Native Birds

Geysers and hot springs are not the only things worth seeing in Yellowstone National Park. This Osprey (Fish Eagle) was photographed over the Firehole River in the Front Basin, the same basin in which Old Faithful is found.

We were in the parking area at Fountain Paint Pots, a geyser basin in Yellowstone National Park, when this Raven landed on top of our car. Instantly we were surrounded by excited oriental tourists with cameras who seemed more interested in the Raven than in the geysers. I managed to get a photo as well before heading off to see the geysers. We are in Rapid City, South Dakota, where we spent the night, and are planning to head off to Badlands National Park in a while, but are in no hurry since the weather has turned cloudy and gray with some rain. We don't plan to be in northwest Iowa until this evening so have plenty of time to waste and are on the Internet for a while before heading on.

The American Herring Gull or Smithsonian Gull is considered to be a subspecies of the European Herring Gull. This one was photographed at Boiler Bay along the Oregon coast as we made our way south to Yaquina Head.

While we were at Multnomah Falls this little Hummingbird was having difficulty flying. When I finally cornered him, I discovered that his feet were tangled in what appeared to be some long human hairs. After untangling him and taking his photo we let him go, hoping he survived though he seemed a bit weak and disoriented.

Photographed in Millennium Park in Grand Rapids, Michigan, this is a Tree Swallow. They range all across North America and we see them in our backyard but they seldom perch and are almost impossible to photograph if they do not.

I believe this is a female Balckpoll Warbler, but am not certain. It was photographed in Millennium Park in Grand Rapids, Michigan.

This is a Song Sparrow photographed in Millennium Park in Grand Rapids, Michigan.

Unlike the European Robin, the American Robin is really a kind of Thrush. This example was photographed in Millennium Park in Grand Rapids, Michigan.

The mute Swan is not native to North America but has been introduced from Europe and Asia and has established itself especially in the eastern USA and Canada. Indeed, it has established itself so well that in some areas it is considered a nuisance, not only for its numbers but also for its agressiveness. We realized this on our recent trip to Michigan when we saw these swans on nearly every lake and pond.