Native Birds

The bird is a Great Blue Heron (Ardea herodias), photographed on the Vancouver waterfront near Stanley Park. I am so excited about these shots - they are by far and away the best bird pictures I've taken, even though they are of a very common bird. The opportunity was perfect - we were walking from Stanley Park to the Vancouver waterfront when the heron landed in the trees around a small pond just a few yards from us. We nearly spoiled the opportunity, however, by fumbling around with lenses and nearly dropping one of them. Both shots are SOOC with nothing done to them at all.

Also known as the Northern Flicker, this bird is one of our native woodpeckers. We often hear them hammering on the flashing and gutters of our roof, but this is the first good picture I've gotten of one of them. The photo was taken in Stanley Park, Vancouver. The bird's scientific name is Colaptes auratus cafer.

The American Coot, Fulica americana, is found all across North America. This bird was photographed at Lost Lagoon in Stanley Park, Vancouver.

This photo was taken by my wife who got a much better shot of this beautiful bird than I did. The bird was photographed at Potter's Marsh, a wildlife refuge south of Anchorage. This bird has the longest migration route of any, up to 55,000 miles.

Not the greatest of bird photos, nor the most uncommon of birds, but a cute little guy nonetheless. The photo was taken in Denali National Park, but the range of the White-crowned Sparrow is over most of North America.

This little bird was photographed in Stanley Park, Vancouver.

I learned this bird as the Rufous-sided Towhee, but the western variety of the species is now known as the Spotted Towhee. He (or she) was photographed in Washington Park near Anacortes, Washington.

This was a new bird for me when I photographed it at the Bass River Recreation Area along the Grand River in western Michigan. The Eastern Phoebe is one of the first birds to arrive in the spring and the last to leave in autumn.

This Black-capped Chickadee was photographed at Bass River Recreation Area in Michigan. It is a very common bird in North America but a very lively and beautiful little chap.