Bulletin 255 - 100 Birds to see before you die - #1

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.

I have photographed 20+ already and saw several others before I started doing photography. Interestingly I have seen 9 of them within 50 miles of Houston. This may be the most that could be seen in any location in North America, if not the world.

As most of my subscribers are in Texas, I will start with those 9 and 1 more to make an even 10 for a bulletin and do them in order from 100 to 1.

Number 99 is the Western Grebe (Aechmophorus occidentalis). This large (25") grebe is included for its mating dance, where several birds rush across the surface of the water. It breeds on large lakes in the western USA and Canada and winters on the Pacific coast and some lakes in Texas and the Gulf coast. I have only seen it once locally. There was one last winter in Galveston Bay that I saw. The authors say it is not particularly beautiful, but in the sunlight I think it is a handsome bird. 

Western Grebe

Number 96 is the Vermilion Flycatcher (Pyrocephalus rubinus). The male of this 6" tyrant flycatcher is unmistakable with his red head and underparts and brown back, wings and tail and stripe through the face. It has an extensive range from the southern USA through Central America and much of South America. The authors included this bird for its color. Houston is east of its summer range, but in the winter. a few birds can be found at Anahuac NWR and Brazos Bend SP.

Vermilion Flycatcher

Number 94 is the Magnificent Frigatebird (Frigata magnificens). At 40" in length, it is the largest of the 5 species of frigatebirds. The males are black with an inflatable red throat pouch. They all have long forked tails and long thin wings.The wingspan in 8.5 feet. Females are black with a white chest and juveniles have a white head and chest. Their range is tropical seas off American Pacific and Atlantic coasts. The breed on the Mexican coast of the Gulf, and post breeding, they migrate northwards. They can be readily found soaring high over Galveston in the summer. A good spot to watch for them is when crossing on the Bolivar ferry.

Magnificent Frigatebird

Number 91 is the Roseate Spoonbill (Platalea ajaja). This is one of 6 species spoonbills in the world and is included because of its beautiful color. The rest are almost totally white. It is easy to ID by color and the unique long wide bill. It is common on the upper Texas coast and readily found near water. Also there is a rookery at High Island where one can find dozens in the spring on their nest and tending to babies.

Roseate Spoonbill

Number 83 is the Ruff (Philomachus pugnax). This is a Eurasian sandpiper that occasionally shows up in North America. I have seen the plain female about 6 times in the Houston area, but never the male. The male in breeding plumage has a ruff on his neck and ear tufts that he displays to attract a mate. 

Ruff

Number 79 is the Scissor-tailed Flycatcher (Tyrannus forficatus). This is another beautiful tyrant flycatcher that anyone can ID because of its pearly gray color and very long tail. This bird is easy to find in the summer as it breeds in grasslands from Texas to Kansas .

Scissor-tailed Flycatcher

Number 70 is the Greater Roadrunner (Geococcyx californianus). This 20" member of the cuckoo family is a resident of south central and southwestern US and northern Mexico. It is famous from the cartoons where it always outwits the coyote. The authors have included it because of its speed running as it can sustain 18 mph. This is the fastest runner of any bird capable of flight.

Greater Roadrunner

Number 60 is the Red Crossbill (Loxia curvirostra). This 6.5" finch has a specialized beak for prying open cones to get at the seeds. This is the one I didn't see in Houston, although it has been recorded here ( last time 1964). The photos were taken in New Mexico. The bird has an extensive range all across North America and Eurasia. There is some question about whether it may be made up of several species as the flight calls are different in different regions as is the preference of types of cones.

Red Crossbill - male

Number 49 is the Smith's Longspur (Calcarius pictus). This 6" bird was formerly in the New World Sparrows and buntings, but recently DNA study shows that they are not closely related and they along with the Snow Buntings of the Arctic were placed in their own family. This bird summers on the Arctic tundra of Alaska and Canada. It winters in Arkansas, east Texas and Oklahoma. I saw this bird just north of Houston in 2011.

Smith's Longspur

Number 43 is the Red-cockaded Woodpecker (Picoides borealis). This critically endangered 8" woodpecker of the southeast USA nests in 100 year old living pine trees that are infected with a fungus 'red heart rot' that causes the inside to soften and easier to chisel out a cavity. Small family groups live in 'clans'. There are an estimated 12,500 birds of this species left in widely scattered areas due to the nest requirements. This represents 1% of the original population. They also require a fairly open under story caused by forest fires. There is a preserve north of Houston Intercontinental Airport called Jones State Forest where these birds were photographed and can be seen. If you are going, get there right at dawn, as the birds hang around the nest holes for a while, and then fly away for the day to feed.

Red-cockaded Woodpecker

Happy birding and photography,

David McDonald
dkmmdpa@gmail.com

photos copyright 2006 - 2016 David McDonald

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Bulletin #127 – Sandia Crest NM finches

David McDonald Photography
Friendswood Texas

December 12, 2010



Bulletin #127 – Sandia Crest NM finches

The Houston Texas area is a great location for birds, as with migrations and wintering northern birds, we can see at least 60% or more of all the birds in North America.


However, one family that we are deficient in is the finches. There are 16 species in North America, but only 5 occur here regularly. These are the Purple and House Finches of genus Carpodacus and American and Lesser Goldfinches and Pine Siskin, all in the genus Carduelis.



The other finches are almost mythical as they are so hard to find. Their preferred habitats are the arctic tundra, boreal forests and high mountain peaks. These include the Redpolls, Crossbills, Rosy-Finches and Pine and Evening Grosbeaks.


In 2010, I made trips to Duluth MN, Alaska and then last weekend to Sandia Crest outside Albuquerque NM and have been able to finally find all of these birds.

The 3 species of Rosy-Finch were once all combined, but then they were resplit. The Brown-capped Rosy-Finch summers high in the Rockies in Colorado. The Black Rosy-Finch summers at elevation in Wyoming and Montana. The Gray-crowned Rosy-Finch summers in the mountains of southern Alaska, but we didn't look for it in Alaska as it is too high in the mountains. Fortunately, in winter they come south, but stay in the mountains. All 3 species can be seen at the lodge at the top of Sandia Crest (10,700' elevation) where they have feeders out for them.



In all the 3 species, the males have pink rumps, pink on the wings and varying amounts of pink on the bellies. The females are always duller.

 The Black Rosy-Finch (Leucosticte atrata) is the easiest to ID. The body is black with a gray crown patch. The bills in winter are yellow, but turn black in breeding plumage. Here are the male and female.

The Gray-crowned Rosy-Finch (Leucosticte tephrocotis) has a cinnamon brown body with the gray crown patch. There is a black forehead, but the black doesn't extend beyond the top of the head.  Here are the male and female. 

The last one is the Brown-capped Rosy-Finch (Leucosticte australis). It also has a brown body, but not cinnamon brown. It has either a dark cap or a gray cap with dark brown all through it. These 2 brown bodied birds can be confusing to ID sometimes.  Here are the male and female.   

The other finch was the Red Crossbill (Loxia curvirostra). Both species of crossbill use their peculiar beaks to pry open cones on fir and pine trees to get at the seeds inside. They travel in small flocks and are highly nomadic as they cover wide areas looking for unopened cones. I found a flock just below the top of the mountain at the 10,000' level and was able to get some great photos as they came down to the edge of the road to eat some grit for their crops. A crossbill is IDed by the beak, and the Red Crossbill doesn't have any white wing bars. The males are red and the females yellow olive. They both have darker wings than the body color. Here is a male in a spruce tree. 

And here is one on the road 15 feet from me as I stood still and let the flock walk towards me.

This 1st year male has red and yellow, but notice the two wing bars. Both Sibley and National Geographic field guides show this rare variant with the narrow wing bars. I was fortunate to get a photo of this unusual plumage. I didn't know that it had the wing bars until I developed the photos at home.   

The female is yellow to olive colored.   

This is likely a 1st year female as there is only a small amount of yellow on the head and chest. Notice how she hangs upside down to get at the cones. 

There is a wide variation in bill sizes in the Red Crossbill and this seems to depend on which tree and cones are utilized. There are 9 subspecies recognized by bill size and the voices are also different. So there is some discussion that perhaps there may be 9 separate species involved. Sibley discusses this on his web site among possible splits. But he thinks it would be highly unlikely to carve 1 species into 9 others as the work involved in DNA, voice recording and potential hybrids where ranges overlap would make a daunting task.
For people like me, who have trouble with altitude, there is a medication that can be taken before you leave to prevent the altitude sickness. I live at sea level on the Gulf Coast, and used to get very light-headed and nauseated when I went to Colorado, especially Aspen at over 8000 feet. It would take me 2-3 days to adjust, and I ruined half my vacation. Now with premedication, I was able to leave Houston at sea-level, fly to Albuquerque in 2 hours and drive another hour to the top of the mountain (10,700 feet) without a problem.



For those who don't know about this, the drug is Diamox. It comes in Diamox Sequels 500mg to be taken once daily starting 2 days before leaving and continuing for several days. As I was just there for the weekend, I took one each day. This is a prescription medication, but your family doctor should be able to write you a prescription for it.

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.