A day of birding (at the zoo)

Living in New Mexico has its advantages and disadvantages.

On the plus side, today felt like a spring day, with the temperature getting up to almost 80 degrees. At the same time, I know some of you are freezing your @#%&'s off up north with ice & snow storms.

Now for the down side, most of the birds here tend to be pretty bland ... blending into their drab desert environment.

Everyday, I see lots of doves (white-winged, mourning & inca), quail (gambel's & scaled), and house finches. I also see everyone's beautiful and colorful birds on this forum; and I get soooooooo jealous.

Well, to make a long story short, I really needed a good birding fix. Yesterday morning, I took a hike; but all I saw was my usual doves, quail and house finches. Finally, in desparation, I decided to go to the zoo in El Paso, which has a pretty nice aviary.

I didn't want to hog the daily thread; so I decided to start a new thread to share some of the photos I took. In some cases, I was able to identify the birds; but for others, I don't have a clue. If anyone knows what those unknown birds are, please help me ID them.

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#1 - This one is a Tawny Frogmouth.

#2 - Swainson's Hawk (with injured foot and wing)

#3 - Barn Own (also, with an injured foot)

#4 - Southern Screamer ... Boy are these guys LOUD!

#4b - Another shot of the Southern Screamer

#5 - Here's a Rhea. It was very friendly and came right over to me.

#6 - This one is a Thicknee. It was only about 11" tall and just so cute.

#7 - Cattle Egret

(oops ... forgot the picture)

This message was edited Feb 7, 2009 5:03 PM

#7 - Cattle Egret

#8 - Scarlet Ibis

#8b - Another Scarlet Ibis

#9 - Mockingbird (I guess they had to include it since it's their state bird)

#10 - Clay-Colored Robin

#11 - Brazilian Cardinal

#11b - Another shot of the Brazilian Cardinal

#12 - Troupial

#12b - Troupial again

#13 - Silver-Beaked Tanager

#13b - Silver-Beaked Tanager again

#14 - This is one of the birds that I couldn't identify. It was in the tropical rainforest section.

#15 - Another unknown. It appears to be some sort of pigeon; but it was about 3-4 inches larger than a common pigeon.

#16 - Another unknown. When I saw the red spot on its chest, I though it was injured; but there were several of these birds and they all had the red spot.

#16b - Side shot one of the other birds (same as #16).

#17 - Another unknown. It appears to be some sort of pigeon; but had a really pretty irridescent blue/green coloring.

#18 - Inca Tern

#18b - Another Inca Tern. I just love the "handlebar mustache" ... just give him a leather jacket and a harley and he'll be all set.

#18c - This is a juv. Inca Tern that hatched in captivity. Its beak will turn red when it matures.

#19 - Another mystery; but it appears to be some sort of tern.

#20 - Blue-Winged Teal

#21 - Hooded Merganser

#22 - Ducks; but what type???

#23 - Another mystery duck

#24 - Yet another mystery duck. (Last picture ... I hope everyone enjoys sharing my day at the zoo.)

I am enjoying your day at the zoo!

So many beautiful birds. I love the Thicknee, Brazilian Cardinal and I adore the
Troupial!

Thanks for sharing this with us Jane!

Nice day at the zoo Jane...makes me want to go visit ours! So many beautiful birds and great pics but I love the Thicknee best...just adorable. Thanks for taking us along on your trip.

Thanks for sharing your day out Jane. Some fabulous birds there. Love the Brazilian Cardinal and the Troupial. I'll have a go at identifying a couple of the mystery birds. Mind you, I don't have the panache that Mrs Ed has when it comes to ID'ing birds (or trees).

#15 maybe a White-headed Pigeon. If it is, it's endemic to the eastern coastal area of Australia.
#16 Luzon Bleeding Heart.
#17 Nicobar Pigeon.
#19 Masked Lapwing.
#22 Burdekin Shelduck (AKA Radjah Shelduck and White-headed Shelduck)

This message was edited Feb 8, 2009 2:21 PM

This message was edited Feb 8, 2009 3:27 PM

harumph!

Thanks everyone for the nice comments & special thanks to Margaret for helping ID some of the unknowns.

Nice pictures! I enjoyed your zoo! This one here looks like he has a heart tattoo! http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/fp.php?pid=6107746

I just love a trip to the zoo!!!

Cool Inca Tern!!!