Since I haven’t seen much of note lately, I will share some birds I’ve seen in various travels over the past couple of years.
While in San Francisco in the summer of 2010, I came across one of the more famous established populations of introduced parrots in the United States (there’s a movie about it if you don’t believe me, and yes, Jaime and I have watched it). They call them Cherry-Headed Conures in the movie, but the generally accepted birding name is Red-Masked Parakeet.
The Brewer’s Blackbird is about as common as the European Starling in San Francisco, but I had never seen one before the trip.
The Great Egret can be found in Indiana, but I got a pretty good photo op of this guy while in San Francisco, too.
I discovered this Pygmy Nuthatch while biking the Front Range of the Rockies in Golden, Colorado in spring of 2010.
This Worm-Eating Warbler was sunning itself on a mountainside in the Shenandoah National Forest in Front Royal, VA when I lived close by in the summer of 2007.
The Ruby-Throated Hummingbird is another Indiana resident, but this one was photographed at my parents’ house in Apex, NC in the spring of 2008.
And ditto for this Brown Thrasher.