Go to Kazul’s blog and see the baby killdeer that hatched in her yard. So cute! All four eggs hatched. Pretty amazing.
Archive for the ‘birds’ Category
Noisy little bird
May 5, 2009I heard an obnoxious sound and looked to see if I could find the source of this noise. I wasn’t sure if it was a bird or a large bug. It turned out to be this tiny little bird. He/she is about the size of a hummingbird. They fly rather interestingly – sort of a swooping motion.
(By the way, there are no hummingbirds in this hemisphere. Hummingbirds are native to the Americas. Too bad, I think they would like the Jasmine and some of the other flowers here.)
Baby birds
May 4, 2009Here are some of the baby birds on campus. They haven’t been out of the nest long and are trying their wings at flying. It was difficult to catch on video because they are so small and they hurl themselves into the air rather unpredictably.
Crafty birds, part two
April 23, 2009
bird nest between two palm fronds
Here is another bird’s nest. I discovered it because the mother bird was sitting in the entrance and singing as I was walking by. She and her mate have woven two palm branches together with their nest as the center of the sandwich.
momma bird
She flew out and right behind her came daddy bird (not THE Daddybird, the daddy bird)
daddy bird
According to my bird book and my best guess, these are house sparrows. Kind of a boring name for someone so crafty.
Crafty and amazing birds
April 15, 2009So, I was sitting outside in the courtyard during lunch the other day. The wind was kicking up because the weather had been a little rainy and rain means wind, thunder and lightning here, as a rule. I was watching the palm fronds waving in the wind and noticed that there was a bird nest attached to one of the fronds. 
If you can’t see it in this picture, try the next one.
And here’s what it looks like from the back side. I am at a loss to figure out how it is attached. Bird must be a better engineer than I am. It is firmly attached, however, and has weathered the weather. 
Ras Al Khor Wildlife Sanctuary
January 28, 2009
Yesterday we visited the Ras Al Khor Wildlife Sanctuary. This is a wetlands bird sanctuary located at the “head of the creek.” The Creek is actually more like a bay or inlet shaped like a J. (For a map that will show you what I mean click here. Notice the compass indicator on the map. It is nearly impossible to get a north oriented map of the city which why I keep thinking the sun is rising in the south.)
The inland end of the Creek has mangrove trees (more like bushes) and a lagoon like setting. The walkway out to the viewing station is covered in palm leaves to form a blind so the birds don’t see us coming.
Flamingos are the most common bird to be seen here. I apologize for the poor, poor quality of my pictures, but what do you expect from a super cheapo camera? The older flamingos had bright pink legs. Most of their feathers were pale pink, but the underside of their wings were bright pink and black. Very beautiful. They squawked a lot. Almost sounded like frogs. We also saw what were either Western Reef Herons or Great White Egrets (they are very similar), Plovers, and Grey Herons. Surprisingly, I didn’t see any ducks or sea gulls.
The picture below gives you some idea of just how close to the city this is. In fact, it sort of is in the city. I’m not sure if there are official city limits drawn (I kinda doubt it.)
Campus wildlife
January 9, 2009
These flowers look like gardenias, but I am always disappointed when I smell them, because they are not gardenias. I can’t detect much fragrance from them at all.
The red arrow is pointing to where my office is.
This fountain is a very popular spot with the minas in the afternoon. They love to have their bath in it.
The minas also congregate in the trees near the front gate. The noise of their chatter is astonishing.
This garden area near the front gate is usually full of birds in the afternoon also.
This is a white cheeked bulbul.
Can you find all the birds in the picture above? I see 5 white cheeked bulbuls. What do you see?
This is one of our campus cats. I usually see her near the front gate. She seems friendly and runs up to me, rubs against my legs and meows LOUDLY, but she does not like to be petted. Talk about mixed messages. Having her cheeks rubbed seems to be okay, but she’s not crazy about a simple pet down the back.
Two follow ups
November 18, 2008First – Rain
We both loved the rain in Portland and were not part of the crowd that complain about it, so moving to a sunny desert is a big adjustment for us. We will be celebrating every rain storm and every cloud.
Second – Birds
The common birds on campus, that I could not find in my bird book, are common mynas, which explains why they are so noisy in the afternoons. There seem to be even more of them these days, so perhaps some are migrating through.
Hoopoe Bird!
November 11, 2008
This is a Hoopoe bird. I’ve seen a few in motion from a distance, but this one was very accommodating and stood still to pose for me. Unfortunately, his crest was not unfurled. They are very impressive when in full plumage array. (http://www.birdsoman.com/Birds/091-Hoopoe/Hoopoe/Hoopoe.htm) He was happily hunting for bugs in the area around the base of a tree.
I really enjoy the variety of birds here. The campus has a lot of trees, bushes and fountains, so birds are drawn to it like an oasis. In the afternoon, it can be quite noisy as they are bathing in the fountains and chattering to each other in the trees.
We also have yellow or red vented bulbuls (their butts are vibrant yellow or red, but you have to be under them looking up to see it – dangerous position.) There is another very common bird on campus, but it is not listed in the bird book I bought, so I am still wondering what it is. It is about the size of a robin and acts very similar, but is colored very differently. They are amusing, because they will get up on the windowsills and peck at the window as if they want to be let in. They’ve provided comic relief for many a long meeting, I suspect.
We also have many doves. They are a rosy brown color. They make lovely cooing sounds and toddle all over campus.
Living the Travel Channel 
