colombia. The first pic is from a local's property that had some feeders set up to attract birds and consequently tourists.

 

Brown-crested Flycatcher - 30Jul2019

These large Myiarchus flycatchers are similar to our familiar Great Crested Flycatcher and can be found all the way from South America through the US Southwest.  I suspect these go undetected east of the Mississippi as vagrants because of their similarity.  Some good birder will find one in NC eventually.  This one was found in La Guajira, the dry scrub forest near Riohacha, Colombia.  

White-fringed Antwren - 30Jul2019

We had great looks at this dry scrubland bird in La Guajira, Riohacha Colombia.

Black-crested Antshrike - 31Jul2019

We had seen a couple females of this species the prior day but this is one of those birds that you just need to see a male.  This particular spot called Cari-Cari was a sprawling farmland with dry scrub and marshland habitat.  We were there for 4 hours and had a list of 99 species!!  It takes me all day to get 99 species in NC and that is on a good day.

Tocuyo Sparrow - 30Jul2019

Have you ever been on a birding trip where the guides lead you to believe the bird you are about to see is critically endangered and super rare only to find out later they have a status of Least Concern and have stable populations?  Well in their defense it is apparently quite rare in Colombia but does have significant populations in Venezuela.  However, who knows when traveling to Venezuela will be a reality.  I was not too pleased with the looks and photos I obtained, but sometimes you just have to accept the skulkers will not cooperate.  Photographed in La Guajira, the dry scrubland next to Riohacha, Colombia.

Here was one of the juvenile sparrows.

An adult made a super fast run across a dirt path and this is all I got...  One day I shall return to crush these little guys.

Southern Beardless Tyrannulet - 30Jul2019

These little guys look a lot like a Northern Beardless Tyrannulet which we sometimes get as a vagrant in the southwest US.  Photographed in La Guajira, the dry forest in Riohacha, Colombia.

White-whiskered Spinetail - 30Jul2019

If it wasn't for that pesky stick, it would have been a decent photo.  This is just one more of many species endemic to that northeast corner of Colombia and NW corner of Venezuela.  Photo taken in La Guajira, the dry forest near Riohacha, Colombia.

Purple Finch (Haemorhous purpureus) - 24Nov2020

Finally!!  I have seen and photographed Purple Finches in NC before but this was the first one I captured on my feeder at home.  This photo was taken through my window and they continue to this day so its just a matter of time before I crush them with better photos.  I am eagerly anticipating other winter finches and hoping they visit my feeder.  Evening Grossbeaks and Crossbills would be nice.