Excitement for me, my first sighting of a Spotted Towhee (female, Pipilo maculatus)! Naturally, it was pouring down rain and quite dark, so I had to shoot at high ISO, and finally resorted to flash for the last two photos. Still, it’s always so grand to make a first sighting. Click for full size.
A beautiful Rose-breasted Grosbeak from Kengi, click for full size!
© Kengi, all rights reserved.
He was not happy having to search in that snow, not happy at all.
©Charly, all rights reserved. Click for full size.
I am not entirely sure, but I think this is female house sparrow. Looking rather somberly at the feeder.
©Charly, all rights reserved. Click for full size.
Tranquility. Taralhão.
Taralhão is one of the many Portuguese common names given to two flycatcher species that visit us every year, from late August to November: the spotted flycatcher Muscicapa striata and the pied flycatcher Ficedula hypoleuca. In this photo, a pied flycatcher calmly sits on a tree collard at the end of the day, possibly contemplating all the flies it has eaten or if it is already time to leave the European continent for the year. Pied flycatchers breed in most of Northern and Eastern Europe and there are some breeding populations in Spain, but here they are only migratory, staying for only a few months before going to winter in Africa. They are one of my favourite birds, despite their winter plumage being a bit on the dull side. But they are so lively and funny that I can spend hours just watching them hunt insects.
Click for full size!
© Nightjar, all rights reserved.
Flamingos from Giliell, click for full size!
© Giliell, all rights reserved.
From Kengi, a Gorgeous Baltimore Oriole, click for full size! (Kengi says he has no problem writing or typing, but still has trouble with reading.)
© Kengi, all rights reserved.
©voyager, all rights reserved
We went to the park again today and I can’t get over how much the goslings have grown in just a few days. They’re at a sort of “homely cute” stage with beaks that look too big for their heads, fuzzy hairdo’s that stick out in all directions and the beginnings of eye marks that make them look sleepy. I think they’re adorable. The parents keep a careful watch, but don’t seem to mind us being around. These are park geese who live here all year and are very used to people and dogs. Of course, Jack is also pretty laid back and usually lays quietly on the grass while I take photos.
A young black redstart, Phoenicurus ochruros, kind enough to let me get very close. It has many common names in Portuguese, the most common are pisco-ferreiro, literally meaning “blacksmith robin”, and rabirruivo-preto, literally meaning “black redtail”.
A stunning shot, click for full size!
© Nightjar, all rights reserved.
From Charly, click for full size! Oh, that second shot!
© Charly, all rights reserved.
From Giliell, click for full size!
© Giliell, all rights reserved.
Chipping Sparrow, click for full size.
© C. Ford.
Goldfinches, click for full size!
© C. Ford, all rights reserved.