Saturday, April 29, 2006

Most Beautiful Bird Meme

Clare at The House & other Arctic musings tagged me with a meme via Nuthatch, at the perpetually erudite and entertaining bootstrap analysis, via John at DC Birding Blog, the Most Beautiful Birds Meme. The rules are fairly simple...

Post a list of the 10 birds you consider most beautiful on your blog; you may limit the list to the ABA area (continental United States and Canada) or use a geographic area of your choice (Dave doesn't like that word continental). Mark birds you have seen with an asterisk. Tag 3 bloggers to keep it going.

1) Great Grey Owl (Strix nebulosa) *
As my blogging friend Clare says "Nebulosa... nebulous in it's beauty. It conveys strength and silence, patience and power". Also known as the Great Grey Ghost, Bearded Owl, etc. I have the great pleasure of working with one at Bird TLC.

2) Raven (Corvus corax) *
Raven, there's much to be said about the beauty and intelligence of this bird. I've recovered many, have a lot of funny stories and can watch them playing in the thermals for hours.

3) American Bald Eagle (Haliaeetus leucocephalus) *
Gorgeous, graceful, aggressive, powerful, curious, car stopper, heart stopper. What else can I say. About half of the world's 70,000 bald eagles live in Alaska. We get a lot at Bird TLC. Our 2 resident eagles, One Wing and Ol' Witch are my favorites.

4) Golden Eagle (Aquila chrysaetos) *
The golden eagle is a solitary bird, which can be found in remote areas. They do not congregate in large numbers during the winter. A great hunter, the golden eagle seldom eats carrion. We get a couple each year at Bird TLC. Check my photo's for pictures of a broken wing pinning operation.

5) Black-billed Magpie (Pica hudsonia) *
Just an all round pretty bird. They are ravens in different bodies and a great birdality. Sorry, personality. They hop in and out of our outdoor mews stealing salmon bits as the eagles watch.

6) Baltimore Oriole (Icterus galbula)
A beautifully bright bird that I've never seen in person and I lived in Baltimore at one time. But I've been to Camden Yards.

7) Bohemian Waxwing (Bombycilla garrulus) *
Highly social, Bohemian Waxwings usually move about in tight formations, descending en mass on a clump of bushes and quickly stripping them of fruit. That must be why they wear mask. We get a lot of these this time of year.

8) Snowy Owl (Nyctea scandica) *
This gorgeous bird of prey lives in the tundra areas of North America and you'll find them just sitting waiting for something to happen. We've had 3 at Bird TLC this year. There's another one with broken wing operation pictures.

9) Stellar Jay (Cyanocitta stelleri) *
Only lives west of the Rocky Mountains. A gorgeous blue member of the corvid family. A friend of mine caretakes a non-releasable Jay. She gave it a very original name "Blue".

10) Canada Goose (Branta canadensis) *
Once an uncommon bird and many find it to be a pest. But it's a beautifully multi colored bird. It travels with it's family and mates for life. We have one at the clinic now. It flew into a fence.

This is the first meme that I've done that I didn't have trouble getting to the last number. I can go on and on. I know that I have a captive viewing of some of these birds. The only three on the list I haven't seen in the wild is the Great Gray Owl, Snowy Owl and Baltimore Oriole.

If you read this post, consider yourself tagged!

6 comments:

robin andrea said...

Grand list, Dave. We're doing ours tomorrow. It's hard to choose, all birds, even the little brown jobs have beauty. Many of the little ones sing songs that can break a heart or make it soar. Maybe there should be a new meme for the ten most beautiful songs! Nah, just kidding.

Dave Dorsey said...

It is hard to choose RD. After I posted the list I was working outside in our yard and I started thinking of other birds that could make the list. Maybe there should be a small bird meme? Nah, just kidding.

Anonymous said...

Nice to see that the Canada goose made your list. They are something of a pest in southern Ontario--but this time of year when I see them flying overhead I'm reminded of what a beautiful bird they are.

Dave Dorsey said...

I agree Pamela. They have caused plane crashes and all kinds of stuff. But, that doesn't mean they are not a beautiful bird. They are just over populated.

Anonymous said...

Good for you for picking the reviled Canada goose. You clearly appreciate subtle beauty. My list includes a lot of gaudy birds.

Dave Dorsey said...

I told Pamela on her blog that the only ugly bird I ever saw was Larry Bird. We all appreciate beauty in many different ways including the gaudy ones.