Tag: Birds

Can you spot the differences between these 3 flamingo species?

Learn all about them.

It’s 8 a.m. on a chilly morning in the Atacama Desert. Our van stops at the side of the road so our small tour group can check out a wetland area. We step out and find at least a hundred leggy flamingos starting their day. It’s a beautiful sight, their light pink feathers against the brown Chilean desert. I walk along the road taking pictures. They keep pace with me, slowly edging away.

I’m happy to just admire them. But Nicolas Millacura, my guide from the luxury lodge Explora Atacama, starts to quiz me. The previous day, he’d attempted to teach me how to identify the three different flamingo species that live in Chile.

“What’s that one?” He points at a flamingo. 

“Uh, Chilean?” I guess. Wrong. It’s the parina grande, or Andean flamingo. Here’s how you can tell the difference between the Andean, Puna, and Chilean flamingos.

A group of Chilean flamingos in a pond.
Photo by Donald H. Allison

Chilean flamingo

The Chilean flamingo is the palest of the three flamingo species, with feathers ranging from white to pale pink. Their beaks are black and white, and their legs are a pale blueish gray with vivid pink joints. When they fly, you can see black feathers in their wings. They live in lagoons, shallow estuaries, and brackish salt lakes and range from central Peru all the way south to Tierra de Fuego.

An Andean flamingo in water.
Photo by Greg Schechter

Andean flamingo (parina grande)

Andean flamingos are the tallest of all flamingo species. You can identify them by their pale yellow faces, black tail feathers, and yellow legs. Their beaks are black and yellow. As you might guess from the name, Andean flamingos are native to the Andean Mountains.

A group of Puna flamingo (or James's Flamingo) in water.
Photo by Dimitry B.

Puna or James’s flamingo (parina chica)

These smaller flamingos have stubby, black-tipped bills and red legs. They live at high altitudes on the Andean plateau of Chile, Bolivia, Peru, and northwest Argentina. The rarest type of flamingo, they were long thought to be extinct. The Puna also has no hind toe. You can identify it by its elongated red shoulder feathers. The English name of this bird comes from naturalist Harry Berkeley James, who lived in Chile in the 1800s.

Flamingos on the shore of a lake in Chile.
Photo by Teresa Bergen

Disclaimer: While this article was not sponsored, Explora hosted the writer during her visit to Chile. As always, Outdoors Wire operates independently, and this doesn’t influence our coverage.

8 impressive facts that tell the tale of the brown pelican

Get to know this unique species.

At least 10 huge brown pelicans swarm behind a fishing boat as it enters the marina near Loreto, Mexico’s malecón. These Baja pelicans aren’t taking no for an answer. They want whatever discarded fish they can get.

More pelicans hunch on the rocks, waiting for the next boat. They flap and dive bomb, they reach their beaks into the air and show off their weird gullets. During my four days in Loreto, I visit the malecón pelicans six times. It’s the best pelican viewing ever. It also makes me want to learn more about these huge birds with lots of personality. Discover some brown pelican fun facts in the list below, and learn more about Baja with resources like this.

A colorful sculpture spelling out "Loreto."
Loreto, the place for brown pelican watching! / Photo by Teresa Bergen

You can see all 8 swan species at South Carolina’s Swan Lake Iris Gardens

Spot swans in South Carolina.

Birdwatchers, get ready to add a new destination to your bucket list. In Sumter, South Carolina, the incredible Swan Lake Iris Gardens invites guests to explore 150 acres of vibrant flowers. The gardens are described as a “birdwatcher’s paradise,” with swans, geese, ducks, herons, and more making homes there. Speaking of swans, Swan Lake Iris Gardens is the only public park in the United States where people can see all eight swan species. Oh, and did we mention that admission and parking are both free?

Prepare for your visit to the park with this guide to the best birdwatching gear. Plus, learn about the eight swan species you’ll meet with the photos below.

Increase your bird smarts while relaxing at these stunning hotels

Leave the nest and explore.

Are you one of those people that listen for bird song when you travel? Do you see a little critter fly by and try to identify it? Then you’re the ideal guest for a new collaboration between the Cornell Lab of Ornithology and the Enthusiast Hotel Collection.

Enthusiast has seven properties spanning from the U.S. West Coast to the Caribbean. They include gorgeous places like A Stone’s Throw Away in the Bahamas, with a wraparound porch perfect for watching birds and other wildlife in the surrounding jungle. Or you could scan the sky for seabirds at the Brewery Gulch Inn on California’s Mendocino coast. Enthusiast’s on-site bird ambassador program helps answer all your avian questions. The hotel group also sets up tours in and around its properties led by local birdwatching guides. The Cornell Lab of Ornithology supplies each hotel with relevant bird info. Guests can borrow binoculars at no additional cost.

A bird on a tree.
A red-headed woodpecker at Casa Morada in the Florida Keys. / Photo courtesy of the Enthusiast Hotel Collection

“We are excited to announce our partnership with Enthusiast Hotel Collection,” Mary Guthrie, director of corporate partnerships at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, said in a statement. “Whether guests are lifelong birders or just getting started, our resources are designed to inspire and spark a deep connection with nature.” The lab, founded in 1915, is a nonprofit organization internationally known for its bird studies and conservation efforts.

Birds flying over a brick building with a black patio.
Swifts swirling around the chimney of the Historic Tapoco Lodge in North Carolina. / Photo courtesy of Enthusiast Hotel Collection

Motivated guests can start their bird studies before leaving for their trip. Cornell Lab’s Bird Academy offers a Joy of Birdwatching course and access to lectures by ornithologists. You can contribute to the lab’s work of helping scientists track bird populations by submitting your sightings online through the Lab’s eBird platform or the eBird app.

A red, black, and white bird on a tree branch.
An acorn woodpecker in Mendocino, California. / Photo courtesy of Enthusiast Hotel Collection

Whether you’re a bird lover or just want to blast the competition on trivia night, staying at an Enthusiast property can expand your knowledge of migration patterns and nesting rituals. “Now birds and birders will tell our story,” said Enthusiast Hotel Collection founder Oneil Khosa in a statement. “We’re thrilled to help enhance the enjoyment of birds for guests at all our hotels and give them the tools and resources to build memories that last forever. We are very proud of our partnership with the Cornell Lab.”

10 vulture fun facts for International Vulture Awareness Day

Celebrate Vulture Awareness Day.

While bald eagles appear on things like the American seal and the quarter, their cousins the vultures don’t get the same respect. Many folks consider vultures as gross, while eagles are majestic. They’d rather identify with a dignified national emblem than a bird routinely seen with its head buried in a carcass.

But vultures are more peaceful than eagles, eating what’s already dead rather than killing it. And they provide an important service as one of the planet’s most reliable janitors. That’s why vulture boosters started International Vulture Awareness Day on the first Saturday in September each year. Let’s celebrate with some vulture fun facts that will give you a more nuanced understanding of this much-maligned bird.

Meet the world’s only flightless parrot, the kākāpō

See this strange but cute bird.

Sirocco, New Zealand’s official spokesbird for conservation, has an important message for the world. This spokesbird is a kākāpō, a critically endangered flightless parrot endemic to New Zealand (Aotearoa). There are only 248 kākāpō alive today, but Sirocco and Kākāpō Recovery are working to change that.

As a spokesbird, Sirocco helps raise awareness for kākāpō conservation. This 26-year-old bird is described as a “media superstar,” and his charismatic personality has helped Kākāpō Recovery gain support. Kākāpō Recovery, a conservation group composed of scientists, rangers, volunteers, and donors, helps keep the kākāpō population healthy. Through monitoring, predator control, and regular health checks, Kākāpō Recovery works to keep this species from extinction. Thanks to conservation efforts, the kākāpō population has grown from 18 known existing birds in the 1970s to over 200 birds today.

What makes these special birds worth protecting? Aside from biodiversity concerns, the kākāpō is simply an extremely interesting animal. Sirocco has charmed countless people worldwide, and the facts below detail fascinating facts researchers have discovered about the species. Explore the gallery below to learn more. And once you’ve fallen in love with these cool birds, you can find ways to support their conservation here.

Here are the essentials you need to take up birdwatching this spring

Join the birding world.

Devoted birdwatchers will tell you there’s never a bad time to go birding. But if you’re new to the hobby, you can’t beat springtime. Some species are starting to migrate, and nesting season is underway. Plus, the days are getting longer and warmer, so going out early is less of a chore than in, say, January.

Of course, it all depends on where you live. You might be fortunate enough to be in a spring migration pathway, where you can watch a mass movement of passing birds. Check with local birders. Also, keep an eye out for birding festivals, which are timed for maximal viewing. At the end of April, Corpus Christi, Texas’s Birdiest Festival in America takes advantage of spring migration along the Gulf Coast. The Indiana Dunes Birding Festival in May showcases migratory birds flying through the Midwest. Wherever you live, here’s the best birdwatching gear for your adventures.

6 species you can find while birdwatching on the Pacific Crest Trail

Spot owls, hummingbirds, and more.

On a stretch of land as vast as the Pacific Crest Trail, birders can expect to find a diverse variety of bird species. The 2,650 miles of trail travel through California, Oregon, and Washington. Numerous stops along the way are considered birding hotspots, which birders can learn more about with this handy resource sheet.

At these locations, birdwatchers may encounter bright yellow Bullock’s orioles or intense red crossbills. If you’re curious about which incredible species you can expect to find as you traverse the trail, build your birding bucket list with help from the gallery below. Here are six bird species to spot on the Pacific Crest Trail.

It’s bald eagle nesting season, and those nests can be massive

Bald eagles around the country are preparing to raise new broods and those who admire them, via live-cams or in person, might wonder just how large are those nests?

–Editor’s note: A version of this post was published last April

Bald eagles around the country are preparing to raise new broods and those who admire them, via live-cams or in person, might wonder just how large are those nests?

One answer is provided in a photograph that circulates each year via social media, showing a ranger sitting in a replica nest measuring five feet wide and three feet deep – the approximate dimensions of a four-person hot tub.

The photo was originally shared last in 2021 year by Forest Park Nature Center in Illinois. The Facebook post states that the replica nest is housed at Hueston Woods State Park in Ohio.

But bald eagle nests are often much larger. The Forest Park Nature Center explained that the largest recorded nest “measured 9.5 feet in diameter, 20 feet deep, and weighed almost 6,000 pounds!”

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That nest, according to the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, was constructed by eagles in St. Petersburg, Fla. The lab’s “All About Birds” website states: “Another famous nest — in Vermilion, Ohio — was shaped like a wine glass and weighed almost two metric tons. It was used for 34 years until the tree blew down.”

Bald eagle guards nest from treetop. Photo: ©Pete Thomas

Nests are typically built in the tallest conifers. While both parents build a nest, the female performs most of the branch and twig placement.

Earlier this month, in Cuyamaca Rancho State Park in east San Diego County, I captured the accompanying image showing a bald eagle atop a towering tree, guarding the nest with eggs about 20 feet below.

The other eagle was in a nearby tree, also standing guard, while pesky ravens communicated among themselves, raucously, in another tree.

Bald eagle on nest duty. Photo: ©Pete Thomas

Eaglets, after they fledge, generally spend about four years in “nomadic exploration of vast territories” and can fly hundreds of miles per day.

Immature bald eagles born in California, for example, have traveled as far north as Alaska.

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World’s largest falcon photobombs Arctic live-cam feed

Explore.org on Wednesday tweeted a quiz to viewers, asking them to identify the species of falcon that photobombed one of its Arctic live-cam feeds.

Explore.org on Wednesday tweeted a quiz to viewers, asking them to identify the species of falcon that photobombed one of its Arctic live-cam feeds.

“The largest falcon in the world, a rare winter visitor: can you guess the name of this bird sighted on our live cam?” Explore asked.

It didn’t take long for someone to identify the gorgeous raptor as a gyrfalcon, or ghostly gyrfalcon, which is seen curiously examining the camera housing.

Gyrfalcons are the world’s largest falcons, with wingspans of 4 feet. The rarely seen birds of prey nest in remote stretches of Canada and Alaska, where human presence is nil or minimum.

In the winter, they’re sometimes spotted in open regions of the northern U.S.

The Cornell Lab or Ornithology’s All About Birds website provides this overview:

“The largest falcon in the world, the ghostly Gyrfalcon is a fierce predator in the High Arctic, where it chases down ptarmigans in flight or plummets from the sky at breathtaking speeds to strike prey to the ground.”

Besides ptarmigan, gyrfalcons (pronounced JER-falcons) will hunt sage grouse, terns, pheasants, jaegers, and other bird species. They also prey on small mammals such as hares.

Female gyrfalcons are larger than males, weighing an average of 4 pounds.

States All About Birds: “During the breeding season, a family of Gyrfalcons needs an estimated 2–3 pounds of food per day. That’s about 2-3 ptarmigans per day, which adds up to about 150-200 ptarmigan consumed between courtship and fledging.”