A gentle breeze stirred the nuptial plumage of the Snowy Egrets; I nearly swooned.
A hundred years ago, those delicate plumes nearly led to the extinction of this small white egret as market hunters fed the demand of the millinery trade. (See post of column on October 29, 2011, "When Feathers were More Valuable Than Gold.")
The Snowy Egret has made a tremendous recovery. At Forsyth NWR, they were in all their splendid finery. A sampling ...
Good Birding!!
Friday, May 17, 2013
Wednesday, May 15, 2013
Fledgling Great Horned, et alia
When you are in a birding hotspot and see people lined up and staring intently in one direction, you know there is something noteworthy
In this case, at Heinz NWR in Philadelphia, it was a pair of fledgling Great Horned Owls, just two days out of the nest.
For all of the downy cuteness which these young birds exhibit, it is well to remember that if they succeed in "growing up" and making it as adult birds, they will be formidable predators. (See the posting of my column on April 1: "The Winged Tiger in our Woods."
There is a section of Heinz NWR known as "warbler woods." On Sunday, the trees were filled with warblers. They were high in the branches and quickly led to severe "warbler neck." As a result, the warblers yielded no photographs, but there were sufficient other opportunities. A sampling ...
In this case, at Heinz NWR in Philadelphia, it was a pair of fledgling Great Horned Owls, just two days out of the nest.
| Great Horned Owls - fledglings |
For all of the downy cuteness which these young birds exhibit, it is well to remember that if they succeed in "growing up" and making it as adult birds, they will be formidable predators. (See the posting of my column on April 1: "The Winged Tiger in our Woods."
| Great Horned Owl - fledgling |
There is a section of Heinz NWR known as "warbler woods." On Sunday, the trees were filled with warblers. They were high in the branches and quickly led to severe "warbler neck." As a result, the warblers yielded no photographs, but there were sufficient other opportunities. A sampling ...
| Baltimore Oriole - female |
| Barn Swallow |
| Swainson's Thrush |
| Veery |
| Veery |
Good Birding!
Monday, May 13, 2013
Samples from Cape May
Clapper Rail is easy to hear in the New Jersey salt marshes, but a sighting is often a matter of luck, or long patience waiting for one to walk into the open. But it is Spring, they have just arrived, the hormones are surging, and they are hyper. At Jake's landing I kept seeing the birds pop out of the marsh grasses, fly a short distance, then disappear into the grasses again. But I was patient and tried to be alert. The payoff:
Wrens are compact bundles of energy and irrepressible song. Higbee's Beach WMA teemed with Carolina Wrens; Jake's Landing hosted vocal duels from Marsh Wrens, and in various places House Wrens let their song tumble forth. It was a particular treat to see the House Wrens in a "natural" setting, rather than a backyard setting ...
The Red-winged Blackbird is rightly appreciated for the bright red epaulets which he flashes to intimidate rivals and attract females. The female is usually passed over as a rather dull, medium-sized, brown bird, but the one below demonstrated an often overlooked and under appreciated variety and beauty ...
Courtship season is going full tilt. Forster's Terns used the same land posting at Jake's Landing that I have seen them use in previous years. The gentleman on the right did not bring the lady a fish, and after a few moments she flew off in an apparent huff ...
... and across the marsh, the Willet winged back and forth with their "pee-will-willet pee-will-will-it" ...
And finally, the Seaside Sparrow is not much to look at, and nor is his song much to listen to, unless you happen to be another Seaside Sparrow in the throes of the breeding season ...
Good birding!
| Clapper Rail |
| Clapper Rail |
Wrens are compact bundles of energy and irrepressible song. Higbee's Beach WMA teemed with Carolina Wrens; Jake's Landing hosted vocal duels from Marsh Wrens, and in various places House Wrens let their song tumble forth. It was a particular treat to see the House Wrens in a "natural" setting, rather than a backyard setting ...
| Carolina Wren |
| House Wren |
| Marsh Wren |
| Red-winged Blackbirds - female |
| Red-winged Blackbird - female |
| Red-winged Blackbird - male displaying |
| Forster's Terns |
... and across the marsh, the Willet winged back and forth with their "pee-will-willet pee-will-will-it" ...
| Willet |
| Seaside Sparrow |
Saturday, May 11, 2013
Warblers on the Way
Spring migration has been slow in Vermont, but the warblers are on the way.
I spent yesterday in Cape May for the first full day of birding/photography which I have had in many months. Yesterday was the day when the migrants arrived in Cape May, and it was a great day for the many birders flocking to Cape May for the World Series of Birding and the Cape May Spring Bird Festival.
Warblers - those coveted little bundles of color and energy - were everywhere, and my camera was busy. The breath-taking male Magnolia Warbler continued to play hard to get, and others like the Chestnut-sided, Blackburnian, Blackpoll, and Prairie were also elusive. But many others were at least semi-cooperative. Choosing photos has been tough ... here are a few:
I spent yesterday in Cape May for the first full day of birding/photography which I have had in many months. Yesterday was the day when the migrants arrived in Cape May, and it was a great day for the many birders flocking to Cape May for the World Series of Birding and the Cape May Spring Bird Festival.
Warblers - those coveted little bundles of color and energy - were everywhere, and my camera was busy. The breath-taking male Magnolia Warbler continued to play hard to get, and others like the Chestnut-sided, Blackburnian, Blackpoll, and Prairie were also elusive. But many others were at least semi-cooperative. Choosing photos has been tough ... here are a few:
| Northern Waterthrush (along Wissahickon Creek, Philadelphia) |
| American Redstart - first year male |
| Common Yellowthroat - male |
| Yellow-breasted Chat - male |
| Yellow Warbler - female |
| Yellow-rumped Warbler - female |
| Northern Parula - female |
| Black-and-White Warbler - male |
| Black-throated Green Warbler - female |
| Black-throated Blue Warbler - male |
Good Birding!
Thursday, May 09, 2013
Evening Grosbeaks
Many birders crave the opportunity to add the Evening Grosbeak to their life list, or to see one from time to time. I have the good fortune to have them present in my yard every month of the year, and to host several breeding pairs in the neighborhood.
This stunningly beautiful large finch is a photographic temptation that I can't resist. My avian archives contain more superb photos of this species that any other. But each year, I take more photos. Here are a few of this year's "Evening Grosbeak Portraits":
Good Birding!!
This stunningly beautiful large finch is a photographic temptation that I can't resist. My avian archives contain more superb photos of this species that any other. But each year, I take more photos. Here are a few of this year's "Evening Grosbeak Portraits":
Tuesday, May 07, 2013
The First Week of May - Part I
Many local birders are on pins and needles, wondering when the tropical migrants will finally arrive. The consensus is that the warblers, vireos, flycatchers, et alia, are scarce and overdue. Time will tell (trite, but true).
Meanwhile, the predominantly North American birds which come mainly from the southern portions of the continent, are well into their Spring activities. A sampling ...
Song Sparrows are well along in forming their breeding pairs and getting the season's activity underway, as this one illustrates by carrying nesting material ...
The Yellow Warbler is the first warbler to grace us with his full-throated song, although he certainly is not doing it for our benefit ...
Common Merganser pairs are along the rivers and streams, including behind my home. This lady seems miffed that her beau has departed!
Common Grackle singing - at least, that is what he would call it. We might call it something else ...
Male Red-winged Blackbirds do a competitive display. The one on the right prevailed in the duel of the epaulets, and the other - intimidated, no doubt - flew off.
Good Birding!
Meanwhile, the predominantly North American birds which come mainly from the southern portions of the continent, are well into their Spring activities. A sampling ...
Song Sparrows are well along in forming their breeding pairs and getting the season's activity underway, as this one illustrates by carrying nesting material ...
| Song Sparrow |
| Yellow Warbler |
| Common Merganser - female |
| Common Grackle |
| Red-winged Blackbirds |
Sunday, May 05, 2013
The Day Spring Came
There are many different ways by which people determine that Spring has arrived. For some it is the first daffodil that blooms. Others hurry Spring’s arrival with the first blooming crocus. Ice-out in the West River might be the arrival of Spring, or ice-out on the Retreat meadows. Fishermen opt for the opening of trout season, skiers the closing of the favorite ski area.
Birders, of course, look for the arrival of certain birds. “The Red-winged Blackbird,” says one birder, “always shows up in my yard on March 8. That is the arrival of Spring.”
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| Palm Warbler |
That is very true. The arrival and passage of the two dozen plus species of warblers is the anticipated event for eastern bird watchers. They are the beauties, the sought-afters, the wonders of Spring. They are like the dessert menu in a fine restaurant - rich, tempting delicacies that cannot be passed over.
But the first warbler is not the day Spring comes - not even when the Palm Warbler drops to a low branch so that I can see, without the aid of binoculars, his fresh yellow plumage perched on a drab branch against a gray tree trunk. Not even when he wags his long tail in avian greeting.
| Eastern Phoebe |
This year, I heard “phoe-be ... phoe-be” as I went out for the mail mid-morning on April 8. Hurrying back inside, I called out, “I just heard the phoebe!!” From somewhere came the answering echo, “Wonderful! It’s Spring!” The exchange rolled through the usually calm rooms of our home, causing one of our cats to raise her head and wonder about all the fuss.
The Eastern Phoebe arrives in my neighborhood some time between the very last days of March and the middle of April. The ground squishes beneath the step. The retreating snow waters the snow drops. The winter rye is greening up and the garlic is emerging. The river behind our home runs high and fast, its sparkling water crystal green with minerals carried along by the snow melt. On a branch above the river, the gray-backed, white-breasted Eastern Phoebe wags his tail with each spoken “phoe-be,” his “song” as unimaginative as his plumage. But maybe that is not fair. He does vary his song. Sometimes he puts a slight emphasis on the first syllable, sometimes on the second: “Phoe-be ... phoe-Be ... Phoe-be ... phoe-Be.”
The phoebe is a flycatcher. It forages from its perch, flying out to catch insects in mid-air, sometimes dropping to the ground to grab a bite, or hovering briefly to grab something out of the foliage. Wintering in southern North America, it may turn to a diet of berries, but in the north during the summer it goes for the protein contained in wasps, bees, beetles, flies, bugs, grasshoppers, spiders, ticks, millipedes and such like.
| Eastern Phoebe |
The phoebe nests early. Forbush reports that the “first brood often requires six or seven weeks, or even more, from the beginning of the nest until the young have flown; but when the same nest is used for the second brood, a month is ample time, as this brood is reared in warm weather, when food is plentiful and storms usually are few. Both parent birds take part in incubation and in feeding the young, and within one or two days after the first brood leaves the nest, the female begins another or starts repairs on the old nest, while the male cares for the first brood.”
| Eastern Phoebe |
My regard for this small, gentle bird goes back twenty-five years to when I was just beginning to watch birds. I was building a small house in western Pennsylvania. While I was nailing down sub -flooring and nailing up paneling, a pair entered the basement garage and built a mud nest on a beam. As I came and went with tools and materials, they came and went with food for their young. They were such friendly neighbors, busy with raising their family, but always having the time to add a friendly greeting - “phoe-be” - and never too busy that they couldn’t wave tail feathers from a tree branch perch.
| Eastern Phoebe |
Good Birding!
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