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aaron klinefelter
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July 17, 2009
> 9:13 AM
10 cool birds Yes, seriously. I thought of this the other day when I was at one of my son's night baseball games - at dusk and just after I heard the familiar chirpy call and started scanning the sky below the lights and there it was, a Nighthawk, awesome! That is, for me, one of those birds. There's a photo below there. So, I thought I'd post about 10 of the coolest birds I've personally seen. Sure, Puffins are cool but you know, I've never laid my eyes on one, so not on the list. Here you go - see if you can relate...   L: Common Nighthawk R: Whipoorwill You may have seen a Nighthawk darting around under the street lights when you were playing as a kid, or, like I said, at a ballgame, and not known what it was. They love the bugs, so the lights bring them in. The two distinctive white bars on the underside of their wings give them away. And the lonely Whipoorwill - you may likely have heard the call while camping or if you live in the country. They use it in scary movies to spook up a scene from time to time, usually in the day time - stupid. Anyway, usually no one sees these cool birds, but I happened to run across one in a patch of woods on my parents' property a few years ago - bigger than I thought. Actually Nighthawks and Whipoorwills are related. You'd have to see a shot of them both sitting, very similar.   L: Osprey R: American Kestrel I have these two together for obvious reasons - birds of prey/raptors. The Osprey is an awesome bird - not super-common where I live, but they are here and when you see one it's a sight to behold. A nickname I've heard for them is "Fish Eagle" - makes sense. They always live near water and you see what the one pictured has in it's talons. They're a big bird - as big or bigger than a Red Tailed Hawk. You'll often see them on top of telephone or electric poles, or in the tops of dead trees. The Osprey's little cousin there (actually a Falcon), is now called the American Kestrel. I say now because they were once commonly known as the Sparrow Hawk, mostly because of it's size - very small - just bigger than a sparrow probably. A beautiful bird - lots of amazing color. You'll see them sitting on electrical wires next to fields near the road, watching for mice no doubt. Very cool to see these little birds.   L: Great Horned Owl R: Ruffed Grouse These two classics aren't in the same family but do often occupy the same territory. The Great Horned Owl is an amazing thing to see. They are an intimidating predator - very large. That head is seriously like a baby head! One lives hear our house in a wooded area - keep your cats in at night! My Dad and I were driving around the top of a mountain back home, in Harlan, one morning on a hunt and one of these monsters swooped down out of a tree and flew in front of our truck - just huge, breathtaking. The other bird there is a Ruffed Grouse - around here, just Grouse because there aren't others. They are called the king of the upland game birds - something you hunt. And I have hunted them. I say hunted, not killed. I've shot AT a bunch of them but never hit one. It's a beautiful bird - bigger than it looks like there - about the size of a chicken. The males make this "drumming" sound with their wings as they sit on top of logs during mating season - I wish you could hear it. It's more like you feel it in your chest as the "boom, boom, boom boom boom boom" echoes through the mountains. You can't tell where it's coming from - very cool. And when you get too close and they fly out from under a laurel bush in front of you, you just better have your heart medication up to date and not have to go to the bathroom real bad - ha! Loud burst of wing flutter! Great bird.   L: Tree Swallow R: Hummingbird Two birds that are often in my back yard - fortunately. The Tree Swallow is a very pretty little bird. They dive and flit all over catching bugs - making clicking and high-pitched chirping sounds. They go a little crazy during mating season. We have a little birdhouse out back that they use as a "love shack" - ha! They haven't ever laid eggs in there, but the female will sit there on the little perch, calling away until at least two males are going back and forth for her attention. I love watching them swoop down and around during the evening, catching the bugs that might otherwise bite me. And the venerable Hummingbird. We love these birds. Liz has set up feeders in the front and back of the house to attract them each year - works like a charm. They are just amazing to watch - to hear those wing-beats fluttering and the little chirp. They're kind of magical, like watching a fairy or something, playing in your yard.   L: Kingfisher R: Pileated Woodpecker Two impressive birds here. Kingfishers are crazy lookin' with that "hair." And that bill is like a harpoon! They sit beside streams, ponds and lakes watching for small fish to pounce on. They fly up, hover a bit, then go screaming down into the water and come up with a fish in their bill - very cool to watch. I don't see them often either but the other day, Liz and I were walking and saw one near a farm pond in our neighborhood - nice! That great bird next to him is the Pileated Woodpecker. I think a lot of people call this the "Red Headed Woodpecker" but, me included, we have been mistaken. This is a sizable woodpecker - LOUD "pecking" when you hear them. Not a common thing to see. They're kind of a back in the woods character. I've seen one, though. They look, also, a lot like the Ivory Billed Woodpecker, long thought to be extinct, but rediscovered in a remote, swampy, forest in Arkansas a few years ago. Now, that I would love to see - not to mention if I got pictures of it, I wouldn't have to worry about paying bills for a while. OK, that's all for my birdwatching post. Feel free to share your coolest bird sightings in the comments, or if you've seen any of these. Peace. Labels: birds, nature, personal 2 Comments: Hey, cool list man, By Hey, thanks for dropping by, Barry. Puffins would be a very cool one. I've seen a Bald Eagle, from afar. We have a good bunch of them in Kentucky - mostly near big lakes. Others we see often around here, which are cool, are Great Blue Herons and Red-tailed Hawks - flyin' over the house all the time. I do love it. I'd love to get a better camera set-up and take more pictures of them. Peace. | permalink | e-mail me | 
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