Bulletin 291 - 100 Birds to see before You Die - #2

I discovered this book "100 Birds to See Before you Die" by 2 Brits David Chandler and Dominic Couzens about 7 years ago while browsing in a bookstore on vacation. The sub title is "The Ultimate Wish List for Birders Everywhere". It sort of peaked my interest as a 'bucket list' of the rarest and most unusual birds in the world, according to the 2 authors.

It has the smallest (Bee Hummingbird)  and largest (Ostrich) birds, some of the most beautiful (Birds of Paradise) and some quite ugly (Shoebill) and strange (Hoatzin). There are birds on all the continents as well as Arctic and Antarctic regions. 

There are also a number of island endemics. In the south Pacific, there are entries for Hawaii (1), New Caledonia (2) , New Guinea (3), Sulawesi (1), Mindanao (1), and New Zealand (2). The Galapagos has 1 entry.  Madagascar has 3. The Caribbean is well represented with Cuba (1), Hispaniola (2) and Montserrat (1).

There are about 240 families of birds, so obviously they are not all represented on this list. There are 3 each of Birds-of-Paradise, Gulls and Terns, Cotingas, and Tyrant Flycatchers. There are several unique birds that are sole members of their family. These are the Hoatzin, Kagu, Oilbird, Crab Plover, Ibisbill, Wallcreeper and Shoebill, For those of us in North America, not a single New World Warbler is on the list.

Each entry has a full page photograph and facing page article of what makes the bird rare, unusual or interesting to warrant its inclusion.

This is the second group of 10 birds. The first installment is here.

Number 100 is the Arctic Tern (Sterna paradisaea). This is a small (14") tern that breeds in the Arctic around the world and winters in the Antarctic along the pack ice. They are a long lived bird 20-30 years or more and in their travels from pole to pole and back each year, they may travel 3/4 million miles. Because they spend the summer in the Arctic and winter in the Antarctic, they have perpetual daylight except during the migration. Thus these birds have more daylight in their annual cycle than any other animal species. They migrate through the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. They don't appear in the Gulf of Mexico, so it is not a bird you will see in Texas. They are typical of tern plumage with a white body and a black cap on the head. The bill is described as 'blood red' and is the ID mark. This bird was photographed in Anchorage Alaska.

Arctic Tern

Number 92 is the Rock Ptarmigan (Lagopus muta). This is a grouse of the high arctic across all regions, North America and Eurasia. They are adapted for the cold with feathered legs and feet. They have 3 molts during the year to camouflage the birds on the ground. From all white in the snow in winter, to brown mottled in the summer and half and half in spring as snow is leaving. This bird was photographed in Alaska.

Rock Ptarmigan - male molting

Number 82 is the Tufted Puffin (Fratercula cirrhata). This is one of 3 puffin species and is a resident of the north Pacific Ocean and Bering Sea. It is black bodies with a white face, red bill and yellow tufts behind the eyes in breeding plumage. This bird was photographed in Alaska.

Tufted Puffin

Number 75 is the Harlequin Duck (Histrionicus histrionicus). They seek out white water rivers in the northern hemisphere to breed....Alaska, Labrador, Greenland, Iceland and Siberia. The male has a gray head with several white patches. this bird was photographed in Alaska.

Harlequin Duck - male

Number 67 is the Bohemian Waxwing (Bombycilla garrulus). It is similar the common Cedar Waxwing that we see across North America. It breeds further north in the taiga forests of North America and Eurasia. It winters further south but they are very nomadic and don't always show up in the same place each year, thus it is hard to find.I did not see this bird in Alaska, despite looking on the tour. But I did find this bird in a flock wintering in Ely Minnesota by the Canadian border.

Bohemian Waxwing

Number 65 is the Broad-billed Tody (Todus subulatus). It is one of 5 species of Todies in the Greater Antilles. There are 2 endemic to Hispaniola. This 4.5" bird looks like a cross between a kingfisher and a hummingbird. It has a green back, pale gray underparts and red throat. The bill is red as well. I photographed this one in Dominican Republic.

Broad-billed Tody

Number 55 is the Gyrfalcon (Falco rusticolus). At 24 inches in length, it is the worlds largest falcon.Its range is the circumpolar in the tundra and taiga. Some move south in winter if food is scarce. They range in color from white to dark. The authors state the white one is the best to see, but all count. To see a white one, head to Arctic Greenland in summer or Iceland in the winter. brrrr. I photographed this bird on the nest about 50 miles outside Nome Alaska.

Gyrfalcon

Number 47 is the Snowy Owl (Bubo scandiaca). This large (26") white owl is a neighbor of the Gyrfalcon. Adults are pure white with yellow eyes. The juveniles have dark streaking on the white. I photographed a juvenile in Duluth MN in winter and this adult in Alaska.

Snowy Owl

Number 22 is the I'iwi (Vestiaria coccinea). This 6" bird is the iconic bird of Hawaii with red body, black wings and semicircular red bill. It feeds on nectar mostly of the Ohia tree. It is present on all the major islands and can be seen by most visitors if they take the time to go to native forest above 4000 feet elevation.

I'iwi

Number 12 is the Resplendent Quetzal (Pharomachrus mocinno). This amazing bird was sacred to the native Americans in Central America. The male has long tail streamers. It is considered by many birders to be the most beautiful bird in the world and certainly up with the birds-of-paradise is beauty.

Resplendent Quetzal - male

Happy birding and photography,

David McDonald
dkmmdpa@gmail.com

photos copyright 2006 - 2017 David McDonald

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Bulletin #105 – Duluth MN winter birds #3

David McDonald Photography
Friendswood Texas
March 16, 2010

Bulletin #105 – Duluth MN winter birds #3

Hello friends,

Duluth Minnesota in winter is a magnet for birders, as many specialized northern species (owls, grouse, finches, gulls etc) winter in the area. I spent 3 days last week there. For many birders, most of the birds found are lifers, and it was no different for me.

I was fortunate to be able to obtain the services of 2 expert guides.

Kim Eckert...web site
Sparky Stensaas...web site

There were a number of finch species (family Fringillidae) attracted to feeders in the winter. The most common genera are Carduelis (goldfinches) and Carpodacus (House Finch and cousins).
We did have some American Goldfinches at feeders as well as Pine Siskins (Carduelis pinus). These brown striped finches have yellow wing edge



However, the species I went to Duluth for were the northern carduelis species, that don't have any yellow at all. These are the Redpolls. The Common Redpoll (Carduelis flammea) is a small (5.25") brown streaked finch with red cap, yellow bill and black lores and chin. The male also has a pink washed breast. The female in the second photo lacks this pink breast.

The closely related Hoary Redpoll (Carduelis hornemanni) is much whiter overall with less breast streaking. We found a single bird of this species - a female. Like the Common Redpoll, the male has pink on the breast and the female in the photo lacks it. This split of Hoary Redpoll from Common Redpoll is a recent development. Both redpolls summer on the extreme northern tundra from Alaska to Greenland. This was a lifer for me.

The local carpodacus finch is the Purple Finch (Carpodacus purpureus). They are slightly larger at 6" in length. The male is almost all purple with brown streaking. Peterson likens it to a 'sparrow dipped in raspberry juice'. The female in the second photo, is just a small darkly streaked finch with a bold white eye-stripe.

The term grosbeak refers to a number of birds with large bills. There are several in the Cardinal family (Rose-breasted, Black-headed and Blue), but there also are several members of the finch family with that name. They are the Evening Grosbeak and Pine Grosbeak. We saw both of these birds, but the Pine Grosbeak (Pinicola enucleator) was the one on my target list, as I did not have photos of it. The male is a large (9") red finch with a large beak and 2 prominent white wing bars. It tends to stay high in the trees, but in winter comes to feeders and can be found on the ground.

The female is gray overall with yellow on the head, breast and rump.

The last bird of the cold weekend was another lifer, the Bohemian Waxwing (Bombycilla garrulus). This waxwing of the western boreal forests is a little larger (8.25") than the familiar Cedar Waxwing. Its coloration is grayer overall and it had more white on the wings. It also has the waxy red on the wings, but the wing edges are yellow. Also, the undertail coverts are rufous.

We found a flock of these birds in Ely, MN which happened to be the coldest place in the lower 48 states that day, at minus 17 degrees F

Hoar frost is the name of a phenomenon of ice crystals are deposited on objects on very cold nights. As we were out first thing in the morning at temperatures of -15 degrees F, we saw all the treetops coated in these ice crystals and made brilliant and sparkly in the sunlight. The frost melts off later in the morning as the temperature rises. The first photo shows a spruce tree top with the frost. It sure resembles our flocked Christmas trees.

The next 2 photos are deciduous leafless trees encased in hoar frost.

I will be leading a 9 day bird photography tour to Costa Rica in conjunction with Lillian Scott-Baer of Baer Travel March 3-11, 2011. We have worked out an itinerary to visit La Selva Preserve, Savegre Mountain Hotel in the central mountains for Resplendant Quetzal and other montane species and Wilson Botanical Gardens (Las Cruces). We have also retained the services of local guide Rudy Zamora to accompany us and locate and ID the birds for us to photograph. We will also have beautiful flowers and hopefully some mammals - tamanduas, monkeys etc.

I will be giving several talks in the evening on bird photography, Photoshop etc.

The price will be $1960 double to $2380 single. This includes hotels, all meals, guide, transportation in Costa Rica etc. The only other cost will be airfare and personal purchases (alcohol, souvenirs etc) . Space is limited to 10 persons to maximize our opportunity to see and photograph the birds. I have birded in Costa Rica previously. It is a wonderful country to visit and the bird life is exceptional. I hope that you can join us.

Here is the schedule of payments for the trip.
$ 25 reservation fee (not refundable)
$ 575 due April 30, 2010
$ 600 due July 30, 2010
$ 740 due January 15, 2011

Please send deposits to:

ScoBar Inc.
34 Galway Place
The Woodlands, TX 77382

Note - we will try to pair up singles and triple would be $1890 per person.

There are only 4 spaces left for this trip as of today, so please email me, if interested.

All comments and suggestions are welcomed and appreciated.

Happy birding and photography,

David McDonald
email: davidkmcd@comcast.net

photos copyright 2010 David McDonald

To have these trip reports sent to your email, please email me at the above address and ask for subscribe.