Seagulls in Clearwater Florida

Here is a link that might be useful: Feeders and Seed

A little more help towards at least 100 in the string...
Northern Pintail Duck @ 11.09.13

Northern Shoveler (duck) @ 11.09.13

Great Blue Heron @ 11.09.13

Belted Kingfisher @ 11.09.13

Two American Coots during a slight disagreement over ???. Taken 11.09.13

Ring Billed Gull @ 11.11.13

Common Tern (may possibly be a Forster's Tern) @ 11.11.13

Pied Bill Grebe @ 11.11.13

Skeeter

Your pictures are great. Thanks for sharing them with us. Are all of the pictures taken in Texas? At a lake or at a seashore?

Bob

95% of these were taken at a local in-town lake here in Dallas. White Rock Lake was impounded in the late 20's or early 30's as a Dallas water supply source but has since turned into a purely recreational spot with bike trails, a runner's/walker's paradise, and many general use areas. Neat place and I've been going out there since my early years, having originally grown up in that part of town.
I also take bird photos here and there as well when I have time and also frequent a little local park lake often (ten minutes from my house), especially when the winter migrants are visiting.
Although water birds are not a specialty per se, they just happen to get my attention most often because of the many varieties available to my lens.
I appreciate your comment.
Steve

Note: Although I've posted quite a few images in this string and will likely post even more, I really don't want to overstay my welcome so if I post more than appropriate, please let me know and I'll gladly back off. Although it's not unusual for me to snap 400-600+ pics (counting deletes when I process) during an outing, no one ever sees them except myself after they're downloaded and on my computer.
Thanks again

TXSkeeter: Please keep posting - it's a joy to see such good pics of such interesting birds!

Claire

Black-capped Chickadee:
{{!gwi}}

That's a great Chickadee image. Although I have several that are similar, none match this image in clarity and inclusion of environment.
Steve

Female Northern Cardinal lurking in the old winterberry on November 20, 2013. The berries aren't ripe yet but it's still a good place to check out the neighborhood.

Claire

American White Pelican landing @ 11/20/13

Turkey Vulture @ 11.19.13

Double Crested Cormorant with large Channel Catfish @ 11.19.13

Good Lord, that cormorant hit the jackpot! Can it really kill and eat that sized catfish?

Claire

Male Northern Flicker, of the yellow-shafted persuasion, on November 25, 2013 in Plymouth, MA. He's definitely using his tail to prop him up while he's feeding.

Claire

Great Flicker image!

And yes, the cormorant managed to eat the whole thing. I saw the same scene for three days in a row from what I believe to probably be the same bird at the same spot. This bird always 'fishes" by itself in a particular spot about 15-20' from a fountain in this little park lake. Because of the similarity between the three large catfish caught by a/the bird, I also assume that there is some type of structure, perhaps pump lines, mechanical items or whatnot at the base of the fountain, the larger fish seem to stay there in larger numbers than in the balance of the lake, most of which is quite shallow and has no structure at all. In any case, these bird/fish battles seem to go on for perhaps 15-25 minutes before the bird can subdue such a large fish long enough to swallow it... but swallow it whole it always does. I have a whole series of this and other battles but in this post one at a time format, it's too hard to post.

I'd love to see more photos of the battles. You don't have to post one at a time in separate messages; it's only the GW procedure that requires that.

This FAQ (from the New England Gardening Forum) shows you how to embed multiple photos in one message. If it's not clear let me know and I'll try to help. You just keep posting the HTML codes in the same message - I posted six photos in one message today on the New England Gardening Forum.

(The FAQ was written before GW introduced its upload feature - GW automatically reduces the size of the image if it's really big.)

How do I include a photo in my post?

Claire

Claire, you have e-mail.

Steve, I tried to reply to your email but the address wasn't included (the return address was my GW account) - you probably didn't enable it on your member page. Please change the setting or just add the email to the message.

Helmeted Guineafowl on Feb. 17, 2012

Claire

This post was edited by claire on Tue, Nov 26, 13 at 10:00

TXSkeeter-pls continue to post; I love seeing new ones being added to the list. You have incredible shots to show us! I never knew that cormorants go after huge catfish like that....

Hi I am new to this forum and have totally enjoyed all the pics. It's good to know other birders. I will for sure pop back in with some pics of my own. Happy thanksgiving everyone.

Welcome to the forum countryatheart and I hope your Thanksgiving was joyful.

Immature Brown Thrasher taking a dust bath in my yard on August 27, 2009.

Claire

Note that GW will probably cut off the thread at 150 posts (they always do) so maybe the OP will consider starting a new one. This has been fun!

Thank you for the welcome. This is one of my favorite pictures of a pair of bluebirds that kept visiting my yard last spring. I don't know where they eventually nested but they kept teasing me by checking out the nest boxes in the front and back yard.
TXskeeter- I am amazed at the picture of the cormorant fishing for catfish. Great picture!

Great showing guy's!
Think I have a couple to share..

Bohemian Waxwing

Yellow bellied sapsucker
{{gwi:97419}}
..

Red-breasted nuthatch
{{gwi:704820}}

Common Redpoll

A young eastern Phoebe

Young Mountain Bluebird

Purple finch

Yellow Warbler [male]

Clay - colored Sparrow

American Tree Sparrow

Hoary Repoll

Pine Siskin

Painted Bunting male

Hermit Thrush in my yard on Dec. 2, 2013

Claire

Incredible shots! Thx for posting!

December 1 visitors:
Hairy woodpecker:

Unexpected birdhouse occupants - a pair of deer mice:

Black Vulture

double post

{{!gwi}}

This post was edited by TXSkeeter on Fri, Dec 6, 13 at 21:59

Found some more...
male / female mallard

Green-winged Teal

Ruddy Duck

Blue-winged teal

Readhead Duck

Rock Pigeon

Rufous-collared Sparrow

Snow Bountings

Song Sparrow

Magpie

Snowy Owl

Costa's Hummingbird, Menifee CA

Red-Winged Blackbird, Perris CA

Eastern Bluebird, Joshua TX

Bewick Wren Babies, Joshua TX

Unknown hawk - can someone identify? Menifee, CA

That appears to be a Cooper's Hawk but you might want to wait on confirmation of the ID.

Brown Pelican

Cedar Waxwing today in Plymouth, MA.

Claire

edited to show location

This post was edited by claire on Mon, Dec 16, 13 at 16:35

The hawk in Menifee, CA can only be a Cooper's Hawk but it is an oddly-colored one. Something going on with the feathers, such as a heavy molt or missing feathers for some other reason. If you have other photos please post.

Thanks TxSkeeter and TMFF for the ID. I'll see if I have any other shots of him. I always know when he's around, all the birds in the yard take off!

I love this thread. The pictures are wonderful. Is this the Audubon's or Yellow Rumped Warbler? (Menifee CA)

The grosbeak cafe in my yard:

Thanks everyone that posted pictures here is another one I will start a new picture message so keep them coming on the second page

Wonderful. Thanks for sharing!
Here is a Woodstork I saw visiting my sister in Fort Meyers,FL.