What is your favourite bird.... and why? (1 Viewer)

Well I do have to admit that my fave of all time is the Emperor Penguin!

I have no special reason really, I just think everything about them is special (ever since a friend of mine sent some me photographs - which unfortunately I lost during the times I've moved houses)

In particular I admire the males of this species, their ability to balance their unborn offspring on their feet (for up to three months at a time) as a whole bunch of expectant fathers huddle together to stay warm, waiting for their other half's return... is simply amazing!!

I'm sure the rest of you must have a favourite bird that you would like us all to know about......



Looking forward to reading about them all......

JennyWren

FAV BIRD

Hi Jenny,
I'm quite partial to the Albatross, wonderful bird, lives and dies at sea for nearly its whole life.

I bet no one has a pic (that they took) of one of these magnificent birds

I knew a united airlines pilot called Albert tross (true)

Hi Jenny Wren

I have two = Barn Owl and Lapwing.

As a child I moved into rural Nottinghamshire, and spent some time with a gamekeeper. On perhaps our first time out together he spotted some birds at a considerable distance away from us, flying, and asked me what they were. I had no idea. He said that if I was going to live in the country I ought to get to know the wildlife. Up until then I had spent hours sifting through the Observers book of birds. I knew them on paper but not in the field. From that day on I never forgot Lapwing in flight.

Barn Owls, well they are just magical. We are fortunate in having a very healthy population in Norfolk. But it does not matter how often I see one they always make me stop and watch. They look fantastic perched and so light, yet in control on the wing.

Greedy wretch that I am, I have two favorite birds ...

The first is the Oystercatcher. I never tire of watching them - they are just so comical. It's like their bill is totally false, and when they fight and chase each other it's just the best sight of all.

The second is the Chough. I was lucky enough to spend six months on an island where they were frequent visitors. Whether it's a knock-on effect from the Oystercatcher having a bright red/orange bill or not, I can't say. Watching them just gliding along on a fresh breeze is quite scintillating. Sighs!

Back to reality now then ...

My favourite bird (that I have seen live) is probably the Bewick's Swan (now called the Tundra Swan) -Cygnus columbianus bewickii. My favourite bird from pictures, television etc. - ummmmm - I need to think on that one.


Colin

Getting the young ones interested

Last week I was on holiday to Pembrokeshire with my nephew who is ten years old. As you do, I was gently encouraging him to observe the wildlife around him and specifically to take an interest in the birds we were seeing. Things were going well - I had bought him some half decent bins at Easter so we practiced using them to focus on the birds quickly and we dabbled with my telescope on a few occasions too. He began asking questions and kept asking to borrow my bird guide in the evenings. He got out some paper and a pen and was writing lists - could he bo hooked already??

Now bear in mind he is of a generation that collects Paninni World Cup football stickers and has ready access to computers and computer games - his new found interest was a joy to behold.

Minor alarm bells began to ring when he asked me which birds I would have in my 'squad'. I told him which birds were my favourites and why. He then proceeded to tell me which birds featured in his squad. The list went something like this: 2 red kites, 4 lesser kestrels, 10 belted kingfishers, a peregrine falcon (repeatedly pronounced faaalcon)! a pair of Eleanora's faaalcon and last but not least, 1200 white rumped swifts. I tried to establish why he felt the need to 'squad' them or what the squad could be expected to do. He replied they were all 'good looking birds'!

Still, I think he is on the right lines............... I am looking forward to taking him on his next holiday. I wonder how much his interest in birds will have developed by then? (He does not live local to me so I am not able to guide him or oversee his progress on a regular basis and no-one else in his closer family has any greater interest or knowledge to impart on the subject of wildlife in general- never mind birds in particular).

Anyway, at ten years old I think I am pleased that the 'good looking birds' are all just the feathered kind!

Jack

PS we spent a very happy half hour watching a pod of bottled-nosed dolphins in Cardigan Bay. A first for both of us! I don't know who was more excited. And as he said, "why bother going abroad and paying good money to go on a dolphin/whale cruise (as we have done in the past) when we can watch them from our own cliffs for free". Is he an old head on young shoulders or what!

3

it's tricky to pick just one favourite.
so here's my top two, though it changes all the time.
Water Rail - such loud noises from such a little bird. nice colours and great walk.
Fulmar- love to watch them fly plus the chicks are great, big ball of fluff with a little head stuck on top

Favorite bird

Three favorites:

Scissor-tailed flycatcher [Tyránnus forficátus] for its beauty and the feeling of freedom it evokes in me (since my memories are always of this bird in the open country)

Carolina Wren [Thryóthorus ludoviciánus] for its independent little spirit and delightful personality

Wood Thrush [Hylocíchla mustelína] for its beautiful song.

My favourite bird has to be the owl:
Something so haunting about their call, so tantalising that one so rarely sees them. The excitement when one does. The sublte beauty, the upright stance, silent flight, their dignity. Tops for me.
Paula

Since Childhood.....

I've always had a thing about Peregrines even from before I ever saw one!

I was thrilled recently to see one over my house in Warwick. There is one in the area which I have seen several times but to have it as a garden tick is great (as long as you assume the garden extends infinitely upwards

I don't have a favourite bird as such, but I do have a favourite family - phylloscopus warblers - (Chiffchaff, Willow Warbler etc) Some are common, some are rare, some are incredibly beautiful, whilst others are a little plainer. Finding them and identifing them is one of the great joys of autumn, and can present a challenge to even the most experienced birder. Most will be chiffchaffs, but occasionally - just occasionally you will come across something like a Yellow-browed warbler and you'll be walking on air all day. One of my most treasured birding memories was the time I found not one, not two, but three Pallas's warblers one late October day flitting around a farmyard in a sheltered Devon valley.
Our American friends are experiencing some of this "phylosc fever" at the moment having just found the continent's first Willow warbler together with Dusky and Yellow-browed - I think I understand how they must be feeling.

As I said at the raptor's site my overall-favourite is the Bald Eagle
But I also like swifts, the peewit, the smew, the kentish plover, gulls, the common kingfisher, kookaburras (although they don't appear in europe), the hoopoe and many others, including oscine birds. I wouldn't manage mentioning all of them
By the way: my favourite birds are raptors (for everyone who didn't get it: I call myself a "Bald Eagle nut" )

I've seen lots of wonderful exotics but it's Blackbird Turdus merula for me. Smart garden bird with a beautiful song. Always makes me smile when I hear one sing.