Thursday, October 25, 2007

Bulletin #17 - RGV TX #2

David McDonald Photography
Friendswood Texas
Oct 25-2007

Bulletin #17 – Rio Grande Valley Oct 5-7, 2007 – part 2

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.

The New World Sparrows are well represented in South Texas. The Olive Sparrow(Arremonops rufivirgatus) only occurs there in the ABA area. This bird has a distinctive olive green back with a clear breast.

Here is the front view and a bit of the olive color can be seen on left side.

http://www.pbase.com/image/109482985

Here is the same bird from the side, and he obviously is in the process of molting as he has no tail feathers at all.

http://www.pbase.com/davidmcd/image/109482989

The next sparrow is also a south Texas specialty. The Cassin’s Sparrow (Aimophila cassinii) is a drab LBJ (little brown job). However, he was positively IDed by my capable guide. This bird was a lifer for me.

http://www.pbase.com/davidmcd/image/109482991 click ‘next’ once

The third sparrow I was able to photo was the Black-throated Sparrow (Amphispiza bilineata). This male is very distinctive and readily identified with the black throat patch and black & white facial markings. This bird was also a lifer for me.

http://www.pbase.com/davidmcd/image/109482996 click ‘next’ once

There is a beautiful local hummingbird in the valley. It occasionally strays north in the fall and I actually had one of these beauties in my back yard all winter long about 12 years ago. This is the Buff-bellied Hummingbird (Amazilia yucatanensis). The male pictured here has a bicolored bill with red base and black tip. The iridescent green throat is stunning. The tail is a rufour red color and the belly is buffy. Here are a couple of photos of this bird. The second shows the bill color nicely.

http://www.pbase.com/davidmcd/image/109483001 click ‘next’ once

There are several members of the corvidae (crows and jays) family that are unique to the RGV. The only one we found was the Green Jay (Cyanocorax yncas). This beautiful bird is pictured on many calendars, tourist guides etc.

http://www.pbase.com/davidmcd/image/109483005

Here is one after a bath.

http://www.pbase.com/davidmcd/image/109483006

The only raptor I was able to photograph is another RGV specialty. This Gray Hawk (Asturina nitida) is a juvenile with the spotted breast.

http://www.pbase.com/davidmcd/image/109483009

Another RGV specialty is the Plain Chacalaca (Ortalis vetula). This 22” bird is the only ABA area member of the cracidae family which includes guans, curassows and chacalacas. Here are 2 photos. The second one has a male displaying with tail spread out similar to members of the grouse family.

http://www.pbase.com/davidmcd/image/109483011 click ‘next’ once

The last bird for this bulletin is the White-tipped Dove (Leptotila verreaux). This 11.5” dove is the same size as a White-winged Dove. It is rather drab, but has some iridescent markings on neck and white tips to the tail feathers.

http://www.pbase.com/davidmcd/image/109483016

All comments and suggestions are welcomed and appreciated.

Happy Birding,

David McDonald
davidkmcd@comcast.net

photos copyright 2007 David McDonald

Monday, October 15, 2007

Bulletin #16 - RGV TX #1

David McDonald Photography
Friendswood Texas
Oct 15, 2007

Bulletin #16 – Rio Grande Valley Oct 5-7, 2007 – part 1

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 had birded there only once before in the early 1990’s, but had not been back since I started doing photography. I had to postpone the trip once already due to excessive rain in the summer that made some of the target areas inaccessible.

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. He gives back much to the Hispanic community with outreach programs in the schools etc. Birding is mostly confines to the white community. However, I feel that it is important for the future to encourage minorities to learn about nature and the benefit animals & birds can have to the economic health of their community as well as the positive psychological effects on the person. Roy is doing yeoman work in this regard in the ‘valley’. He is even teaching the blind to bird by ear and having birding contests among various groups. Roy can be reached on his cell phone at 956-221-1340.

The first group of birds belong to the Mimidae family – mockingbirds and thrashers.

The Long-billed Thrasher (Toxostoma longirostre) has black streaking on the breast. He also has white wing bars similar to the more common Brown Thrasher. This was a lifer for me. Here are 3 photos.

http://www.pbase.com/image/109480366 click ‘next’ twice

The Curve-billed Thrasher (Toxostoma curvirostre) just has some faint spots on his breast and no wing bars. Here are 2 views of this bird.

http://www.pbase.com/davidmcd/image/109480371 click ‘next’ once

Lastly, a Northern Mockingbird (Mimus polyglottos) was sitting on top of a bush about 6 feet from the Curve-billed Thrasher in the first picture above, so I had to take a photo of this wonderful bird as well.

http://www.pbase.com/davidmcd/image/109480374

The next group belong to the Tyrannidae – the tyrant flycatchers. This huge Neotropical family has many plain dull colored birds, but there are also some beautiful members.

The Vermilion Flycatcher (Pyrocephalus rubinus) is the most beautiful flycatcher in the USA. This male allowed me to approach within 30 feet as he sat on top of a cactus about 10 feet off the ground.

http://www.pbase.com/davidmcd/image/109480376

A typical dull colored flycatcher is the Northern Beardless-Tyrannulet (Camptostoma imberbe) This tiny bird (4.5 inches) is shorter than his name written out. He has buffy wingbars and a bushy crest, but is best identified by voice. He occurs only in extreme south Texas and southeastern Arizona in the USA.

http://www.pbase.com/davidmcd/image/109480378

The Great Kiskadee (Pitangus sulphuratus) is a large (10”) vociferous flycatcher. He calls out his name constantly.

http://www.pbase.com/davidmcd/image/109480380

The last flycatcher is Couch’s Kingbird (Tyrannus couchii). This bird is identical with Tropical Kingbird and can only be separated by voice. The first photo shows the olive back along with gray face with black strip through the eye.

http://www.pbase.com/davidmcd/image/109480383

The next photo shows the bright yellow breast and dark tail without any white. This field mark separates this bird from the similar Western Kingbird.

http://www.pbase.com/davidmcd/image/109480385

Lastly, the tail is notched as shown in this photo.

http://www.pbase.com/davidmcd/image/109480386

The next bird is a member of the thrush family. The Clay-colored Thrush (Turdus grayi) is another Mexican species that just makes it across the border into south Texas. It isn’t particularly colorful, but its shape sure resembles the American Robin.

http://www.pbase.com/davidmcd/image/109480388

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

Wednesday, October 10, 2007

Bulletin #15 - Monterey CA #3

David McDonald Photography
Friendswood Texas
Oct 10, 2007

Bulletin #15 – Monterey CA birds September 2007 – part 3

Hello friends,

I was back in California on vacation over the week of Labor Day.

There is a bird banding facility in Big Sur at Andrew Molera State Park. Thanks to Jay for telling me of this place. I went there 2 mornings and was able to get close-up photos of several small passerines. Thanks a million to Josh Scullen and his staff for allowing me to photograph the birds as they were banding them.

The first is the Wilson’s Warbler (Wilsonia pusilla). The yellow bird with black cap is diagnostic.

http://www.pbase.com/image/109479697

The next is the Pacific-slope Flycatcher (Empidonax difficilis). I had tried to get photos in May of this small empid, but he wouldn’t sit still long enough. This bird is actually a juvenile as the wing bars are buffy. In the adult they are white.

http://www.pbase.com/davidmcd/image/109479698

The next is the Wrentit (Chamaea fasciata). This is a very secretive bird who keeps to the underbrush. I have seen it many times, and heard it hundreds of times, but getting a photo in the wild is tough. He actually belongs to the family of Old World Warblers. Notice the white iris. The second photo is a close up of the face.

http://www.pbase.com/davidmcd/image/109479699 click ‘next’ once

The next bird is a Hutton’s Vireo (Vireo huttoni).

http://www.pbase.com/davidmcd/image/109479703

The close up shows the broken eye-ring with a dark area above eye. The lores are also white. The hooked beak, characteristic of vireos, is easily discernible.

http://www.pbase.com/davidmcd/image/109479704

Lastly, the Bushtit (Psaltriparus minimus) is a tiny bird that I photoed in May, but here is a close up. He appears somewhat similar to the Wrentit in hand, but the iris is buffy. In the wild, small flocks of Bushtits move through the canopy and are easy to see.

http://www.pbase.com/davidmcd/image/109479706

The last bird was a bonus for me. I had seen the American Dipper (Cinclus mexicanus) a couple of times in Colorado. I knew that it was listed as living along the Big Sur River, but I had never found it on earlier trips. Well it turned out that the banding station was beside the river and the Dipper is a regular. I waited beside the river and in about 15 minutes I found the bird and got some photos.

For those unfamiliar with Dippers, these cute little birds are the only aquatic passerines. They can swim and also dive under the water to catch insect larvae. The adults are uniformly gray with gray beak. The juvenile shown here has a yellow beak and light gray throat. The second photo shows the thick white eyelids.

http://www.pbase.com/davidmcd/image/109479707 click ‘next’ once

Another favorite area for viewing wildlife is the Point Lobos State Preserve. This park is on the coast about 2 miles south of Carmel. Mule Deer, Sea Otters, California Sea Lions, Harbor Seals, and Douglas Ground Squirrels are readily found in the park. The birds include sea birds gulls etc as well as a variety of land birds. One of the interesting habitats is the kelp beds just offshore. Kelp is a giant seaweed that reaches to the waters surface. Many birds pluck food off the leaves, but the most interesting thing to me is to see wading birds walking on the kelp or driftwood in the kelp beds.

The first is a Snowy Egret on some kelp behind a pair of Harbor Seals.

http://www.pbase.com/davidmcd/image/109479709

The next is a Great Egret on some driftwood.

http://www.pbase.com/davidmcd/image/109479711

And lastly, a Great Blue Heron on another driftwood log.

http://www.pbase.com/davidmcd/image/109479712

One last unique phenomenon in Point Lobos is the orange growths on branches and rocks right by the shore. It is actually a green algae species that makes carotene (the dye in carrots) giving the orange appearance. This is a very arid area, but the fog is so dense that the algae can survive. It doesn’t harm the trees at all.

http://www.pbase.com/davidmcd/image/109479713

All comments and suggestions are welcomed and appreciated.

Happy Birding,

David McDonald
davidkmcd@comcast.net

photos copyright 2007 David McDonald

Wednesday, October 3, 2007

Bulletin #14 - Monterey CA #2

David McDonald Photography
Friendswood Texas
Oct 3-2007

Bulletin #14 – Monterey CA birds September 2007 – part 2

Hello friends,

I was back in California on vacation over the week of Labor Day.

This bulletin will be devoted to shorebirds and other non-passerines.

The first bird is the Black Oystercatcher (Haematopus bachmani). I have taken hundreds of photos of oystercatchers, but this one, taken last month, is the best ever. The light was right etc.

http://www.pbase.com/image/109477894

Here is the Snowy Plover (Charadrius alexandrinus) in non-breeding plumage.

http://www.pbase.com/davidmcd/image/109477895

Here is the juvenile plumage Semi-palmated Plover (Charadrius semipalmatus).

http://www.pbase.com/davidmcd/image/109477897

The Wandering Tattler (Tringa incana) is a sandpiper that breeds in Alaska along streams and winters along the Pacific coast. It inhabits rocky areas rather than beaches. Here it is in the non-breeding plumage. The yellow legs, overall plain gray coloration and white eye-ring are the field marks.

http://www.pbase.com/davidmcd/image/109477898

The Black Turnstone is another Alaska breeder, but along the coast. It also winters along the Pacific coast. Here is the non-breeding plumage.

http://www.pbase.com/davidmcd/image/109477899

In an earlier bulleting, I had photos of breeding plumage Red-necked Phalarope (Phalaropus lobatus). Here is the juvenile plumage. The streaking on the back indicate a juvenile.

http://www.pbase.com/davidmcd/image/109477900

Sometimes the light is just right to give a striking photo. I caught this Whimbrel (Numenius phaeopus) at dawn, just as he reached the crest of the beach and came into the sunlight.
http://www.pbase.com/davidmcd/image/109477901

The Carmel River mouth has a nice fresh water lagoon and marsh and is a nature preserve. Because marshy areas are infrequent along the California coast, it is a good location for rails as well as other marsh loving wildlife.

Here is a Virginia Rail (Rallus limicola). This is the adult plumage. The long red bill is diagnostic.

http://www.pbase.com/davidmcd/image/109477902

Here is the juvenile plumage Sora (Porzana carolina). Notice there is no black on the throat. The short yellow bill is the field mark for this rail.

http://www.pbase.com/davidmcd/image/109477903

I attended a NANPA (North American Nature Photographer Association) seminar in Houston in August 2006. It helped me tremendously to take my photos to a higher level of quality. One of the speakers said that an important thing to do is when you have spent some time looking in one direction for subjects, turn 180 degrees and perhaps the best photo opportunity is behind you.

One morning at sunrise, the sun was a brilliant red ball. I was photographing the birds on the beach. I turned and looked back at the sun. It was reflecting on the lagoon, as a flock of Brown Pelicans swam through the reflection. This gave a photo of the pelicans in silhouette.

http://www.pbase.com/davidmcd/image/109477905

A little further along the beach, there is a cross on a hill above the beach. I caught the sun behind the cross.

http://www.pbase.com/davidmcd/image/109477909

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