I have a comfortable backlog of photos now, but by all means send in yours—if they’re good. It may take a while before the good ones appear, but appear they will.
Some readers have asked how to reach me with their photos. It’s not hard if you simply Google my name and university; my university webpage and email address will come up quickly.
Today we have the second batch of great bird photos sent by Colin Franks of Colin Franks Photography in Victoria, British Columbia (website here, Facebook page here).
Barn Owl (Tyto alba):
Snowy Owl (Bubo scandiacus):
Red Winged Blackbird (Agelaius phoeniceus):
Sandhill Crane (Grus canadensis):
Bonaparte’s Gull (Chroicocephalus philadelphia):
Ring Necked Duck (Aythya collaris):
Male and female Wood Duck (Aix sponsa); look at that sexual dimorphism!:
Steller’s Jay (often erroneously called a “Blue Jay”; Cyanocitta stelleri) [JAC: note that the peanut is in mid-air]:
I shot this Red Tailed Hawk (Buteo jamaicensis) on Saturday in the rain.
Stunning.
amazing photos, beautiful birds
Love #2 and the last one!
Excellent. I guess the red winged black bird is a juvenile male? Its shoulder patches are not as big as I would expect.
Fantastic, every one of them. Thanks, Colin.
Many blue jays, Cyanocitta cristata here in the Midwest but no stelleri. I wonder if the Rockies provided the geographic separation for these species.
The map on the link certainly seems to put their habitat along the Great Divide and west, FWIW.
I’ve seen jays like that in parks – count me among the “mistakenly called a ‘Blue Jay'” contingent.
Oh my gosh! Our other “Blue Jay” isn’t a Blue Jay either! According to All About Birds, the one without a crest is a Scrub Jay! Only at WEIT do I learn so much before sunup.
If it’s a jay, and it’s blue, then blue jay works for me.
Common names of organisms aren’t regulated by any authority; they’re established by common usage. So if people commonly call Steller’s jays blue jays, linguists would not call that an error; it’s simply a fact that Steller’s jay is one of the organisms commonly denoted by “blue jay”, and conversely, “blue jay” is one of the common names of that organism.
If you want names that are authoritative and unambiguous, that’s what Latin binomials are for.
Ah. The difference between “the white house” and “the White House.”
But common names are more rigid for birds than for many other taxa. Certain common names are approved by the American Ornithological Union and these are the only ones used by serious birders. Regional human groups may call the cardinal the “redbird,” but if you eBird it you must use “Northern Cardinal.”
Many birders are quite familiar with several scientific bird names as well, but when you’re talking about thousands of people reporting (overall) up to some 700 North American species a year (which may jump to 1000’s for international birders), common names are much easier to remember and they save the time of looking up the scientific ones.
(This is no doubt even more important for arthropods!)
I realize you were just being funny, and that for non-serious birders it really doesn’t matter much. Just thought you and/or others might be interested. I’d also recommend that everyone, serious birder or not, have a copy of a good field guide and take the time now and then to look up what you’ve seen. It can open up a whole new world. 🙂
It’s always good to start off the day with owls and hawks. I wonder if other birds are jealous of their awesomeness?
And amazing pictures, Mr. Franks!
Well, “Birds of Prey Know They’re Cool.
Snowy Owl? Sassy Owl, I say!
Really very lovely photographs, all of them.
My word! These are outstanding! Thanks for sharing, Colin.
Fine work, Colin! I’d like to mention that even when people do recognize Steller’s Jay as distinct from the Blue Jay, they frequently misspell poor old Georg Wilhelm Steller’s name.
Thanks all. Please “like” my separate Facebook page for future images!
Great pictures! I am intrigued by the lighting of the snowy owl picture with just the eye picked out by a shaft of light. I have never seen a snowy owl in the wild 🙁 but I imagine them to be normally in open habitat but this picture suggests the bird is beneath a tree canopy or similar, giving dappled lighting. Is that correct?
Correct.
I absolutely love the pictures of birds on the wing (not just in this post, but anytime they’re in the readers’ wildlife photos). Growing up, I wanted to be either a biologist, an engineer, or a writer. I chose engineer because, well, airplanes, but I still like biology sites like this one, and especially anything having to do with birds. I can’t see a bird on the wing without pausing to watch it for at least a bit (which can be a bit dangerous if I’m driving).
Birding is a great avocation! Get yourself a field guide and some binoculars. 😀
Very, very nice Colin! Thanks for sharing them.
Very, very nice Colin! Thanks for sharing these!
Wow! Stunning work.
Beautiful pictures. I especially like the owls.
Beautiful – I like the barn own the best. I want to tickle his beak!
Stunning pics. Especially loved the “Steller’s Jay” photo with the peanut in mid-air. And speaking of mid-air, the spouse used to have a few _blue_ jays around the house who would sit on the gutter above the front steps whenever she’d be out with her peanuts. She’d look up at one, say, “Ready?” and toss a peanut high. The bird would swoop along and grab it at the top of the arc of its trajectory.
She used to impress passers-by with this trick.
Cool. If they hang around for the winter, my goal is to get them to take a peanut from my hand. Not sure of my success though, they are very timid & shy.
All very pleasing shots.
Of them all the Barn Owl stands out for me.
Same here, but it’s a tough choice! Thank you, Colin!