Birding Is Fun!

Birding is Fun Blog

2015-06-22T14:42:00.000-06:00

This blog has come to an end of its lifespan. It has been a fun ride and I'm grateful you came along.

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2015 Backyard Big Year Update--May

2015-06-06T16:12:00.001-06:00

May is typically the month when I drive thousands of miles criss-crossing the county trying to see all the returning breeding birds and the rarer passage migrants as they wing their way north. But this year is different, so I spent most of the month sitting in my yard. Waiting. Hoping. Praying. And not seeing as many birds as I wanted, but getting some key tough yard birds needed to make this effort worthwhile!

First off a word about leaves. Leaves bring insects, and insects bring birds. That's good and as it should be. But they also kill my views of the larger neighborhood, putting the kibosh on scoping out migrants at a distance. That said, a Common Loon flying low over my near neighborhood on 12 May was a much needed tough Code 3 bird for the yard.

Over 30 warbler species stream through my county in May. But with lots of days with north winds, migration was very poor this year. I only managed to get 14 warbler species in my yard during the day, and an additional two species by nocturnal flight call on my overnight recordings. I still have a lot of overnight recordings to review, so there should be some more species on there. But to show how tough it was this year, I didn't get a single Black-throated Blue in the yard and only singles of Magnolia Warbler and Yellow-rumped Warbler! Crazy!

A highlight of the month was a Mourning Warbler singing in the side yard. My recording of the song was enough for the Mourning Warbler Song Mapper program to identify it as coming from the Nova Scotia song dialect population. Very cool! (song here)

I'm still expecting to add more species to my overall year list as I go through my overnight recordings--I've already picked up some shorebirds including Least Sandpiper, Solitary Sandpiper, and Spotted Sandpiper. I'm pretty sure I've got a rare (Code 5) Short-billed Dowitcher recording or two I need to double check before claiming. So there is more to come.

Meanwhile, as it stands, my 2015 Backyard Big Year List stands at 138 species. June is expected to be slow, but I'll still be out trying to get my 20 Bird Minimum Daily Requirement and see if I can add a few more species to the list before the southbound migrants start showing up again in late June/early July.

More May highlights and photos at the Backyard Big Year Blog.

A Kirtland's Warbler Among Chicago Migrants

2015-06-05T04:00:00.000-06:00

Migration in Chicago is always interesting and exciting. So far, the highlight of the 2015 spring season has been the arrival of a male Kirtland's Warbler at Montrose Point Bird Sanctuary. This rare bird stayed for two days to the delight of birders and photographers. The Chicago Tribune Newspaper even published an article about the resplendent bird. After a quiet early May, things really picked up and colorful warblers, tanagers, vireos and cuckoos have been ever-present for a couple of weeks. Below I feature several of the beautiful birds I have spotted over the spring migration period.

An endangered Kirtland's Warbler surprises us with his glorious presence

A handsome male Hooded Warbler forages on the ground of the bird sanctuary

A pretty Golden-winged Warbler seeks nutrition amid the blossoms

A male Indigo Bunting shows off his vibrant plumage

Searching for a meal ~ Canada Warbler

Always a radiant sight ~ Prothonotary Warbler

A beautiful Yellow Warbler finds success on its food quest

Seeking insects in the budding trees ~ Magnolia Warbler

A handsome American Redstart is framed by the lush, green leaves

Getting ready for a bite to eat ~ A Blue-winged Warbler

A Black-billed Cuckoo sits quietly on its perch

Surrounded by spring growth ~ Palm Warbler

A brilliant orange Baltimore Oriole rests on a branch

A lovely Blackburnian Warbler explores the oak tree leaves for food

A rare sighting in Chicago ~ Western Kingbird

Posted by Julie Gidwitz

Nature's Splendor ~ http://naturessplendor-julie.blogspot.com/

Birding Bliss

2015-06-03T04:00:00.000-06:00

A favorite birding site near our NE Illinois home is the 175 acre Bliss Woods Forest Preserve in Sugar Grove. A bike trail connects Bliss woods with the 402 acre Hannaford Woods-Nickels Farm Forest Preserve, forming a complex known as the Bliss Woods-Waubonsee College open space assemblage. This protects a varied habitat including hardwood forest, open prairies and wetlands. Most of this section of Illinois is flat land, planted in miles and miles of corn and soybeans, but thanks to preservation of the remnants of the Kaneville Esker, this preserve is a green gem, with rolling hills and valleys. Ridges (eskers) and prominent mounds (kames) interrupt the monotony of the prairie. These features, as well as prairie potholes (also known as kettles), were produced about 13,000 years ago by retreating glaciers. Many have been disturbed or removed, as they are a convenient source of gravel.

Blackberry Creek as it courses through Bliss Woods:

Woodland path in Hannford Woods:

This barn, surrounded by a white rail fence, is on private property just across from the entrance to Hannaford Woods:

We visited the preserves several times before returning to Florida on May 24. On the first visit to Bliss Woods we obtained only distant views of a Scarlet Tanager, one of our favorite birds. Two days before returning to Florida we tried one last time. The morning started out windy and quite chilly at 46 degrees F (7.8 degrees Celsius). The tree limbs were moving so much that we held little hope of seeing many birds at all. Some of those which took flight actually flew backwards!

A male Northern Flicker was not affected by the wind as he searched for ants on the mowed lawn in the picnic area:

The winds subsided and the skies brightened, though the temperature dropped a couple of degrees. Yellow Warblers were already gathering nesting materials. This one sang in a small tree on its territory:

American Goldfinches bounded about, carefree, as they will not breed until later in the season:

Indigo Buntings had arrived en masse:

A White-breasted Nuthatch seemed to be exploring a nest hole. It kept poking its head in but never entered. I wondered if it might be occupied by another creature such as a squirrel or chipmunk:

High in a nearby oak tree, I spotted a White-breasted Nuthatch fledgling:

As a parent approached with a grub, it started begging silently:

"I still want more!"

This first year male Orchard Oriole was the second we saw this week:

A male Orchard Oriole in full breeding plumage flew by but I was unable to get a photo, so here is one from May 14 a year ago. It is smaller than a Baltimore Oriole and has brick-red plumage rather than bright orange of the latter species:

A Red-tailed Hawk swooped in low. Not a threat to small birds, it was probably hoping to surprise a rabbit or squirrel:

We have been watching a pair of Blue-gray Gnatcatcher build a nest which straddles a low-hanging limb of an old oak. Now the bird is sitting tight, surely incubating its eggs. We were pleasantly surprised to see that the fragile-looking nest had not been disrupted by the high winds and rain:

Finally, we were rewarded when a male Scarlet Tanager suddenly flew into full sun in a tree just above the trail:

His coat is deeply scarlet except for black wings and tail. The sun was high and the leaves cast strong dappled shadows. Nearly all of my dozen photos were spoiled because of the sharp contrasting patches of light. This one better illustrates the problem, as the red color (and the green on the leaves) is washed out in the highlights:

Speaking of highlights, my final visit to Hannaford Woods produced a Life Bird! This does not happen very often these days, as I have lost interest in chasing after target birds. While walking the trail I heard a very loud warbler song coming from close to the ground nearby. I simply could not identify the song and tried to find the bird for the better part of half an hour. The understory was so dense and it was so tantalizingly close by!

Before continuing down the trail, I recorded the song on my iPhone, hoping to research it and identify the singer. On the way back I replayed the song and the bird responded immediately. I caught a glimpse of it, singing a few inches off the ground. It had a brown back and a distinct eye ring, but it flew off in less than a second. It continued to sing in the distance, but to my surprise a second bird appeared and sat still long enough for me to capture a 25 second burst of images before it flew off. My photos confirmed that it was a Connecticut Warbler, the first I had ever seen, and the first County record this spring.

This seclusive but not rare warbler breeds in the far north Central US and central Canada. Despite its name it is rarely found in the NE United States, and then only in the fall. The few winter records are from South and Central America.

Connecticut Warbler (May 19, 2015):

Another "first" occurred early in our stay. I was looking for a Sora in Jones Meadow Park, a small wetlands near our home. Sure enough, I saw two Soras and heard one or two others:

Then, a Virginia Rail started calling and suddenly strutted out at the edge of the marsh:

A damselfly, which I believe to be a female bluet species, allowed me a close-up shot:

A Cache County, Utah, Big Day

2015-05-31T23:55:00.003-06:00

We put a lot of effort into planning our Big Day route, and stuck very close to the plan.

Anyone who has done a Big Day knows that much of the work is done before the day itself, and ours was no different: Andy and I started weeks in advance, planning and re-planning our route, and especially scouting out rare birds. Scouting was a HUGE part of our planning and a huge part of our success: by birding nearly daily for a couple weeks before our Big Day, we were able to quickly and efficiently find a lot of hard-to-find species.

The Big Day itself started at about 11:00 PM on Friday, May 29th, when I picked up Andy from his house and loaded his bike on the back of my car. Big Days run 24 hours, from midnight to midnight, but we wanted to already be in location listening for birds when the timer started at 12:00 AM. At midnight, we were already biking up Green Canyon a mile or two above the locked gate, and we heard our first bird of the day just minutes later when a Common Poorwill called (the first of nearly two dozen that night).

Our first stop of the day, starting at midnight, was owling Green Canyon by bike. We used the bikes several times during the day, and they ended up being instrumental in allowing us to cover lots of ground efficiently and effectively.

Our first owl of the night was a Flammulated Owl, singing spontaneously at the end of the trail at 12:27 AM. We also heard a couple of Ruffed Grouse displaying in the dark. We then focussed on finding Northern Saw-whet Owl and Northern Pygmy-Owl as we biked down, broadcasting song every few hundred meters. It took more work than expected, but we eventually got one Northern Pygmy-Owl to respond before our 2:00 AM deadline for leaving the canyon.

Our next target was an American Bittern at Bud Phelps WMA, a bird that Andy had found on a scouting trip a couple of weeks earlier. This one was as easy as they come: we pulled into the parking lot a little before 3:00 AM, and heard it calling almost immediately. We added a couple other nocturnal vocalizers to our list here, especially Virginia Rail, Sora, and Marsh Wren. The whole stop was less than ten minutes, and we were off to a stakeout Great Horned Owl. Our friend Shelly Hatch helped us out by telling us a couple of weeks ago about a pair that had been calling in her yard at night, so we parked quietly in front of her house and played a bit of Great Horned Owl song. It took a little coaxing, but about five or ten minutes later one called back from a stand of trees near her house.

Next, we wanted to check on some nearby Wood Ducks I had scouted out, a small family group with chicks on a little pond near the Great Horned Owl. It was too dark to see the ducks at night, but while driving to the pond with the windows down we heard some Barn Owls begging from a barn. This was a lucky grab as it would later save us about half an hour of daylight birding, allowing us to cut out a scheduled trip to a roosting Barn Owl I had staked out. With the quick Bittern, Great Horned Owl, and Barn Owl scores in the dark, we had a little time on our hands to look (listen) for Western Screech-Owl, the one lowland owl we hadn't been able to find in our scouting. We tried a new spot, and again got lucky, with one responding rather quickly to broadcast near the Willow Park Zoo. A bonus Gray Catbird was singing in the dark, too. Then, we were off for our first daytime stop ahead of schedule!

Because we had missed Northern Saw-whet Owl in Green Canyon earlier in the night, we were happy to have some time to try for it before sunrise along the road to Tony Grove, where we wanted to be at first light. We tried many stops along the seven mile road from the highway to the parking area, and finally got lucky just when we were starting to give up hope on that species, as a Northern Saw-whet Owl squealed in response to our broadcast less than a mile from the lake. By 5:15 AM the sky was already starting to get a bit of color and the dawn chorus was in full swing, so we parked at Tony Grove and worked our way up the trail towards Naomi Peak in search of high-elevation birds.

We started the daylight portion of the day at Tony Grove, the most accessible spot for many of the high elevation specialties of Cache County.

Things started fast at Tony Grove, with singing White-crowned Sparrows, Lincoln's Sparrows, MacGillivray's Warblers, House Wrens, Mountain Chickadees, Dusky and Hammond's Flycatchers, American Robins, Chipping Sparrows, and Fox Sparrows, among others. We worked our way over some deep snow patches (still frozen solid from the below-freezing nighttime temperatures) and up the trail to the area we call the "first bowl," a glacial cirque that sits just above Tony Grove Lake. Then, things slowed down a bit. We had a couple of singing Olive-sided Flycatchers, but were working hard for other high elevation specialties without much luck. Eventually, some broadcast of White-breasted Nuthatch calls elicited a response, which was a great bird given how limited their distribution is in Cache County: they're found in only in our highest elevation forests, and are patchy and scarce even there. We heard a Williamson's Sapsucker give its unique long stuttering drum, a great species to pick up given the relatively early date. After nearly two hours around the area we were still hurting for a lot of common high mountain species, like Brown Creeper, Golden-crowned Kinglet, Steller's Jay, Clark's Nutcracker, Hairy Woodpecker, etc., but had to start heading back to the car. Then, things started to fall our way. A Brown Creeper called from a tree for both of us and showed itself to Andy. A small flock of Clark's Nutcrackers flew down a ridgeline in the distance. A pair of Hairy Woodpeckers responded to a broadcast call in an area we had both seen the species before. Even back down at the parking lot as we were loading into the car, a Steller's Jay called in the distance. I wonder what else we might have found with another half hour there, but a key part of a Big Day is to stay disciplined and stick to your schedule.

Williamson's Sapsucker is a beautiful and distinctive woodpecker of Cache County's highest elevations. Although a recently-returning migrant, this one was already working a fresh row of sap wells.

White-breasted Nuthatches are very tough to find in Cache County, but the first bowl on the Naomi Peak trail has been a somewhat reliable place to find them in recent years.

By 8:40 AM we were heading down the mountain, with the windows down as always. This paid off in the form of one more species, our first Orange-crowned Warbler of the day, singing along the road. As we worked our way quickly down the canyon, we were able to pick up drive-by White-throated Swifts and a Swainson's Thrush. A planned stop for Chukar and Black-throated Gray Warbler didn't pan out, although we'd pick up the warbler later. Near the mouth of the canyon we did a short walk for hummingbirds at Stokes Nature Center, but before we even got to the feeders we had seen both of the regular species there, Black-chinned Hummingbird and Broad-tailed Hummingbird, so we took a quick detour for a staked-out American Dipper nest and headed back to the car. Another quick stakeout stop added a singing Canyon Wren to the list, and then we were out of the canyon and into the lowlands for the rest of the day, starting at First Dam, where a Common Merganser that was present the day before had apparently just left.

American Dippers are common along the high-gradient rivers of Cache County, but having this nest staked out in advance saved us a lot of potential birding time we could have spent just hoping to run into one.

As we passed through downtown Logan on our way to the next stop, we were sure to call out all the common urban species that could be missed in the more wild habitats where we planned to spend the rest of the day: we easily picked up Rock Pigeon and House Sparrow, for example, and were able to hear a singing Lesser Goldfinch through the open car windows. We started to feel pretty unlucky, missing our second stakeout rarity in a row, when we couldn't find the Great-tailed Grackles at the Logan Landfill. But, we were disciplined about not sinking too much time into rarities, and quickly continued on to a field where Bobolinks had been displaying in the last couple of weeks. They showed for us quickly, and we were off to the nearby pond where we hadn't been able to see the Wood Ducks in the dark. In the daylight, they were easy, and we didn't even stop the car as we drove past in a rush for the next birds.

We had debated whether it was worth it to make our way down to Hyrum Reservoir, and in the end decided there were enough possibilities there to make it worth it. We were going to get Barn Owl at the east end, but since we had one in the morning and were a bit behind schedule, we skipped the east end and birded only from the west end, where Andy was able to spot a continuing late Common Loon I had found a week or so before. Within minutes, we were heading back north to Rendezvous Park. Because this would be our only real lowland "urban" habitat stop, we had a few very familiar species we needed to find, and were actually a bit excited to pick up our Black-capped Chickadee here. We needed Downy Woodpecker, too, but couldn't find any, even after broadcasting some calls.

It was then around noon, so I asked Andy for a tally so far. We were both a bit surprised to be at only 80 species, and a bit intimidated with reaching our goal of topping the record of 154 by the end of the day. But, we hadn't really done much lowland birding yet, and had a lot of sparrows and other dry land birds as well as waterfowl to add to the list; our only ducks so far were Mallard and Wood Duck, for example. With our next stop, the Logan Sewage Lagoons, the waterfowl numbers climbed quickly. We got our only Blue-winged Teal of the day here, and focused on other ducks, especially late winter waterfowl like Ring-necked Duck and Bufflehead. We got our only Belted Kingfisher of the day nearby as we drove to the Logan Polishing Ponds, an extension of the wastewater treatment plant located about a mile to the north. Here, we picked up many of the expected breeding shorebirds, like American Avocet, Black-necked Stilt, and Willet, along with a great collection of waterfowl including some species that are quite rare this late in the season, especially American Wigeon, Canvasback, Common Goldeneye, and even a continuing Snow Goose I had found a couple weeks earlier that seems to be injured but still healthy.

I first spotted this Snow Goose at the Polishing Ponds a couple of weeks earlier and noted that it was holding its wings in an odd angle. Although it looked healthy, I think the only reason it was still around is because it was a bit injured.

Canvasbacks have usually all left Cache County before the baby Canada Geese get this big, but this pair was lingering at the Polishing Ponds so that we could count them on our Big Day.

We took a quick detour to Benson Marina for our only Osprey of the day, sitting on a nest, and then drove to Hyde Park Lane. We cancelled a side trip to look for a stakeout Say's Phoebe after considering that we were a bit behind schedule, the bird was pretty far out of the way, and it hadn't been very reliable in our scouting, only being found once out of three attempts to look for it. Along Hyde Park Lane, we tried to pick a Glossy Ibis out of the many White-faceds, but with no luck. We did pick up our first Sandhill Crane of the day here, and our only Wilson's Snipe of the day.

Wilson's Snipe are common in Cache County, but this one on Hyde Park Lane happened to be our only one of the day.

Next up was the Amalga Barrens, usually a great shorebird spot, but we were a bit late for shorebird migration. Indeed, we didn't have any shorebirds all day that don't breed locally; we were completely too late for passing migrants. About the best we could do here was to add a pair of Long-billed Curlews and get our first (but not only) Northern Harriers of the day.

Andy and I worked hard for more shorebirds at the Amalga Barrens, but the best we could do is add a couple of Long-billed Curlews to our list. We were apparently too late for all the passage migrants.

It was about 4:00 PM, so with a little less than five hours of daylight left and with all the expected shorebirds and waterfowl ticked off, I asked Andy to tally our list again. We were at 112 species for the day. When he said, this, I did a little mental math and my heart sank. All those waterfowl and shorebirds, and we only added 32 species? Five hours left to get 42 species to tie the record? I started to think about how that could be right. Andy checked again: yup, 112 species. When we started Newton Reservoir, I knew it would take a miracle if we were to reach our goal.

As soon as we pulled up at Newton, we could hear a Yellow-breasted Chat singing, another pretty local species that is tough to find in the valley. We couldn't find the Blue Grosbeak that had been here last week, but a Golden Eagle flew over (our only one of the day), and a Blue-gray Gnatcatcher called from beneath us in the wash a little while later. Across the road in the campground area, a Least Flycatcher I had found a few days earlier was singing as we stepped out of the car, and a second one was nearby. This was probably the rarest bird of the day, at least by some measures, since it was the only one on the review list of the Utah Bird Records Committee. We broadcast for Downy Woodpecker some more; way too long, I thought, but then, we didn't really have a shot at our goal anyways so it didn't bother me. We broadcast a bit for Lark Sparrow, and didn't get any responses from that species either. We needed a miracle to reach our goal, and missing these two easy species wasn't helping. I was feeling pretty bummed.

On the way to Steel Canyon, Andy added up the numbers again. I knew we wouldn't be close, but it wasn't going to hurt to hear where we were at, and I was still hoping for my miracle. And I got it! Andy realized that he had somehow--twice!--forgotten to count the last page of our six-page checklist. I don't know how this happened, but I still think he may have been messing with me. Either that, or the lack of sleep and the 19+ hours of straight birding were hitting both of us pretty hard. Regardless, heading into Steel Canyon we were actually at 144 species, well within striking range of our goal if things went right! We picked up singing Vesper Sparrow, Grasshopper Sparrow, and Brewer's Sparrow all from the same spot along the road. We heard Horned Lark singing a little further along. We mounted our bikes just as the sky was darkening from a coming storm, and headed into Steel Canyon, some of the best dry juniper forest in the county.

On a Big Day, meals come in the little spaces between birds. We quickly mounted up and biked the rough road into Steel Canyon as a storm approached.

Steel Canyon went as well as anyone could expect. First, a Juniper Titmouse sang briefly from the juniper. Then, a Gray Flycatcher perched on a treetop and wagged its tail downward repeatedly, a distinctive behavior distinguishing this species from half a dozen or more lookalikes. A Spotted Towhee called from across the canyon, a common species that we just hadn't run into until that point. Then a pair of Bushtits flew through a clearing, calling in flight and then landing and eventually pausing long enough to give me a quick look through binoculars. The rain started as Andy broadcast Black-throated Gray Warbler and Plumbeous Vireo at a spot he had heard both species recently. A Plumbeous Vireo flew into view and started singing in response, and a minute or so later, a Black-throated Gray Warbler started singing in the rain. We would later calculate that with these two species, we tied and then broke the Cache County Big Day record!

Biking back down to the car in the rain from Steel Canyon, with six new species on our list and a new Cache County Big Day record.

After a quick bike back down to the car, we headed to another nearby road where Andy had recently had Short-eared Owls at dusk. This is not a rare species in the county, but they tend to be most active at dawn and dusk, and we hadn't had them yet. His spot worked like a charm, and within minutes four Short-eared Owls were flying all around us, species #156 for the day.

Two of four Short-eared Owls that put on a show for us at dusk on Sink Creek Road.

We were short on daylight, but also short on reasonable species we needed for the day. We headed to Bear River Bottoms WMA at sunset in a last-ditch attempt at our biggest miss of the day, but we wouldn't find Downy Woodpecker there either. We tried Cherry Creek again for Downy Woodpecker as the sky got darker, and then a little further up for Dusky Grouse, but didn't find either of those. By the time we were done there, it was nearly 10:00 PM and we were both getting quite tired. We tried following up on a tip for Long-eared Owl at Benson Marina, without any luck. Some fireworks in the distance seemed to be both celebrating our huge day, and telling us it was time to be done. At about 11:00 PM, we had few options for new birds left, and even less energy to look for them, so we called it a day. We went to bed tired, happy, and satisfied, with a new Cache County Big Day record in the books: 156 species, topping the old record of 154 that had been set in 1998!

Andy heads into a stand of trees for a last-minute attempt at Downy Woodpecker as the sun set.

Here is our complete list of species for the day:

Snow Goose

Canada Goose

Wood Duck

Gadwall

American Wigeon

Mallard

Blue-winged Teal

Cinnamon Teal

Northern Shoveler

Northern Pintail

Green-winged Teal

Canvasback

Redhead

Ring-necked Duck

Lesser Scaup

Bufflehead

Common Goldeneye

Ruddy Duck

Ring-necked Pheasant

Ruffed Grouse

Common Loon

Pied-billed Grebe

Eared Grebe

Western Grebe

Clark's Grebe

Double-crested Cormorant

American White Pelican

American Bittern

Great Blue Heron

Snowy Egret

Cattle Egret

Black-crowned Night-Heron

White-faced Ibis

Turkey Vulture

Osprey

Golden Eagle

Northern Harrier

Swainson's Hawk

Red-tailed Hawk

Virginia Rail

Sora

American Coot

Sandhill Crane

Black-necked Stilt

American Avocet

Killdeer

Spotted Sandpiper

Willet

Long-billed Curlew

Wilson's Snipe

Wilson's Phalarope

Bonaparte's Gull

Franklin's Gull

Ring-billed Gull

California Gull

Caspian Tern

Forster's Tern

Rock Pigeon

Eurasian Collared-Dove

Mourning Dove

Barn Owl

Flammulated Owl

Western Screech-Owl

Great Horned Owl

Northern Pygmy-Owl

Short-eared Owl

Northern Saw-whet Owl

Common Nighthawk

Common Poorwill

White-throated Swift

Black-chinned Hummingbird

Broad-tailed Hummingbird

Belted Kingfisher

Williamson's Sapsucker

Red-naped Sapsucker

Hairy Woodpecker

Northern Flicker

American Kestrel

Olive-sided Flycatcher

Western Wood-Pewee

Least Flycatcher

Hammond's Flycatcher

Gray Flycatcher

Dusky Flycatcher

Western Kingbird

Eastern Kingbird

Plumbeous Vireo

Warbling Vireo

Steller's Jay

Black-billed Magpie

Clark's Nutcracker

American Crow

Common Raven

Horned Lark

Northern Rough-winged Swallow

Tree Swallow

Violet-green Swallow

Bank Swallow

Barn Swallow

Cliff Swallow

Black-capped Chickadee

Mountain Chickadee

Juniper Titmouse

Bushtit

Red-breasted Nuthatch

White-breasted Nuthatch

Brown Creeper

Canyon Wren

House Wren

Marsh Wren

Blue-gray Gnatcatcher

American Dipper

Ruby-crowned Kinglet

Mountain Bluebird

Townsend's Solitaire

Swainson's Thrush

Hermit Thrush

American Robin

Gray Catbird

European Starling

Cedar Waxwing

Orange-crowned Warbler

MacGillivray's Warbler

Common Yellowthroat

Yellow Warbler

Yellow-rumped Warbler

Black-throated Gray Warbler

Yellow-breasted Chat

Green-tailed Towhee

Spotted Towhee

Chipping Sparrow

Brewer's Sparrow

Vesper Sparrow

Savannah Sparrow

Grasshopper Sparrow

Fox Sparrow

Song Sparrow

Lincoln's Sparrow

White-crowned Sparrow

Dark-eyed Junco

Western Tanager

Black-headed Grosbeak

Lazuli Bunting

Bobolink

Red-winged Blackbird

Western Meadowlark

Yellow-headed Blackbird

Brewer's Blackbird

Brown-headed Cowbird

Bullock's Oriole

House Finch

Cassin's Finch

Pine Siskin

Lesser Goldfinch

American Goldfinch

House Sparrow

A robust robin and a little king

2015-05-03T04:00:00.001-06:00

Two days after we left the fair skies of Florida behind. we arrived at our second home in NE Illinois.

Sunburst over the back gate:

Clouds over the Everglades:

We were harshly greeted by cold, windy and wet weather. We ventured afield briefly in near-freezing temperatures and found that the dark skies and high winds rendered birding and photography nearly impossible. Staying in or near the car, my first shots were of a group of Northern Shovelers in a roadside pond.

A Red-tailed Hawk kited motionless in the sky against the sharp headwind, with gusts over 40 MPH:

The buildings also stood still for the camera:

After a sub-freezing night with snow flurries, the next day dawned bright, but the winds persisted. We got out to nearby Fabyan Park in Geneva, Illinois to see the nest of a Great Horned Owl with three owlets.

Only two showed their faces:

American Robins were special to me as a youngster in New Jersey, for they stirred hope that spring would soon arrive. They usually came in early March, but I still remember their early arrival on February 12, 1949, bird #18 on my first formal life list. On that same day I saw my first Redpoll, a species I would not see again until a trip to Alaska in 2011 :

We rarely see robins in our south Florida neighborhood. They may appear sporadically some winters for a few days as small bands or even huge migratory flocks, but they sometimes do not appear at all. Fabyan Park was full of them. This male was a particularly robust individual:

A colorful Yellow-rumped Warbler foraged on the path ahead of us:

Our granddaughter helped me stock their backyard feeders, and they instantly attracted colorful Northern Cardinals...

...joined by a male House Finch:

Red-winged Blackbirds and a Common Grackle quickly helped deplete the seed:

Rain was predicted again, but we got out early to Lippold Park, where another Red-tailed Hawk soared above in circles:

Stopping to photograph wildflowers, I had fallen behind Mary Lou. She called me excitedly to report her sighting of a Ruby-crowned Kinglet with its bright head feathers extended. When I caught up to her, the kinglet's head was no longer adorned:

I took over a dozen photos, trying to catch at least a glimpse of its signature crown as it weaved through the understory, to no avail until suddenly it rewarded me!

During the past week the trees have started leafing out and wildflowers have appeared. Among the early flowers--

Bluebells:

Blue Violets:

Blue and White Violets:

Spring Beauty:

Cutrleaf Toothwort:

White Trout Lily:

And fittingly, a Wake Robin:

Sandhill Crane Courtship Dance

2015-04-28T05:59:00.000-06:00

Sandhill Crane Courtship Dance

Sandhill Cranes are magnificent creatures. Many migrate down to Florida during the winter from their breeding grounds up north, but some nonmigratory birds stay here in Florida all year round. So we have the privilege of witnessing their beautiful courtship dance.

Sandhill Crane Courtship Dance

Sandhill Cranes mate for life, and they can be seen doing this courtship dance primarily during breeding season (though sometimes you can see it at other times of year as well). The dance involves the flapping of their wings, bowing their heads low, jumping into the air, and even throwing sticks they might find on the ground.

Sandhill Crane Courtship Dance

Earlier this month I saw a pair at my favorite local warbler spot, Central Winds Park. I thought it would be fun to share a few photos of this extraordinary creature.

Sandhill Crane Courtship Dance

Birding Lake Atitlan

2015-04-20T16:17:00.000-06:00

Rufous-browed Peppershrike

Greetings all! We continue our Guatemalan trek into a beautiful area known as Lake Atitlan or El Lago Atitlan. There are wonderful accommodations here for a birder to explore, relax and go shopping:) It's a great place to visit. And it's a great place to find cool birds!

Dusky-capped Flycatcher

We arrived at the launch pad to get to our hotel(Casa Del Mundo). There were so many stairs to climb:) It was a gorgeous place on a hillside overlooking the lake and forested areas. And it's where we stayed for 4 days and set up camp.

Lesser Goldfinch

We hiked around several Mayan villages and jumped on board several boats to get to a couple areas that were difficult to explore.

And quite honestly, the birding was best at our hotel. I monitored the area day and night discovering that our birds went by somewhat regular schedules.

American Coots!

Atitlan is famous for the massages and spiritual centers. It also has several reserves. The one we went to visit was near the town of Panajachel. It's a beautiful hike full of hummingbirds and other critters.

Prevost's ground sparrow

Imagine having your coffee out on the veranda with these views each day!

It was a strange experience finding desert birds that I normally see mixed in with all the tropical ones. Once again, it reinforced the idea that birds have no borders. What happens in one place affects the other. And we are all interconnected.

The walks are wonderful but be mindful of the area. Many of the people are very kind. However, it is always best to go with another person. A person can even hire a local guide to show them all the wonderful things that Atitlan has to offer.

Yellow-winged Tanager-um....this bird is cool BUT a dash of yellow makes it a Yellow-winged Tanager? This is one of those bird names that doesn't really work for me:)

The boat rides can be wonderful or scary:) Atitlan can be calm and sunny one minute only to be followed by a massive lightning storm a half hour later. Keep your eyes open at the ever changing weather patterns. But have fun! It's an awesome place!

Here are some interesting facts. El lago is rising every year. They are not certain why this is happening but many properties that were along the edge of the lake are now swallowed up by the lake. In some areas, it looks like you are floating over the remains of Atlantis.

And I must share this tragic story. Every birder should hear it. Birds. We love them very much. Sadly, an endemic grebe lived here once and was known as the Atitlán Grebe. Most of us reading this today were alive when this grebe went extinct. Did anyone see this bird before they disappeared?

The extinct Atitlán Grebe

The decline of this grebe began in 1958 when smallmouth and largemouth bass were introduced into the lake. The populaton of the Atitlán grebe declined from 200 individuals in 1960 to 80 in 1965. Thanks to the conservation efforts of Anne LaBastille, in 1966 a refuge was established where this species was able to rebound. The population recovered to 210 in 1973. Then in 1976, an earthquake hit the area and the lake bed fractured. An underwater drain led to a fall of the water level and decimated the grebe population. By the late 80's, two birds were left and after they disappeared, the Atitlán grebe was declared officially extinct. So. Man caused the issue, but ultimately nature determined the fate of this species. How many other bird species are at risk? If one tsunami hit the coast of Southern California, the Channel Islands could stand to lose several of their endemic species like the Island Scrub-Jay.

Orange-billed Nightingale-Thrush

This life we live can be quite fascinating. Birds make me happy and they elevate me to learn more and do better. What an awesome adventure it all is!

Rain forest photography is tricky. The clouds, the rain and dark canopy make photo captures extremely difficult.

After climbing the 500 some stairs along the hillsides, my legs began to develop some muscle. I discovered my first Rufous-capped Warbler, Brown-backed Solitaire, and Sparkling-tailed Hummingbird! And this was just the start!

Boat-billed Flycatcher

There are 7 main villages that line the shores of Lake Atitlan. Panajachel is the main village where you can shop and have a really nice dinner. You will also probably need to grab a boat from the main boat launch to get to your destinations. The reserve is nearby this town.

A little Spanish lesson:)

San Pedro is a great place to have a drink with a friend and walk around the town. Just keep your eyes on the belongings. This is also a great place for you to learn Spanish!

Bushtit

San Marcos is my favorite. Meditate, get an amazing massage or just.....relax. I have so much stress from my job that I enjoy finding places where I can lose myself in the silence.

Grayish Saltator

Santiago is another place to ~~buy souvenirs~~ bird. Look for the hummingbird feeders around the neighborhood:)

Santa Cruz is a place for people to relax and take Spanish classes. Your loved one can dive here while you look for the Boat-billed Flycatcher.

Jaibalito is another great place to relax. The sunsets are spectacular!

Santa Catarina Palopo is a nice town away from the tourist track so if you are like me, it's a good place to immerse yourself away from the gringos.

Birding around Lake Atitlan has its challenges. Boats frequently stop at the boat launches around a relaxed schedule. We always had to be aware of when the last boat launch would leave for the day. OR watch for bad weather. The lake can quickly go from calm to extremely choppy and dangerous within minutes. When that happens, boats will stop operating!

If it does happen, just relax:) Each town has its charms and there's always a place to chill out and wait until the storm passes.

When that sun comes back out, it'll be time to hit the trails again. Until next time.....

Let's Face It

2015-04-16T04:00:00.000-06:00

I am always captivated by the beauty of the birds I notice while on birding excursions. More often than not, the birds are seen and photographed at quite a distance. Every once in a while, I am fortunate to observe a bird at close range. These rare instances allow me to take note of interesting beaks, beautiful eye colors and stunning, intricate feathers from a variety of birds. Let's take a look at some close-ups ...

Limpkin

Female Anhinga

Female and male Anhingas

Sandhill Crane

Yellow-crowned Night Heron

Juvenile Yellow-crowned Night Heron

Virginia Rail

Great Blue Heron

Juvenile Great Blue Heron

Reddish Egret

Great Egret

Brown Pelican

White Ibis

Roseate Spoonbill

Posted by Julie Gidwitz

Nature's Splendor Blog ~ http://naturessplendor-julie.blogspot.com/

Sparrows: Many shades of brown

2015-04-03T04:00:00.000-06:00

Sparrows can be a confusing lot. I'll admit that, without a good look, sometimes I must simply call them LBBs (Little Brown Birds). Brilliant colors help identify the orioles and warblers, but often color is of little use as a sparrow moves furtively through the dark underbrush. Some species are more difficult to classify when in immature and winter plumage.

A field guide to sparrows could be effectively rendered in black and white. One must rely upon size, shape, habitat, habits, song and, most important, plumage patterns of their heads and undersides.

A female Red-winged Blackbird might pass as a sparrow, but take a close look at its substantial pointed bill, an indication that it is omnivorous, adapted to eating insects as well as seeds and grain:

A female Rose-breasted Grosbeak may be sparrow-like, but is much larger and has (duh) a huge bill:

Winter Indigo Buntings can look somewhat like sparrows, but lack prominent streaking:

A female Purple Finch might cause confusion, but its voice, conical bill, heavier body and habit of feeding as flocks in the treetops help distinguishing it from sparrows, most of which are more commonly found on or near the ground:

The tiny Pine Siskin has a thin bill and rather plain face pattern, usually shows some yellow in its wings, and may be seen extracting seeds from spent flower heads, often in the company of goldfinches;

Song Sparrows vary considerably but have a basic distinguishing facial pattern:

The large size and rufous (but sometimes slate gray) color helps identify a Fox Sparrow, so often found scratching noisily among the dry leaves:

The Vesper Sparrow's belly is sparsely streaked and it has white outer tail feathers and a rusty patch on its shoulder:

The Savannah Sparrow is a bird of open fields and shrubby borders. Its coarse streaks may resemble those of a Song Sparrow but it is smaller and has a proportionately shorter tail. Its face pattern and the usual presence of yellow over the eye also helps in recognizing it.:

The Swamp Sparrow likes wet places and has rich chestnut brown on its wings and tail, a reddish cap (in summer) and a white throat:

Lincoln's Sparrow may lurk in the underbrush. Note that the buffy brown cast to its "whisker," upper breast and sides of its belly, underlying narrow stripes. It often raises its small crest:

White-crowned Sparrow is large and distinctive:

Immature White-crowned Sparrows may retain a brownish crown for a couple of years:

The White-throated Sparrow usually has yellow in front of its eyes in addition to its distinctive throat:

The reddish cap and a black line that goes all the way through the eye identifies a Chipping Sparrow in its summer plumage:

The demure Field Sparrow has a long tail, pink bill and bland face. Its song often gives away its location:

The American Tree Sparrow is a northern species that visits Illinois in the winter. It has a reddish brown cap and line behind its eye as well as a central dark breast spot:

The otherwise plain face of the Clay-colored Sparrow has a contrasting brown cheek patch with a dark border, and light gray extends up the back of its neck:

Grasshopper Sparrow is a small and short-tailed bird of the prairie with a big bill, white eye-rings, and looks flat-headed. :

The rare and secretive Henslow's Sparrow is also small and has a greenish cast to its head:

The reclusive Nelson's Sparrow sports lively shades of orange on its face and breast:

A resident of the southwest, the Black-throated Sparrow exhibits a unique face pattern. I took this photo in the eastern foothills of Albuquerque, New Mexico:

The Lark Sparrow has a quail-like face pattern. Before I acquired a DSLR I took this photo with a 2 megapixel pocket camera through a spotting scope from inside our New Mexico living room:

I photographed this Rufous-crowned Sparrow in the Grand Canyon. Its features include its large size, ground-dwelling habits and prominent white eye ring:

The Black-chinned Sparrow is another bird I found in the Grand Canyon. Its plain gray head makes it look somewhat like a junco:

Juncos are considered part of the sparrow clan. Adults lack the streaking so typical of other sparrows.

The Dark-eyed (Slate-colored) Junco is a common winter bird in the northern central and eastern states. It is commonly called "snowbird.":

Juncos exhibit several other color patterns, including these Dark-eyed (Pink-sided and Gray-headed) Juncos, which I photographed in New Mexico:

The introduced old-world House Sparrow deserves mention here:

2015 Backyard Big Year Update--March 2015

2015-04-01T08:25:00.004-06:00

A nice Eastern Bluebird that spent a few sunny moments on my front porch

After averaging just over 20 species a day in my yard during February, by mid-March I was almost always getting over 30 species a day--including migrant waterfowl and blackbirds telling me spring was on its way!

Here's a link to a more detailed update of Backyard Big Year March 2015 highlights. I added 20 new birds to the year list, including 5 new to my overall yard list. My review post also has links to some cool audio recordings of American Woodcock from my yard--these guys call and display in my yard most mornings and some evenings during late March.

Meanwhile, here are some photo highlights from the month.

Not always welcome at feeders, where they clear out a lot of seed in a hurry, the migrant flocks of grackles and blackbirds are at least a welcome sign of spring in an otherwise bleak snowy early March!

Forget robins, migrant Red-winged Blackbirds are a more sure sign of spring in Central New Jersey.

An action shot of a little male Sharp-shinned Hawk that spent a few moments in my spruce tree terrorizing the sparrows attracted to the seed at my sparrow slick next to the tree. Here he is diving out of the tree before taking off for greener--or at least more easily hunted--pastures.

Frequently seen soaring over my yard or in the neighborhood, this was the first photo I was able to get of a Red-tailed Hawk this year--an adult sitting in my side yard for a few minutes while being harassed by local crows.

A welcome addition to my yard list--a Common Redpoll! On my Backyard Big Year blog you can read how I lured it into the yard during a snowstorm with recordings of a feeding redpoll flock.

Travel Birding

2015-03-30T14:59:00.001-06:00

White-breasted Nuthach

Here in Florida we have 67 counties. One day I'd love to visit every one of those counties to do some birding. Right now in my stage of life, I do not have many opportunities to do much about that, though. My job and family keep me pretty close to home. When I go places on a Saturday, I can rarely drive more than 2 hours away, and with a state as large as Florida, that's a pretty small percentage of the state.

Yellow-throated Vireo

This past weekend I had to travel to Dothan, AL for a conference. It's almost a 400 mile drive, and most of it is in the State of Florida. So I decided to do some travel birding. I stopped in most every county where I had no eBird checklists, mostly at rest areas along I-75 and I-10. I only stayed each for an average of 15-20 minutes, but it was enough for me to log a few species for each county I traveled through. I also visited three State Parks. I visited Suwannee River State Park (Suwannee County) on the way up, and I visited Florida Caverns State Park (Jackson County) and Alfred B. Maclay Gardens SP (Leon County) on the way home. I spent most of my time along I-10 hoping to get some lingering birds that winter in northern Florida but not in Central Florida.

Ruby-crowned Kinglet

I found this quite enjoyable. Not only did this break up the monotony of driving and give me little bits of rest, but I totaled 66 species (including both the drive up and back) in the State of Florida, and I found two birds I've never seen in Florida before (Broad-winged Hawk and White-breasted Nuthatch), and I added two more to my Florida year list (Hooded Warbler and Canada Goose).

Black-and-white Warbler

It was also fun to add checklists for 9 Florida Counties, and in 6 of these counties (Jackson, Gadston, Jefferson, Madison, Columbia, Marion) I had never submitted a checklist. What I found most surprising is how productive rest areas can be. I guess that makes sense, though, since most of those I stopped at were somewhat natural looking with a lot of trees. My favorite rest area stop was along I-10 in Jefferson County. I stepped out of my car to hear two Yellow-throated Vireos singing. Then came the chatter of Ruby-crowned Kinglets. Then I began to notice 6 species of warbler: Black-and-white, Orange-crowned, Northern Parula, Palm, Yellow-throated and Prairie Warbler. These were all in about 3-4 trees between my car and the restrooms. A little ways away there were also several Chipping Sparrows about. Not a bad rest area, if you ask me.

Orange-crowned Warbler

Full Disclosure: I was hoping to take pictures along the way up and back, but I was unable to do so. My car was broken into and all my camera equipment was stolen. So I made the trip without a camera. Hopefully that will be resolved soon. The photos I have included here are of birds I've photographed at other times and places.

Prairie Warbler

The Birds of Celery Fields

2015-03-16T04:00:00.000-06:00

Celery Fields is a 400 acre site located in Sarasota, Florida. This county-owned birding hotspot hosts a large number of diverse bird species. The area consists of a variety of habitats; deep and shallow ponds, open marshlands and wetlands, mudflats, canals and grassy fields. The eastern and southern boundaries are edged by pine, willow and oak trees. Two boardwalks can be found on the site and there are plans to build a nature center in the near future.

To date, 217 bird species have been recorded at Celery Fields. Depending on what time of year one visits, Swallow-tailed Kites and Bald Eagles can be spotted soaring aloft. If you look closely along the reed edges, Least Bitterns, King Rails and Soras might be found skulking about. Foraging beauties like Roseate Spoonbills, Limpkins, Tricolored Herons and Glossy Ibis are a common presence observed from the boardwalks. The brushy areas attract a variety of sparrows such as vesper, savannah and grasshopper. Northern Harriers and Red-shouldered Hawks scan the open fields for prey. Be sure to take a look at the ponds and canals for Purple Gallinules, Short-billed Dowitchers and Black-bellied Whistling Ducks. Celery Fields is indeed a glorious spot for birding!

A stunning Little Blue Heron shows off its midnight blue feathers

A long-legged beauty ~ Black-necked Stilt

Two Red-shouldered Hawks look out over the open fields

Exploring the grassy berm ~ Limpkins

A Green Heron swallows a tiny food morsel

A Crested Caracara soaks in the bright morning sun

Pretty in pink ~ Roseate Spoonbill

Flipping its prey ~ Anhinga

A prehistoric looking Wood Stork glides in for a landing

An elusive American Bittern forages in the marsh

Soaring aloft ~ Northern Harrier

A group of Black-bellied Whistling Ducks edge closer to the pond

A beautiful Tricolored Heron takes wing

Seeking nourishment ~ White Ibis

A pretty Greater Yellowlegs wades in the shallow pond

A very common sight at Celery Fields ~ Osprey

Posted by Julie Gidwitz

Nature's Splendor Blog ~ http://naturessplendor-julie.blogspot.com/

2015 Backyard Big Year--February Update

2015-03-11T11:52:00.000-06:00

Squirrels and birds at sparrow slick during snowy February

There was just one word for Backyard Big Year birding in February--COLD! OK, two words--cold and slow. Very few days got above freezing, and the ground was snow covered the entire month. Out of 25 days birding in the yard, I was only able to see 40 species, and get only 2 new birds for the year--Common Grackle and Brown Creeper. Brown Creeper was great to see, as it was actually a new yard bird for me and the last of what I consider to be Code 2 birds (ones that are expected but may take effort) for me to see in my yard.

On the photo big year front, I was able to add photos of Common Grackle, American Tree Sparrow, and Pine Siskin--taking that total to 37 species photographed so far.

For the audio big year, I added recordings of American Robin, Northern Cardinal, Song Sparrow, Brown Creeper, and Hairy Woodpecker--bringing that total up to 26 species.

With most water in the county frozen, there weren't many gulls or waterfowl moving that I could see from my yard, and even goose flocks were mostly elsewhere. Most action was at my feeders, or the sparrow slick I maintained excavated and seeded by my compost bin. In the afternoons, I would look for soaring Red-tailed Hawks and vultures, and it was fun to have a few Cooper's Hawks buzz the yard--here's a recording of the birds going crazy and taking off as one attacked!

Spring Birds in Maine

2015-03-07T04:00:00.000-07:00

Ring-billed Gulls at Wharton Point in Brunswick, ME 3-23-2014

When I first moved to Maine last February I knew I was in for some new and fun birding. While I had lived in Maine twice before, I had never lived here since starting my blog or becoming an eBirder. Now was my chance to add to my species list in Maine, and possibly add some Life Birds to my Life List! Either way, I knew I would have fun Birding in Maine! Last month I posted photos of some of the birds I have seen in Winter. With spring just around the corner, I figured it was time to take a look at some of the birds I saw here last spring. If you read the captions beneath each photo you will see the name of the species and the date and place they were seen. I especially love this photo of the Ring-billed Gulls above. They look so sleek and handsome perched on this utility pole near Wharton's Point in Brunswick, which is just about 6 miles form where I live.

Mallard Drake in the Androscoggin River, Brunswick, ME 3-29-2014

Red-breasted Mergansers at Simpson Point, ME 4-2-2014

Brown Creeper, Reid State Park, Georgetown, ME 4-11-14

Sanderlings, Reid State Park, Georgetown, ME 4-11-2014

Savannah Sparrow, my backyard, Brunswick, ME 4-14-14

Common Loon, Reid State Park, Georgetown, ME 4-25-14

Piping Plover, Reid State Park 4-25-14

Double-creasted Cormorant, Evergreen Cemetery, Portland, ME 5-9-14

Indigo Bunting, my yard in Brunswick, ME 5-21-14

Broad-winged Hawk, my yard 6-2-14

Yellow Warbler, Mere Point Boat Launch, Brunswick, ME 6-2-14

Gray Catbird, Mere Point Boat Launch 6-2-14

Common Eider drake, Mere Point Boat Launch, Brunswick, ME 6-3-14

With three feet of snow on the ground and Maquoit Bay and Mere Point Bay still frozen, it may be awhile before I see some of these ducks nearby anytime soon, but I am looking forward to their return, along with all the other spring birds as this snow slowly melts and spring returns once again. Click on the links below to visit me at my own blog, or to see the bird lists for any of the eBird Hotspots I birded in Maine.

Kathie's Birds
Kathie's Poet Tree
Androscoggin Bicycle Path-an eBird Hotspot
Evergreen Cemetery-an eBird Hotspot
Mere Point Boat Launch-an eBird Hotspot
Reid State Park-an eBird Hotspot
Wharton Point-an eBird Hotspot
eBird

Crops & Clips: Bluebirds

2015-03-03T04:00:00.000-07:00

My weekly potpourri gathered from the archives features bluebirds and more bluebirds! This time I am sharing it on Birding is Fun as well as attempting to tie together several interesting memes, about critters, fences, skyscapes and reflections, all of which I hope you will visit.

CRITTER: Guess?

North American bluebirds come in three "flavors." Each one is a sweet as the others

Western Bluebird digiscoped in our front yard, Cedar Crest, New Mexico in November, 2003

Note the all-blue head and throat of the Western Bluebird, in Grand Canyon, Arizona, June 17, 2013

The Mountain Bluebird is an unforgettable shade of blue, seen at YMCA of the Rockies, Estes Park, Colorado on June 17, 2010

Mountain Bluebird, Estes Park, Colorado on June 14, 2010

The third species of bluebird ranges in the eastern US and is appropriately known as the Eastern Bluebird, this one photographed in Batavia, Illinois on April 19, 2010

"Ontogeny recapitulates phylogeny" may be a discredited theory, but the spotted breast of a fledgling Western Bluebird bears evidence of its relationship to other members of the thrush family, in Grand Canyon, Arizona, June 19, 2013

This particular Eastern Bluebird has a story to tell, aside from the fact that she is bringing dinner to a fledgling hidden in the bushes under this wire, in Saint Charles, Illinois, June 22, 2012.

Although she symbolizes the bluebird of happiness and the freedom of flight, her perch overlooks a fence that is particularly good or bad, depending upon whether you are looking in or out. Those inside can only dream of flight.

The Illinois Youth Center is a medium security correctional facility. On the "good" side is the beautiful Hickory Knolls Discovery Center, a nature center and preserve full of old growth hardwoods.

Mountain Bluebird, female on a "Good Fence," Buffalo Lake NWR, Canyon, Texas on November 12, 2008

Linking to CAMERA CRITTERS,

Eileen's SATURDAY'S CRITTERS,

and

GOOD FENCES by Tex (Theresa).

________________________________________________

SKYWATCH: Blue on blue

I just realized that all my bluebirds enjoyed blue skies with nary a cloud, so forgive me for showing such a boring sky.

Mountain Bluebirds in Canyon, Texas, November 12, 2008

Eastern Bluebird male, Nelson Lake, Batavia Illinois October 1, 2014

Linking to SKYWATCH FRIDAY

________________________________________________

REFLECTIONS: Poor

In adherence to our theme, I tried to find some bluebird reflections in my archives. The running water of our backyard fountain in New Mexico distorted them, but also produced some of my favorite bluebird photos.

Like the first picture on this post, they were taken from inside the windows of our home with a tiny Canon PowerShot A-40 with a 2 MP sensor (yes, you have that right, only TWO megapixels!) shooting at 3x optical zoom through the eyepiece of a Kowa 70mm scope zoomed down to 20x. Note that this technique causes natural vignetting of the edges of the photos. See my primitive digiscoping rig at this link.

Western Bluebirds, Cedar Crest, New Mexico, February, 2003

Linking to WEEKEND REFLECTIONS

Wintering Sparrows in Florida

2015-03-01T08:00:00.000-07:00

Savannah Sparrow

If you like sparrows, Florida is a pretty good place to be in the winter. I can only think of four sparrows that breed here: Seaside Sparrow, Bachman's Sparrow, "Florida" Grasshopper Sparrow (for the time being), and Eastern Towhee. But beginning in the Fall, sparrows begin to come down here for the winter.

Swamp Sparrow

Chipping Sparrow

By far the most common of these are Savannah, Swamp and Chipping Sparrows. They come here in large numbers. there are some places you might see over a 100 Savannah Sparrows in one place.

Nelson's Sparrow

Saltmarsh Sparrow

Over by the coast, you can find both Sharp-tailed Sparrows. Nelson's and Saltmarsh Sparrows can be seen in saltmarsh habitats.

Le Conte's Sparrow

Henslow's Sparrow

Le Conte's and Henslow's Sparrows are a bit trickier to find, but if you lucky, you might just find them.

Grasshopper Sparrow

The "Florida" Grasshopper Sparrow breeds here, though numbers are declining rapidly. But during the winter time, we get northern migrants to come down and spend the winter with us. In a few years, these may be the only ones we get to see.

Vesper Sparrow

Song Sparrow

Field Sparrow

White-crowned Sparrow

With a little investigating, there are several more sparrows that can be regularly found. Vesper's Sparrows, White-crowned Sparrow, White-throated Sparrows (I don't have any photos of White-throated Sparrows in Florida). Field Sparrows and Song Sparrows also make appearances, but they can become a little sparse south of Gainesville.

Lincoln's Sparrow

Clay-colored Sparrow

Lark Sparrow

And sometimes rarities come down here to spend the winter with us. Lincoln's, Clay-colored and Lark Sparrows sometimes come by. I still have a list of others to see--Fox Sparrow and Harris' Sparrow are on the top of my list.

Radiant Warblers

2015-02-16T04:00:00.000-07:00

In the Midwest, the month of February is typically frigid, cloudy and gray. As we shiver and shovel through the winter season, I offer these warbler images with hope that they will brighten your day.

A resplendent Black-throated Green Warbler perches on green foliage

An orange-throated beauty in search of a meal ~ Blackburnian Warbler

Hunting for a buggy snack ~ Cape May Warbler

A colorful Chestnut-sided Warbler seeks food

A brilliant Yellow Warbler pauses for a moment in the marsh

A sightly Canada Warbler shows off its black necklace

Foraging along the creek ~ Prothonotary Warbler

Crooning a tune amid the leaf litter ~ Kentucky Warbler

The russet cap of a Palm Warbler

A stunning Magnolia Warbler perches among the blossoming pink buds

A thirsty Hooded Warbler eyes a drink in shallow waters

A bright sight at the marsh ~ Common Yellowthroat

A handsome Townsend's Warbler seeks nourishment in the berry-laden trees

The curious look of a lovely Northern Parula

Posted by Julie Gidwitz

Nature's Splendor Blog ~ http://naturessplendor-julie.blogspot.com/

Maine Birds in Winter

2015-02-07T09:00:00.000-07:00

Hairy Woodpecker (female) Lisbon, ME 1-16-15

It's been a bit "hairy" around my house and I have not been able to post here for over two months. I am still healing from a dislocated shoulder, but I thought that I would show you some of the birds I have seen here in Maine since moving here just about a year ago. I went on a search through all of my photos, and suddenly realized I had too many for one post! So, I have broken them up by season, and am starting with Winter, and continuing on for the next three months with the next three seasons! So, please come back to see more Maine Birds!

Ring-billed Gull and Herring Gulls in Wiscasset 3-15-14

Last winter when I first arrived I went in search of birds, not knowing any of the local hotspots.

Canada Geese in the Kennebec River, Bath, Maine 3-15-14

I found seagulls in Wiscasset and Canada Geese at the South Boat Launch in Bath.

Snow Buntings in Livermore, ME 11-21-14

While this is not the best photo, I was thrilled to add Snow Buntings to my Life List this year.

Juvenile Red-shouldered Hawk in my backyard, Brunswick, ME 11-29-14

Update 2-9-14: This bird was misidentified as a juvenile Red-tailed hawk initially. Thanks to a fellow birder, it has now been corrected. Field marks are speckling on breast instead of across belly, smaller, rounder head with a sweeter looking face, smaller bill, and limited gray banding in the tail. Thank you Kyle Lima!

Blue Jay at the Mere Point Boat Launch 12-2-14

Red-bellied Woodpecker at Simpson's Point Landing 12-2-14

Female Buffleheads at the Mere Point Boat Launch 12-21-14

Barred Owl on Rossmore Road in Brunswick, ME 1-1-14

This was my first Barred Owl in Maine!

Cardinal and Juncos in my backyard 1-4-15

A pair of immature Bald Eagles playing with each other over the Kennebec River in Bath 1-13-15

Eastern Bluebirds in Lisbon 1-16-15

Bluebirds are rare in winter, but definitely possible!

Common Redpolls in my backyard 1-18-15

Hermit Thrush in my backyard 1-18-15

Links to some local eBird Hotspots:

January 1st sunset at Wharton's Point

And don't forget to come visit me at

Kathie's Birds!

Birding Coban and Semuc Champey

2015-02-06T15:13:00.000-07:00

The lagoons of Semuc Champey

Some birding treks can be rough on the body. After our comfortable stays in Antigua and near Tikal in Guatemala, we headed off to an unknown destination known as Coban. While most areas in Guatemala are safe to travel, Coban has had a history of being a challenge for some tourists.

Royal Flycatcher

It's a popular destination for tourists because it's located near some epic landscapes full of incredible birds! One would think Spanish is the main language spoken, but here in this region, the Mayan language of Q'eqchi is dominant. Coban is really a wonderful city, but the traveler does need to take care of his or her things while in this town. Theft has been a problem here in the past. There has also been an anti-tourist attitude(when compared to the comforts of Flores and Antigua) towards visitors hoping to spy the Resplendent Quetzal or needing a rest before making the trek down to Semuc Champey. Part of that "anti" feeling is also caused by obnoxious tourists. So tread lightly here and enjoy what this magnificent city has to offer! Plus the coffee is quite nice:)

Yellow-throated Euphonia-female

With all that said, Coban and surrounding areas are worth the extra effort. However be warned! Even if you think a bus or minivan is full, you're wrong. There were many tight spaces on our bumpy treks throughout the countryside:) I even had a 3 hour ride in the back of a truck standing up! It took every ounce of will power to stay positive. And for the pain and bruises? A Common Pauraque. Okay, it was worth it:)

Yellow-throated Euphonia-male

I brought my water pack with me daily as it was June or what the locals call the wet season. During this time of year, the weather is humid, overcast and WET! But the wildlife is spectacular!

Semuc Champey is a rough ride down into a wild and beautiful area. Once inside the park, you'll want to take a dip in the crystal blue waters. There are little brown fish that will nibble on your hairs and dead skin. I know. It sounds gross, but you'll find yourself oddly liking it:) Word of caution. If you do go for a swim, don't leave your belongings unattended. Kids will come out of the forest and steal them! Also, it can be rainy with the trails muddy and slick at times. But my lifer, the Swallow-tailed Kite, at the top of Mirador, was so worth it.

Chestnut-headed Oropendula

While you are trekking throughout this gorgeous park, keep an eye out for monkeys and plenty of birds! The place is basically a limestone bridge over a deep cavernous river. Be careful walking near the edge because there is no return.

Below is a shot of the Cahabón river flowing underground where it resurfaces on the other side of the bridge. This special area is unique in that it has created a network of underground caverns. It was here that I discovered hundreds of swifts flying under and around this natural bridge. I safely clung to the side as I observed them fly in and out of these underground caverns.

Swifts are naturally difficult to capture with photos, but here are the White-collared Swifts in the dark gray skies on this day.

White-collared Swifts

While I'm freaking out about the birds, my friend is loving the water and laughing at me. I get it....live in the moment! But I think we all can agree here at Birding Is Fun! that observing birds in the wild is pretty awesome:) I can swim at my hotel:)

Our trek out to Semuc Champey was eventful and worth the pain. But we weren't done. I said good-bye to the park for the last time and tried to remember it all. We had a couple more stops to make. So we headed back to the village of Lanquín for a late dinner and a trip back to our headquarters in Coban.

Coban is a MUST stop if you're wanting the Resplendent Quetzal on your list. We hired a taxi for the early morning so that we would arrive to our destination on time. We stopped at a local ranch where the Quetzals were being seen. They had wild avocado trees and a delicious breakfast waiting:) The link above will tell you about that special trip.

Resplendent Quetzal

This is a great bird to introduce to your non-birding friends and a fun place to hike.

It's different now. I don't know if I'll make it back to Coban in this lifetime because there are so many other places to explore, but it is one of the most beautiful places I have ever visited in my life! Sure, it's rough, but on a stressful day at work, all you have to do is transport yourself back to the memory and everything will be okay. It's that beautiful.

Howler Monkey

So after a rough trek to areas like these, it's always nice to take a couple days off for relaxation.

Stay tuned for more....

Reflections on a Hooded Merganser

2015-02-05T07:41:00.000-07:00

Hooded Merganser, male at J.N. Ding Darling NWR, Sanibel, FL recently. Hunting for fish, diving, surfacing, such interesting water colors and patterns. What a treat to photograph. Photographing birds allows you to not only appreciate the elements of a photo, but also to become absorbed in the bird's life and behavior and thus gain a new appreciation for that bird in its environment.

Lillian Stokes

Stokes Birding Blog

How to Identify Evening Grosbeak Call Types

2015-02-04T04:00:00.000-07:00

I've written here previously about the different "call types" of Evening Grosbeak, which correspond closely to subspecies and which may in fact even represent cryptic species. Recently I've been helping other birders in my local community to identify the call types, so that they can enter sightings in eBird more specifically. The truth is, though, it's really not that hard to do it yourself, if you have the right equipment, and the chances are that you either have everything you need already, or can get it for free. Here's a step-by-step guide to identifying your Evening Grosbeak call types.

Two Evening Grosbeaks from northern Utah, where Type 1 dominates but Type 4 has also been recorded.

1) Record the birds.

The first step is to get audio recordings of Evening Grosbeaks calling. A lot of people get turned off of the idea already, but this is actually quite simple. Most birders are already carrying smart phones, and there are many free apps for recording sound snippets. I used an app called "ACR" when I had an Android phone, but anything that lets you record sound will work. Something most birders don't even think of is that almost all modern cameras can record video, and this is an equally effective way to record sound. Of course, a nice shotgun or parabola mic is ideal, but if you can make a short video with your phone or point-and-shoot camera, that will be enough to identify the birds. The software we'll use in the next step is very versatile when it comes to file formats. It helps to know where on the camera or phone the microphone is located, and point that in the direction of the birds. It might not be the same side of the device as the camera lens!

2) Import the sound into audio editing software.

I recommend using Audacity: it's free, powerful, available on all common platforms (Mac, PC, etc.), and pretty straightforward to use. Raven is another great alternative, with the only weakness I know being that the latest free version isn't compatible with the latest Mac operating system. In most cases you will be able to simply drag and drop your audio or video file onto the icon for your audio editing software to open it. If the software refuses, I find a "force open" usually works: for some uncommon video formats, I have to hold "option" plus "command" on my Mac when dropping the file on the icon, and then it works.

Here's a pretty typical example of some Type 1 Evening Grosbeak calls that I recorded in my yard and then visualized using the free program Audacity.

3) Make a sonogram.

Again, this is not as tricky as it might sound. If either of the above two programs opens your file, you'll see the sonogram right on your screen. Adjust both the vertical (frequency) and the horizontal (time) zooms until the sonogram looks about right. Then use a screen grab to save the image to your desktop. In Macs, you can do this by typing the "command"key, shift, and the number 4 at the same time, and then drawing a box around the area of interest. In PCs, you can use Alt + PrintScreen. (You might need to then paste into an image editor like Paint to see the image, then save it.)

4) Match the sonogram to the call type.

Unlike Red Crossbills, Evening Grosbeaks have only about five distinct call types. Download this paper, Sewell et al. 2004, and simply compare your sonograms to the examples in Figure 1!

5) Enter your data in eBird.

Here's your chance to really contribute to science: enter your sightings in eBird, and be sure to specify the call type and include a link to your sonogram. Keep in mind that in most areas, you'll have to add the call type to the list manually, by clicking "add species" and then searching for "Evening Grosbeak," and selecting the relevant type. Evening Grosbeak call types are sorely under-represented in eBird, but together we can fix that!

eBird has only a few examples of Evening Grosbeak call types entered so far. Most of them are from northern Utah, where I've been helping people to identify call types from their recordings. eBird has only one record each for Types 2 and 4, and none for Types 3 or 5.

Prairie Warbler Hunting

2015-02-03T04:00:00.001-07:00

Call me lazy, but I like to finish my morning bird walk with a visit to my favorite "sit spot" just on the west side of the 196th Avenue levee, that runs along the canal across from our subdivision.

These are views along the levee, looking to the south:

My sit spot is too moist underfoot to actually sit, and during the wet season it is flooded to a foot or more, when I cannot descend all the way down the slope. Its advantage over other places is the open area in front, an unintended result of the "wreckreationalists" performing tight circles in the mud with their off-road vehicles. This provides greater sight distance than most places along the levee path, where lack of maintenance has allowed exotic elephant grass to form an opaque 8 foot wall.

This is the sit spot as the water was receding in late September:

Events in nature are subject to the laws of place, time and probability. We can control the where and when, and the better we understand the cycles of sun and season, the more likely our expectations will be realized. In my sit spot, depending upon the time of day and season, certain events are highly unlikely. Rather than trying to predict what I will see, I am open to anything. Such was the case this morning.

After a wait of several minutes to undo some of the disturbance I created by entering this quiet and shady place, it gradually came alive. Who knows how many eyes were fixed on me? Sixty feet away, in a space between the treetops, a Prairie Warbler appeared, looking very alert.

Maybe he sees me:

No. He is on a hunt. He sees the prey:

He seizes the prey:

He squeezes the prey:

He swallows the prey, a big juicy spider!

2015 Backyard Big Year--January Update

2015-02-02T13:50:00.001-07:00

So one month into my Backyard Big Year, and I'm at 48 birds for the year, including 33 photographed, and 21 sound recorded.

After the first week of birding, it got pretty cold, with several significant snowfalls. Birds were few and far between. Fortunately, I was able to get my 20 Bird Minimum Daily Requirement each day, and was able to add 10 new birds over the course of the rest of the month.

So my goal is to photograph 150 species and sound record the same number. It's going to be a real challenge to get that done, but too early yet to really gauge what will be possible. There were 113 species reported in my county in January, so I had 42% of those in my yard. For the past three years, my county has reported from 251-268 species on eBird, so if I stay on this pace, I'll only be looking at 105-113 species in my yard by the end of the year. Needless to say, I expect to do much better than that!

Highlights for January in my yard included 5 new species to my overall yard list--Great Black-backed Gull, Cackling Goose, American Black Duck, Gadwall, Common Merganser. I would love to keep up that pace of new birds for the yard!

Check out the Backyard Big Year Blog for more info on my January birding, and stay tuned for more updates as I take the world of hard core birding to my 2.7 acre New Jersey yard! In addition to the blog, you can follow the big year on Facebook and see the documentary shots for the photo big year on Flickr. Backyard birding is fun! Would love to hear how others are doing on their own backyard big years!

Palm Warbler Subspecies

2015-01-28T15:25:00.001-07:00

Palm Warbler
Central Winds Park

In Florida, we have the pleasure of being inundated by Palm Warblers throughout the Winter and Spring. You can almost always count on seeing them bobbing their tails and distracting you from your quest to find rarer wintering birds. What I find most interesting about is species is that there are two distinct populations of Palm Warblers: a "western" subspecies and an "eastern" (or "yellow") subspecies. While there appears to be a good deal of variety, eastern birds are much more yellow. I find it easiest to identify them by looking at their supercilium, or eyebrow; eastern birds have a yellow eyebrow. Western birds, though, are rather drab in their coloring.

"Eastern" Palm Warbler
Marl Bed Flats

"Western" Palm Warbler
Oviedo, FL

Western Palm Warblers are much more common than Eastern Palm warblers in Central Florida; I haven't done a scientific study of them, but I would guess from my eBird checklists that western birds outnumber eastern by at least 50:1. When I do find the western subspecies, though, they are usually in drier, grassier habitats, rather than marshes and other wetlands.

"Eastern" Palm Warbler
Lake Apopka

"Western" Palm Warbler
Paynes Prairie, La Chua Trail

Since Florida is on the East Coast (and I live in one of the more eastern counties of Florida), you might wonder why we get so many "western" birds and so few "eastern" birds. Well, it turns out that the subspecies are named after their breeding ranges, rather than their wintering ranges. Western birds breed north of the Great Lakes (from Ontario west), while eastern birds breed north of New England. But western birds migrate southeast toward Florida for the winter, and eastern birds migrate southwest toward Louisiana and eastern Texas. You can actually see a map of their migration paths here.

"Eastern" Palm Warbler
Marl Bed Flats

"Western" Palm Warbler
Mullet Lake Park

So for me, this adds a little bit of interest to birding for warblers in Florida's winter. A little extra yellow goes a long way.