Thursday, November 22, 2007

Bulletin #21 - Upper TX coast #3

David McDonald Photography
Friendswood Texas
Nov 22, 2007

Bulletin #21 – Upper Texas Coast – Fall 2007 – part 3

Hello friends,

Happy Thanksgiving!

Fall migration along the upper Texas coast is another exciting time as there are several species of birds that are more numerous than during spring migration. Also, many birds are in non-breeding plumage which can make for difficult identification problems.

I went to Anahuac National Wildlife Refuge on a Saturday when they had an open hose for the public and many demonstrations. One of them was a wildlife rehabilitation lady who brought 4 owl species for display.

These 4 owls are year round residents of the Houston area.

The smallest is the Eastern Screech-Owl (Otus aiso). It is 8.5 inches in length and has small ears tufts. There are several color variations – red, brown and gray. The only one I have seen is the gray phase like the one here and in the previous photo from the Rio Grande Valley trip.

http://www.pbase.com/image/109487287

The Barred Owl (Strix varia) is the owl popularly known in the southeast USA as the hoot owl. It is closely related to the endangered Spotted Owl of the northwest USA. It is the only dark owl in our area with dark eyes. It has vertical barring on the breast. It is a big bird at 21 inches in length.

http://www.pbase.com/davidmcd/image/109487292

And here is a face close-up.

http://www.pbase.com/davidmcd/image/109487293

The next owl is the Great Horned Owl (Bubo virginianus). This bird lives all through the Americas – from Alaska in the north to Tierra del Fuego at the extreme southern tip of South America. It is another large owl at 22 inches. It has large ear tufts or ‘horns’. According to the handler, their favorite prey is skunks!

http://www.pbase.com/davidmcd/image/109487295 click ‘next’ once

The above 3 owls are called typical owls. The other family of owls is the barn owls of which there is only one in the USA. It is appropriately called the Barn Owl (Tyto alba). If you see a large beige bird flying at dawn or dusk, it is likely this bird. The face is the heart shaped disk including the mouth of the bird. It is a medium sized owl at 16 inches. It also has no ear tufts.

http://www.pbase.com/davidmcd/image/109487299 click ‘next’ once

There are several other species of owls that occasionally winter along in the Houston area. A Burrowing Owl (Athene cunicularia) spent the winter near Galveston and I was able to get his photo. This is one of my favorite photos ever. It was after a very rainy day and his feathers were soaked. The sun had come out and he was trying to dry out. He looks ‘like a drowned rat’. The very long legs are characteristic of this owl that lives in burrows in the ground. He is a small owl at 9.5 inches in length. This bird became quite tame and was approachable to within 20 feet!

http://www.pbase.com/davidmcd/image/109487303

Here is another photo of this bird on a dry day. This photo is on the Houston Audubon web site under their bird gallery.

http://www.pbase.com/davidmcd/image/109487305

Texbirds is a web service devoted to birds and birders in Texas. Several photographers post pictures of local birds and I have learned much on difficult bird identification, but also that some birds occur locally that I wasn’t aware of.

One of these is the Horned Grebe (Podiceps auritis). This was another life bird for me this week. But it was only because of posted photos, that I was able to correctly identify the bird as it closely resembles the Eared Grebe (Podiceps nigricollis) in the non-breeding plumage. There are 4 Horned Grebes currently along the Texas City dike. So here are the 2 birds for comparison in non-breeding plumage.

The Horned Grebe has all white below the eye, white neck anteriorly, and white tip on the bill. Lastly, the peak of the head is well behind the eye. This photo was taken yesterday.

http://www.pbase.com/davidmcd/image/109487308

The Eared Grebe also occurs on the upper Texas coast, although I have not seen it here. This photo was taken in California. Notice the dark face extends well below and behind the eye and the anterior aspect of the neck is dark. The tip of the bill is dark. The peak of the head is right above the eye.

http://www.pbase.com/davidmcd/image/109487310

All comments and suggestions are welcomed and appreciated.

Happy Birding,

David McDonald
davidkmcd@comcast.net

photos copyright 2007 David McDonald

Thursday, November 15, 2007

Bulletin #20 - Upper TX coast #2

David McDonald Photography
Friendswood Texas
Nov 15, 2007

Bulletin #20 – Upper Texas Coast – Fall 2007 – part 2

Hello friends,

Fall migration along the upper Texas coast is another exciting time as there are several species of birds that are more numerous than during spring migration. Also, many birds are in non-breeding plumage which can make for difficult identification problems.

The first bird is the Caspian Tern (Sterna caspia). Here is the juvenile with a large orange beak with black tip, as well as extensive brownish feathers. The Caspian Tern is the largest USA tern at 21” long.

http://www.pbase.com/image/109486290

The Black Skimmer (Rynchops niger) is a distinctive relative of gulls and terns with its lower mandible longer than the upper. I have seen this bird many times, but in Sibley they show a picture of the bird lying flat on the ground with its bill outstretched. I had not seen this posture previously, so I took his picture.

http://www.pbase.com/davidmcd/image/109486293

Fall migration brings a huge number of Ruby-throated Hummingbirds (Archilochus colubris) through the upper Texas coast as all the birds in eastern North America migrate around the gulf into Mexico and beyond.

Here are a couple of photos of females this year. The first is the only time I have been able to completely freeze the wings of a hummingbird, so that every feather is visible and clear.

http://www.pbase.com/davidmcd/image/109486296

The next shows the white tips on the tail feathers of the adult female.

http://www.pbase.com/davidmcd/image/109486298

Next is the Rufous Hummingbird (Selasphorus rufus). I had missed this bird in California where it lives, both in May and September this year. Yet a few of them migrate and winter along the upper Texas coast. Thanks to Chris (one of the subscribers) this beautiful male was visiting some flowers at her workplace only 7 miles from my house. I went over and got photos of this bird. Go figure – I travel 1500 miles to see it and miss it twice and later it shows up 7 miles away from home. This bird is only 3.75” long.

http://www.pbase.com/davidmcd/image/109486301 click ‘next’ once

I found this American Oystercatcher (Haematopus palliates) sitting quietly on a rock just offshore at the Texas City dike. As the tide was out, I was able to get within 25 feet of the bird and he didn’t move. Here is a close up of this bird.

http://www.pbase.com/davidmcd/image/109486305

However, the reason he didn’t move was because his right foot was tangled in fishing line and he was only standing on his left foot. I never did see him put his right foot down. The fishing line is clearly visible against a grackle, behind the oystercatcher. Many birds are maimed or killed by careless fishermen who discard pieces of monofilament line into the water. I hope this beautiful bird survives.

http://www.pbase.com/davidmcd/image/109486307

Adjacent to the oystercatcher was this juvenile Semipalmated Plover (Charadrius semipalmatus). It is a semipalmated by the dark back. The juvenile is distinguished by the scaly appearance of the head and back as the feathers are all edged with cream. Semipalmated means partially webbed feet. The partial webbing between the toes is easily seen on the right foot.

http://www.pbase.com/davidmcd/image/109486308

Wood Storks (Mycteria americana) pass through here in the fall. The juvenile has a yellowish beak as opposed to the adult with a black beak.

http://www.pbase.com/davidmcd/image/109486310

And here is a group of 2 juveniles and 1 adult aloft. Notice the necks outstretched and the black on the wings.

http://www.pbase.com/davidmcd/image/109486311


All comments and suggestions are welcomed and appreciated.

Happy Birding,

David McDonald
davidkmcd@comcast.net

photos copyright 2007 David McDonald

Thursday, November 8, 2007

Bulletin #19 - Upper TX coast #1

David McDonald Photography
Friendswood Texas
Nov 8, 2007

Bulletin #19 – Upper Texas Coast – Fall 2007 – part 1

Hello friends,

Fall migration along the upper Texas coast is another exciting time as there are several species of birds that are more numerous than during spring migration. Also, many birds are in non-breeding plumage which can make for difficult identification problems.

I obtained a number of new species photos along with several improved photos of other species. The most memorable however, was Nov 4th when I got a life bird. It has been a long time since I had a lifer in my home territory and this one was only 15 miles from the house!

So, I’ll start with the lifer. Franklin’s Gull (Larus pipixican) is a smallish black-headed gull that breeds in the provinces of Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba as well as the extreme northern plains states. It winters in Central America. I had heard of occasional sightings along the upper Texas coast. I assumed that it would be indistinguishable from the common Laughing Gull (Larus atricilla). However, this year on Texbirds, a photographer posted many pictures of Franklin’s Gull from Galveston, Texas City etc and showed the differences from the Laughing Gull. The first chance I had to look for them was 3 days ago and bingo – success, even though they hadn’t been reported for 2 weeks.

The main differences are smaller size 14.5” vs 16.5” for the Laughing Gull. Because it is smaller, the legs are thinner and the bird sits closer to the ground. Of course relative size is tough if there is only one bird type present. The main feature is the more prominent black hood on the Franklin’s Gull that extends below the level of the eye onto the neck.

So here is a 1st winter Franklin’s Gull with still a considerable black hood in November. It also has white wing tips.

http://www.pbase.com/image/109485243

By contrast, here is the 1st winter Laughing Gull. Notice there is no white on the wing tips at all. There is also a lot of grey on the breast

.
http://www.pbase.com/davidmcd/image/109485245

The adult Franklin’s Gull has more residual black hood and larger white spots on the wing tips than the laughing Gull.
http://www.pbase.com/davidmcd/image/109485247

So OK how did I know this was a Franklin’s Gull? Here is the whole photo with both birds side by side. Notice how much smaller the Franklin’s on the left is and how thin are its legs! Also, notice how much further down the neck, the hood extends.

http://www.pbase.com/davidmcd/image/109485248

After I took the gull photos I drove along the shore and found a cooperative Eastern Phoebe (Sayornis phoebe). Notice there is no eye-ring and no wing bars.

http://www.pbase.com/davidmcd/image/109485250

The next bird is a Loggerhead Shrike (Lanius ludovicianus). Notice the hooked beak. This common bird is often confused with Northern Mockingbirds as their coloration is similar.
http://www.pbase.com/davidmcd/image/109485252

The Nashville Warbler (Vermivora ruficapilla) is seen more commonly during the fall migration. The male has a gray hood but with a yellow throat, and eye-ring.

http://www.pbase.com/davidmcd/image/109485253

The Savannah Sparrow (Passerculus sandwichensis) is a common winter resident of the Texas coast. This bird at Anahuac NWR allowed me to approach him to within 15’, the closest that my camera and 500mm lens can focus. The field marks are pink bill, streaked breast and bit of yellow above the eye.

http://www.pbase.com/davidmcd/image/109485255

All comments and suggestions are welcomed and appreciated.

Happy Birding,

David McDonald
davidkmcd@comcast.net

photos copyright 2007 David McDonald

Notice – photos with name preceded with an asterisk (*) were updated for this blog and the text was edited accordingly

Thursday, November 1, 2007

Bulletin #18 - RGV TX #3

David McDonald Photography
Friendswood Texas
Nov 1, 2007

Bulletin #18 – Rio Grande Valley Oct 5-7, 2007 – part 3

Hello friends,

I had a quick weekend trip to the Rio Grande Valley in South Texas the first weekend in October. This is a unique location in the ABA birding area as it contains several Mexican species that just cross over the border into the USA.

I hired a guide to show me around and locate the birds for me to photograph. My guide was Roy Rodriguez, who was extremely knowledgeable for all the wildlife and plants. Roy can be reached on his cell phone at 956-221-1340.

There are 2 parrot species to be found in the RGV. The first of these is the Red-crowned Parrot which I had already photographed in Miami, so I omitted that bird as a target for this RGV trip.

The other is the Green Parakeet (Aratinga holochlora). This species lives in Northeast Mexico, but in the last dozen years has moved into south Texas in large numbers. They are easily found in large communal roosts along power lines in several of the cities. These photos were taken about 6 pm in McAllen along a main street. Certainly the easiest parrots to see, as usually you are looking for a green bird in a green tree. This was a lifer for me as well.

The first is a pair on a palm frond. They look like a pair of love birds.
The second photo shows them squabbling for a spot on the wire. They have yellow under their wings, and a few orange spots on neck and wing.

http://www.pbase.com/image/109483984 click ‘next’ once

There are several orioles in the RGV. The only one we found was the Altamira Oriole (Icterus gularis). At 10” in length, this is the largest oriole in the ABA area. It was another lifer for me. The adults are similar plumage. This bird has an orange streak on the upper wing and white wing bars below.

http://www.pbase.com/davidmcd/image/109483997 click ‘next’ once

This bird builds a typical oriole long hanging nest. Here is a photo of the Altamira Oriole nest.

http://www.pbase.com/davidmcd/image/109484003

We spent Saturday evening and early Sunday morning looking for owls. This is my first successful night photo of an owl. Here is an Eastern Screech-Owl (Otus asio).

http://www.pbase.com/davidmcd/image/109484006

The next bird is the Cactus Wren (Campylorhynchus brunneicapillus). This is the largest wren in the ABA area (8.5”). The first photos are an adult. Notice the spots on the breast coalesce into almost a large black spot on the chest and throat. Here are 2 photos of the same bird. The curved bill, white eye stripe and brown coloration are typical of all wrens.

http://www.pbase.com/davidmcd/image/109484010 click ‘next’ once

Next we have a juvenile. The spots are quite distinct and not as dark as the adult.

http://www.pbase.com/davidmcd/image/109484016 click ‘next’ once

The last bird is the Golden-fronted Woodpecker (Melanerpes aurifrons). This bird has a black & white striped back with yellow on the face. The male also has a red patch on crown of head. Here is the male. The yellow patch above the bill is just visible.

http://www.pbase.com/davidmcd/image/109484022

The female has no red but notice she also has a yellow belly! Compare with the upper Texas coast Red-bellied Woodpecker.

http://www.pbase.com/davidmcd/image/109484025

The last photo is of a Javelina or Collared Peccary (Tayassu tajacu). This mammal is a close relative of the pig family and is a common native of the southwestern region of the USA. Notice the white collar and a tusk is just showing.

http://www.pbase.com/davidmcd/image/109484027

All comments and suggestions are welcomed and appreciated.

Happy Birding,

David McDonald
davidkmcd@comcast.net

photos copyright 2007 David McDonald