Traveling the globe with a camera and paintbrush...
 |
| three different ages of Greater Flamingos |
 |
| White Stork rookery on an electrical tower (the storks are nesting everywhere right now) |
 |
| just a few ducks - Northern Shovelers, Long-tailed Ducks, and Green-winged Teals Believe it or not, these are all species we also see in Seattle this time of year. |
The name “American Robin” dates back to the early 1600s when English settlers to the USA began giving names to the plants and animals in their new home. Their method of choosing names often referred back to things that reminded them of what they knew from England, therefore birds with an orange breasts were robins - e.g. Spotted Towhees were “Ground Robins” and Baltimore Orioles were “ Golden Robins.”
None of these birds actually resembled the European Robin, aside from the orange breast. Why then did we make the effort to change the name of the “Ground Robin” to Spotted Towhee and “Golden Robin” to Baltimore Oriole, but not “American Robin” to say American Thrush? It is after all a thrush and not a robin!
 |
| European Robin, São Miguel, Portugal 2025 5-5.5” long |
 |
| American Robin, Seattle, WA 2024 9-11” long |
 |
| Song Thrush, Coimbra, Portugal 2025 8-9” long |
 |
| Wood Thrush, New York 2022 7-8.5” long |
 |
| Spotted Towhee, Seattle, WA. |
 |
| Eurasian Blue Tit |
 |
| Eurasian Blackcap |
 |
| Eurasian Blackcaps male (black) & female (brown) |
 |
| Common Chiffchaff |
 |
| Eurasian Nuthatch |
 |
| Eurasian Blue Tit |
I will never stop being excited to see wild flamingos!
 |
| Greater Flamingos in front of the Ponte Vasco da Gama bridge with Lisbon in the background |
 |
| São Miguel Goldcrest - only found on this island |
 |
| Madeira Lizard |
 |
| Azores Noctule - a sometimes-diurnal bat that can feed (on insects) during the day because it doesn’t have any avian predators |
I added two more birds to my life list on my first day on São Miguel Island in the Azores.
 |
| Azores Chaffinch is only found on the Azores Islands. |
 |
| Island Canary is only found on the Azores, Canary Islands and Madeira Island. |
