Birds

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March 2, 2011

Together for life

Posted by Morning Bray under Birds | Tags: bird, sandhill crane, sandhill cranes |
[18] Comments

I’ll never tire of watching the cranes that overwinter at Morning Bray Farm.

I just recently learned that their normal life span is about 25 years.

Chances are, then, that we’ll see the same pairs back here year after year.

They’re monogamous and mate for life.

This pair seems quite happy together.

Yesterday was the first time I saw one preening another. Interesting.

And check out the legs. I mean, I knew, but still… surprising to actually see.

This attentiveness looks like love to me.

In the next few days and weeks, our cranes will fly to their nesting grounds in the northern regions of North America or even as far as north eastern Siberia. We’ll see them back here again in October. ♥

February 23, 2011

The first baby of 2011

Posted by Morning Bray under Birds | Tags: baby bird, bird, Eurasian Collared-Dove |
[26] Comments

Morning Bray Farm announces our first baby of 2011, an Eurasian-Collared Dove.

She made her out-of-the-nest debut yesterday.

Spring’s just around the corner. ♥

February 19, 2011

Saturday Stuff – Sheep

Posted by Morning Bray under Birds, Saturday Parts & Stuff, Sheep | Tags: Baby Boy, dove, Momma, sheep |
[21] Comments

The other day, Baby Boy was determined to tell me there was a dove in his water tub.

Momma was mortified that a bird was bathing in her water. Aren’t her teeth cute? ♥

January 22, 2011

Saturday Stuff – Working on getting that shot

Posted by Morning Bray under Birds, Saturday Parts & Stuff | Tags: sandhill crane, sandhill cranes |
[20] Comments

January 18, 2011

It’s all in the details

Posted by Morning Bray under Birds | Tags: benefits of blogging, bird, bird identification, doves, Eurasian Collared-Dove, mourning dove, White-winged Dove |
[29] Comments

When I said I was pretty sure this is a Mourning Dove, I was wrong. Au contraire, my friends… turns out she’s a White-winged Dove. Thanks, CeeCee!

No surprise, it’s all in the details. White-winged Doves have white stripes on their wings.

Eurasian-collared Doves are lighter in color and have napes ringed with a half-black collar. Mourning Doves are medium-sized with gray-brown wings with black spots.

Honestly, I would’ve never thought there were three unique dove species here at Morning Bray Farm. If I wasn’ t blogging, I might have never realized it. ♥

p.s. Don just looked at what I was blogging and asked me if the name of this post was going to be I’m suddenly obsessed with doves and I don’t know why. ♥

January 16, 2011

White-breasted Nuthatch

Posted by Morning Bray under Birds | Tags: bird, bird feeder, White-breasted Nuthatch |
[17] Comments

January 12, 2011

Now I know why they remind me of chimpanzees

Posted by Morning Bray under Africa, Birds | Tags: Canada Goose, Canada Goose vocalization, Chimpanzee, chimpanzee vocalization, communication |
[12] Comments

As I’ve listened to the dozens and sometimes hundreds of Canada Geese that come to visit our pastures each winter, I haven’t been able to shake the notion that their vocalizations remind me of chimpanzees. The drama!

Now I know why.

I would have never guessed so many, but researchers have identified about 13 different calls from Canada Geese, which vary from loud greeting/alarm calls to soft sounds from feeding geese.

Chimps have specific calls to signify food and danger, and each chimp has a distinctive hoot that distinguishes it from the others. Chimps too can have loud greeting/alarm calls and can have soft sounds while feeding.

Goes to show that no matter the genus or species, vocal communication can convey a variety of emotions and intentions and often serves to affect the behavior of those that hear what’s being said.

♥

January 3, 2011

The color of the sky

Posted by Morning Bray under Birds | Tags: bird, birds, mourning dove, White-winged Dove |
[28] Comments

While we have plenty of Eurasian Collared-Doves around Morning Bray Farm, I’m pretty sure this is a Mourning Dove.

She’s beautiful.

I just love how the rings of feathers around her eyes are the color of the sky.

The interesting facts from whatbird.com:

The oldest documented wild Mourning Dove was 19.3 years old. The average lifespan of wild birds is 1.5 years.
It is a game bird; and in many states, habitat is created with the specific purpose to hunt birds.
Both males and females secrete a substance from their crop that is high in protein and fat. Called crop milk or pigeon milk, it resembles and smells like cottage cheese and is fed to young birds.
A group of doves has many collective nouns, including a “bevy”, “cote”, “dole”, “dule”, and “flight” of doves.

1/13/2011

Note: Whoops! Turns out she isn’t a Mourning Dove after all. She’s a White-winged Dove. Thank you CeeCee!

The interesting facts on White-winged Doves from whatbird.com:

Although the White-winged Dove is most commonly found in Arizona and the southwest, its range is expanding nation-wide and into parts of Canada.
In Florida breeding occurs only in introduced populations.

December 21, 2010

The oldest known bird species still surviving

Posted by Morning Bray under Birds | Tags: bird, birds, sandhill crane, sandhill cranes |
[13] Comments

A crane fossil approximately ten million years old was found in Nebraska and is structurally identical to the modern Sandhill Crane, making it the oldest known bird species still surviving.

Some other interesting facts about Sandhill Cranes from whatbird.com:

Sandhill Cranes are noted for their elaborate courtship displays. Two displays are used to form mating pairs while three other displays occur only between mates and serve to maintain the pair bond.
They frequently preen with vegetation and mud stained with iron oxide resulting in a reddish-brown color rather than their natural gray.
A group of cranes has many collective nouns, including a “construction”, “dance”, “sedge”, “siege”, and “swoop” of cranes.

December 6, 2010

Wildlife West

Posted by Morning Bray under Birds, Friends and Family, New Mexico | Tags: crested caracara, Don, golden eagle, gray fox, great horned owl, New Mexico, pronghorn, red-tailed hawk, white-tailed deer, Wildlife, Wildlife West, Wildlife West Nature Park |
[21] Comments

We visited Wildlife West Nature Park yesterday. Unlike a typical zoo, Wildlife West is a preserve for orphaned, injured and certified non-releasable animals and birds in natural habitats.

This is Morley, a golden eagle. Morley is missing his right eye, making it impossible for him to be released into the wild.

Here’s Dia, a western red-tailed hawk. Dia was found on the ground, injured in the right shoulder and wing – the result of a gunshot.

Magnificent.

Here’s Don having a chat with Lucky, a white-tailed deer rescued by the New Mexico Game & Fish Department.

I couldn’t get over how beautiful the pronghorns were. Tonto was orphaned as a baby and brought to Wildlife West by the New Mexico Game & Fish Department.

Did you know the pronghorn is the only living member of its family in the world? They are not antelopes. They’re the fastest land mammal – they can sprint up to 60 mph and maintain a speed of 30 mph for miles (they can sustain high speeds longer than a cheetah). They can see 320 degrees without turning their head and can see movement up to four miles away.

This is Forrest, a gray fox. He was found orphaned as a baby in a train car in southern New Mexico.

Meet Ernie, a great horned owl. Ernie is at Wildlife West due to a serious injury to his right wing, most likely caused by a collision with a vehicle.