Lauren's Life Book

Canada Goose (Branta canadensis)

These Canada geese were seen around Green Lake in Seattle, Washington on the afternoon of May 31st, 2011. They were foraging on the ground, to busy to even notice that I was there.

A little bit down the shore, however, this loner was all about hissing at me.

Canada Goose (Branta canadensis)

You can read more about geese here.

Northern Flicker (Colaptes auratus): Red-Shafted

Northern Flicker (Colaptes auratus)

This woodpecker was spotted around Green Lake in Seattle, Washington in the afternoon of May 31st. I posted about flickers before, but I had to post again with some better pictures. Based off my birding experiences, northern flickers are the woodpecker's most ubiquitous member in North America. Lucky for us they are so pretty too. You can read about and listen to some of them here.

Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos)

Since mallards are one of the most visible birds out there I have decided to make this post about mallards in flight. I am sure there will be other posts featuring them sleeping or just generally being ducky, but for now here they are in flight. Some of the pictures are better than others, but they are all more interesting than the usual duck on the water pictures. These pictures were all taken on the afternoon of May31st, somewhere around Green Lake in Seattle, Washington. You can read more about mallards here, and more about the mallard video game, Duck Hunt, here.

Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos)

Dark-Eyed Junco (Junco hyemalis)

I first heard then saw this junco while out walking the dog in Bothell, Washington on the morning of May 31st, 2011. I saw 2 Oregon race juncos and 1 with different coloration that I incorrectly assumed to be female. It turns out that the one that I thought was a female was really a young junco not yet in adult plumage, and the parents were really noisy because they were protecting their offspring. With a clutch size of 3-6 eggs, and only one apparent survivor, I can't blame them. This group of juncos were new to the neighborhood- having only arrived the night before. I haven't checked to see if they are still around. I am going to head out in a little bit and check on them, and will update as necessary. You can read more about the different races of juncos here.

Pictures with Birds: Me + Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos)

Foster Island Trail, Seattle Washington May 30th, 2011

Pileated Woodpecker (Dryocopus pileatus)

This woodpecker was spotted in the Washington Park Arboretum on the afternoon of May 30th in Seattle, Washington. This was my first time seeing one of these birds in the wild (they are not in Colorado). That being said, these woodpeckers are quite large, and the red coloration on this one's head was so brilliant that it would have been hard to miss it. Thank you to Collin Moore for being quick with his camera when we came across this one. You can read more about these woodpeckers here.

Pie-Billed Grebe (Podilymbus podiceps)

These grebes were seen while walking the Foster Island Trail in Seattle, Washington on Monday, May 30th 2011 sometime in the afternoon. They were spotted close to the Washington Park Arboretum part of the trail, towards the end of an unsuccessful trek to spot a wood duck. More on that epic undertaking later. As for these grebes, they were hard to spot amongst the lily pads because they were still at first and so small. They were pretty far away too, but thanks to Collin Moore's awesome camera zoom powers I was able to take pictures of them. You can read more about these grebes here, and more about the Foster Island Trail here.

Wednesday, June 1, 2011