Every bird watcher and nature observer has his or her "lists." Here are mine for Birds, Insects, Mammals, Plants, Reptiles, and Crustaceans, complete with pull down menus.
BIRDS
Categorized by genus/species, placed chronologically by common name
American Coot
American Crow
American Flamingo*
American Goldfinch
American Kestrel
American Robin
American Tree Sparrow
American White Pelican
Bald Eagle
Baltimore Oriole
Barn Swallow
Belted Kingfisher
Black-Capped Chickadee
Black Vulture*
Blue Jay
Blue-Winged Teal
Bobwhite
Brown Creeper
Brown-Headed Cowbird
Brown Thrasher
Bufflehead
Canada Goose
Canvasback
Cedar Waxwing
Chipping Sparrow
Common Grackle
Common Goldeneye
Common Redpoll
Cooper's Hawk
Dark-Eyed Junco
Double-Breasted Cormorant
Downy Woodpecker
Eastern Bluebird
Eastern Goldfinch - See American Goldfinch
Eastern Kingbird
Eastern Meadowlark
Eastern Phoebe
Eastern Towhee
Eurasian Coot*
European Starling
Fox Sparrow
Golden-Crowned Kinglet
Gray Catbird
Graylag Goose
Great Blue Heron
Great Egret
Greater Flamingo*
Hairy Woodpecker
Harlequin Duck
Hermit Thrush
Herring Gull
Horned Lark
House Finch
House Sparrow
House Wren
Indigo Bunting
Killdeer
Lesser Scaup
Lincoln's Sparrow
Mallard (Domestic)
Mallard (Wild)
Mourning Dove
Northern Cardinal
Northern Flicker
Northern Rough-Winged Swallow
Northern Shoveler
Orange-Crowned Warbler
Palm Warbler
Red-Bellied Woodpecker
Red-Breasted Nuthatch
Red-Headed Woodpecker
Red-Tailed Hawk
Red-Winged Blackbird
Ring-Billed Gull
Ring-Necked Duck
Rock Pigeon
Ruby-Crowned Kinglet
Scarlet Tanager
Solitary Sandpiper
Song Sparrow
Spotted Sandpiper
Swamp Sparrow
Tufted Titmouse
Turkey Vulture
White-Breasted Nuthatch
White-Crowned Sparrow
White-Throated Sparrow
Wild Turkey
Yellow-Bellied Sapsucker
Yellow-Rumped Warbler
INSECTS, ARACHNIDS, MYRIAPODS & GASTROPODS
Categorized by family, placed chronologically by common name
Maybe the seed had too much oil on it, or maybe it was just too windy. Either way, if at first you don’t succeed…
A delicious seed.
Oops!
Hmmm.
Let’s try again.
Success!
House Finch - Carpodacus mexicanus - also known as Le roselin familier (French), Mexicaanse Roodmus (Dutch), Hausgimpel (Germany), Ciuffolotto messicano (Italian), Carpodaco Común (Spanish), and Husrosenfink (Swedish).
This bird is one of the most common birds in Eastern Iowa. The House Finch can be found here year-round, both at city feeders and in rural areas. The bird appears to be fairly common throughout most of the Midwest, but is noticeably absent in Nebraska and the Dakotas, according to most bird books.
The bird on the left with the red is the male, the bird on the right is the female.
Photo taken with the Canon Digital Rebel XT / 350D and a Sigma 70-300mm Lens on December 30, 2007 in Davenport, Iowa.
Wonderful photos of native birds in your country you are showing here on your site. It seems I need a special lens to improve the quality of my photos. I also took some of the winterfeeding of birds, but they are not half as good as those you took.
“Hausgimpel” are not native here in Germany, there is a similar species (Karmingimpel / Common Rosefinch / Roselin cramoisi / Carpodacus erythrinus) you can find in the north of Germany though.
Have a nice GTS sunday!
Sisah from Germany
Wow - Cool photos! I’m never sure whether I’m looking at house finches or purple finches (I think I have both). My book says the markings around the female’s eyes are the most distinguishing characteristic to tell them apart. (Can you tell I’m not a “real” birder - just a backyard feeder enthusiast?)
Thank you for all the comments (and thanks for the feeder, Santa).
Sisah - I would love to come check out the birds in Europe. Unfortunately, when I was in Europe I was not in to birding!
Chicago Nature Lady - that is my favorite of the set, too. He looks like he’s a bit dejected watching it fly away!
Sally - I can’t tell the difference between them either, other than what the book says about the female eye-stripe. Thus, I’ve actually concluded that I have nothing but House Finches, simply because I haven’t found any female with the stripe!
This blog is about: Iowa, Illinois, Midwest, United States, nature, wildlife, animals, birds, ornithology, insects, bugs, entomology, Davenport, Bettendorf, Rock Island, Moline, Quad, City, Cities
Nice feeder.
January 6th, 2008 at 7:29 amWonderful photos of native birds in your country you are showing here on your site. It seems I need a special lens to improve the quality of my photos. I also took some of the winterfeeding of birds, but they are not half as good as those you took.
January 6th, 2008 at 9:04 am“Hausgimpel” are not native here in Germany, there is a similar species (Karmingimpel / Common Rosefinch / Roselin cramoisi / Carpodacus erythrinus) you can find in the north of Germany though.
Have a nice GTS sunday!
Sisah from Germany
Oh what wonderful finch feeding photos! I especially love the seed flying away from the male as he’s looking at it. That’s FUNNY!LOL.
January 6th, 2008 at 10:52 amWow - Cool photos! I’m never sure whether I’m looking at house finches or purple finches (I think I have both). My book says the markings around the female’s eyes are the most distinguishing characteristic to tell them apart. (Can you tell I’m not a “real” birder - just a backyard feeder enthusiast?)
January 7th, 2008 at 8:13 amThank you for all the comments (and thanks for the feeder, Santa).
Sisah - I would love to come check out the birds in Europe. Unfortunately, when I was in Europe I was not in to birding!
Chicago Nature Lady - that is my favorite of the set, too. He looks like he’s a bit dejected watching it fly away!
Sally - I can’t tell the difference between them either, other than what the book says about the female eye-stripe. Thus, I’ve actually concluded that I have nothing but House Finches, simply because I haven’t found any female with the stripe!
January 7th, 2008 at 9:24 pmGreat photo series and funny too! The House Finch was my nephew Dakota’s first bird of 2008.
Good birding to you!
January 7th, 2008 at 11:33 pmfantastic. I love the seed being thrown out….
sandy
January 12th, 2008 at 3:17 pm