The Foolish Flamingos are a fabulous, fearless flock of photographers, filling their four-hour frenzy with fictional feathered friends.
(Banner photo by Steve Patt)
Condor sculpture, photo by LC Boros
Our team consisted of a widely-distributed group of birders, from the east hills, through the valley’s city streets and suburban lawns, all the way to the tree-studded hills of the west. Participants were: Ginger Langdon-Lassagne, LC Boros, Sue Umeda, Steve Patt, Larry & Sue Langdon, Barry Langdon-Lassagne, Emily Langdon-Lassagne, and Elizabeth Langdon-Lassagne. We collectively managed to tally up a whopping 294 species, many of which would have been county records, were it not for the fact that… yeah. It was April Fool’s Day. We were counting not actual birds, but sculptures, paintings, street signs, topiary, toys and, yes, the occasional plastic lawn flamingo. (There was some creativity involved in mapping every bird-like object to an actual species.)
Barn Swallows, photo by LC Boros
Birds are beloved by many, but the art collection of LC Boros is a sight to behold. This small taste of the art submitted by LC is just to whet your appetite for more, which you can see in its entirety here, with proper credit given to the art sources.
Stellar’s Jay, photo by LC Boros
Laughing Kookaburra, photo by LC Boros
Golden Eagle, photo by LC Boros
Photo by Sue Umeda
Sue Umeda biked for nearly the whole 4 hour time span to reach every single one of the street signs in Sunnyvale’s Birdland neighborhood! Fantastic effort! She also found additional birds along her ride, and later in her own home, to come in as our top contributor of species number.
Flamingos found!! photo by Sue Umeda
Ruffed Grouse, Ring-necked Pheasant, American Woodcock and Wilson’s Snipe. Photo by Steve Patt
Steve Patt logged an impressive number of species for having traveled the shortest distance of any of the teams (never leaving home at all!) And what a wonderful set of birds he has! My personal favorite was this gem:
Red Dragon, Welsh subspecies (Draco ruber gwynnedd)
Ivory-billed Woodpecker, photo by Sue Langdon
Peregrine Falcon, photo by Larry Langdon
Sue and Larry Langdon have a marvelous collection of bird art from a lifetime of Larry’s worldwide travel and Sue’s love of birding. They may have the rarest bird submitted, with the Ivory-billed Woodpecker, presumed extinct… but dearly hoped that scientists are wrong about that!
Pyrrhuloxia, Black-chinned Hummingbird, Lark Bunting and a branch full of Pine Siskins. Photo by Larry Langdon. (creative interpretation of species, by Ginger.)
Bob the Common Ostrich being ridden by an unnamed Latex Junglefowl (Gallus rubberii). Photo by Emily Langdon-Lassagne
Emily and Elizabeth Langdon-Lassagne wandered the neighborhoods of our Sunnyvale home and photographed many of our lawn-ornament “friends” that we’ve encountered over a year of exercising with neighborhood walks. The local elementary school is hosting a fundraiser at Red Robin Restaurant! So many ceramic swans, brass cranes, terra-cotta ducks, fluffy easter chicks, and fancy metal roosters, and our family favorite… BOB!
Glass Flamingos, photo by Emily Langdon-Lassagne
Barry L-L’s contribution was to take the photos of the birds inside our home — a daunting task! But he did a great job of it, and added quite a few species not already in other checklists, including Horned Grebe (Jack Cole’s lovely decoy-carving!) and art from John Muir Laws and Steve Thomas.
California Condor
Snowy Owl
Red-tailed Hawk
My photo journey took me to Sunnyvale’s Lakewood neighborhood, which is honestly a treasure-trove of bird representations on display in folks’ front yards. A+++++ 5 Stars Would AprilFoolBird Again.
Philippine Cockatoo, a perfect match in the actual field marks on this bird. Photo by Ginger Langdon-Lassagne
Snow Petrel astroturf decoration. 48 times life size, more or less. Seriously, go look it up. Photo by Ginger L-L
In conclusion, this was a lot of fun! And far more work than I anticipated, in attempting to map each photo to an actual, real bird. Shoutout to the Merlin Bird ID app for helping with some of the more unusual specimens we found, and a HUGE thank you to my teammates for making the first Fool-a-thon such a success. 👏👏👏
If this gave you a chuckle, please consider donating to our team’s page. Every little bit helps, even a penny a bird! That’s less than a fancy coffee!
Here’s the final, complete list of our finds:
Ostriches
- Common Ostrich
Tinamous
- Great Tinamou
Kiwis
- Southern Brown Kiwi
- North Island Brown Kiwi
Draconis
- Red Dragon (Welsh Subspecies) Draco ruber gwynnedd
Ducks, Geese, and Waterfowl
- Fulvous Whistling-Duck
- Emperor Goose
- Graylag Goose
- Brant
- Canada Goose
- Freckled Duck
- Mute Swan
- Black-necked Swan
- Trumpeter Swan
- Tundra Swan
- Coscoroba Swan
- Egyptian Goose
- Common Shelduck
- Muscovy Duck
- Wood Duck
- Blue-winged Teal
- Northern Shoveler
- Gadwall
- Falcated Duck
- Eurasian Wigeon
- Eastern Spot-billed Duck
- Mallard
- American Black Duck
- Mottled Duck
- Northern Pintail
- Green-winged Teal
- Lesser Scaup
New World Quail
- Mountain Quail
- Northern Bobwhite
- Scaled Quail
- California Quail
- Gambel's Quail
Pheasants, Grouse, and Allies
- Gray-breasted Partridge
- Indian Peafowl
- Red Spurfowl
- Chukar
- Red Junglefowl
- Gray Junglefowl
- Sri Lanka Junglefowl
- Green Junglefowl
- Latex Junglefowl
- Golden Pheasant
- Gray Partridge
- Ruffed Grouse
- Greater Sage-Grouse
- Sooty Grouse
Flamingos
- Chilean Flamingo
- American Flamingo
- Greater Flamingo
- Lesser Flamingo
- James's Flamingo
Grebes
- Pied-billed Grebe
- Horned Grebe
Pigeons and Doves
- Rock Pigeon
- Stock Dove
- Band-tailed Pigeon
- European Turtle-Dove
- Eurasian Collared-Dove
- African Collared-Dove
- Inca Dove
- Ruddy Ground Dove
Bustards
- Great Bustard
Cuckoos
- Lesser Roadrunner
- Greater Roadrunner
- Scaled Ground-Cuckoo
Nightjars and Allies
- Common Nighthawk
Swifts
- Chimney Swift
Hummingbirds
- Great Sapphirewing
- Rufous-gaped Hillstar
- Rufous-vented Whitetip
- Ruby-throated Hummingbird
- Black-chinned Hummingbird
- Bee Hummingbird
- Anna's Hummingbird
- Costa's Hummingbird
- Broad-tailed Hummingbird
- Rufous Hummingbird
- Allen's Hummingbird
- Calliope Hummingbird
- Garden Emerald
- Cuban Emerald
- Buff-breasted Sabrewing
- Blue-headed Sapphire
Cranes
- Sandhill Crane
- Sarus Crane
- Common Crane
Sandpipers and Allies
- Whimbrel
- Long-billed Curlew
- Western Sandpiper
- American Woodcock
- Wilson's Snipe
- Willet
Auks, Murres, and Puffins
- Common Murre
Gulls, Terns, and Skimmers
- Ivory Gull
- Ring-billed Gull
- Western Gull
- California Gull
- Herring Gull
- Brown Noddy
- Black Noddy
Penguins
- Emperor Penguin
- Gentoo Penguin
- Chinstrap Penguin
- Little Penguin
- Galapagos Penguin
- Fiordland Penguin
- Southern Rockhopper Penguin
Albatrosses
- Wandering Albatross
Shearwaters and Petrels
- Snow Petrel
Storks
- Milky Stork
Cormorants and Shags
- Double-crested Cormorant
Pelicans
- American White Pelican
- Pink-backed Pelican
Herons, Egrets, and Bitterns
- American Bittern
- Rufescent Tiger-Heron
- Great Blue Heron
- Purple Heron
- Great Egret
- Intermediate Egret
- Tricolored Heron
- Reddish Egret
Ibises and Spoonbills
- Roseate Spoonbill
New World Vultures
- California Condor
- Andean Condor
- Turkey Vulture
Hawks, Eagles, and Kites
- European Honey-buzzard
- Eurasian Griffon
- Crowned Eagle
- Imperial Eagle
- Golden Eagle
- Northern Harrier
- Sharp-shinned Hawk
- Cooper's Hawk
- Steller's Sea-Eagle
- White-bellied Sea-Eagle
- Common Black Hawk
- Red-shouldered Hawk
- Red-tailed Hawk
Barn-Owls
- Barn Owl
Owls
- Andaman Scops-Owl
- Reddish Scops-Owl
- Flammulated Owl
- Western Screech-Owl
- Eastern Screech-Owl
- Great Horned Owl
- Eurasian Eagle-Owl
- Cape Eagle-Owl
- Snowy Owl
- Tawny Fish-Owl
- Little Owl
- Spotted Owl
Hoopoes
- Eurasian Hoopoe
Todies
- Broad-billed Tody
Kingfishers
- Common Kingfisher
- Belted Kingfisher
Toucans
- Toco Toucan
Woodpeckers
- Red-naped Sapsucker
- Acorn Woodpecker
- Downy Woodpecker
- Nuttall's Woodpecker
- Hairy Woodpecker
- Ivory-billed Woodpecker
- Pileated Woodpecker
- Northern Flicker
Falcons and Caracaras
- American Kestrel
- Merlin
- Gyrfalcon
- Peregrine Falcon
- Prairie Falcon
Cockatoos
- Philippine Cockatoo
- White Cockatoo
Old World Parrots
- Papuan King-Parrot
- Golden-shouldered Parrot
New World and African Parrots
- Mexican Parrotlet
- Military Macaw
Asities
Pittas
- Sula Pitta
- South Moluccan Pitta
Tyrant Flycatchers
- Western Wood-Pewee
- Black Phoebe
- Say's Phoebe
- Ash-throated Flycatcher
- Western Kingbird
Vireos, Shrike-Babblers, and Erpornis
- Hutton's Vireo
Fantails
- Northern Fantail
Birds-of-Paradise
- Twelve-wired Bird-of-Paradise
- Magnificent Bird-of-Paradise
Crows, Jays, and Magpies
- Canada Jay
- White-throated Magpie-Jay
- Steller's Jay
- Blue Jay
- California Scrub-Jay
- Woodhouse's Scrub-Jay
- Transvolcanic Jay
- Black-billed Magpie
- Yellow-billed Magpie
- American Crow
- Pied Crow
- Common Raven
Fairy Flycatchers
- Gray-headed Canary-Flycatcher
Tits, Chickadees, and Titmice
- Carolina Chickadee
- Black-capped Chickadee
- Mountain Chickadee
- Chestnut-backed Chickadee
- Oak Titmouse
Larks
- Horned Lark
Swallows
- Purple Martin
- Tree Swallow
- Violet-green Swallow
- Barn Swallow
- Welcome Swallow
- Cliff Swallow
Long-tailed Tits
- Bushtit
Sylviid Warblers, Parrotbills, and Allies
- Wrentit
Kinglets
- Ruby-crowned Kinglet
Nuthatches
- Red-breasted Nuthatch
- White-breasted Nuthatch
- Pygmy Nuthatch
Treecreepers
- Brown Creeper
Wrens
- House Wren
- Pacific Wren
- Bewick's Wren
- Cactus Wren
Starlings
- European Starling
Mockingbirds and Thrashers
- Northern Mockingbird
Thrushes and Allies
- Eastern Bluebird
- Western Bluebird
- Mountain Bluebird
- Townsend's Solitaire
- Varied Thrush
- Hermit Thrush
- Redwing
- American Robin
Old World Flycatchers
- Common Nightingale
Waxwings
- Cedar Waxwing
Accentors
- Dunnock
Old World Sparrows
- House Sparrow
Finches, Euphonias, and Allies
- Common Chaffinch
- Evening Grosbeak
- Eurasian Bullfinch
- House Finch
- Purple Finch
- Cassin's Finch
- Yellow Canary
- Pine Siskin
- Lesser Goldfinch
- Lawrence's Goldfinch
- American Goldfinch
Longspurs and Snow Buntings
- Lapland Longspur
New World Sparrows
- Chipping Sparrow
- Lark Bunting
- Fox Sparrow
- Dark-eyed Junco
- White-crowned Sparrow
- Golden-crowned Sparrow
- Harris's Sparrow
- Seaside Sparrow
- Savannah Sparrow
- Song Sparrow
- Lincoln's Sparrow
- Canyon Towhee
- Abert's Towhee
- California Towhee
- Spotted Towhee
Troupials and Allies
- Yellow-headed Blackbird
- Bobolink
- Western Meadowlark
- Hooded Oriole
- Baltimore Oriole
- Red-winged Blackbird
- Brown-headed Cowbird
- Brewer's Blackbird
- Common Grackle
- Great-tailed Grackle
New World Warblers
- Orange-crowned Warbler
- Common Yellowthroat
- Yellow Warbler
- Yellow-rumped Warbler
- Townsend's Warbler
- Wilson's Warbler
Cardinals and Allies
- Summer Tanager
- Western Tanager
- Northern Cardinal
- Pyrrhuloxia
- Rose-breasted Grosbeak
- Black-headed Grosbeak
- Blue Grosbeak
- Lazuli Bunting
- Indigo Bunting
- Rose-bellied Bunting