You are browsing the archives of 2006 April.

Downy Woodpeckers Picoides pubescens
New York, Chicago, and Denver

The Downy Woodpecker is the most common North American woodpecker, and is also the smallest at approximately 6.5 inches (16 centimeters) in length.

The species breeds over a widespread area encompassing most of North America, except for the extreme Southwest and areas above the treeline. Six recognized races of [...]

Many people/birders I meet express genuine surprise when I tell them that I’m involved in conservation in South Korea. Apart from asking what my connection there is (my brother and inspiration Nial, is the answer), the next question is always, Is there anything in South Korea worth trying to save?

I won’t bang on here about [...]

This weekend’s birding activities began with our foray to Central Park, but hardly ended there. On Saturday night, Sara and I, accompanied once again by Seth and Christine, visited Ward Pound Ridge Reservation to observe the mysterious dance of the woodcock. The bizarre breeding display of the American Woodcock is clearly a big draw; over [...]

Yellow-bellied Sapsucker
Seth, flush with success over his star turn as host of I and the Bird #21, decided to take a victory lap from Rochester to New York this weekend. Charlie was so impressed with Seth that he hopped on a plane straightaway to commend his hosting panache. Both of them might claim different reasons [...]

Pied Wagtail Motacilla alba yarrellii
Devon, UK. 26 April 2006

The Pied Wagtail Motacilla alba yarrellii is the resident British subspecies of the White Wagtail. The nominate race of western Europe, M. a. alba, is a common passage migrant to the British Isles and they are identical in behaviour.

The differentiation of White Wagtail into two subspecies [...]

‘Bird Flu’ - Britain under attack…
(On April 05 2005 a dead swan that had washed up on a beach in eastern Scotland was confirmed as showing antibodies for H5N1. The corpse - which was headless and wouldn’t be specifically identified for another week - had evidently been in the sea for many days. The next [...]

White Wagtail Motacilla alba alba
North-east Germany. 28 March 2006
 
The “continental” White Wagtail Motacilla alba alba is the nominate race of the alba wagtail complex and is found throughout most of western Europe. Very closely related to the British M. a. yarellii, or Pied Wagtail both forms are identical in behaviour. The differentiation of White Wagtail [...]

Eastern Yellow Robin Eopsaltria australis
Royal National Park, Sydney, and Sherbrooke Forest, Melbourne, Australia

The Eastern Yellow Robin Eopsaltria australis is distributed from the extreme southeast corner of South Australia through most of Victoria and the western half of New South Wales and north as far as Cooktown. Tropical northern Queensland birds are mainly restricted to the [...]

Cape Robin Cossypha caffra
Nairobi, Kenya

The Cape Robin is a widespread species, found from East Africa down to the core of its breeding range in South Africa. Named for its “resemblance” (ie it has a reddish breast and a pleasant song) to the European Robin Erithacus rubecula by settlers, the species inhabits most types of scrub [...]

Hermit Thrushes Catharus guttatus
Central Park, New York, 18 April 2006.
 
Hermit Thrushes breed from southern Alaska across Canada to Newfoundland, south to California in the west and Maryland in the east. Typically they are the only Catharus species seen in the US during winter, and are the first to return north.

According to Sibley (”The North American [...]