Feathered Pairs~

On By cindy knokeIn Birds, Conservation, HOLLER HAPPENINGS, MY PHOTOGRAPHS, TRAVEL REVIEWS, Uncategorized, Wild Life

Big Gulp Gull,

swallows his catch, Coeur d’Alene Idaho.

Bald Eagle,

and juvenile, catch grizzly salmon scraps, British Columbia Canada.

Saddle Bill Stork catches a cat,

Kruger National Park, South Africa.

Red Tailed Hawk,

loves rare water, Southern California.

A pair of Yellow Legs multiply in reflection, Salton Sea, California.

Greater Flamingos tango, Tagus Estuary Portugal.

Mated White Storks greet on their nest, Alsace France.

Cheers to you from your feathered friends~

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249 thoughts on “Feathered Pairs~”

          1. Oh I’m so glad you like it! As far as I’m concerned, that iconic photo is Pulitzer-worthy. And shepherding all of those Flamingos to safety was a brilliant, amazing act by human saints.

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            1. It is!! I just love this story so much! Andrew was such a terrible monster of a storm, and really humbled us here in Florida. It completely decimated Homestead, this is such a bright ray of light!

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  16. How lucky you are to have seen so much of the world and its wonders! And how lucky *we* are to have you share what you’d seen with us ❤️

    Looking at those first few photos makes me feel like I’ve got something stuck in my throat 😂

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  25. What fun to see a Saddle-billed Stork in this outstanding collection of photographs! Your keen eye – and quick finger – give us enormous pleasure.

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    1. Thank you Hans. Yes gulls are voracious, and so smart. They used to steal silver napkin rings from an elegant hotel near where I grew up and fly off with them. Many years later all the rings were found in an unused bell tower at the hotel.
      A gull stole a toy duck from my son when he was three. He said to me, “Don’t worry they’ll bring it back.”
      I tried to tell him the gull wouldn’t return it, but my son wouldn’t listen. Several hours passed. As we were packing up to go, the gull swooped down, and dropped the duck on the sand. My son said, “I told you so!”
      I think they like some people more than others!!! 😉

      Reply

      1. Here where I live, they are best known for stealing ice cream or sausages from the hands of people, just when they paid. The staff at the serving have shirts with a printed message “Watch up for the seagulls”, they usually attack from the roof above namely.

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    1. Thank you Margaret. Your thoughtfulness is most appreciated. I definitely takes lots of duds!! Sometimes if the photo is bad, but I love the subject, it is hard for me not to post it. დ

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  32. Anonymous

    You have really excelled even yourself with this batch – fearsome, elegant, reflective, and making patterns

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        1. We did go a second time, but had already booked a third. Whilst we were in Hyams Beach, covid struck big time. Since then we’re traveling, but not leaving the country. So much left to do and soo, so much life left to live. Having it on hold for another year is frustrating. დ

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  35. Top Photos Cindy. on the third from last photo you show a bird that we also have very often a “redshank” i will show photos of it in my netx post. i would be interested in whether it is the same species

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      1. You are undisputedly right, due to climate change and other reasons that we often cannot understand, birds come to regions where they shouldn’t be normal.
        Flamingos have been settling in my environment for years and raise their nestlings. In another protected area there are red-shouldered ducks whose home is definitely not Germany.
        VG Werner

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          1. It is often humans who take animals out of their habitat and bring them into a world that is completely foreign to them. Whereby he doesn’t worry about the consequence. Currently, the Egyptian goose is spreading more and more and fighting with other species for their new habitat. Something that was never wanted by nature.

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    1. Thank you Michael. An entire hare! WOW. Apparently aquatic birds swallow feathers, lots of them, to cushion the fish bones route through their bodies. I just found this out because someone asked. See: Eating Feathers
      “Perhaps because the idea of swallowing hair is so unpleasant to us, it is difficult to believe the stories of birds deliberately eating their feathers. Nonetheless, some do and they do so regularly. Grebes, for example, consume their feathers by the hundreds. Feathers taken from parents are found in the stomachs of chicks only a few days old. Fifty percent of the stomach contents of a Horned or Pied-billed Grebe may be feathers. This odd behavior seems to have a purpose.

      The action of the gizzard in these primarily fish-eating birds is insufficient to crush the bones that are swallowed. The feather balls are thought to protect the stomach by padding the sharp fish bones and slowing down the process of digestion so that the bones dissolve rather than pass into the intestine. This notion is supported by the observation that the Least Grebe, which of all the grebes consumes the fewest fish, also accumulates the smallest feather ball. Comparative studies of the gizzards and digestive physiology of fish-eating birds are needed to test this hypothesis. If it is supported, the question will then be why grebes have not evolved digestive tracts that can function efficiently without being stuffed with feathers.”

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  49. CG

    Cindy these photos are so beautiful. Makes me want to cry a bit. Then I thought – what happens to the fish bones? How are they digested? Hmm

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    1. Awwww…… So very kind. Thank you! I had no idea about the fish bones and it is a fascinating question. I may have found the answer through google of course, check out: “Eating Feathers
      Perhaps because the idea of swallowing hair is so unpleasant to us, it is difficult to believe the stories of birds deliberately eating their feathers. Nonetheless, some do and they do so regularly. Grebes, for example, consume their feathers by the hundreds. Feathers taken from parents are found in the stomachs of chicks only a few days old. Fifty percent of the stomach contents of a Horned or Pied-billed Grebe may be feathers. This odd behavior seems to have a purpose.

      The action of the gizzard in these primarily fish-eating birds is insufficient to crush the bones that are swallowed. The feather balls are thought to protect the stomach by padding the sharp fish bones and slowing down the process of digestion so that the bones dissolve rather than pass into the intestine. This notion is supported by the observation that the Least Grebe, which of all the grebes consumes the fewest fish, also accumulates the smallest feather ball. Comparative studies of the gizzards and digestive physiology of fish-eating birds are needed to test this hypothesis. If it is supported, the question will then be why grebes have not evolved digestive tracts that can function efficiently without being stuffed with feathers.”

      Reply

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