What bird would you LOVE to see in person?

[RavensGryf]

Great about the Bald Eagle making a comeback from something as simple as using less pesticides.

 

[Betrisher]

I have a friend who used to live on Vancouver Island. She sent me photos of a flock of Bald Eagles (about thirty of them) fishing about a hundred yards from her back door.

We get a smaller, vaguely simliar bird over here called the Brahminy Kite (Haliastur indus), but it isn't found in my area. Usually. One day, we had been to McDonald's at Hexham (near home) when I nearly ran us off the road pointing excitedly at a Brahminy Kite hovering over us on the highway!!! By the time poor Hunn had pulled over and off the road, his mental wife was projecting out through the sunshine roof in order to get a better look at the bird. That was the first and only time I've ever seen one!

Our White Breasted Sea Eagle (Haliaeetus leucogaster) is more closely related to the Bald Eagle and is one of my favourite birds. It's so huge and clean-looking and efficient at what it does - a remarkable creature!

Once, I was on a field trip with our Bird Observers' Group. We were walking along the coal railway line that bisects the Hexham Swamp (a very large one of about three thousand acres) in two. As we walked along, minding our own business, a Sea Eagle plummetted from behind us and seized hold of a fat carp from the swamp about fifteen metres away from us.

We were rivetted as the huge bird floundered in the water, almost up to its neck as it grappled with a fish about fifteen inches long and maybe three pounds in weight! As we watched like stunned mullets, the eagle laboriously gained purchase in the water and by furiously and doggedly working its wings became airborne. I honestly don't know how he managed it, as the carp was desperately trying to wiggle its way out of the talons.

It was touch and go at first, as the wriggling, wiggling carp looked as though it might succeed and plop back into the water. We got a really good look at the massive talons on the bird and I know I'd hate to be grasped by something like that! They were like steel traps with scimitars about an inch long on each toe! Well, the bird rearranged his grip on the fish so it was pointing in the same direction as he was flying. That rendered Mr Carp pretty much immobile, so Mr Eagle simply flapped slow and hard and gained height. The last we saw of the pair was a black dot skating down thermals toward Ash Island, where Mr Eagle probably had his home.

You can imagine the hubbub that broke out among the until-now silent Hunter Bird Observers! LOL! The incident went down in the annals of the group, you may be sure.

 

[RavensGryf]

Trish, that Sea Eagle with the fish must have been a sight to see! Wow, how strong that thing has to be for a fish that size

Oh, and how about Powerful Owls?

 

[SandyBee]

Owls and eagle a are plentiful here. Christmas night last year we heard something hit our window, we looked out a saw a big barred owl shaking his head, he stayed a few minutes before taking off. He was hunting our parrots, he didn't understand windows
He was beautiful and predatory

 

[GW.Joe]

Thanks Joe!
That guy feeding the hummingbird, that's amazing! So cute how it jumps up and flaps

I LOVE the way he calls the bird down for breakfast, You can hear the wings making a buzzing sound

Ooh I'd love to go out there and see 3-4 giant Ravens eating some road kill :11:

Are you picking on me cause if you REALLY want me to, I'm SURE I could find some YouTube video of the Ravens eating "LUNCH" :11poke:

 

[SpotsandSally]

Ravens are big like Macaws, they make Bosley our Amazon look small. They also kill small rodents and do live in pairs or solitary. They also are very territorial and chase other birds out of their area. I would love to go Australia and see the birds there, so different than what we have here in Canada

Kill small rodents? Ha. I wish. They'll kill young geese if given the chance.

Nuisance where I live. Got 5 of them because a nesting pair brings their chicks down to our house. Owning a pig has helped though. They just eat the pigs food now, lol. Beautiful birds, but when they kill chickens and pigeons and geese I get little sympathy for the fat butts. I swear, they must be 10 years old now and were the only reason they haven't died yet,,lol.

If y'all want to see a bald eagle or golden eagle come down to Valdez in July. It's pink salmon season and you can easily see 10 in a day! Same applies for bears. It's beautiful!

For anyone wondering, bald eagles have been off the endangered species list for a few years now if I can recall correctly.

Personally, I want to see (and interact) with a hyacinth. Only ever seen one in captivity, once. Well, actually, I kinda just want to interact with any macaw,lol. But hyacinths are high up!

I would love to see a stellar's sea eagle

 

[RavensGryf]

Sandy, sounds like you really have some wildlife up there lol! Here where I live, the "visible" and most plentiful birds it seems are crows, sparrows, starlings.
Every now and then by water, you see a white Egret of some sort, but that's pretty unusual.

Once I was at a local man made pond by the library, and counted I think 15 species of ducks!! I couldn't believe my eyes :52:. Must have been the right time of year.

 

[SandyBee]

Lol, I like that they keep the forest rat population down. It kinda creepy waking up to dead rats in the driveway though.
I'd also love to interact with a huge as I've only seen them in captivity too

 

[Kinny]

HYACINTH MACAW!!! It is my ultimate dream to own one.. Unfortunately it is an unattainable dream

 

[SpotsandSally]

Lol, I like that they keep the forest rat population down. It kinda creepy waking up to dead rats in the driveway though.
I'd also love to interact with a huge as I've only seen them in captivity too

Well that's good.

The only time I see dead rats is if the cats get them. Ew.

 

[SandyBee]

Sandy, sounds like you really have some wildlife up there lol! Here where I live, the "visible" and most plentiful birds it seems are crows, sparrows, starlings.
Every now and then by water, you see a white Egret of some sort, but that's pretty unusual.

Once I was at a local man made pond by the library, and counted I think 15 species of ducks!! I couldn't believe my eyes :52:. Must have been the right time of year.

We have tons of species here, crows, robins, thrashers, chickadees, ravens, seagulls, Owls, eagles, hawks, ducks, Canada geese, sparrows, finches, and many more.
We also have cougars, bears, coyotes, raccoons, skunks and many other small mammals. Further out of the city we also have wolves and grizzly bears.

I live in a suburb of vancouver where the ocean meets the mountains.

 

[RavensGryf]

Wow, Bosley and August best stay inside! BC is on the west coast? Or am I wrong on my Canadian geography...

I'd love to see wolves too! At the animal shelter the other day, it was labeled "husky" but I said "THAT is NO Husky!" :52: Looked like a hybrid for sure, and physically more wolf than dog.

 

[SandyBee]

Oh they are only outside with cages and supervision that's for sure

 

[SandyBee]

Yep on the west coast, we are 2 hours north of Seattle.

 

[Kiwibird]

What a fun thread! I've always thought harpy eagles were absolutely stunning, not to mention amazing predators. I would love to see one in it's natural environment (because that could *totally* happen, lol), but I'd have too keep Kiwi safely at home on that trip I also think it would be cool to see some of the little birds of paradise. The ones with all the funky feathers

 

[MikeyTN]

A bald eagle in the wild. They are around here but I've never seen one!

When I used to live out in the country side in Freeman, SD. There was a young pair that stays in my backyard. They're magnificent to watch.

 

[MikeyTN]

We have lots of Ravens over here so you should come and visit!

I'd give anything to see a hummingbird in the flesh.

We watch hummingbird at our front door on a daily basis. They seem to like the new golden honeysuckle I've planted a month ago. Plus my other flowers are blooming so they come often. We've even put up a hummingbird feeder as well. My brother in law told me that we have more different types of birds in our yard then theirs as they live on a farm out in the country. I guess birds knows my yard is like a sanctuary....lol....

 

[Taw5106]

Bald Eagle hands down. After seeing videos of eagles getting close to people I was even more intrigued. We have ravens here, but I have to say the most annoying bird I encountered ever so far is that dang black and white magpie and it's friends in Red Deer, Alberta, CA. In Texas, the sun comes up after 5am in the summer, in Red Deer, it was up before 5am and they would sit outside my bedroom window as they say "singing the song of my people" right over my head. They are loud and proud, lol.

 

[MikeyTN]

The ones I really would love to see in person is Spix and Lear's Macaw as they're both on the endangered species list.....

 

[witchbaby]

I would LOVE to meet a black palm 'too and a hyacinth macaw.