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Post by butterfly on Mar 12, 2008 22:03:49 GMT -8
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Post by Gord on Mar 12, 2008 23:13:22 GMT -8
Hi Guys! Based on that call I would say Bald Eagle. Golden Eagles have much weaker calls, are more yelping and dont vary in pitch so much. The pictures below look like Bald Eagle as well. I did recently post eagles on the website and there are some photos there that might help. The gulls are a great shot! The one on the left appears to be a Western Gull with the dark back, black wingtips and clean white head. Im not sure if the white head is 100% reliable fieldmark/clue now as we get closer to breeding plumage when even adult gulls who have smudgy heads during winter will turn white. The gull to its right looks like a Glaucous-winged X Western Gull with more Western than Glaucous-wing. Its wingtips are not solid black and the back seems a little lighter too. Good work, this is how you learn! Being observant is a great help! Lovely website and photos! I enjoy checking in now and then.  |
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Post by butterfly on Mar 13, 2008 8:26:19 GMT -8
Thanks Gord; we weren't sure of that eagle because it was quite large and the colouring was so dark, but we were positive on the bottom one.
As for the Gulls, a red ring around the eye made us wonder, as well, gulls are very difficult for us at the moment. We know that it gets easier as time goes on and we did look at the Golden Eagle/ Bald Eagle comparison on your site as well as the gulls but were still befuddled, not from lack of great help from your site. We WILL learn, with help from people like you. We love this forum and your website and check it out once a day when time permits.
Thanks for your encouragement on learning and the website.
Regards Bruce and Joanne
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Post by Gord on Mar 14, 2008 12:21:52 GMT -8
Oh sorry, I see the bottom pic you are referring to. I know you werent asking about that one. I forgot to mention how I like the recording you posted. How did you capture the audio? Bird song and calls are excellent clues for a bird identificatoin! The colour around the eye (good eye to see it!) is called the orbital ring and becomes more prenounced when in breeding plumage. The colour varies between species with some overlap between some. Thanks for the encouraging words! Im glad you are finding this site helpful to learning as is its intent. I know Im learning all the time too as I do the web and help with questions. |
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Post by Deleted on Mar 14, 2008 13:51:20 GMT -8
Hi, Gord and anyone struggling with gull identification. (That includes me.)
These gull identification puzzles always interest me because I always learn from them. They always send me back to the guides to do more digging.
The clean white head is only indicative for Western Gull when it and the other species are in basic (non-breeding or winter) plumage, since the other usual species all have smudging or streaking on the head and neck in basic plumage but Western retains clean white head and neck in basic plumage (though some Westerns may have very light streaking in basic plumage).
This time of year many individuals of other common species also have clean white heads, as their moult into alternate (breeding or summer) plumage progresses, so that isn't useful now for separating pure Western from hybrid Glaucous-winged X Western. One has to look at other more subtle characteristics.
I have some reservations about the left hand individual in the photo, although you may be right in calling it a Western Gull. It certainly has more Western genes (black wingtips, darker back, slightly more bulbous bill tip) than the right hand one, but the head shape is classic Glaucous-winged, to my eye. Westerns tend toward a higher rounder head shape (more "gentle," less "fierce" appearance) and a small eye lower in the head ("beady-eyed" look). Western should also show "drooping skirts," along the middle of the bottom of the wing at rest, although the posture of both birds in the photo is not relaxed, which can modify expected appearances.
Finally, the red orbital ring, if that's what Bruce or Joanne meant, is more characteristic of Glaucous-winged. Western should show orange-yellow orbital ring. But the bare parts (eyes, bill, legs) of gulls tend to be more variable, so not a lot of weight should be put on this.
So while I hesitate to disagree with you, Gord, my tentative vote would be for a hybrid in both cases. I would welcome comments, and I hope someone will critique what I've written. As I said, I always learn from these gull discussions.
Thanks,
Stan Olson
Abbotsford
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Post by butterfly on Mar 31, 2008 15:49:28 GMT -8
Hey Gord;
We've been distracted by getting our exhibit ready, but now to answer your question about how we captured the audio for the Eagle. We used a point and shoot camera that has a movie mode and just used the audio. We tried to get a digital recorder but the ones that work for bird songs are kind of expensive for the amount of bird songs that we want to record and normal digital recorders just don't work because they catch too much extraneous noise.
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Post by Gord on Apr 1, 2008 22:23:33 GMT -8
Wow, the camera did a great job! Again, nicely done. The best way to get a positive ID can be obtained by a bird's call and song for most species.
Stan, overlooked your comments. Im most certainly glad you had other thoughts and shared them! I'm learning too and certainly have learned a lot in the recent gull discussions here.
I think your reservations on that gull are very warranted. Looking again at the shots, I do think the head shape is ok and attribute the bit of a funny look to the bird being all tight as you see too. The feathers on the sides have covered up the wing making it tough to see that 'skirt' very well. The bill looks ok but a bit oversized. But this could be because the bird (a small individual...?) has tightened the head feathers. All that said, taking another picture in five seconds could show something completely different.
I think I like the idea of possibly to probably a little Glaucous-winged Gull in there.
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