@JulieB, Since you live in California, do you by chance recognize these Hummingbirds? The photos were taken on different visits to the San Diego area. I think the first one may be a male Allen's Hummingbird but for the other two I'm not sure at all. The third one looks like our Ruby-throated but I don't think the Ruby-throated is found in California.

Aug. 2013 Balboa Park, San Diego ..... July 2010 La Jolla, Ca. ...................... Jan. 2015, Shelter Island ,San Diego

Supercute!

@plantladylin They're beautiful! I'm just learning but apparently Allen's get confused with Rufouses which look similar. Also looks quite possible to spot Ruby-throated hummers in southern California, particularly as you were in San Diego, so close to Mexico.

Here's my source!
https://www.beautyofbirds.com/...

And Lin, you know that gorgeous Bird of Paradise is the official flower of the City of Los Angeles?

Just the one hummingbird, pictured here last January!

I know this live eagle cam link was posted on the Florida Gardening Forum since this Bald Eagle Nest is located in SW Florida but I can't remember if it was posted here in an earlier thread so I thought I'd share in case all our bird loving members would like to take a peek! The video cameras are on the property of Pritchett Real Estate in Fort Myers, Fl. The original adult pair, Ozzie and Harriet had been coming to the nest since 2006, having moved the nest from one side of the street to the other. They call this nest home each year from October until some time in May. The live cameras have been recording this site during nesting season for @ four years now. Unfortunately Ozzie died last year but Harriet has a new mate and there are currently two baby eaglets in the nest! The fuzzy babies are so cute and I'm thinking they will probably fledge the nest in mid to late April time frame. If you find some free time, it's always fun to watch and listen to the happenings at the nest. It's even visible at night. http://www.dickpritchettreales...

Enjoy!

Very neat, Lin, thank you for posting. It is so amazing to watch raptors, like the eagle care for their babies so tenderly. Dh and I were just looking and wondering what that was off to the right in the nest. Some kind of food maybe?

That's a fish, Christine. Harriet and M15 will pull off pieces and feed them to the babies

Thank you so much Lin, that's brilliant, I love webcam views and have never seen a Bald Eagle either in real life or on webcam. The chicks are adorable! I'll definitely be checking in from now until they fledge. But why 'bald' eagle, since they're not bald?

We go to Scotland quite often and have several times visited the Dunkeld Loch of the Lowes Wildlife Centre, where they have a resident pair of ospreys. Nothing beats the thrill of seeing them live from the hides at the centre, but if we're not in Dunkeld various views are available via webcam on http://scottishwildlifetrust.o... (I think the cameras work only during daylight hours). You can also see red squirrels (most of the UK has now been taken over by grey squirrels so that's a thrill for the likes of us) and other birds.

We installed a mini webcam in a nesting box in our garden here in Oxfordshire, but so far it hasn't worked too well. I'll try to get it fixed it for the coming season (we have an electrician doing work on our kitchen just now so I'll try smiling sweetly... ) We also have security cameras with infra red (that do work) so I waste quite a bit of time watching foxes, badgers, owls, bats and other nocturnal wildlife. More fun than watching the kitchen installers!

Must have been SO cold for them early this morning when the cold wind started up after all that rain! We have a whole week of cold nights coming up, so I sure hope they can keep those babies warm.

Mika they are called bald because they have white heads.
http://www.etymonline.com/inde...

Thanks, Ann

I'm currently living vicariously through someone I follow on iNaturalist who takes amazing pictures. He is vacationing in Costa Rica and just put up pictures from the first few days there. My jaw dropped when I saw all that color. I always knew it was a wildlife mecca and probably top on my list of dream places to visit... but these still blew my mind! Hopefully you guys will enjoy them too. I especially enjoyed it after looking out my own window and seeing about 20 house sparrows gobbling up all the food in the frozen mud that is my yard.

http://www.inaturalist.org/cal...
http://www.inaturalist.org/cal...
http://www.inaturalist.org/cal...
http://www.inaturalist.org/cal...

Me too! All I got was this semi-okay picture of bluebird. He was a big bird though and at first I thought he was a robin.

Mika, how cool that you all have Ospreys on your side of the pond too! They are lovely birds to watch. I love Eagles too and although two are found here in the U.S. (Bald Eagle and Golden Eagle) I only see the Bald Eagle around here, usually from January through April. It's pretty difficult to get photos of them because they fly so fast but I have managed to get some pictures over the past few years.

February 1, 2013 ................................. April 6, 2013


February 28, 2014 .................................. April 4, 2015

Mica, thanks for supplying that link for the webcam at Loch of Lowes, I'll have to check it later because it's totally dark now.

Morgan, thanks for those links. That guy certainly does take beautiful photos and the birds of Costa Rica are absolutely beautiful! The snakes, frogs and other critters are pretty colorful too!

Christine, what a pretty Eastern Bluebird! They are rare sightings for me, sure wish I could see them more often.

@molanic, beautiful pictures, and so colorful too! I didn't know that bats fed at hummingbird feeders - that was an amazing shot!

Christine, bluebirds are so pretty, I wish we had more of those around my house.

Lin, great pictures of those eagles! They are such majestic birds

You're welcome Mika.

Christine, I see that too -- sometimes the bluebirds are really large & then sometimes they look all petite, cute & fat. Yours in certainly in good color though.

Morgan, those links are awesome! Fabulous photography too. I'm jealous. I may never take another photo again.

Wonderful photos as always! Wished I saw some of them in my yard! Loved the links of the "foreign" birds ... so colorful and amazing! Y'all are sure getting good at IDing birds.

I am still plagued by the lack of an ID for the mystery bird. Today I got several photos of it and I am quite sure that I have figured out the ID. I believe it is a female Indigo Bunting. https://www.allaboutbirds.org/...





And some unbanded Painted Buntings at the feeder first thing this morning:

Isn't there a bird identification site anywhere on the internet? Like what BAMONA is for moths and butterflies (for North America, anyway)? I would think someone out there would want to track data on birds just like we do insects. But I know some sites only track certain birds, not all, so maybe that's part of the problem? Anyone know of a site like I'm talking about that would help when we can't identify a bird?

Becky, it indeed looks just like the female Indigo Bunting; identical to photos at the Audubon website and the Cornell Lab of Ornithology website!

Good job ID-ing the Indigo Bunting, Becky!