Ladder-Backed Woodpecker Sighting in Dallas
September 8, 2009 by Kimberly · Leave a Comment
Ladder-Backed (above) & Nuttall's (below) Woodpeckers
Out of all the exotic animals I’ve ever seen, for the first time in my life, I saw a woodpecker in person.
I’ve seen photos, heard them pecking, videos and know a bit about them, but have never seen one before.
I’m from Canada, so I’m sure there are more varieties there, but here in Dallas, there was a tiny, black with white speckled woodpecker with a touch of red on it’s head.
I’ve done my research online and found out that it’s a Ladder-Backed Woodpecker!
I knew it was a woodpecker from it’s tuft of hair on the back of it’s head, it’s pointy beak and how he was Read more
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A Black-Throated Magpie Jay in Dallas Today
July 29, 2009 by Kimberly · Leave a Comment
I’ve been enjoying the bird life we have around our new property in Dallas in Lower Greenville.
We’ve got some beautiful cardinals with young, blue jays, cute, little sparrows and miscellaneous brown birds I haven’t completely identified yet.
However, this morning I thought I saw a blue jay in the tree from our kitchen window.
I kept watching it and low and behold, it wasn’t shadows on his blue color. He was a grey, black and white jay with a long tail!
Quickly, I ran to get my camera and when I returned to the window, he was gone.
I looked all over online for different types of jays in our area that may look like this and what I found was the Black-Throated Magpie Jay.
Why is this so interesting?
Because their range is Northwestern Read more
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Sad Day for an Owl in Dallas
April 28, 2009 by Kimberly · Leave a Comment
We play sand volleyball every weekend in Dallas, and often go to Yucatan in Coppell, Texas, but went across the street to Lone Star on Saturday.
They were having a collegiate sand volleyball tournament, so we set up our games on a back court.
They have some nets on the sides where the fences are to keep the volleyballs in, so they don’t go into the industrial stuff next to it – it’s got dense bush and a stream, I think…You’d never get your $50 volleyball back!
What was sad to me was that there was a large owl that apparently got stuck in the net and died. It’s feet were so badly wound in the net and it’s wing feathers were stuck too.
It must have Read more
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Black Birds in Dallas – What’s That About?
April 15, 2009 by Kimberly · Leave a Comment
If you live in Dallas, you’ll know exactly what I mean…
They’re everywhere!!!
There are many different visible species of these “black birds”…In fact one of them has a chocolate hugh; there are some with a blue hugh – some are larger, some are smaller…
Now, they’re not crows and they’re not the black birds I remember from Canada…
So What?
Well, I want to strongly caution you to ever park under a tree in a parking lot – that space is empty for a reason.
There can be upwards of 100 of these very loud birds per tree, and you’ll see them lined up on the telephone wires in the city.
In the springtime and summer, there are definitely a large increase in the number of birds, primarily because, well, in the winter it’s cold and they’re less active or because they migrate further South when it gets cold – like to Mexico or further – and come back when it’s warm.
Last night, while watching the boys play tennis, I actually watched one single solitary black bird at the school on the top of a telephone pole.
(So, one day, when you’re having a tea at Starbuck’s, just watch a few of them in the parking lot.)
It was very loud with a shrill and changeable Read more
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Owls in Dallas
We were out at Yucatan’s Sand Volleyball on Monday night in Dallas and it was really cold out…
I was just watching them play, and in between plays I would look off into the trees in the distance, or see if I could spot a bunny or two running around behind the back courts.
After seeing a few bats I noticed a very large bird flying…
It was certainly an owl – a large owl at that – and such graceful flight!
I have no idea what kind of owl it was as it was in the distance, but I watching it fly for quite a distance with elegant flaps of their wings – not even flaps but smooth glides of it’s wings.
Just beautiful!
I tried to look up owls in Dallas in a search to see if I could give you more information, but since sports is so prevalent in Dallas, all I got were sports teams called the “Owls” for pages and pages.
Then, I looked up Texas wildlife sites and didn’t get much further either…
There’s only one other time I have seen an owl in Dallas – in fact, the Read more
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Swooping Magpies in Australia
April 9, 2009 by Kimberly · Leave a Comment
I’ve never been so scared of a bird before…
In fact, I’ve never been scared of a bird before this!
When I lived in Western Australia, I was there to play softball. So, I jogged in the mornings each day.
The very first morning I went out through our neighborhood alone, I was shocked to see the amazing wildlife, parrots everywhere covering trees, a kangaroo or two, some kookaburras, some lizards and lots of flies! LOL…
…But there were these large birds called magpies, or “maggies” as their nicknamed there.
They are large like a big seagulls with pointy beaks, but are black and white all over…Or, they look like big crows with a bit of white on them…
They are much larger than their cousins around the world. The Western Magpie is the bird I was dealing with on a daily basis.
Why are they scary?
Well, it’s like they stalk you…They follow you where you walk, jog, run.
Then, if it’s nesting season, they’ll fly above you and swoop down on you, especially if you have long hair…
Why?
They want your hair for their nest. Either that, or they’re protecting their nests and you look like a predator!
I’ve even seen them chase other birds, animals, even hawks during this time.
I have long, long hair, so a ponytail just wasn’t going to do it. I either had to put my hair in a tight bun or wear a hat with my hair tucked into it when I jogged.
Anyway, they’re not little birds to say the least! They’ve even been known to kill Read more
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Cassowary of the Great Barrier Reef
February 20, 2009 by Kimberly · Leave a Comment
A Cassowary is a flightless Australian bird, and is native to the tropical forests of New Guinea.
It’s funny because Australia has another flightless bird, the emu, making it and the cassowary the 2nd and 3rd largest flightless birds in the world, behind Africa’s ostrich.
Females are larger than males and are more vividly colored, and may reach up to 2 meters tall! That’s a big bird!
Known to be a timid bird, it can inflict serious injury to human adults, and fatal injury to dogs and children. They have 3 toes and extremely sharp talons/claws.
Check out this great, but short, video showing a wild Cassowary on an island of the Great Barrier Reef:
They are omnivorous, but mostly eat fruits, shoots, grass seeds, as well as fungi. However, it will also make a quick meal of invertebrates and small vertebrates alike.
2 of the species produce a very low Read more
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Roseate Terns of the Great Barrier Reef Islands
February 11, 2009 by Kimberly · Leave a Comment
The Great Barrier Reef boasts 215 species of birds, including 22 species of seabirds, and shorebirds numbering 32 species.
The Roseate Tern is considered a seabird plentiful on the Islands of the Great Barrier Reef, especially Lady Elliot Island.
Instead of nesting in nests in trees, they make a hollow under dense vegetation to roost.
They make good use of the ocean, however, by diving in to grab fish out of the water, and does not prefer fresh water for feeding. They may bathe in fresh water lagoons inland.
Roseate terns don’t mind stealing fish from other seabirds, which is atypical for sterns, and the male offers up a meal to the female when courting.
In groups of more tropical places where the Roseate tern flourishes, the red base of their thin, sharp, black bill is much more extensive.
They have long, flexible tail feathers visible during flight that look like streamers. The namesake of the Roseate comes from the adults’ Read more
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Harpy Eagle Near Threatened
Scientific Classification:
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Order: Falconiformes or
Accipitriformes
Family: Accipitridae
Genus: Harpia
Species: H. harpyja
The Harpy Eagle is a carnivorous raptor. In fact, it’s the largest and most powerful one found in the Americas.
This eagle particular inhabits tropical lowland forests, where it stays in the upper canopy, presumably for a better viewpoint for prey.
Males and females having the same coloration, they are slate black on the back and back of wings, and white underneath including their bellies. Their head is a pale gray color.
Although the same in color, males are almost half the size of the female.
They boast talons up to 5 inches long – WOW! Their wingspan can reach up to 6′ Read more
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New Zealand has Amazing Animals
November 20, 2008 by Kimberly · Leave a Comment
I have always wanted to visit New Zealand…
Not only for it’s picturesque landscapes, mountains, green valleys, and fantastic ocean views, but why else?…
For it’s amazing fauna!
As you know, I love animals, and where else would I go in New Zealand, but where the cool animals are!
I go where the animals live…That’s what I want to see most when I travel.
New Zealand has so many unique animals that are native to this country and found nowhere else on the planet…similar to how Australia has their unique species found no other place either.
Well, NZ is the seabird capital of the world, first of all and boasts two native flightless birds. One of them is the only flightless parrot, the kakapo, which is critically endangered. The other is the kiwi, which just happens to have nostrils at the end of it’s beak.
The only native land mammals in New Zealand are bats: the long-tailed bat and the short-tailed bat.
What else? Well, the tuatara is a lizard only found in New Zealand…How cool is that?
I’d love to visit Christchurch, Stewart Island (the most Southern part of NZ), the Southern Alps and Abel Tasman National Park of the Southern Island, Auckland, Tauranga, Aoraki/Mount Cook, and as many tiny surrounding islands as I could to see the amazing wildlife!
I would want to do a little bit of snorkeling and diving, of course!
What a world of adventure!
It would be an awesome thing to have the ability to be a full-time travel blogger and bring you fantastic posts about the world’s wildlife from all over the planet!
***
I hope you enjoyed this post on Animals of the World on Exotic Animal Lover! Until next time…
Live Exotically,
Kimberly Edwards 
P.S. If you have ever wanted to migrate, live, work or invest in New Zealand the smart way, find out how to here:
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