owlice

@owlice

Trained in med sciences, worked in IT, retired into astronomy, now faculty at R1 uni and still astonished at that. Dark skies, travel, music, wildlife, research software & transparency. Sometimes I take pictures.

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Bluesky

Ist das dein Profil?Übernimm es — dann gehört dir owlice.dirty.social.Profil übernehmen

owlice@owlice· 21d

🦉🪶 Five (or six?) #birds for #BirdoftheDay's alt theme #Paridae. Black-capped Chickadees in conversation Tufted Titmouse viewed through the patio door Willow Tit dismayed to realize he put on the wrong shoes Great Tit wondering whether he should feel honored or insulted by the "tribute"

Two adorable Black-capped Chickadees are perched on different small branches very close together. The bird on the left appears to be listening to the bird on the right, which has its beak open.

A Tufted Titmouse is perched on a broken blue ceramic dish with snow in it; the dish is on a table, and there are a few seeds scattered about. The background is all snow. The bird appears soft in the morning sunlight, likely because the photo was taken through a window.

A Willow Tit stands on a lichen-covered branch looking down at his foot, as though to perhaps wonder why he put on these shoes instead of the ones he meant to wear.

A Great Tit is perched on a balcony railing. Left of the bird is a decorative hanging consisting of a single cord with a few perch-like tubes, a couple of medium-sized beads, and what looks like one unpainted ceramic tit-like bird interspersed along the cord. A few snowflakes streak through the image.

owlice@owlice· 21d

🦉🪶 Four #Gulls for today's #BirdOfTheDay Glaucous-winged Gull Ring-billed Gull Kelp Gull Hartlaub's Gull

owlice@owlice· 23d

🦉🪶 Oooo, what I should have posted for #Triplets/#BirdOfTheDay! You can dance, you can jive Having the time of your life Black Vultures

owlice@owlice· 23d

🦉🪶 #Triplets for today's #BirdOfTheDay Willets Eastern Kingbirds Eurasian Crag-Martins Eurasian Griffons

Three Willets feed along the shore; all three are facing to the left and are in strong morning light. They are gray above with a white rump, and white below with a distinct white area above the lores and a narrow whitish eye ring giving the bird a spectacled appearance.

An Eastern Kingbird is perched at the top of a broken snag, looking directly at the camera. Its nest with two nearly-grown chicks is tucked into the top of the snag; the two young birds are looking up expectantly at their parental unit. These birds have grey-black upperparts and white underparts; their wings are long and pointed, and their black tails have a white terminal band.

Three Eurasian Crag-Martins perch atop a sand-colored carved-rock shield affixed to a sand-colored building, with two on the ends of the shield and one at its center. These swallows have ash-brown upperparts and paler underparts. The tail is short and square, with white patches near the tips of all but the central and outermost pairs of feathers.

Three Eurasian Griffons rest in the sunshine at the top of a stony outcropping. Two of them are standing; one has plopped down on its rocky perch as though to survey the land below it. They are handsome, regal birds. The sky behind them is clear blue. These vultures have whitish heads, broad wings and short tail feathers. They sport a white neck ruff and yellow bill, and the light brown body and wing coverts contrast with the dark flight feathers.

owlice@owlice· 24d

These two Arrow-marked Babblers cracked me up; one is clearing in trouble with the other!

Bird on the left (BoL): "Look at me."
Bird on the right (BoR): averts gaze

BoL: "Look at me!"
BoR: averts gaze more

BoL: "Look at me!!!!"
BoR: averts gaze even harder

owlice@owlice· 24d

🦉🪶 #ScreenFiller #BirdofTheDay Great Horned Owl

The obvious choice for me...

This image courtesy of my then 9-year-old son, to whom I'd handed a small digital video recorder one day when we were out. This is a frame from the many little videos he took to amuse himself.

He's now a lot older, living in the UK, and occasionally sends me photos of birds for me to ID.

owlice@owlice· Jul 12

🦉🪶 Four #bird #AmongTheRipples, whether on purpose or not, for #BirdOfTheDay Common Merganser Common Goldeneye Tricolored Heron Black Vulture

A Common Merganser floats in rippling water that is reflecting a building that shares a color palette with the bird: gray, brown, and rust. The bird is not alone; he has a friend nearby.... --->

... and here's the friend, a Common Goldeneye in the same rippling water, but here, there is much more of the gray-and-rusty-colored building reflected in the water. The black and white bird is a nice contrast to the building's colors.

A Tricolored Heron hunts in the shallows of the fresh-water surf, the water sparkling in the sunlight.

Not a pretty pic, but shows behavior I had not seen before nor since. This Black Vulture was shoved off the dock behind him by other Black Vultures and had to swim to shore using his large wings to awkwardly propel himself to land. The other birds had been harassing him and continued their harassment after this bird had made it to the lake shore, dried off a bit, and flew into a nearby tree.

owlice@owlice· Jul 10

🦉🪶 Birds in #Rocky terrain for today's #BirdOfTheDay Eurasian Griffons Cape Rockjumper Rock Wren Black-crested Titmouse

Four Eurasian Griffons perched (or in one case, plopped) on a high rocky outcropping in the Extremadura. All the cool Griffins hang out here; there were scores of them. These large vultures have grey heads, slight ruffs around their necks, and mostly brown wings and bodies.

This Cape Rockjumper has found a boulder that matches his coloring. The bird has a black beak, crown, nape, back, throat, and tail with a white streak from the beak to shoulder, dark reddish chest, tummy, and rump, and white patches on its wings. The boulder is clay-colored with white areas and reddish algae that is a lighter version of the dark red on the bird.

A pretty little Rock Wren perches on rocks; we see his right side. He appears to be looking up at something behind the photographer, perhaps another bird in the sky.

A Black-crested Titmouse perches on a rock. The little bird is gray above and a very light gray, almost white, below, with a soft wash of pale orange under its wing. The bird has a black crest and dark eyes and beak.

owlice@owlice· Jul 8

🦉🪶 ‪ I don't keep a life list, but I do use iNaturalist; a quick check there suggests a (possible) #Lifer for today's #BirdOfTheDay Red-crowned Amazon Santee, CA

A Red-crowned Amazon clings sideways to a bare upright branch at the top of a tree; the background is nothing but the clear blue sky. The mostly green parrot has a red crown; isn't it nice to run across a bird name that actually make sense?!

Two Red-crowned Amazons perched on bare branches at the top of a tree, with clear blue sky behind them.

owlice@owlice· Jun 29

Bonus Feral Pigeons clinging to whatever scrap of material gives them purchase on a block wall

owlice@owlice· Jun 29

🦉🪶 A small bird with its young's #LifeInBalance, and two birds #LightAsAFeather for today's #BirdOfTheDay Long-billed Starthroat Long-billed Starthroat nest, built over a road Osprey Great Egret

A Long-billed Starthroat -- a small hummingbird -- sits on its tiny nest built above a well-traveled street.

The Long-billed Starthroat's nest without mama bird sitting on it.

An Osprey flies butt to the sun, which backlights the bird's fanned tail.

The orange beak and snow-white feathers alone the outline of a Great Egret glow in the late afternoon sunlight.

owlice@owlice· Jun 27

🦉🪶 Four colorful #birds with gray in their plumage and names on #GreyDay for #BirdOfTheDay Gray-crowned Yellowthroat Gray-headed Kingfisher Gray-cowled Wood-Rail Blue-gray Tanager

owlice@owlice· Jun 25

🦉🪶 Perhaps examples of the ultimate family of #LittleBrownBirds, here are four sparrows with place names from the Old World and New for today's #BirdOfTheDay Kenya Rufous Sparrow California Towhee Spanish Sparrow Cape Sparrow

An LBJ (little brown job) is perched on a very very thorny green shrub. This Kenyan Rufous Sparrow is brown and rufous on its upperparts, buff on its chest and tum, and has a gray, rufous, and brown head, black eyes, and dark beak.

A Spanish Sparrow is perched on a thin dry reed in the sunlight. He resembles a male House Sparrow with his brown, rufous, and buff markings, but has a noticeably narrow bib.

A Cape Sparrow takes a break from his foraging on a corn- and seed-strewn dirt path to look sunward. With its buff chest and tum and light and dark brown upperparts, it's definitely a little brown bird, but has the distinction of having rufous shoulders.

owlice@owlice· Jun 25

🦉🪶 Four #Birds&Buds for today's #BirdOfTheDay Blue Jay Southern Black-headed Oriole Amethyst Sunbird Cape Sugarbird

A Blue Jay perches in a flowering fruit tree. We see only the jay's blue and black head and its white breast, which blends in very well with the blossoms around the bird.

A Southern Black-headed Oriole perches on the yellow-orange flowering stalks of a Lebombo Aloe. The bird's head is indeed black; its beak is orange, its back a dark yellow, and its underparts bright yellow.

An Amethyst Sunbird stands on pretty lavender-colored flowers. The bird appears jet black except for a bright shiny spot of teal on its crown.

A Cape Sugarbird stands atop an orange protea, likely a Silveredge Pincushion or The Pincushion. (Yes, there's a flower called The Pincushion. I swear I am not making this up.) The bird is grey-brown, with a longish slightly curved bill, prominent buff and dark brown stripes on its neck, brown streaks on its buff chest and tum, and a spot of yellow under its tail. This male bird has very long tail feathers.

owlice@owlice· Jun 24

🦉🪶 #Birds at the moment of #Touchdown for #BirdOfTheDay Martial Eagle White-necked Jacobin Sandhill Crane Black Skimmer

A Martial Eagle tries to land on a collection of sticks at the top of a snag. It took the bird a few tries, but he did eventually land on the precarious perch. The bird is mostly white below and a combination of black, white, and grey on the upper parts, mostly arranged in stripes.

This White-necked Jacobin went beak-first into the feeder and then landed. As are many hummingbirds, this one is a brilliant iridescent green from its forehead to its tail. It has a dark eye, a grayish eyepatch, and is speckled on its chin, neck, chest, and tum.

Against a backdrop of at least hundreds of Sandhill Cranes which have already landed, another Crane is just touching down, its wings spread high, its legs extended, its toes almost to the water.

Black Skimmers coming in for a landing to meet up with the ones already on the beach. These birds have white underparts, black upperparts, and a bicolored beak that has an orange band at its base and is otherwise black.

owlice@owlice· Jun 23

🦉🪶 #BirdsInTheirElement for today's #BirdOfTheDay Eastern Kingbird Black-collared Barbet Yellow-rumped Tinkerbird Green Heron

A colorful Black-collared Barbet clings to an equally colorful flower stalk which the photographer neglected to identify.

A tiny black and yellow Yellow-rumped Tinkerbird perches on a small tree branch, a bright orange berry in its beak.

A Green Heron crouches on the edge of a bank; it is concentrating on something in the brown-green water just out of our view.

owlice@owlice· Jun 21

🦉🪶 Four #Birds with #RedBeaks for today's #BirdOfTheDay Black Oystercatcher Red Avadavat Gray-hooded Gull Red-billed Spurfowl

A Black Oystercatcher cocks his red-rimmed yellow eye to the camera above him, giving the impression that he's smiling. The bird has a bright red beak, black head, neck, and chest, and its body appears a very dark brown in the overcast morning light.

A Red Avadavat is perched on thick grass; we see the bird's left side. This small finch-sized bird has a red beak, dark eye, and light pinkish legs and feet. Its neck and chest are red; the rest of its body is a melange of red and various shades of brown, with white polka dots on its wings, chest, and tum.

A Gray-hooded Gull stands in shallow water, its broken wavy reflection below him. The bird has a yellow eye rimmed with red, a dark red beak, a pale gray head, white nape, neck, chest, and tummy; its wings are a soft medium gray and its tail is black.

Spurfowls are lovely birds, with amazingly intricately patterned feathers. This Red-billed Spurfowl is one of them. From a distance, it gives the impression of being a solidly gray bird with dark eyes rimmed with yellow, but get closer, and BAM! It's as though the bird is wearing a thousand or four thousand or more little tiny zebras, each feather sporting black and white stripes. As the name implies, this bird has a red beak.

owlice@owlice· Jun 19

🦉🪶 Five #birds #OutForAWalk for #BirdOfTheDay African Openbill Crowned Lapwings Greater Roadrunner Tricolored Heron

owlice@owlice· Jun 18

🦉🪶 Four #birds with #Black plumage for #BirdoftheDay Groove-billed Ani Southern Black-Flycatcher Common Grackle Magnificent Frigatebird

owlice@owlice· Jun 17

🦉🪶 Four #birds with 4 or more colors for today's #BirdOfTheDay alt theme of #MultiColour Northern Emerald-Toucanet Red-and-yellow Barbet Feral Chicken Little Bee-Eater

A Northern Emerald-Toucanet perches on a thick branch facing the photographer; its head is turned to our right and the bird is looking directly at the camera. This pretty bird has a large bill with a black mandible, a yellow maxilla, and a white vertical strip at its base. Its lower face and throat are a strong blue bordering almost on indigo; its upper body is olive green with bronze overtones on the crown. The bird's chest is green, its tum greenish yellow, and the underside of its tail is chestnut.

Barbets often appear to be put together by committee from an assortment of leftover parts, and this Red-and-yellow Barbet is no exception. Its beak is dark red except by its face, where it is grey. The bird has a bit of yellow on the topside of the beak's edge and forehead, which is taken over by black on the crown and red on its face around the back of its eye and on the cheek. The chin is yellow with a center black stripe; the top of the chest is yellow with a reddish wash, and its lower chest and tummy are yellow. There is a thin black "necklace" between the red-washed yellow and the clear yellow of the lower chest and tummy. The bird has a red vent, black wings with white polka-dots on them, and a pale yellow-and-black barred tail. That not being enough, it also has a small white earpatch.

Forget head, shoulders, knees and toes, knees and toes. This bird is red, yellow, black and white, black and white; red, yellow, black and white, black and white.

Chickens are often overlooked, but they are usually at least pretty, and some are simply gorgeous. This rooster is one of the gorgeous ones. From the yellow beak, red comb and wattles, light gold flowing feathers down its neck and nape to the light chestnut on its shoulders and rich dark green on its chest and side to its extraordinary green-black opulent tail feathers, this bird is truly magnificent. Its primaries show as a darker gold fringed with light chestnut, and its back is darker gold, white, and iridescent dark green. It's no wonder this rooster has a harem!

Little Bee-Eater has a stern look in his blood-red eye. We see the bird from the chest up. He has a black beak, olive green crown, bright blue eyebrow and black mask. His chin is yellow with a tiny fringe of bright blue along the top of the throat, which has a black bib. The chest is a warm dark orange that becomes lighter toward the tummy. The wings are the same olive as the bird's crown.

owlice@owlice· Jun 16

🦉🪶 Four birds #InFlight for today's #BirdOfTheDay Broad-billed Hummingbird Great Horned Owl Red-tailed Hawk Grey Heron

owlice@owlice· Jun 14

🦉🪶 Four birds in #SilentPresence for today's #BirdOfTheDay Yellow-crowned Night Heron Canada Warbler American Crow Vermilion Flycatcher

Yellow-crowned Night Heron staring not into space, but at the water, its back to the camera

A Canada Warbler perched on a leafy branch thinking deep thoughts

An American Crow sits on a fence perhaps contemplating its life choices.... or nothing at all

A pretty little Vermilion Flycatcher perched on a barbed wire fence, content to rest quietly for a moment

owlice@owlice· Jun 13

🦉🪶 A few #Preeners&Scratchers for today's #BirdOfTheDay Great White Pelican Marabou Stork Red-winged Blackbird Great Egret

A Great White Pelican is preening, straightening feathers under its left wing. Quite a feat to reach this area, given the size of the bird's beak! The strain in his neck, brought back as far as possible, is visible. It's hard work to look so pretty!

Numerous Marabou Storks are perched on a bare tree in the pre-dawn light; three at the top stand in sharp contrast to the flat light behind them. The stork in the middle has been preening, and has just discarded a feather, tossing it to his left.

A Red-winged Blackbird sits on a small snag, oriented with his front toward the camera. His right wing is outstretched; he is preening his brightly-colored epaulette.

A Great Egret stands in water amidst lily pads, a drop of water at the tip of its yellow-orange beak. The all-white bird has an itch on its neck, and is scratching it with one enormous toe.

owlice@owlice· Jun 12

🦉🪶 Some #UnexpectedNeighbours for today's #BirdOfTheDay Great Egret with Northern Map Turtles African Darter and friends with Nile Crocodile Cattle Egret with African Savanna Elephant Nervous Egyptian Geese with Nile Crocodile

owlice@owlice· Jun 12

I have one of those!

owlice@owlice· Jun 12

🦉🪶 Four #birds with #Stripes for today's #BirdOfTheDay Lesser Striped Swallow Greater Striped Swallow Stripe-headed Sparrow Striped Pipit

A Lesser Striped Swallow is perched on a small acacia branch. We see the bird's right side; its head is turned somewhat but not entirely toward the camera. The bird has a russet head and nape, a cream-colored throat, chest, and tummy, all with dark brown broken stripes, and a cream-colored vent. the rest of the bird is dark except for a russet rump patch.

A Greater Striped Swallow is perched on the very top of a thick bare branch or post, its chest to the left, its head looking over its right shoulder -- basically a vogue shot from the side. The bird looks very much like the Lesser Striped Swallow previously described.

A Stripe-headed Sparrow (I swear to God I'm going to rip those feckin' speakers out one of these days; please someone bail me out when that day comes) is perched on a small green branch; it is in full sunlight, its right side to us but its face turned upward as though looking at the sun. Its blackish brown crown has a white stripe in the middle. Its upperparts are mostly rufous-brown with blackish streaks, and its rump and uppertail coverts are brown to cinnamon-brown with obscure darker streaks. The bird has warm light-brown/russet eyes, a white throat is white, and pale grey breast and upper flanks.

A Striped Pipit is perched on a multi-thread cable, facing to the left of the photo. Its beak is open, so it is likely singing its thrush-like song. The pipit is relatively large for a pipit. It's basically different shades of brown; the wing coverts have yellow-green edges, and the underparts are olive brown with dark brown streaking.

owlice@owlice· Jun 11

🦉🪶 Four birds #Nesting White-browed Sparrow Weaver Osprey Northern Masked- Weaver Speckle-fronted Weaver #BirdOfTheDay

owlice@owlice· Jun 9

🦉🪶 Whoever you are, no matter how lonely, the world offers itself to your imagination, calls to you like the wild geese, harsh and exciting over and over announcing your place in the family of things. ~ Mary Oliver Spur-winged Goose Egyptian Goose Barnacle Goose Brent Geese #Geese #BirdOfTheDay

owlice@owlice· Jun 8

🦉🪶 Four birds for #WorldOceansDay and #BirdOfTheDay Laysan Albatross Northern Gannet African Penguin Great White Pelican

A Laysan Albatross standing on green grass. The bird is mostly white with black wings and smoky eyes.

A Northern Gannet flies just above the green waters of the Delaware Bay. The bird is mostly white; it has black wingtips and a buff head.

An adorable African Penguin snoozes in the little artificial abode provided to try to improve the bird's chances to reproduce. Eyes closed, head slightly tipped up, and just behind its head, one can make out the white eyebrows of another penguin behind him.

owlice@owlice· Jun 7

🦉🪶 Birds using #BorrowedPlaces for #BirdOfTheDay Jackal Buzzard Red Kite Superb Starlings Tree Sparrow