The Urban Araras

Endangered, the Blue-and-yellow-Makaws (Arara ararauna) or araras, as people call them here in Brazil, are large birds. They may reach a lengh of 33 inches, from the beak to the end of the tailfeathers and may live for 60 years, or more.

The araras are active birds and love to climb, swing, bounce and chew. Their toys should be strong, for they are known to be destructive. They have powerful jaw muscles, and chewing is necessary to keep them healthy and in shape.

Sypix

Their sociability and even temperaments make them great pets. Their intelligence, willingness to learn, and talking abilities only help make them more precious in the eyes of bird lovers. The Blue-and-yellow-Makaw, like most parrots, thrives on attention from its owner and will form a steady bond with its family members (about.com)

The makaws generally mate for life. Their nest is a tree hole and the female typically lays 2 or 3 eggs. The female incubates the eggs for about 28 days, and the chick fledges from the nest about 90 days after hatching.


Ticuna & Uaiuai starting their day


I personally, have been having a joyful experience with a couple of this species:

Ticuna and Uaiuai belong to the owner of a restaurant by the lagoon, where I usually workout when I have time; and Uaiuai (the male) has learned my name. Whenever he notices me from afar, he starts screaming it really loud! This made me smile when I listened to it for the first time. But yesterday, I remarked that the single scream had turned into a "chorus". The extravagant blue-and-yellow couple was leading a bunch of kids I had never met before! O...o, araras can be fussy, indeed!!


Ticuna & Uaiuai by the sunset

Araras are such beautiful birds, but according to most bird experts they're not for everybody. Space and exercise may not be enough for a species that is prone to ear-shattering vocalizations and contact calls. Before choosing an arara as a pet, one should study and evaluate circustances. Especially if the bird is going to live in an urban environment.


And here I am, heading to the lagoon again.. Let's see what the surprise is for today....

Grand Cormoran à la pêche dans le Petit Rhône

Un grand Cormoran (Phalacrocorax carbo) au pied d'un pont surplombant le petit Rhône à Arles

Great cormorant (Phalacrocorax carbo) down a bridge over the Rhône in Arles

Great Cormoran in Arles, France

Urban Pelicans, Pelecanus occidentalis

Pelicans have adapted their lives to most Urban seaside areas, taking advantage of readily available food.

To me, Pelicans are a majestic bird, prehistoric in appearance, fun, almost comical to watch.

Urban Nature at its seaside finest.

Scientific Name:  Pelecanus occidentalis

Common Name:  Brown Pelican

Pelecanus occidentalis, January 2011, Mayport, Florida

Shorty's Mate - Urban Red Tail Hawks - Buse à queue rousse - Today's Photos

Red Tail Hawk, Shorty's Mate, Jacksonville, FL

Red Tail Hawk, Shorty's Mate, Jacksonville, FL

Red Tail Hawk, Shorty's Mate, Jacksonville, FL

Red Tail Hawk, Shorty's Mate, Jacksonville, FL

Red Tail Hawk, Shorty's Mate, Jacksonville, FL

The Resilient Pitangus Sulphuratus

Do you recognize this proud feathered fellow on the left? If you tell me you've never seen such bird, and you live or have been to somewhere on this Planet, from the tropics to the equator lines, I will tell you that there is a strong possibility that at least one of this type has already seen you.

photo by Luis A. Florit

Pitangus sulphuratus, the bird's scientific name, derives from pitanga (surinam cherry) fruit and from its sulfur yellow belly color. It has a popular and onomatopoeic name in different languages and countries because of its exuberant BEE-tee-WEE call; in Portuguese: bem-te-vi (I saw you well), in Spanish: bien-te-veo (I see you well); in French: qu'est ce (what is...), in German: Schwefeltyrann (sulfur tyrant), in Japanese, in Russian and so on....Of course, in English, it's the great kiskadee.

photo by Flávio Cruvinel

The great kiskadee is a conspicuous bird. It is almost omnivorous and hunts like a shrike, or flycatcher, waiting on an open perch high in a tree to sally out to catch insects in flight, or to pounce upon rodents and similar small vertebrates. It will also take prey and some fruit from vegetation by gleaning and jumping for it or ripping it off in mid-hover, and occasionally dives for fish or tedpoles in shallow water; making it one of the few fishing passerines.

photos: Luiz Álvaro & Flavio Cruvinel

This alert and aggressive bird uses its strong

and maneuverable flight as a good effect when it feels annoyed by raptors. Even much larger birds are attacked by the great kiskadee; usually by diving down or zooming straight at them while they are in mid-air.

photo by Flávio Cruvinel

The great kiskadee is commonly used in the control
of invasive species and is of large importance for
sowing seeds in urban areas.

mobbing a hawk - Wikipedia

The bem-te-vi is the most popular bird in Brazil. Maybe all along Latin America, as well; for it can be seen in most biomes and urban sites. Also, its amazing adaptability seems to be an infinite source for scientists.

I personally have good experiences with bem-te-vis. One of them is for their having killed my problems with my circardian cycle.

Daylight saving time ended yesterday in many states of Brazil, and friends were commenting on the delight of an extra hour and how the change in the chronological clock always affects their biological ones. I know nothing about this anymore. Whether it is part of my karma or not, in the dense urban environment where I happen to live; no matter the season, disregarding the height of my window, from where everyday there's a stubborn 'dude' with a yellow belly, blowing his throat loudly, in mornings' first light. There he goes: bem-te-vi, bem-te-vi. The wise feathered fellow knows I like to watch the sunrise.....

The Policeman and His Car

Shorty the Red Tailed hawk lives in a tree up high in our neighbor's backyard.

Shorty's mate has just given birth to a very loud and very hungry chick.

Chick stay's impatiently hungry all day and Shorty and his mate must chase down all the mice, snakes, squirrels and fish from the creek to feed the juvenile Buteo jamaicensis.

We drove up yesterday and Shorty was perched on my neighbor Steve's Police auto.

Adaptation is key to survival for wildlife in the Urban Core.

Buteo jamaicensis - Neighborhood Mice Police

Shorty, Red Tailed Hawk

Mating Pair, Red Tailed Hawks

Pigeon arlésien

Un grand classique souvent mal-aimé en ville : le pigeon ...

A classic, often unpopular in the city: the pigeon ...

Urban Birds, Great Blue Heron, Ardea herodias

St. Augustine, Florida Coastal Marshes, February 8, 2011

Great Blue Heron, Ardea herodias, by Kevin Shea

Urban Oceanscapes

Jacksonville is built on the edge of the Atlantic Ocean.

Sometimes I stand and look across the horizon and wonder about all the nature and green roofs in Europe.

Then the seagull calls and distracts me back to reality.

Carolina Wren and the Sugar Snap Pea Trellis

Thryothorus ludovicianus

Feb. 2, 2011

Jacksonville, FL US

Carolina Wren and the Sugar Snap Pea Trellis

American Goldfinch, Spinus tristis

Winter plumage photos.  

These birds come to the green roof and backyard modular wetlands in droves!

The Urban Redstart / Le Rougequeue urbain

Je ne vais pas très souvent en ville .. la campagne me va bien !

J'y ai fait un saut aujourd'hui - et le premier oiseau que j'ai croisé en dehors des ominiprésents pigeons à été ... un magnifique Rougequeue noir !

I'm not often in town .. the countryside fits me well!
I had to make a jump today - and the first bird that saw -  apart the omnipresent pigeons - was ... a beautiful Black Redstart !

The Urban Snowy Egret

The Snowy Egret, Egretta thula, is a migratory bird and has its breeding habitat in large inland and coastal wetlands, extending from Lower Great Lakes and Southwestern United States to South America - see map below:

wikimedia commons map -egret

In the city of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, the Snowy Egret plays an important role in the control of the populations of fish, crustaceans, insects and small reptiles - and why not also say: it adds more beauty and harmony to the landscape.

wikimedia commons - Egretta thula

Because this bird is so integrated to the urban scenery of the town, it has become one of the symbols of the Wonderful City.
The carioca (native of Rio) egret is a resident bird and does not migrate to other cities ...... but who would?

Check here the musings of a carioca citizen on native snowy egrets for O Globo (in Portuguese).

Tallahassee, Florida (State Capitol) Saves Wetlands & Attracts Migratory Birds

Michal Ford works in downtown Tallahassee for the Florida Supreme Court.  She is an avid photographer and keeps her camera ready because Tallahassee and Leon County have regulations preserving wetlands, waterbodies, lakes and streams.

Unlike many other Urban Core areas across the US, Tallahassee's many open waters are a welcome stopping point for birds during their annual migrations.  Here are a sampling of Michal's Urban bird photos, some taken within a short distance of Florida's tall State Capitol Building.

Hooded Mergansers

Photo One: Female (left) and male (right) Hooded Mergansers. Chapman Pond. January 4, 2011. Here's one for Chapman Pond: Hood Mergansers winter and breed at Chapman Pond near downtown Tallahassee, Florida. These two are part of a group of about 25. The group often dive at the same time and are quick and efficient feeders. Egrets are sometimes found near them as they can catch a quick meal of fish that the Mergansers chase their way. When startled or excited, the "hoods" transform their heads into a circular shape. The male's is quite impressive with its white stripe changing into a 3/4 circle. The female's is a reddish brown.

Lake Ella, Tallahassee, Florida

Photo Two:  Lake Ella. This one was taken with my old point and shoot camera, but I still like it. Lake Ella and Fred Drake Park are located in the heart of Tallahassee, Florida. The Lake is surrounded by a .6 mile, paved sidewalk that is very popular for walking and jogging. It also has picnic areas and a gazebo that overlooks the center of the lake. It is home to Muscovy Ducks, Mallards, Canada Geese, and several species of turtles. A very out-of-place American Bittern has even been seen here. The lake is as old as Tallahassee itself, and is used in the city's treatment of stormwater runoff.

Lake Killarney, Tallahassee, Florida

Photo Three: Lake Killarney: Lake Killarney is located between two popular neighborhoods just north of Tallahassee, Florida. It is home year-round to Canada Geese, egrets, herons, and kingfishers. It also hosts winter visitors such as White Ibis, Wood Storks, and Hooded Mergansers. Other birds that have been spotted in this popular neighborhood park include Bald Eagles, Red-Tailed Hawks, Red-Shouldered Hawks, Ospreys, and Killdeer. Early morning is the best time for birdwatching. Egrets, Great Blue Heron, and White Ibis. Lake Killarney. November 19, 2010.

Many thanks to Michal.  You may view more of her Urban Core bird photos on her Facebook page - http://www.facebook.com/michal.ford  All rights reserved by Michal Ford.

Mycteria americana, Cocoa Beach Golf Course

Mycteria americana, Wood Stork

The majestic wood stork, Mycteria americana is a great bird.  Prehistoric in appearance, wood storks are an endangered species due to wetland habitat loss from real estate development.  However, as we most always see Nature respond and adapt, wood storks are acclimating to the Urban Infrastructure.  Seen here, the wood storks are taking advantage of the minnows, frogs and small fish prey on a golf course.

A blur of blue - Une tache floue de bleu

An urban stream in the heart of London. Although the water of the small river is now clean, it is still littered with shopping trollies and other rubbish of humanity. Not a place one would think to see that charismatic riverine bird - the Kingfisher - yet they are here. They have been on this river, probably for as long as people has been. There is a record of them nesting here back in 1890, when the river was surrounded by ponds to power the Silk Mills.

But you have to look carefully for a blur of blue as the Kingfisher races between it's fishing posts - a concrete wall, a metal girder of a bridge and the wheel of a shopping trolley.

Although nature can all to often seem vulnerable to the ravages of people, it is also resilent. The urban Kingfisher reminds of it's resilence.


Un cours d'eau dans le coeur de Londres. Bien que l'eau de cette petite rivière soit propre maintenant, elle est encore jonché de chariots de supermarchés et autres déchets de la civilisation. Pas vraiment l'endroit rêvé pour voir cet oiseau charismatique de nos rivières - le Martin-Pêcheur - mais ils est ici.  
Ils sont sur ce cours d'eau sans doute aussi longtemps que les gens le sont. Il y a des documents qui les notifient nichant ici en 1890, lorsque le fleuve était entouré d'étangs pour alimenter les usines de soie.

Mais il faut regarder attentivement pour voir un flou de bleu - un Martin-Pêcheur filant d'un de ses postes de pêche à l'autre - d'un mur de béton en passant par la poutre métallique d'un pont et la roue d'un chariot de supermarché.

Bien que la nature semble souvent vulnérables aux ravages de la civilisation, elle est également résistante. Le Martin-Pêcheur urbain nous rappelle résistance.

Urban Wildlife Rehabitated at Audubon Center, Orlando

Bogey the Owl, Great Horned Owl, Bubo virginianus

Bogey the great horned owl, Bubo virginianus, was picked up on an Orlando, Florida golf course 18 years ago as a newborn who fell from the nest and severely broke his wing.

Great horned owls can live to be 30 - 35 years old and Bogey has enjoyed a peaceful Urban Life as a resident at Orlando's Audubon Bird of Prey Center.

Audubon Bird of Prey Center, Orlando

Great horned owls are only one of many owl species endemic to Florida.  Other's include:

• Barn Owl
• Burrowing Owl
• Screech Owl, and 
• Bard Owl

Audubon takes in birds injured in the city and through a volunteer network works to rehabilitate the birds until they are well enough to return to the Urban Wilds.

Many individuals though have sustained such significant harm they reside at the center for the rest of their lives.

Bogey, the great horned owl hunts with his eyes (because they are so large).  Other owls hunt by sound.

Great horned owls are considered the 'tigers' of the air in Florida as they have almost twice the claw crushing pressure power as eagles.

For more information on what Audubon does with the birds, check out their website: http://fl.audubon.org/who_centers_CBOP.html