I Bird. You Watch.

Minnehaha Falls

2008-07-07T20:59:00.004-05:00

There is so much false advertising around me in the "falls" department. Take Chippewa Falls for example: Its water spilling over a dam. Sorry, but thats not a falls. They should be called Chippewa Dam, to eliminate confusion. Minneapolis actually has a real falls, right in the middle of the city even, and inconspicuously hidden behind a wall.

Minnehaha Falls
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Mississippi River and Minnehaha Creek

Back to the lake

2008-06-23T00:13:00.003-05:00

It seems like only yesterday these little buddies were knee-high to a grasshopper. Now look at 'em.

Wood Duck

2008-06-07T00:10:00.003-05:00

Look at all the kids that are hanging out at the lake, this is quite the little herd of wood ducks:

Mallards are getting huge.
Watching over all this are mostly red-winged blackbirds.

More Waxwings

2008-05-27T15:57:00.003-05:00

Cedar Waxwings, I must say, are pretty darn cute. I love their masks. They remind me of Batman. And this small flock (about 8) were systematically stripping the petals from this tree, and were apparently enjoying it enough that they didn't seem to care I walked right up to them. It was great entertainment.

Cedar Waxwing: Bombycilia cedrorum.

Warblers in the hand

2008-05-20T19:04:00.005-05:00

Sunday was such a great day of banding that I still have more birds to share. These shots are all much closer and more detailed than I've managed to get before. First lets start with yet another new species for me, the aptly named Black and White Warbler:

Black and White Warbler: Mniotilta varia.

I saw my first redstart a few days earlier but only managed to get a blurry far-away shot. Here we see the halloween-themed bird in focus. The one we are looking at is a male that is almost 3 years old, and we know this because only males have these bold colors. Females, juveniles, and even 1-year old males are actually mostly gray and yellow.

American Redstart: Setophaga ruticilla.

I've shared Yellow Warblers before, but this one was just so pretty and close, how could I not post it too:

Yellow Warbler: Dendroica petechia.

I have found yellowthroats before, but again, the cuteness factor requires me to put these up too:

Common Yellowthroat: Geothlypsis trichas.

Tennessee Warbler Banding

2008-05-19T22:25:00.007-05:00

This Sunday was a bird banding at Ritter Farm Park in Lakeville, MN. It was a pretty location, and I got several species firsts and some great shots all around. First up here was the most common bird of the day, a Tennessee Warbler.

Tennessee Warbler: Vermivora peregrina.

Note the color here, it is a beautiful olive-green on its back.Early in the day, we were thrown off by the extremely yellow throats, as shown here:
At the same time we pulled that one out of the net, I caught another one apparently feeding from the nearby plum blossoms. Not sure if they were going just for the nectar, or for bugs or something else that was feeding there, or maybe they just thought the bees were slacking and needed help pollinating.
So, that does confirm that it was just a whole lot of pollen on them. It showed though that even with a bird in-hand, there are external factors that can change the apparent color of the bird.

The blues, but in a good way

2008-05-18T06:54:00.005-05:00

This took a while to post because I had so many shots to go through (a good problem to have though). Check out the blues on this Indigo Bunting (a species first for me):

I saw my first Eastern Bluebird of the year.

There have been a few Rose-breasted Grosbeaks in the area, but this is the first one I was able to get close to.

The bunting decided to chat it up with some American Goldfinch ladies at the thistle feeder, and there were a half dozen males also in the area.

I'm off now to go banding, so there will be many more shots to come.

I required some more color

2008-05-16T05:58:00.003-05:00

One of my favorite ornamentals that I first learned about at the CSU Annual Flower Trial Garden was the Celosia Plumosa, which I recently planted a few at home. They are supposed to love full sunlight, which I just happen to have plenty of out front.

Celosia Plumosa.

Here are two of the experimental color varieties in full bloom, from when I first discovered them:

"Icecream Formula Mix"

"Fresh Look Red"

I have even more pictures that I took at the trial garden. For those of you in Colorado, I definitely recommend visiting there through the summer to watch the bees and butterflies and get some landscaping ideas in the process.

Another new warbler

2008-05-15T13:39:00.007-05:00

A quick spin by the lake got me another first - the aptly named Yellow Warbler. Fairly uniformly yellow overall with the reddish streaks down its chest. These were plentiful and loud today.

Yellow Warbler: Dendroica petechia.

Eastern Kingbirds have also been around for at least a few days. They are so bold and bright when flying and the white terminal stripe on their tail is hard to miss too.

Eastern Kingbird: Tyrannus tyrannus.

Duckie Day Care

2008-05-15T10:00:00.000-05:00

I saw this pair of female mallards hanging out by the edge of the road that didn't depart as soon as I pulled over. It wasn't long til one swam back to the edge of the water and suddenly had some tagalongs:

Mallard: Anas platyrhynchos.

Look at the little fuzzy buddies!

Palm Warbler

2008-05-14T22:45:00.006-05:00

Palm Warbler! This is a species first for me. Beautiful little bird, they looked so happy and seemed pretty fearless, bouncing on the grass in front of me.

Palm Warbler: Dendroica discolor.

I love being right on a major migration route!

Woodchuck and a phoebe

2008-05-12T22:53:00.004-05:00

Look, its a woodchuck! An elusive, furry, not-huge but not-tiny, brown mammal. Not to be confused with the also-elusive woodcock, which is one of the famed little brown birds that people of all backgrounds can't help but to love. Aside from the name and brownness and unlikeliness to be seen, they aren't very much alike at all.
There are numerous Eastern Phoebes hanging out in the area, they seem to thrive on the little nooks and crannies of the rocky cliff walls. It would appear a new crop of them has been recently released unto the world. This little buddy is distinctly juvenile:

Eastern Phoebe: Sayornis phoebe.

These were all taken at the Devil's Punchbowl, which is even greener than the last time I was there, which was already quite a bit. Also of note there was my first Rose-breasted Grosbeak of the year, but the pictures came out not hot at all, so I'll be skipping those. In even more news today, a hummingbird was investigating the nyjer feeder hanging at my window, which let me know that I really needed to get with the program and scare up a hummingbird feeder, which I promptly did. So, I'm hoping for some hummer shots real soon now.

Catbird and a mousey bird

2008-05-11T18:14:00.005-05:00

First up - Gray Catbird. Yes, its gray, with rufous feathers under its rump. I can at least see how it sounds like a cat, but more like an angry/hurt mrowr than an actual meow.

Gray catbird: Dumetella carolinensis.

Notice how similar their posture is to a robin. I've probably mistaken one for another before when getting only a brief glance, especially if they are looking away. This one was pretty active but they usually will hang out in fairly dense brush, which makes them hard to see and even harder to get a picture of.A House Wren is not a real mouse, just a rather small bird. But I'm pretty sure its trying to take over the world. This cute little buddy was hanging out on the next tree over from where I shot the catbird. Its drab foreparts help to distinguish it from other wrens.

House Wren: Troglodytes aedon.

Cedar Waxwings!

2008-05-09T16:17:00.003-05:00

Check these bad boys out! These are the first waxwings I've managed to get pictures of, and actually the only ones I actually remember seeing in person. So chalk up another bird to my list of firsts. This is shaping up to be a great migration for me already.

Cedar Waxwing: Bombycillia cedrorum.

They sang for me and stayed fairly high up in the tree but did let me move right in under them. Fairly cooperative overall. Two thumbs up in my book!

Its really Spring. Finally!

2008-05-08T09:00:00.000-05:00

Thats right, it really is spring, and I have the fresh foliage to prove it:Even the trees are starting to get in on the action:
Took it long enough, I've been going crazy. Crazier than usual, that is.

Song and White-throated Sparrows

2008-05-07T22:41:00.005-05:00

Sweet! New birds for me, not only that, but this first one let me keep walking in a few feet at a time until I got to the shortest distance my long lens can still focus (which means I got about 5 feet from this one). This is a White-throated Sparrow. Its got the little yellow patch on its forehead, but a real key identifier is the crisp black line surrounding its white throat.

White-throated Sparrow: Zonotrichia albicollis.

Next up is one I've seen before, but this pair was fun to watch. I'm guessing they were defending a nest thats tucked down in the log. But I got some great territorial dancing on the logs and a priceless pose as well. The broad brown throat stripes, coarse brown streaks, and stout bill, all help identify these as Song Sparrows.

Song Sparrow: Melospiza melodia.

Culinary diversions

2008-05-05T21:25:00.007-05:00

I've been inside lately, busy trying to catch a cold and handle a few birthdays (none of which were mine though) so instead of birds, I've been seeing things like this Apple-Cinnamon Pie I baked:
This Apple-Strawberry pie:
And a Mango-Kiwi-Blueberry Pie:
All of them were homemade, from scratch, and they rocked. I'm phoning this entry in, but wanted to at least leave you with a little piece of nature, so here are a few stages of the life of a Monarch butterfly, all of which were taken on the same day and mere inches from each other on the fourth of july last year:

Devil's Punchbowl

2008-05-01T15:40:00.007-05:00

This is a place I love to watch the birds at, or simply get away to, and its just around the corner from home. These shots are a little deceptive on the size and shape of the area, as they are approximately 180 degree views from inside the bowl, which wraps around the spot where I took these. Each one is a composite of about 24 overlapping photos. They were reduced quite a bit to fit here, but this first one produced an image that is equivalent to 55 megapixels. This one was also taken with a filter that blocks visible light, leaving only infrared to hit the image sensor of the camera. That one especially requires time and patience to shoot, but I like the effect.

Devil's Punchbowl, Infrared Panorama, Spring.

Here we time-travel to October 2006. Not a whole lot of difference, except maybe in the decay of some of the fallen wood and rock, since its still too early for all the leaves to have exploded - though that is close. New buds are appearing on pretty much everything already.

Devil's Punchbowl, Panorama, Autumn.

It is also the only place where I've shot a Tufted Titmouse. So, here is your bird for the day, although it wasn't actually from today, this one was from September 2006. I'm sure I'll find more at some point.

Tufted Titmouse: Baeolophus bicolor.

Anti-gravity

2008-04-30T19:46:00.006-05:00

Right on the heels of this story about European Starlings, I find one across the road that defies gravity with a vengeance:

European Starling: Sturnus vulgaris.

Ok, it was really just starting to dive to a lower branch. But it still amused me.
Same bird, just a bit closer and clearer:

Lesser Scaup

2008-04-30T01:20:00.003-05:00

I've seen Lesser Scaup before, quite a few times actually, but they tend to stay towards the middle of whatever body of water they are in. At least that has been the trend for where I've been. So, its quite exciting for me to have chanced upon one that was close to shore. Sure, I had to stop in the middle of the road and shoot through the bushes to actually see this guy, but it was totally worth it for me.

Lesser Scaup: Aythya affinis.

Black-throated Green Warbler

2008-04-27T16:37:00.006-05:00

Oh yeah! Yet another new species for me. The book says it has a bright green back. I'm not seeing green. Apparently, "olive-green" counts as green. Even that didn't show up in my shots and the olive in pictures I've found seems rather dubious to me. But whatever. Its a really pretty bird at any rate.

Black-throated Green Warbler: Dendroica virens.

Today I also saw a few Bald Eagles, about eight Osprey in flight, and I think a Cooper's Hawk that was at quite a distance so I couldn't get a clear shot. This warbler was heavily outnumbered by Yellow-rumped Warblers, all of which were singing happily.

Holding down the fort

2008-04-25T12:58:00.004-05:00

I stumbled across this nest on the way home. I had heard there were a number of active nests in the area, which the large numbers of eagles in general would support. Luckily it was a nice sunny day so I actually got usable shots when using the 1.4x and 2x extenders.

Bald Eagle: Haliaeetus leucocephalus.

Chipping Sparrows are here

2008-04-24T13:45:00.003-05:00

Like Spring, Chipping Sparrows have returned. There are so many kinds of sparrows that have something specific to look for to tell them apart from every other kind of sparrow that it can be difficult to know what to look for. These have a reddish crown (that is more of a rufous color outside of the breeding season), an unmarked chest, and a distinct black line that goes through their eye.

Chipping Sparrow: Spizella passerina.

The nest this one is in appears to be half of a nest duplex. It seems the economy is affecting even the birds.
For comparison, here are some other kinds of sparrows. First is the American Tree Sparrow. It looks very similar, but the line through the eye is rufous, and only the top half of its bill is dark.

American Tree Sparrow: Spizella arborea.

Here is another sparrow, but quite different in appearance. It is a Fox Sparrow. Its wings are a much richer rufous color, lots of dark gray on its head and back, a large gray bill, and a darkly spotted belly and rump. It is a good example of the variation there actually is within a large group of birds that, at first glance, look mostly alike.

Fox Sparrow: Passerella iliaca.

Yellow-rumped Warblers

2008-04-24T11:45:00.001-05:00

It has been not quite two weeks since I saw my first Yellow-rumped Warbler of the season, but now after some pretty busy migration events, there are a whole mess of them around now. The nice thing about quantity is that you get so many more tries at that perfect shot, and so many more chances to catch one in flight, which is exactly what I did.

Yellow-rumped Warbler: Dendroica coronata.

They never sat still for very long but were pretty good about remaining in the same group of trees for a while.

Tree Swallows

2008-04-23T18:34:00.003-05:00

There was a whole tree (or two) full of these Tree Swallows next to the lake. They would leave as a group, and then return as a group, to this barren tree which gave them a good view, and made them easy for me to see in the process. They were quite frisky and offered me many great action shots.

Tree Swallow: Tachycineta bicolor.

This is about 1/4 of all the swallows in the group I was watching: