Saturday, October 25, 2008

Bulletin #55 – Wisconsin birds

David McDonald Photography
Friendswood Texas
October 25, 2008

Bulletin #55 – Wisconsin birds

Hello friends,

I spent a weekend at Lake Geneva, Wisconsin in early October. This was my first time in that state. I birded at a Nature Conservancy preserve on the north shore of the lake and it is a beautiful location with several habitats (marsh, prairie, and woods) and well maintained trails and boardwalks throughout.

The only new bird I got to photograph was a Black-capped Chickadee (Peocile atricapilla). This was the chickadee I was familiar with growing up in Canada. It is very similar to the Carolina Chickadee of the southeastern USA, but a little larger and it has white shoulders (upper wing).

http://www.pbase.com/image/105018957

There were numerous Downy Woodpeckers ( Picoides pubescens) and I got my best photos of this species. It is a small woodpecker at 6.75 inches. It has a white vack and spotting on the wings. The male has a red patch on the back of the head. Here are 2 photos of male and female.

http://www.pbase.com/davidmcd/image/105018958 click ‘next’ once

I saw this bird facing me with the white breast He was preening himself first thing in the morning. I saw the cap and white under the tail, but was unsure what species it was other than I was sure it was a warbler.

http://www.pbase.com/davidmcd/image/105018962

There turned out to be a pair of them in the bush and after preening, they started to move around. This one perched in the open. Of course now with the yellow rump and undertail, the ID is obvious. It is a Palm Warbler (Dendroica palmarum).

http://www.pbase.com/davidmcd/image/105018964

In this photo, he has caught a rather large insect.

http://www.pbase.com/davidmcd/image/105018965

There was a large flock of Cedar Waxwings (Bombycilla cedrorum). I had already good photos of adults, so I wanted to get the juvenile plumage, if possible. Here are a couple of photos. Notice the breast is whitish with brown streaks, and the black mask extends only to just behind the eye. The second photo also has a House Finch.

http://www.pbase.com/davidmcd/image/105018966 click ‘next’ once


The next bird is a White-breasted Nuthatch (Sitta carolinensis). Nuthatches have the unusual habit of climbing head first down the tree trunk looking for insects in the bark. The ID of this bird is gray with white breast and white face. The male shown here has a black head and neck. The female differs in that the top of her head and neck is gray rather then black.

http://www.pbase.com/davidmcd/image/105018969 click ‘next’ once

The small (5.25”) Brown Creeper (Certhia americana) is the only North American member of this family. Unlike the nuthatches, it starts at the bottom of the tree and climbs upwards looking for insects in the bark. It is a cryptic brown color with spotted back and curved bill. The first photo shows him in profile. Notice how he uses his tail as a prop against the tree just as woodpeckers do. The second photo has him against the tree and he is almost invisible.

http://www.pbase.com/davidmcd/image/105018980 click ‘next’ once

There were many White-throated Sparrows ( Zonotrichia albicollis) in the woods. This bird is identified by the striped head, white throat patch and yellow in front of the eye. Mostly, the stripes on the head are pure white, but sometimes as in the 3rd photo may be tan color. The first photo shows him relieving himself! I didn’t notice this until I got back and looked at the photos on the computer.

http://www.pbase.com/davidmcd/image/105018997 click ‘next’ twice

The last bird is a female Purple Finch (Carpodacus purpureus) I had photos of the male, but found this female perched in the open. I didn’t know what the ID on the bird was when taking the photos. I thought at first it was a sparrow, but on seeing the beak size, I realized it wasn’t a sparrow. After going through the field guide, I came to the correct ID and had it confirmed by an expert. The face is striped and the tail is very notched in the second photo.

http://www.pbase.com/davidmcd/image/105019001 click ‘next’ once

All comments and suggestions are welcomed and appreciated.

Happy birding and photography,

David McDonald
davidkmcd@comcast.net

photos copyright 2006 - 2008 David McDonald

Saturday, October 18, 2008

Bulletin #54 – Houston summer/fall birds #3

David McDonald Photography
Friendswood Texas
October 18, 2008

Bulletin #54 –Misc UTC summer/fall birds #3

Hello friends,

I went to Chappell Hill, Texas, about 50 miles west of Houston, to bird with guide Darrell Vollert on Labor Day weekend. I have used Darrell several times previously. Darrell's website is
http://www.darrellvollertnaturetours.com/

I was particularly interested in the small flycatchers known as 'empids', a contraction of the genus name empidonax. There are 11 different empids in ABA area. They are all very similar and best IDed by voice. So Darrell was my expert to find these birds as they migrated through the area. The smallest of these birds (5.25") is appropriately named the Least Flycatcher (Empidonax minimus). They all have 2 wing bars and an eye-ring. This one is mostly grayish.

http://www.pbase.com/davidmcd/image/102395724

The other one we found was the Acadian Flycatcher (Empidonax virescens). This bird does nest across the southeast USA. It has a more greenish back. The wing bars on this bird are buffy that may indicate a 1st year bird.

http://www.pbase.com/davidmcd/image/102395713 click 'next' once

A third empid, that I photographed in Galveston the week before, is the Yellow-bellied Flycatcher (Empidonax flaviventris). It also has a greenish back, but considerable yellow on the abdomen.

http://www.pbase.com/davidmcd/image/102077291 click 'next' once

Another bird Darrell found for me was a migrating Swainson's Hawk (Buteo swainsoni). These hawks breed in the western USA and migrate all the way to Argentina for the winter. They can be found moving through the upper Texas coast in late summer. This is the lighter color phase. The overhead view is unusual as the wings are white and the trailing edge is dark. This is the reverse pattern of many raptors. He also has a dark chest.


http://www.pbase.com/davidmcd/image/104704531

Galveston before the hurricane hit on Sept 13th also provided some good photos. The Mottled Duck (Anas fulvigula) resembles a female Mallard, but is a resident breeder along the coast of the Gulf of Mexico. I found several in the pond at LaFitte's Cove. Here is a pair swimming side-by-side. The male is in the foreground with the yellow bill. The female behind has a dull orange bill. The second photo shows a male with the blue wing patch.

http://www.pbase.com/davidmcd/image/104706917 click 'next' once

The most exciting bird of the last several months was a European sandpiper that was found in Galveston. This bird, I think, is unique in that the sexes have different names. The male is called a Ruff. The female is called a Reeve. The scientific name is Philomachus pugnax.Interestingly, it was found by a Norwegian birder. The bird had been missed by all the local birders, as it is so rare. In fact, this is only the second time in 18 years that I have seen it. It is a female in non-breeding plumage and quite indistinct. I certainly would not have known it was something rare. Here are 2 photos.

http://www.pbase.com/davidmcd/image/102495698 click 'next' once

This female Hooded Warbler (Wilsonia citrine) posed beautifully for her portrait. The white under the tail is a characteristic of this species and is clearly visible.

http://www.pbase.com/davidmcd/image/102077216

Also, this Great Crested Flycatcher (Myiarchus crinitus) flew to an open branch and provided my best photo ever of this species. The yellow belly, gray throat, and rufous on the wings is characteristic of this genus. This is the only species of this genus that occurs here.

http://www.pbase.com/davidmcd/image/102077288

Lastly, on a visit to LaFitte's Cove at dawn on an overcast drizzly day, I found both an Armadillo and an Opossum. I have been unable to find these mammals in the past 18 months since I got my larger lens and they were both here 10 minutes apart and at the same location!

http://www.pbase.com/davidmcd/image/101742366 click 'next' once

All comments and suggestions are welcomed and appreciated.

Happy birding and photography,

David McDonald
davidkmcd@comcast.net

photos copyright 2006 - 2008 David McDonald

Monday, October 6, 2008

Bulletin #53 – Houston summer/fall birds #2

David McDonald Photography
Friendswood Texas
October 6, 2008

Bulletin #53 – Houston summer/fall birds #2

Hello friends,

I haven’t been to Anahuac NWR since hurricane Ike, but I assume it is in disarray as much of the debris from The Bolivar peninsula would have washed across Galveston Bay and piled up on the shore at Anahuac. Also, it was probably inundated for the storm surge.

However, I did make several trips in August and got some good photos.

The Spotted Sandpiper (Actitis macularia) is a common sandpiper over the northern 2/3 USA and all of southern and central Canada. In fact, as a child growing up in canada, it was the only shorebird I ever identified. In breeding plumage, the spotted breast and bobbing gait is distinctive. This bird winters all across the southern USA and seldom is seen with the spotted plumage. It loses the spots in winter. The first weekend of August, I found one bird that had not molted yet. There were a pair together – one with spots and one without. Here is the breeding plumage bird.

http://www.pbase.com/davidmcd/image/101102075

And here is his companion without spots. This bird is IDed in this plumage by the yellowish legs and the white shoulder spot. Here are 2 photos of the same bird.

http://www.pbase.com/davidmcd/image/101102094 click ‘next’ once

Also, I found a juvenile Black-necked Stilt (Himantopus mexicanus). The juvenile has a more gray-looking back and pale pink legs.

http://www.pbase.com/davidmcd/image/101102121

Rails are always difficult birds to find, but on 2 successive weekend visits to Anahuac NWR, I found and adult and juvenile King Rail (Rallus elegans). This large rail (14.5”) nests at Anahuac and uses fresh water marshes. It is a warm brown color with a long bill. These were the best views I ever had of this bird. I have probably only seen it 5-6 times in 20 years. Rails are very thin side to side to allow then to walk between the reeds in the marsh. This was the source of the expression ‘thin as a rail’.

Here is the adult – 2 views.

http://www.pbase.com/davidmcd/image/101102117 click ‘next’ once

The juvenile has a spotted breast rather than the warm brown of the adult.

http://www.pbase.com/davidmcd/image/101423670

The Seaside Sparrow (Ammodramus maritimus) is our only breeding sparrow in the Houston area (excepting the House Sparrow which is an old world bird from a different family). This sparrow, as it name implies, lives along the sea coast from New England to Texas. It is quite an attractive sparrow in the spring, but by late summer before it molts, becomes drab or as described ‘worn’.

The yellow line above the eye is an important ID mark. Here are 2 photos of a ‘worn adult’ bird as described in Sibley. Look closely at the tail of the bird in the second photo, and you can see the feathers are very ragged.

http://www.pbase.com/davidmcd/image/101102126 click ‘next’ once

This Eastern Kingbird (Tyrannus tyrannus) is also showing wear and needs to molt a new set of feathers. The handsome bird with gray back and white breast looks like he has formal wear on. The distinguishing mark is a terminal white band on his tail. This bird has almost no white left on the tip of his tail.

http://www.pbase.com/davidmcd/image/101423739

The Tricolored Heron (Egrettea tricolor) in my opinion is more beautiful as a juvenile than the adult plumage. The juvenile has reddish stripes on the neck and reddish spots on the blue-gray wings and back.

This is the same bird in 2 photos. The first is the complete bird, and the second a close up of the head and neck.

http://www.pbase.com/davidmcd/image/101423594 click ‘next’ once

All comments and suggestions are welcomed and appreciated.

Happy birding and photography,

David McDonald
davidkmcd@comcast.net

photos copyright 2006 - 2008 David McDonald