When I first began walking in my forest I started collecting the interesting feathers I would find...I have a vase of them sitting on the fire place mantel. Most were easy to identify but others took some sleuthing by us.The other day I found this feather in the garden and a specific bird did not come to mind readily. So I went to one of my favorite sites... Feather Atlas ..
( https://www.fws.gov/lab/featheratlas/ ) When you want to identify an unknown feather, you click on "Identify Feather." That opens a tool allowing you to classify your feather by color, pattern, and other optional characters, and then run a search for feathers with similar characteristics. It is amazing and we quickly knew our feather was from a juvenile mourning dove.
We have a lot of wild turkeys in the forest and their feather patterns differ widely on various parts of their body and are so beautiful... But my favorite feather to find is from a red-shafted Northern Flicker which we have year round.
They are aptly named because their wing feathers do indeed have a red shaft.
When their wings are spread the red shaft make a great visual design.
And speaking of birds.....bald eagles nest in the trees near the lodge in Alaska. I thoroughly enjoy watching them if I visit in the summer. Especially seeing the young wobble about getting up enough courage for their first flight. My daughter in law took this great shot just recently of one sitting on the post of their deck.. If you look very closely you can barely see Mt Iliamna and Mt. Redoubt across the inlet..
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5 comments:
Never knew there was a “feather identifier”! Thanks I live in suberbia not many feathers around.
What a magnificent fellow he is!
Oh Gosh, I watch birds so much and treasure the feather gifts they leave. Thanks for the info on the feather identifier!!
xx, Carol
The Northern Flicker looks interesting! I have never seen one. So far lots of Magpies and Chickadees trying to nibble on my garden. I plan to bring a pair of binoculars on our next road trip around AK. I would love to see a fox, and an owl.
The Northern Flicker looks interesting! So far I have only spotted Magpies and Mountain Chickadees in their efforts to eat all the seeds and worms in the garden. I plan to bring binoculars with us on the next adventure around Alaska. I would love to see an owl, and a fox.
XOXO your adoring granddaughter
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