Bald Eagles

I live near a small river, and there are at least two bald eagles living there. In the first picture, notice how that looks nothing like an eagle! That's because bald eagles don't get their white head and tail until they are five years old. In first and second years, they have mottled brown and white feathers all over their body. In the third year, their plumage is still mottled, but with more white on the head. In the fourth year, they have a solid brown body, but a thick brown stripe behind their eye, making them look a lot like an osprey. The first time I saw an adult bald eagle at the creek, I didn't have my camera! Of all the things! So I actually ran back home to get it, but just as I was coming back, the eagle left. I knew I would probably see him again, I just didn't know when. But I did see him again, this time with my camera.

The reason this bald eagle's eye looks so strange is because he is showing his nictitating membrane. It's kind of like a third eyelid that goes sideways over the eye to clear debris from the eye, or to protect it's eye while going underwater. I think most birds have it,  even some animals that aren't birds have it!

Invasion!

So, I was going on a walk (like usual), I saw some nice things, like ruby crowned kinglets. When I going back home, I saw about ten franklin's gulls passing overhead. So I thought, maybe I can get a picture. Well I tried. They are very fast. It's hard. When I looked to see where they were going, I saw a HUGE flock of gulls nearby! There were probably, I don't know, about more birds than I've ever seen in my life? Yeah. It was that many. Also, on the last walk I took, I saw this funny hawk land on a log. It seemed to be around 15 inches. But it didn't have a rusty breast like a red shouldered hawk, and it didn't have a gray back like a sharp shinned hawk. It seemed too small for a red tailed hawk.

Just to give you an idea of many gulls there were, imagine this many........... x5.

Unknown hawk. EDIT: Found out this is an immature Cooper's Hawk.

Orange-crowned Warbler

Mink

This is a mink that is living near our house.

Good birds and some mysteries

First off, I've got some mysteries for some better birders than me to solve. On a walk I took a couple days ago, I may have seen a northern parula, a broad winged hawk, and on another walk I took, I think I saw an orange crowned warbler. I have pictures, so could somebody please identify them? In the meantime, I have been seeing a lot of good birds lately! There has been a LOT of kinglets. Yesterday, I probably saw about, say, five. Today I saw about thirty. Tomorrow there's probably gonna be around fifty! Also, a ton of yellow rumped warblers just popped up out of nowhere. And strangely enough, I saw three juvenile cardinals!

Northern parula? (Tuns out this is a young yellow rumped warbler.)

First shot of a song sparrow! (Due to comments(Thank you!), It tuns out that this is a lincoln's sparrow, which was actually the very bird I was looking for!)

First or second year bald eagle! There is an adult in the area too.

Broad winged hawk? I've been seeing them often.

Juvenile cardinal.

Black and white warbler!

Orange crowned warbler? (YES!)

Woodpeckers

I have seen a lot of woodpeckers this past week, one of them the red bellied woodpecker I don't see often for some reason. I also got some beautiful shots of a flicker, as below. With their flashy yellow tails and wings, and pink head, flickers have to be THE prettiest woodpeckers in North America.

Amazing!

Beautiful!

Downy woodpecker.

Probably my best shot of a downy.

Red bellied woodpecker!

Flicker by the creek.

Lake

A couple of weeks ago, my dad and I went to a lake near where I live. We saw a lot of birds including great white pelicans, ring billed gulls, great blue herons, turkey vultures, and american crows! I saw 4 or 5 herons, which is more than I've ever seen at once. There was more pelicans there than anything else! Several of the pelicans I saw still had their chick-feeding plumage. 

There were even more pelicans than this!

The one on the far left has the chick feeding plumage.

Flying pelicans.

The heron has a beard!

House finch babies

I have been watching this nest with four House Finch eggs in it, and I've been waiting to see them hatch for weeks! Now finally, there is one newly hatched house finch, and another one is starting to come out out of it's egg. It was sticking it's mouth up before I took the pictures, but I wish it still could have been doing that, it was so cute!

Here's momma!

There used to be five, but the fifth one didn't survive, because I found it out of the nest.

Here's before.........

Here's after! Look at all that fuzz!

The egg in the upper left is the one that's starting to hatch.