Tag: Friday’s Feathered Friends

Friday’s Feathered Friends- White Winged Dove

Posted in birding, Friday's Feathered Friends, PhotographyTagged , , , , , 30 Comments

Copyright ©2026 Deborah M. Zajac. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

PLEASE DO NOT USE MY IMAGES WITHOUT EXPRESSED WRITTEN PERMISSION.

The very first new to me bird that I saw while in Texas in April was the White-winged Dove. I’ve wanted to see one since I first heard Stevie Nicks sing On the Edge of Seventeen way back in the 80’s.

They are so much more colorful than I thought they’d be with their orange eyes, contrasting blue eye lore, and orange red legs and feet.

©Deborah M. Zajac | http//:circadianreflections.com
White-winged Dove

Fun Facts:

  • In the Sonoran Desert, nesting White-winged Doves eat mostly the nectar, pollen, fruit, and seeds of the saguaro cactus. They’re so dependent on the saguaro they time their migration and nesting to match its fruiting schedule. Saguaro seeds are the only small seeds that a White-winged Dove will bother with—possibly because they sit in a large, cup-shaped fruit that makes them easy to eat.
  • Like other doves and pigeons, White-winged Doves have some unusual abilities. They can suck and swallow water without moving their heads. And they use a secretion from the esophagus, known as crop milk, to feed nestlings. Both parents may consume snails and bone fragments to help their bodies create the nutritious fluid.
  • Although the White-winged Dove is mostly resident in the Southwest, it is expanding its range, and individuals can be found far afield. White-winged Doves have been seen from Alaska to Ontario, Maine, Newfoundland, and most places in between.
  • During the twentieth century, habitat loss and heavy hunting led to a serious drop in White-winged Dove populations in Texas—from as many as 12 million to fewer than 1 million by 1939. But with proactive management of hunting and the species’ ability to adapt to urban living, the population rebounded to some 2.2 million by 2001, and its range is still expanding.
  • In the early 1980s, the singer Stevie Nicks introduced millions of Americans to the White-winged Dove with her song “Edge of Seventeen,” which hit #11 on the Billboard charts.
  • The oldest White-winged Dove on record was at least 21 years and 9 months old. It was banded in Arizona in 1958 and recovered in Mexico in 1980.

I’m birding this morning so will be late reading your posts and comments.

Have a lovely week-end everyone!

more to come…

Friday’s Feathered Friends- Great Horned Owlets

Posted in Birds, Birds in the Wild, Birds of North America, Birds of Prey, Friday's Feathered Friends, Owls and Owlets, PhotographyTagged , , , , , 40 Comments

Copyright ©2026 Deborah M. Zajac. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

PLEASE DO NOT USE MY IMAGES WITHOUT EXPRESSED WRITTEN PERMISSION.

Spring is…Owlets!

©Deborah M. Zajac | http//:circadianreflections.com
Oldest Owlet…roughly 3 weeks old and branching.
©Deborah M. Zajac | http//:circadianreflections.com
Younger two Owlets. One of these is branching now as well.
©Deborah M. Zajac | http//:circadianreflections.com
Mama GH Owl getting some zzz’s nearby the nest.
©Deborah M. Zajac | http//:circadianreflections.com
Dad GH Owl keeping one eye on me.

This little Owl family was a treat to find and see this month.

Fun Facts:

  • Great Horned Owls are fierce predators that can take large prey, including raptors such as Ospreys, Peregrine Falcons, Prairie Falcons, and other owls. They also eat much smaller items such as rodents, frogs, and scorpions.
  • When clenched, a Great Horned Owl’s strong talons require a force of 28 pounds to open. The owls use this deadly grip to sever the spine of large prey.
  • If you hear an agitated group of cawing American Crows, they may be mobbing a Great Horned Owl. Crows may gather from near and far and harass the owl for hours. The crows have good reason, because the Great Horned Owl is their most dangerous predator.
  • Even though the female Great Horned Owl is larger than her mate, the male has a larger voice box and a deeper voice. Pairs often call together, with audible differences in pitch.
  • Great Horned Owls are covered in extremely soft feathers that insulate them against the cold winter weather and help them fly very quietly in pursuit of prey. Their short, wide wings allow them to maneuver among the trees of the forest.
  • Great Horned Owls have large eyes, pupils that open widely in the dark, and retinas containing many rod cells for excellent night vision. Their eyes don’t move in their sockets, but they can swivel their heads more than 180 degrees to look in any direction. They also have sensitive hearing, thanks in part to facial disc feathers that direct sound waves to their ears.
  • The oldest Great Horned Owl on record was at least 28 years old when it was found in Ohio in 2005.

Fun Facts gleaned from allaboutbirds.org

I’m out birding early this morning as it’s light out much earlier so I’ll be a little later getting to your posts and comments.

more to come…

Friday’s Feathered Friends-Crested Caracara

Posted in birding, Friday's Feathered Friends, PhotographyTagged , , , , 32 Comments

Copyright ©2026 Deborah M. Zajac. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

PLEASE DO NOT USE MY IMAGES WITHOUT EXPRESSED WRITTEN PERMISSION.

I’ve been away visiting my Step-dad in FL and while there I had two full days of birding. It was a fantastic visit.

We had a beach day, we ate fresh seafood a couple of times, and Greek food at Hellas in Tarpon Springs. It’s a family favorite.

Birding was awesome. I picked up 12 “lifers” this trip and this adult Crested Caracara is one of them.

©Deborah M. Zajac | http//:circadianreflections.com
Crested Caracara

Fun Facts:

The Crested Caracara looks like a hawk with its sharp beak and talons, behaves like a vulture, and is technically a large tropical black-and-white falcon. It is instantly recognizable standing tall on long yellow-orange legs with a sharp black cap set against a white neck and yellow-orange face. The Crested Caracara is a bird of open country and reaches only a few states in the southern U.S. It flies low on flat wings, and routinely walks on the ground.

  • A common subject of folklore and legends throughout Central and South America, the Crested Caracara is sometimes called the “Mexican eagle.”
  • Although it looks like a long-legged hawk the Crested Caracara is actually a falcon.
  • The Crested Caracara is the only falcon that collects material to build a nest. Other falcons lay their eggs in an old nest built by another species or in a scrape on the ground.
  • The oldest recorded Crested Caracara was at least 21 years, 9 months old when it was identified by its band in 2015 in Florida. It was originally banded in the same state in 1994.
  • Fun facts gleaned from https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Crested_Caracara/overview

I’m really behind with your blogs, but I’ll catch up.

Have a wonderful week-end, everyone!

more to come…

Friday’s Feathered Friends- Rufous Hummingbird

Posted in Backyard Birding, Birding in Nevada, Friday's Feathered Friends, PhotographyTagged , , , , , , 47 Comments

Copyright ©2025 Deborah M. Zajac. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

PLEASE DO NOT USE MY IMAGES WITHOUT EXPRESSED WRITTEN PERMISSION.

A few weeks ago a pair of Rufous Hummingbirds returned to my backyard feeder. They’ve been chasing off the Black-chinned and having skirmishes all day everyday since their return.

I’m beginning to think I need to add another Shepard’s hook and feeder so the territorial squabbling gets better.

Here’s what I think is a female perched on top of the hook claiming possession. She lands here on and off all day long letting the other Hummingbirds know this is her feeder. You can see a little bit of her Gorget on her throat.

©Deborah M. Zajac | http//:circadianreflections.com Image

Here she is just after chasing off two other Hummingbirds. I love her tail!

©Deborah M. Zajac | http//:circadianreflections.com Image

I could be wrong about her sex as it could also be an immature female/ male. If you know which it is please let me know.

Fun Facts:

  • The Rufous Hummingbird is a common visitor to hummingbird feeders. It is extremely territorial at all times of year, attacking any visiting hummingbird, including much larger species. They’ve been seen chasing chipmunks away from their nests.
  • The Rufous Hummingbird makes one of the longest migratory journeys of any bird in the world, as measured by body size. At just over 3 inches long, its roughly 3,900-mile movement (one-way) from Alaska to Mexico is equivalent to 78,470,000 body lengths. In comparison, the 13-inch-long Arctic Tern’s one-way flight of about 11,185 mi is only 51,430,000 body lengths. (AAB)
  • During their long migrations, Rufous Hummingbirds make a clockwise circuit of western North America each year. They move up the Pacific Coast in late winter and spring, reaching Washington and British Columbia by May. As early as July they may start south again, traveling down the chain of the Rocky Mountains. People first realized this pattern after examining detailed field notes and specimens, noting the birds’ characteristic dates of arrival on each part of the circuit.
  • The Rufous Hummingbird has an excellent memory for location, no doubt helping it find flowers from day to day, or even year to year. Some birds have been seen returning from migration and investigating where a feeder had been the previous year, even though it had since been moved.
  • The Rufous Hummingbird breeds as far north as southeastern Alaska – the northernmost breeding range of any hummingbird in the world. Of the western hummingbirds that occasionally show up in the east, the Rufous Hummingbird is the most frequent.
  • Rufous Hummingbirds, like most other hummingbirds, beat their wings extremely fast to be able to hover in place. The wingbeat frequency of Rufous Hummingbirds has been recorded at 52–62 wingbeats per second.
  • The Rufous Hummingbird is not a colonially nesting species; however, there have been reports from Washington state that have 20 or more Rufous Hummingbird nests only a few yards apart in the same tree. (From the BNA)
  • Hummingbirds are hard to catch, but there are records of Rufous Hummingbirds being caught by a large flycatcher (Brown-crested Flycatcher) and by a frog.
  • The oldest recorded Rufous Hummingbird was a female, and at least 8 years, 11 months old when she was recaught and rereleased during banding operations in British Columbia in 2004.

I’ve been slower to your blogs this week as I’m visiting with family, and I will be for the next several days, but I’ll catch up!

Have a lovely week-end!!

Nikon D850| Nikkor 500mm| Fun Facts-https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Rufous_Hummingbird/overview

more to come…

Friday’s Feathered Friends-Eastern Phoebe

Posted in birding, Friday's Feathered FriendsTagged , , , , , 43 Comments

Copyright ©2025 Deborah M. Zajac. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

PLEASE DO NOT USE MY IMAGES WITHOUT EXPRESSED WRITTEN PERMISSION.

With this sighting of the Eastern Phoebe on May 13th while birding in Ohio I have now seen all 3 Phoebe’s that reside in the Unites States.

©Deborah M. Zajac | http//:circadianreflections.com Image

The Eastern Phoebe can be found throughout the eastern half of the continent from the Northwest Territories all the way down to Mexico.

The other two Phoebes are found in the Western regions of North America. They are the Say’s Phoebe, and the Black Phoebe.

Fun Facts:

  • In 1804, the Eastern Phoebe became the first banded bird in North America. John James Audubon attached silvered thread to an Eastern Phoebe’s leg to track its return in successive years.
  • The use of buildings and bridges for nest sites has allowed the Eastern Phoebe to tolerate the landscape changes made by humans and even expand its range. However, it still uses natural nest sites when they are available.
  • Unlike most birds, Eastern Phoebes often reuse nests in subsequent years—and sometimes Barn Swallows use them in between. In turn, Eastern Phoebes may renovate and use old American Robin or Barn Swallow nests themselves.
  • The Eastern Phoebe is a loner, rarely coming in contact with other phoebes. Even members of a mated pair do not spend much time together. They may roost together early in pair formation, but even during egg laying the female frequently chases the male away from her.
  • The oldest known Eastern Phoebe was at least 10 years, 4 months old. It had been banded in Iowa in 1979 and was found in 1989 in Alberta.
  • Fun facts gleaned as always from allaboutbirds.org

I hope you all have a lovely week-end!

more to come…

Friday’s Feathered Friends- Yellow Warbler

Posted in Bird Photography, birding, Friday's Feathered Friends, YellowTagged , , , , 46 Comments

Copyright ©2025 Deborah M. Zajac. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

PLEASE DO NOT USE MY IMAGES WITHOUT EXPRESSED WRITTEN PERMISSION.

Myself and He-Man went to Ohio for several days of birding Wood Warblers. I hoped to see some I didn’t see last year and see those I did see last year again. It was a great trip. Not only did I see a number of the Warblers I saw last year, I also saw some new species of Warblers plus a couple of other birds. 14 new to me birds or in birder speak ” Lifers”. On Monday the 12th (my birthday) I saw 7 Lifers! What a gift!!

I have thousands of images to cull but, I’m hoping I have a few good images to share in upcoming posts.

In the meantime here’s a cheerful Yellow Warbler I saw while there. These guys were everywhere on May 11th. They were singing and filling up on insects in all the trees in bloom getting ready for their over night migration to get to their breeding grounds in the USA, and some flew over the 26 miles of Lake Erie to get to Canada where their breeding grounds are.

On May 12th their numbers at the marsh were remarkably lower than the day before. I only saw a few.

©Deborah M. Zajac | http//:circadianreflections.com Image

I’m catching up with mail, email, bills, of course the laundry, and your blogs.

I hope you have a lovely week-end.

Fun facts:

  • In addition to the migratory form of the Yellow Warbler that breeds in North America, several other resident forms can be found in Mexico, Central America, and the Caribbean. Males in these populations can have chestnut caps or even chestnut covering the entire head.
  • The nests of the Yellow Warbler are frequently parasitized by the Brown-headed Cowbird. The warbler often builds a new nest directly on top of the parasitized one, sometimes resulting in nests with up to six tiers.
  • Life can be dangerous for a small bird. Yellow Warblers have occasionally been found caught in the strands of an orb weaver spider’s web.
  • The oldest-known Yellow Warbler was a female and was at least 11 years old when she was recaught and rereleased during banding operations in New York. ~https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Yellow_Warbler

more to come…

Friday’s Feathered Friends-Couples

Posted in Birding in Nevada, Ducks, Friday's Feathered Friends, Nature, PhotographyTagged , , , 42 Comments

Copyright ©2025 Deborah M. Zajac. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

PLEASE DO NOT USE MY IMAGES WITHOUT EXPRESSED WRITTEN PERMISSION.

Being Valentine’s Day today I thought I’d share a couple of bird pairs/couples.

Mallard pair

©Deborah M. Zajac | http//:circadianreflections.com Image

Hooded Merganser pair

©Deborah M. Zajac | http//:circadianreflections.com Image

I hope you all have a lovely Valentine’s Day and great weekend.

Nikon D850| Nikkor 500mm| PS CC

more to come…