STOKES BIRDING BLOG

Short-tailed Hawk, a Florida specialty

noreply@blogger.com (Lillian and Don Stokes) — Thu, 15 Mar 2012 18:35:00 +0000

Short-tailed Hawk, another sought-after Florida speciality for birders and not easy to see. This bird breeds primarily in southern and central Florida and a little in southern AZ and south TX. We have one on our property list here on Sanibel, FL, lucky us.

The Short-tailed Hawk comes in two morphs, a light morph, shown here, and a dark morph. Dark-morphs are dark below with blackish brown body and wing coverts, paler flight feathers and tail, and dark trailing edge to wings. Short-tailed Hawks mostly soar and may hang in one spot for a time. We almost always see them in flight when we encounter them.

Mangrove Cuckoo, the holy grail of SW FL birding

noreply@blogger.com (Lillian and Don Stokes) — Tue, 13 Mar 2012 13:35:00 +0000

Mangrove Cuckoos are striking, but elusive birds found in Southwest Florida.

They can sit still in the vegetation and you would never know they were near you.

The long tail (folded here) has bold white tips to outer tail feathers.

Perhaps the most sought after species for birders in Southwest Florida is the Mangrove Cuckoo. With its limited range and secretive habits, its like the holy grail for these birders. We recently ran into a birder at Ding Darling National Wildlife Refuge who has been searching for more than 10 years for this bird. We have been lucky and seen it a number of times at Ding Darling in winter, but usually there are only a handful of sightings of it there during this time.

Mangrove Cuckoos are the rarest of the landbird specialists inhabiting mangroves and research indicates their population is in decline. However, exciting new research is now going on at J. N. Ding Darling National Wildlife Refuge, Sanibel Island, Florida, on the Mangrove Cuckoo to help shed light on the habits and behavior of this elusive bird, about which very little is known.

The Ecostudies Institure, with support from the JN Ding Darling and Ten Thousand Islands National Wildlife Refuges and Disney's Wildlife Conservation Fund, will study the cuckoos by putting radio transmitters on a few of them, to learn about their nesting ecology, habitat preferences, and seasonal movements. Hopefully this will aid in the future conservation of this species. To follow the progress of the project, see their facebook page.

Swallow-tailed Kites, Wow!

noreply@blogger.com (Lillian and Don Stokes) — Tue, 06 Mar 2012 13:16:00 +0000

The Swallow-tailed Kites have returned from migration here on Sanibel Island, FL.

These beautiful birds winter mainly in South America

and return to the Southeast U.S. to breed. Note the interesting pattern on the topside of the wing.

We lucked out and had just pulled into a parking lot and saw 3 kites overhead. They did lots of calling and diving at one another. Swallow-taild Kites catch insects in the air and may pluck lizards from trees. They nest in woodlands and forested wetlands and build nests in trees. What a show we had.

Reddish Egret Prize

noreply@blogger.com (Lillian and Don Stokes) — Wed, 29 Feb 2012 20:47:00 +0000

Morning's catch of this Reddish Egret. What a prize!

Bird Photography at Ding Darling NWR

noreply@blogger.com (Lillian and Don Stokes) — Fri, 24 Feb 2012 18:33:00 +0000

Just got back from leading a group of bird photographers through Ding Darling National Wildlife Refuge as a fund raising event for the refuge. Don took one tram of people and did bird identification, and I took a second tram of people and taught about bird photography. The refuge is closed on Friday so this was a special privilege to be there on this day. Ding is a top bird photography spot because there are so many birds and they are used to people there. Here are some of the photos I took this morning. This Little Blue Heron posed next to the culvert, then caught breakfast.

White Pelicans flew into the tower pond and landed on the sand bar. My tip was to get on a bird in flight early and start tracking it well before it gets close.

This beautiful Yellow-crownded Night-Heron posed for the group, but was a bit in shadow. The group learned about how to use dial in exposure compensation to deal with birds that are in too bright, or too dim, light. They also used how to use a lower F-stop, which gives a more shallow depth of field, to keep the bird in focus but blur undesirable backgrounds.

And this immature Yellow-crowned Night-Heron just looked amazing soaking wet taking a bath. Love the way the yellow eye stands out and the background is dark.

Some Hooded Mergansers swam in the distance. The best shots were when the male displayed to the two females. Be ready to catch the action on birds that don't look like they are doing much.

Most photographers were still learning the setting on their cameras. Knowing the settings so well you could move them in your sleep is critical to being able to capture the image you want in the field. When all else fails, read the manual (just kidding.)

White Pelican Book Ends

noreply@blogger.com (Lillian and Don Stokes) — Thu, 23 Feb 2012 18:57:00 +0000

These White Pelicans remind me of book ends. Photo taken at Ding Darling NWR.

White Pelican Magic

noreply@blogger.com (Lillian and Don Stokes) — Wed, 15 Feb 2012 15:58:00 +0000

White Pelicans in the soft light of the end of the day in Ding Darling NWR, Sanibel Island, FL make a magical image.

Black-crowned Night-Heron

noreply@blogger.com (Lillian and Don Stokes) — Thu, 09 Feb 2012 14:35:00 +0000

Black-crowned Night-Herons come alive at dusk. We hear them squawk as they fly over our house in Sanibel on their way to hunting sites, just at the time most other heron species have gone to bed.

What I like about this dramatic photo I took of one, is the way the light shines on the red eye. Black-crowns hunt small fish at night by standing in water, often near tree roots. During the day they roost in trees, sometimes colonially. This one is an adult. Juvenile/first year birds are streaked brown.

Nice to know a whole mysterious world of night hunters opens up, when we humans have gone to sleep.

Painted Bunting in Flight

noreply@blogger.com (Lillian and Don Stokes) — Mon, 30 Jan 2012 14:34:00 +0000

Told you I love Painted Buntings. I anticipated take-off just as it left the perch.

Painted Bunting

noreply@blogger.com (Lillian and Don Stokes) — Thu, 26 Jan 2012 01:22:00 +0000

I just love Painted Buntings, that's why my photo of one is on the cover of our new 'The Stokes Field Guide to the Birds of North America." Painted Buntings winter in the southern half of Florida and may come to bird feeders. One place to see them is at Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary near Naples, FL.
The breeding range of Painted Buntings includes coastal southeast states, Gulf Coast states and up into OK, KS, AR, and MO. Occasionally they wander out of this area and have even been seen in New England. Wherever you see them you're lucky.

More Photos from "Ding"

noreply@blogger.com (Lillian and Don Stokes) — Wed, 18 Jan 2012 13:41:00 +0000

And here are some more of my photos from Ding Darling NWR, Sanibel, FL. You'll be seeing a lot of them, from me, this winter. I was kneeling down at the side of the dike at Ding Darling NWR, my attention on birds out in front of me, when out of the corner of my eye, I saw movement. I acted quickly and got on this Green Heron that zipped by. Tip, always be ready to grab an unexpected photo op.

Killdeers landed on the bank, but only briefly. I knew they would fly, and waited for that moment.

Red-breasted Mergansers were having a good time, bathing and preening. I always get a kick out of how birds that live in the water, then bathe in that water. Then again, the water does not penetrate down into their feathers when they are just sitting on the water. The act of bathing forces the water deeper into their feathers, and helps maintain those feathers.

Wow, Magnificent Frigatebirds are really magnificent. This is a male, with the reddish throat. These birds are usually seen over Sanibel when it's warmer and often on southerly winds. The weather here, as in other parts of the country, has been unseasonable warm for Jan. Hey, I'll take it.

Ding Darling Magic

noreply@blogger.com (Lillian and Don Stokes) — Sun, 08 Jan 2012 01:19:00 +0000

Today we went to Ding Darling National Wildife Refuge, on Sanibel Island, FL, (where we will be for the winter) and there were spectacular birds and photo ops. Here are some of my favorite photos I shot. This Reddish Egret flew over and we could see a few white feathers on its wing, an abnormality.

The still water acted like a mirror, hence this wonderful Double-crested Cormorant photo, two for the money.

White Pelicans were everywhere! At one point we counted 70 circling overhead. This one looked down at me.

There were many hundreds of shorebirds. Dunlins came in for a landing.

A lone white feather floated on the dark water, like a boat with water drop passengers.

An Anhinga is able to submerge and hunt for fish. Here it is emerging, with concentric rings for a necklace.

The first birders I ran into were readers of my blog! Bev Kaiser, l. and Janet Kirk, r., enthusiastic and fun ladies from nearby Ft. Myers. What serendipity! We had a great conversation and of course, I had to put this photo on the blog.

We met so many nice birders and photographers at Ding today and the birds were fabulous. It's magic there!!!

To learn more about how to photograph birds in flight like these, click here.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year from Stokes

noreply@blogger.com (Lillian and Don Stokes) — Tue, 20 Dec 2011 15:25:00 +0000

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

We are taking off the rest of the holiday season and will see you

all in January 2012!

Lillian and Don

CBC, and then a Ruffed Grouse flew up

noreply@blogger.com (Lillian and Don Stokes) — Sat, 17 Dec 2011 22:51:00 +0000

We just finished doing the southern NH Christmas Bird Count (where teams count all the birds in a given circle) bird census. We had a great day. These grab and go photos are some of the highlights. Cedar Waxwings were everywhere! We saw several big flocks, including a flock of 77 at our house.

Robins were one of the most abundant birds of the day. We saw lots of big flocks. At one stop they were paired up with a flock of Cedar Waxwings. They were eating crab apples and winterberry holly. Then, out of the blue, a Northern Goshawk flew over, our best bird of the day.

Meade and David, part of our birding team, were counting robins and waxwings.

Don heard a chup note in a hedgerow by a horse farm. We patiently waited and up popped a Song Sparrow, another surprise bird, they are usually gone by now.

We have been participating in Christmas Bird Counts for over 30 years, and loving it.

Juncos were also in numbers. We had 20 in our yard.

The only Tree Sparrows were at our feeders. We had 5.

At the end of the day, we had a Red-tailed Hawk land in the tree in the middle of our field. I quickly grabbed the camera and got off a shot as it flew, didn't have time to change the ISO for speed. Then I went behind our barn and reached over to pull a weed off our garden and flushed a Ruffed Grouse, a great bonus bird! We saw 29 species of birds on our team's section of the count circle. Other teams on this count had other species, so total species number was higher. Conspicuously absent were any of the winter irruptive finch species. Only a few teams saw a few Pine Siskins.

Our view from our deck just before dusk, the birds had just about gone to bed. Time to go to the count down party.

Santa Wood Stork, ho-ho-ho

noreply@blogger.com (Lillian and Don Stokes) — Wed, 14 Dec 2011 14:15:00 +0000

Santa Wood Stork

Wood Stork ad., in flight

The above photo of a juvenile Wood Stork, resting with its neck feathers fluffed out, reminded me of Santa Claus. Wood Storks are an endangered species in the U.S. and breed colonially, mainly in FL, GA, SC, but can wander to other Gulf Coast states. They will nest when water levels are just low enough to concentrate fish shallow pools in sufficient numbers to successfully feed chicks.
This is a bird that looks so beautiful in flight, not so close up, but does a good imitation of Santa.

Christmas Bird Counts are coming up

noreply@blogger.com (Lillian and Don Stokes) — Mon, 12 Dec 2011 15:34:00 +0000

What birds will show up to be counted for the annual Christmas Bird Counts about to happen? This Hairy Woodpecker and American Goldfinch are sharing the Stokes Select bird feeder.

Busy, busy time for everyone right now, but don't forget the Christmas Bird Counts are about to happen. That's where birders from an area (the country is divided into count circles, each with its own count date, usually in Dec.) go out and count all the birds in that area during a 24 hr. period. Our count here in southwest NH takes place next Saturday. Birds numbers at feeders have been down, since it has been unusually warm here in New England. Birds still have plenty of wild food and no big need for the extra calories demanded by very cold temps. Some lakes and water areas are still unfrozen so there may be lingering waterfowl. We shall see what turns up, that's part of the fun of counting every bird you see on that day. For more information on how you can join a Christmas Bird Count in your area go here.

Ruffed Grouse

noreply@blogger.com (Lillian and Don Stokes) — Wed, 07 Dec 2011 20:36:00 +0000

Ruffed Grouse, this photo of mine appears on page 59 of our new The Stokes Field Guide to the Birds of North America

I just saw a Ruffed Grouse sitting in our Prairie Fire crabapple tree, eating the apples, on this rainy afternoon. Cool!!

That's a bird you don't often see, but that doesn't mean they're not around. These grouse have a range across much of Canada, northern areas of the U.S., and down into the Appalachians. We hear them drumming in spring, a very low-pitched sound. Only occasionally do we see them fly across an open space, or, as a special treat like today, find them foraging.

Gray Catbird, where are you now?

noreply@blogger.com (Lillian and Don Stokes) — Mon, 05 Dec 2011 14:56:00 +0000

Gray Catbird where are you now? You breed on our property here in NH, flit conspicuously about our yard, and eat the oranges we put out for you. Will I see you in Sanibel, FL this winter? These are the questions I wonder about the birds which I see here in spring and summer in NH, but they are gone in winter.

Gray Catbirds are common breeders across much of the eastern two-thirds of the country. They winter in coastal areas of the states from about the mid-Atlantic through TX and also winter in the Caribbean and Central America. Catbirds are relatives of mockingbirds and thrashers and, like them, have the ability to mimic the sounds of other species, incorporating these sounds into their own song. Catbirds love thickets and eat insects and fruit and berries.

When we go to Sanibel, FL in winter, there are many catbirds wintering. Mainly they lay low in vegetation during the day. But just at dusk, you can hear them calling before they go to sleep for the night. Suddenly you are aware there are a lot more catbirds in the area than you knew. I look forward to that.

By the way, are any of you seeing Gray Catbirds now?

Photographing Birds in Flight, Tips

noreply@blogger.com (Lillian and Don Stokes) — Thu, 01 Dec 2011 15:07:00 +0000

Pileated Woodpecker

Roseate Spoonbill

Bald Eagle, larger birds are easier to photograph in flight.

Groups of birds, such as these Black Skimmers, are fun to photograph in flight. When photographing them, increase your depth of field.

American Robin. Zero in on one bird in a flock.

Snow Bunting

Upland Sandpiper flying over Kennebunk Plains WMA, Maine

Tree Sparrow. Focus on your bird feeder and anticipate when a bird will leave.

Red-shouldered Hawk, juv.

Great Shearwater, a pelagic species you need to go out on a boat to see. It's challenging taking flight photos from a moving, rocking boat, so it helps to brace yourself against the boat.

Tree Swallow in flight over our fields. Swallows, with their erratic flight, are a challenge to photograph.

Cedar Waxwing. Pick up a bird when it is quite distant and track it with your camera's auto focus and start shooting as it gets a little closer. If you wait until it's upon you, you will never get the photo.

Roseate Spoonbill, coming in for a landing.

My favorite type of bird photography is photographing birds in flight. Above are a few of my photos and here are some tips.

How do photographers get such photos? Here's what you need:

- High speed digital SLR cameras like the Canon 7D, or 1D Mark IV (which I have). The faster, and the more continuous frames per second your camera will shoot, the better. Get a camera the shoots at least 5 frames per second, preferably more. Know your camera dials and settings very well. For most flight photos you need to have at least 1/500th of a second shutter speed, preferably 1/1000th or more. Set the ISO high enough to attain this shutter speed.

Set the camera on continuous shooting mode. Most people use auto focus for birds in flight. Set the camera focus mode to AI Servo AF. This allows you to focus and lock on the bird as it moves, by depressing the shutter half-way. Put the camera dial on AV (aperture priority) to give enough depth of field to have the whole birds in focus. Most people use an aperture of f/8 in good light, but may go to an aperature of f/5.6 in duller light. To take the photo, depress the shutter all the way.

- A good telephoto lens that is at least 300mm long, or preferably 400mm or more (some add a 1.4 teleconverter to a 300 mm lens.) Some photographers use longer lenses, such as the Canon 500mm or 600mm IS lenses for flight photos. If you have those, you need a good tripod with a smooth moving head, such as those made by Whimberly, Bogen or Kirk Enterprises. A few strong photographers can actually hand hold the 500mm lens. If you are using a tripod you lack some mobility, so it helps to shoot at a good location, such as that at Ding Darling NWR or other national wildlife refuges, where a lot of birds fly in, in a predictible flight route. Set the lens AF/MF switch to AF (auto focus.) Some recommend setting the minimum focusing distance of the lens to its furthest setting.

- Good situations for photographing birds in flight, such as open areas of water or open sky where you see birds coming from a distance and can get on them early with your auto focus, plus you will have a clear blue background. Keep the sun at your back. Try to shoot with the birds moving along a predictable flight path that is perpendicular to the front of your lens.

- Good eye-hand coordination and fast reflexes. Find the bird by spotting the bird when it is at a distance, and I mean very distant. Do not wait until the bird is close, because by then it will be moving too fast for your to get on it. After you spot it, raise your camera to your eye and lock the auto focus on the bird. Most photographers set the camera's auto focus selection point (AF point) on the center point because it is the most sensitive of the points and allows you to keep focused on the bird. Also your camera will be less likely to lock onto the background as you try and stay on the moving bird.

- A willingness to practice lots and take lots and lots of photos, only some of which will turn out. (At least with digital you are not paying for film.)

- A strong motivation and desire to take flight photos.

- The expertise and programs to process your digital photo to make it look its best. Most photographers use programs like Adobe Photoshop.

Here is the camera equipment that I use.

My advice is even if you don't have all or some of the above, try anyway. You might find it addictive like I do.

Most importantly, have fun!!!

We Garden, Also

noreply@blogger.com (Lillian and Don Stokes) — Wed, 30 Nov 2011 16:11:00 +0000

Stokes entry garden, pot from lunaform.com in center

Border combination includes Yarrow 'Coronation Gold', honeysuckle vine, 'Gold Flame' (Lonicera heckrottii), Clematis 'Ville de Lyon' and dogwood shrub, 'Ivory Halo.'

Ruby-throated Hummingbird visiting Salvia 'Lady in Red.'

Kitchen veggie garden I designed.

In addition to being hooked on birds, and having an over 30 yr. career producing bird field guides, birding TV, and more, we also garden, avidly. Our gardens are carefully created for beauty, good design (I choose all the plant combinations), colorful plant material through the seasons, and to be bird-friendly with plants that attract our avian friends.

We have gardened in several states (MA, FL and now, NH) and have had our gardens on various garden tours, including The Garden Conservancy tour. A few days ago, Francis H. Cabot, visionary gardener and inspirational founder of The Garden Conservancy, passed away, leaving a legacy of a great organization that does much to preserve America's exceptional gardens and promote gardening in America. You can visit amazing private gardens all over America, in spring, through joining their Open Days program.

Birding for Kids

noreply@blogger.com (Lillian and Don Stokes) — Tue, 29 Nov 2011 14:23:00 +0000

We always try to let kids look through our scope at birds.

We just got a nice letter from Jerry Medina, a teacher in Tucson, AZ who is encouraging his first grade class to become interested in birding and blogged about one of his budding birder students. That's so cool.

We love to encourage kids to get involved in birding activities. Kids who are interested and informed about birds become the conservation leaders of tomorrow. Here are a few tips and resources about birding for kids (click on the red links for more information.) Even small children can be introduced to birding. Make sure and lower spotting scopes to the proper height for kids so they can see the birds.

Stokes Beginner's Guide To Birds, east

Stokes Beginner's Guide to Birds, west

Our Stokes Beginner's Guide To Birds covers the 100 most common birds in the east or west and is organized by color of the bird so even children who cannot yet read, can look up a bird they see. The newly published, Young Birders Guide by Bill Thompson, III, is also a wonderful resource. Older kids who are already into birding should have one of the many full size birding field guides . Kids should have appropriate sized binoculars, with smaller more compact binoculars given to smaller kids, and

full-sized binoculars for older kids.

The Young Birders part of the American Birding Association website is an excellent resource for kids age 10-18. They have a Young Birder of the Year Contest with prizes in categories for keeping a field notebook, bird illustration, bird writing and bird photography. They also have kid's birding camps and kid's scholarships to those camps and other birding activities. A Bird's-Eye View bimonthly newsletter is edited and written by young birders.

Most importantly, you can help spark an interest by taking a kid birding, whether it's your own kid, a grandchild, neice, nephew or just a friend.

Here's a link to the Young Birder's part of the American Birding Association website.

Tree Sparrows, subtle beauty

noreply@blogger.com (Lillian and Don Stokes) — Mon, 28 Nov 2011 15:52:00 +0000

American Tree Sparrow

American Tree Sparrow, note the central breast dot

One of the highlights at our bird feeders now are the newly arrived American Tree Sparrows. Like the juncos, they spend the winter with us and depart in spring. We enjoy their delicate good looks and their tinkling calls, as they roam the winter landscape. They breed across upper Canada and in Alaska and are seen in winter throughout much of the country. Their central breast dot stands out on their clear breast and notice their white wing bars and yellow lower mandible, good ID clues.
American Tree Sparrows eat weed seeds and come to our feeders for millet, cracked corn and other small seeds under the feeders. We often go out in our yard with our binoculars and look at the feeders and around our property at any sparrows we see, looking closely at these subtly colored birds. The reward is discovering and identifying the many species of sparrows in fall and winter. Try it, you may be surprised at how many species of sparrows can see at your own feeders.

Are you seeing Tree Sparrows and if so, where are you?

Happy Thanksgiving from Lillian and Don!

noreply@blogger.com (Lillian and Don Stokes) — Thu, 24 Nov 2011 13:16:00 +0000

Happy Thanksgiving to you all!!!

Give thanks and be grateful for all the birds!

Lillian and Don Stokes

Wild Turkey in flight, photo for today

noreply@blogger.com (Lillian and Don Stokes) — Wed, 23 Nov 2011 15:14:00 +0000

Wild Turkey in flight

Wild Turkey flock

Here are some turkey photos of a flock, with one flying out. They have the right idea, head for the hills and hide out until after Thanksgiving!

Turkey photo of the day plus funny bonus photo!

noreply@blogger.com (Lillian and Don Stokes) — Tue, 22 Nov 2011 14:47:00 +0000

Today's Wild Turkey photo by Lillian, is on page 68 of our new The Stokes Field Guide to the Birds of North America

Yup, Gryff - I think those are Turkeys outside!"

and when our field guide came out, we were sent this funny photo of 2 Vermont Corgis, Gryf and Rugby, who are ID-ing turkeys with their Stokes Field Guide.