Bulletin 229 - Best of 10 years #6 - Icterids

The Icterids are a New World family of 109 species popularly called 'blackbirds'. They include blackbirds, cowbirds, and grackles. But many brightly colored birds are icterids such as orioles, meadowlarks, and the large tropical species of caciques and oropendolas.

The Tricolored Blackbird is an endangered bird of coastal California. Although it is not particularly colorful, it is distinguished from the more common Red-winged Blackbird by the white wing stripe. This bird also has a red wing patch above the white, but mostly it is hidden except when displaying. The best place to see this bird in the central California coast is the famous Moonglow Dairy north of Monterey, where this photo was taken.

Tricolored Blackbird - male

His cousin the very common Red-winged Blackbird can be found all across North America in marshes. As above, the red patch is usually hidden except when displaying such as this one.

Red-winged Blackbird - male

The Yellow-headed Blackbird breeds across western and central USA and western Canada. It can be found in winter in the Houston area in huge mixed blackbird flocks.
The male as a yellow head and breast with a white wing patch.

Yellow-headed Blackbird - male

The Red-breasted Blackbird is actually the same genus as our meadowlarks. It is a resident from Costa Rica to central South America. The bright red underparts and black back are stunning.

Red-breasted Blackbird

The distinctive Bobolink breeds across the northern states and southern Canada. It was a favorite of mine growing up in Ontario with his yellow patch across the back of the head. He also has a white rump and white wing patches. It can be seen in the Houston area late in migration (usually in May). I took this photo in northern Michigan.

Bobolink - male

Orioles are generally orange and black or yellow and black. One exception is the common Orchard Oriole where the male is chocolate brown and black. It nests in the eastern and central USA and can be readily seen in spring migration. It also breeds in the Houston area.

Orchard Oriole - male

There are 2 yellow and black orioles in the USA. The 9.5"  Audubon's Oriole can be found in south Texas.

Audubon's Oriole

The Bullock's Oriole is the western counterpart of the Baltimore Oriole. For a time in the 80's and 90's they were lumped together as Northern Oriole. It has a mostly orange head and extensive white on the wings.

Bullock's Oriole

Our largest oriole is the 10" Altamira Oriole. It is another bird of the Rio Grande Valley in Texas.

Altamira Oriole

The Black-vented Oriole is a resident of Mexico to Nicaragua. Periodically one will show up in south Texas. This was a lifer for me and it was photographed at Bentsen-Rio Grande State park in January 2012.

Black-vented Oriole

An unusual oriole for the USA is the Spot-breasted Oriole. It is a resident of western Central America, but a small population can be found in Miami where presumably they were released cage birds. This bird in Miami is the only one of the species I have seen.

Spot-breasted Oriole

The 11" Yellow-rumped Cacique is a resident from Panama to eastern South America. It has a pale yellow bill, blue eye and bright yellow rump.

Yellow-rumped Cacique

Happy birding and photography,

David McDonald
dkmmdpa@gmail.com

photos copyright 2006 - 2015 David McDonald

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Bulletin 173 - end of migration birds

I had a birding buddy from the Big Apple and his son from LA visiting on the weekend of April 27th for migration. We had a grand time and saw an incredible variety of migrants, both songbirds and shorebirds.

Brazoria National Wildlife Refuge on the coast by Freeport was absolutely inundated with birds including as estimated 400 - 500 Wilson's Phalaropes (Phalaropus tricolor). Phalaropes are shorebirds that also swim. They pick food off the waters surface with their dainty thin beaks. They are unusual among birds in that the female is the brighter color. Three species of phalaropes exist in the world and this is the only one that occurs regularly on the upper Texas coast. The other two can be seen along the Atlantic and Pacific coasts. Here is a female in breeding plumage with bright red, gray and black markings.

Wilson's Phalarope - breeding female

The male in breeding plumage is gray with just a faint rusty wash on his neck.



Wilson's Phalarope - breeding male

A single breeding plumaged American Avocet (Recurvirostra americana) was also found at Brazoria. These long-legged birds have rusty heads and necks, white bodies, black wings with a wide white stripe and upcurved beaks. The sexes are similarly plumaged, but the female has a more curved beak than the male. This is a male.

American Avocet - breeding male

There are 3 Ibis species in the USA, 1 white and 2 dark. Ibises are heron sized wading birds with long curved beaks. The usual dark ibis in Texas is the White-faced Ibis (Plegadis chihi). In breeding season, it has a white V behind the eye on the face. The rest of the year, the white is gone and it can be difficult to differentiate the 2 species as the only specific mark is the color of the iris of the eye and the bare facial skin. This bird was right beside the road at Brazoria and allowed a close up of his face to show the field marks. The white feathers can be seen on the face, as well as the red facial skin and iris. usually one is not lucky enough to get this close to a bird.

White-faced Ibis - breeding

The late migration brings in the thrush species. The Wood Thrush (Hylocichla mustelina) is ID by his reddish head, brown back and tail and large dark breast spots.

Wood Thrush

The Gray-cheeked Thrush (Catharus minimus) is very similar to the Swainson's Thrush in the previous bulletin, but it lacks the eye ring. It has a uniform dull brown head, back and tail and spotted breast.

Gray-cheeked Thrush

The Veery (Catharus fuscens) has been a tough bird for me to find and photograph, but this spring, I had several. It is IDed be the uniform reddish-brown head back and tail, as well as a sparsely spotted breast.

Veery

The orioles always are a hit with birders due to their bright colors. The male Baltimore Oriole (Icterus galbula) is bright orange with a black head and wings.

Baltimore Oriole - male

The female is duller.

Baltimore Oriole - female

The Orchard Oriole (Icterus spurius) is chocolate brown where the Baltimore has orange, but the first year male is yellowish with a black throat and often confuses novice birders. I showed one of these in an earlier bulletin this year, but this is the best photo I have ever obtained of this plumage.



Orchard Oriole - 1st year male

Lastly, a male Rose-breasted Grosbeak (Pheucticus ludovicianus) perched against the sky for a portrait.

Rose-breasted Grosbeak - male

Happy birding and photography,

David McDonald
dkmmdpa@gmail.com

photos copyright 2013 David McDonald

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

Bulletin 172 - mid April migrants

It has been rather slow in migration this year for the last 2 weeks.

Here is a Prothonotary Warbler. It is one of my favorites with his intense yellow-orange color and blue gray wings.

Prothonotary Warbler

Another warbler this weekend was this male Yellow Warbler. He is all yellow, including the wing bars. The male has the reddish streaks on the breast and the female would lack these streaks.

Yellow Warbler - male

This male Black-throated Green Warbler hung around the drip at LaFitte's Cove. Often, he was so close that I could almost touch him and thus too close for a photo.

Black-throated Green Warbler - male

A Red-eyed Vireo posed on a stick over the drip after his bath. His head feathers are sticking up from the bath, He normally doesn't have a crested appearance. His red iris is visible in this photo.

Red-eyed Vireo

Summer Tanagers are among the most strikingly colored birds. This solid red male had a huge mouthful of mulberries.


Summer Tanager - male

The females in the eastern USA can be orange to greenish color. This one was very orange with scattered red feathers. She was right above me and so close, I could not get her completely in the photo.

Summer Tanager - female

Sibley says in his description of this species, that they can have a slightly crested appearance. Here is the same bird a few frames later sporting her crest.

Summer Tanager - female

The male Scarlet Tanager is beyond comprehension with his red body and head and black wings and tail. I always love to see them in spring and always take a photo.

Scarlet Tanager - male

One confusing spring bird is the first year male Orchard Oriole. This greenish-yellow bird has 2 white wing bars and a black throat. It is very different from both adults and for a long time was thought to be a separate species of oriole!


Orchard Oriole - 1st year male

Lastly, a brown bird, the Swainson's Thrush. He is IDed by the plain brown back and large eye ring. He is a rather dull bird after the tanagers. However, all the thrushes are superd singers and if you ever hear him sing, it is wonderful. Here is a link to a You Tube video of one singing by Naturalist97333.


Swainson's Thrush

Lastly, this normally long slender Gray Catbird, was all hunched down like a dove. His black cap and rusty undertail are well seen in this view.



Gray Catbird

Happy birding and photography,

David McDonald
dkmmdpa@gmail.com

photos copyright 2013 David McDonald

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