Bulletin 353 - South Africa 2020 #7 - Shorebirds, rails

I was enchanted with my first visit to Africa in November 2018 and so I scheduled another trip with the same guide Casper Badenhorst. As we had done the eastern part of the country from Durban to Kruger NP, we went to the Capetown area and the famous fynbos habitat.

The western Cape region is a semi desert. You may have read last year that Capetown was suffering from a multi-year drought and was on water rationing with the possibility of no fresh water at all. Fortunately they got some rain and refilled the reservoirs. But it is on the coast, so along with a wetland outside the city, many shorebirds can be found.

The best sandpiper was the 12" African Snipe (Gallinago nigripennis). This long billed, normally secretive bird, was in a marshy puddle beside the road. The guide said it was outstanding to see it in the open about 5 meters from the car. The guide is finally starting to believe how lucky I am when go birding.  Hahhaha. Another lifer for me. All snipes are exciting to find.

African Snipe

Several migrants from Europe were present as well. The whimbrel was finally split into 2 species. The 17"  Eurasian Whimbrel (Numenius phaeopus) has a striped head and down curved bill. It has a white back that is not seen on this photo, I actually had photographed this bird in Galveston many years ago, before the split, when an astute birder realized this was the European species. The white back is easily seen. FYI the whimbrel in North America is now called the Hudsonian Whimbrel.

Eurasian Whimbrel

The 10"  Ruff (Calidris pugnax) is an uncommonn vagrant in the lower 48 states, although it breeds in Alaska. 

Ruff - non breeding

The 5.5" Little Stint (Calidris minuta) shown here in winter plumage is the reason I use a guide as I would never know which species this is.

Little Stint - winter

In the plover family, I finally got some close up of the African endemics. The 5" Kittlitz's Plover (Charadius pecuarius) has a black ring aroiund the head and in breeding a chestnut breast. This bird in molting into the breeding plumage and some color can be seen on his chest.

Kittlitz's Plover

The 6.5" White-fronted Plover (Charadius marginatus) is perfectly camouflaged on the beach.

White-fronted Plover

The 17" African Oystercatcher (Haematopus moquini) is all black with the typical long red bill of oystercatchers. This bird was a lifer for me.

African Oystercatcher

In the wetland along with the ducks we saw 2 weeks ago were members of the rail family. By driving on the dikes between ponds and taking photos out the window, I got my best photos of these species.

The 13" Common Moorhen (Gallinula chloropus) is a gray and brown bodied bird with a short bicolored bill.

Common Mooorhen

The 17" Red-knobbed Coot (Fulca cristata) is a typical gray colored coot with white bill and shield. He really does have 2 small red knobs on the top of the shield. I cannot imagine the purpose of those knobs. This is an endemic bird in Africa.

Red-knobbed Coot

The last was a lifer as well. It is the 18" African Swamphen (Porphyrio madagascariensis). This is similar to our Purple Gallinule, but it is much larger and has a red bill and shield. 

African Swamphen

I put the different bird/mammal families in single folders for easy viewing

I have photos of 50 of the 93 species of sandpipers

I have photos of 29 of the 67 species of  plovers and lapwings

I have photos of 4 of the 11 species of  oystercatchers

I have photos of 18 of the 138 species of  rails, coots, gallinules

Happy birding and photography,

David McDonald

dkmmdpa@gmail.com

photos copyright 2006 - 2020 David McDonald

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

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

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

Bulletin #226 - Best of 10 Years #5 - Shorebirds and Seabirds

Shorebirds include sandpipers, plovers etc and are favorites of many birders. Many of them are long distance migrants from the Canadian arctic and Alaska to South America. Here are my favorites form the first 10 years of photography.

The Wandering Tattler is an 11" Pacific coast sandpiper that breeds along streams in Alaska and winters on rocky coasts from California to Mexico. I took this photo in Monterey, California and I just like the composition of the rock, intense blue water behind and the birds yellow legs.

Wandering Tattler

Next is the female Red Phalarope. Phalaropes are sandpipers that swim. The Red Phalarope is pelagic  in that it can be found on the surface of the ocean far offshore. It can be found along both coasts but is rare and occasionally occurs inland. I haven't seen it in Texas. Phalaropes are also unusual in that the female is the more brightly colored of the pair. On a trip to Monterey in the spring, a storm blew a number of birds onto the coast and I found this bird in a pond at the famous Pebble Beach golf club. 

Red Phalarope - female breeding

Third next is the 8"  Buff-breasted Sandpiper. This bird summers in the Canadian arctic and migrates through the central states to South America. It prefers short grassy fields and can be found on sod farms but seldom on the coast. In fact, this is the only one I have ever seen, and it was in Carmel, California where they are a reportable vagrant. I found it myself which is always exciting to be the first to find and report a rarity. He is in the kelp washed up on the beach.

Buff-breasted Sandpiper

The Ruff is a Eurasian sandpiper that occasionally shows up along both coasts and a few can be found in Alaska in the summer. The male is unusual in that he has a ruff of feathers on his neck that he uses in displaying. I have seen females occasionally in Texas, but this is the only breeding male I have seen and he was in Barrow Alaska.

Ruff - male breeding

The last sandpiper is the 10" Wilson's Snipe. This is a long-billed shorebird of muddy fields. They are difficult to see on the ground and usually only seen when flushed and flying away. I found this bird in a roadside ditch in Galveston one afternoon when I didn't have my camera as I was at a meeting. I went back the next day with camera and he was there again. I parked my car and go this close-up from 15 feet away through the window.

Wilson's Snipe

Plovers are another family of plump shorebirds closely related to sandpipers. The common one that most people are familiar with is the Killdeer. 

The  9" Mountain Plover is probably the most difficult of the North American plovers to find. It breeds on the plains of Montana, Wyoming and Colorado and winters in central Mexico, although a few are seen in south Texas. It is extremely rare to find on the upper Texas coast. I did find one in Galveston in 1995 and another was not found for 13 years. However, last winter, this one spent several weeks on Bolivar flats and many birders got to see it. I had looked for this bird in California, and south Texas several times to try and photograph it without success.

Mountain Plover

Lapwings are tall plovers, often boldly patterned. Unfortunately for us in North America, there are none. Every other continent has a several resident species. This 14" Southern Lapwing was photographed in Panama.

Southern Lapwing

The Northern Fulmar is an 18" pelagic seabird member of the shearwater family of birds. These birds have a peculiar tube nose. They are found offshore on both oceans. I found this one however in Monterey Harbor, where on the water, he looks like a gull. But the tube on his beak shows that he isn't a gull.

Northern Fulmar

Finding a rare bird by yourself and reporting it and having other birders go to look at it (and confirming it) is still exciting for me even after 25 years of birding. Such was the case of the Buff-breasted Sandpiper above and that Mountain Plover in Galveston in 1995. Well the next 2 birds also fall into that category.

The 37" Northern Gannet is a member of the gannet and booby family of large seabirds. This bird breeds on offshore islands of Atlantic Canada and winters along the Atlantic and Gulf Coasts, usually well offshore. I had seen it once before in Florida. In late July of 2010, I was driving along the seawall in Galveston and saw a large bird swimming close to the rocks. At first I thought it was a pelican, but as I got closer, obviously the color was wrong. I stopped and got out to see what it was. I realized it was a gannet that shouldn't even be here at this time of year. Unfortunately I didn't have my camera, but went home and returned with camera. By the time I got back, he had climbed out onto the rocks at the base of the seawall. I climbed down the stairs and went over the rocks to take his photo. I posted it on Texbirds and several others saw him and Wildlife Rescue was called and took him. Unfortunately, one can never find out from the rescue service what was wrong and what happened to the bird.

Northern Gannet

One morning during spring migration in 2008, I crossed over the Bolivar ferry early and stopped at Bolivar flats. I saw this unusual looking 'gull' on the beach. I took some photos and several more as he flew off. I knew it wasn't any gull I was familiar with. I got to High Island and asked the volunteers there to look at it. It was a Pomeraine Jaeger, not a gull. They are closely related to gulls, but now are a separate family. They are oceanic birds that come ashore only to nest, so seeing one on the beach is a reportable rarity.

Pomeraine Jaeger

Happy birding and photography,

David McDonald
dkmmdpa@gmail.com

photos copyright 2006 - 2015 David McDonald

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

Bulletin 197 - Migration #3 and Anahuac NWR book

It certainly was a strange year for migration. The best weekend was Easter weekend April 18-20. Generally,  the following two weekends are the peak of migration. However strong southerly breezes provided a good tail wind for the birds and they must have gone far inland before alighting. All the migrant traps on the coast were as quiet as any of us can ever remember. I hope it isn't an indication of a severe decline in bird numbers.

The Yellow-breasted Chat (Icteria virens) was formally considered a warbler, but now it is uncertain of its pedigree. It is larger (7.5") than the warblers. I usually only see 1 or 2 each spring. This one was at LaFitte's Cove in Galveston.

Yellow-breasted Chat

The Yellow-billed Cuckoo (Coccyzus americanus) is a common spring migrant, but I only saw a couple of them this year.



Yellow-billed Cuckoo

A late migrant that I was pleased to find was the Bobolink (Dolichonyx oryzivorus). This 7" member of the icterid or blackbird family usually comes through in early to mid May when most birders have stopped going to the coast. This was only the 3rd time in 25 years that I saw them in the spring. The beautiful male has a black breast, white on wings and back, and a prominent yellow patch on the back of his head and neck.The female is just streaked brown like a sparrow and I have yet to get a photo of her.

Bobolink - breeding male

Phalaropes are a group of 3 species of sandpipers that are unique in several ways. They often swim
and dab at the surface of the water to feed. There is one species we get here. Additional, unlike most birds, the female is the brightly colored bird and the males are duller. The one we have in spring is Wilson's Phalarope (Phalaropus tricolor). The female has black stripe down neck with red on the wings.

Wilson's Phalarope - female breeding

The male is considerably plainer. He is IDed by the thin bill and a hint of color on his face and neck.

Wilson's Phalarope - male breeding

Anahuac NWR had a rare spring sandpiper visitor this year, a female Ruff (Philomachus pugnax). This Eurasian sandpiper is an occasional visitor to the lower 48 states. But it seems to have become rather regular as I have seen one 3 times since 2008 in the Houston area. This was my first female in breeding plumage and she is IDed by the bright orange legs.



Ruff - breeding female

Here is another photo which also shows the banding on the wing feathers just like in the Sibley guide.



Ruff - breeding female

Anahuac NWR has always been a favorite place to visit for me. 2013 was their 50th anniversary of the establishment of the refuge. The volunteer group Friends of Anahuac Refuge decided to publish a book about the refuge in their 50th year and invited photographers to submit photos for possible inclusion in the book. I was fortunate to have had 3 photos selected for the book.

The first was a full page photo of a wildflower I took way back in 2006. It is known a False Indigo.

False Indigo

The second was my photo of a Striped Skunk (without stripes) taken in 2010. It was only 1/4 page in the book.

Striped Skunk

And lastly, I had a bird photo! This pair of Crested Caracaras on top of a bare tree was taken 2 days before the close of submissions last December. It was also published as a full page in the book.

Crested Caracaras

If any of you are interested in buying a copy of the book, it is only $20 plus tax and shipping. It can be purchased at the visitor center at Anahuac NWR or can be ordered online here.


Happy birding and photography,

David McDonald dkmmdpa@gmail.com

photos copyright 2006 - 2014 David McDonald

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

Bulletin #144 - miscellaneous birds

I have finally been able to get out and do some birding this fall. Winter birds are starting to arrive and the last of the fall migrants are about passed through the upper Texas coast.

I have had a number of good photos of hawks since the last bulletin

This beautiful Osprey (Pandion haliaetus) was perched in a low dead tree beside the road on Galveston Island as I was heading to LaFitte's Cove, early one morning. I stopped the car and took the photo out the opened window so as not to disturb him. A number of beginners or non-birders see the white head and think this is a Bald Eagle. However, notice the brown stripe through the eye. On a Bald Eagle, the head is entirely white.

Osprey - Galveston

 On November 5th, on a trip to Brazoria NWR south of Houston, a White-tailed Hawk (Buteo albicaudatus) was in a small dead tree beside the road. This large (20") hawk is a specialty of coastal Texas. It is IDed as an adult by gray back, red shoulders and white underparts. The tail is white with a black terminal band as seen in the 2nd and 3rd photos.

White-tailed Hawk - adult



 One of my nemesis birds to photograph is a Merlin (Falco columbarius). This 10" falcon is just slighly larger than the common American Kestrel. Last year I got my first photo of this bird (only a fair photo), but yesterday, I had one in a tree beside the road and got my best photo. The female is brown backed with brown striped breast. The male has a gray back.

Merlin - female at Brazoris NWR

The Northern Caracara (Caracara cheriway) is a common raptor in Mexico and south Texas. The adults have a black body and yellow legs, but the juvenile and 1st year birds have a brown body and gray legs. I found a family group of 3 birds yesterday and got a photo of the juvenile for the first time.

Northern Caracara - juvenile

I found this weird looking duck at LaFitte's Cove yesterday. I think it is a hybrid between Green-winged and Blue-winged Teals. No one has commented on Texbirds yet to refute my guess.

Hybrid Teal - ?Green-winged x Blue-winged at LaFitte's Cove, Galveston 11/6/2011

The drought all summer has caused most of the damp marshy areas to be bone dry. Thus any remaining wet areas have attracted the migrating shorebirds. One such area is El Franco Lee Park in SE Houston. They kept it wet by pumping water into the area from a creek. In any event, this Ruff (Philomachus pugnax) was spotted about a week ago and hangs out right in front of the observation gazebo. This is the second Ruff in the past 3 years in the Houston-Galveston area and the first record ever for the city of Houston. It is a Eurasion shorebird that does show up regularly in North America, but mostly on the east coast. This bird is IDed by the plump body, small head and short bill. I must admit, I wouldn't have known what it was. Usually they are found by birders from Europe who are very familiar with it. This particular bird is a juvenile because of the beige unstreaked breast.

Ruff - juvenile at El Franco Lee Park, Houston TX

Ruff

Lastly, the Wilson's Snipe (Gallinago delicata) is another shorebird. It usually is difficult to see and photograph as it stays hidden in wet grassy areas. However, with a shortage of marshy places this year, many have been forced to forage in the open. This has given us birders our best looks at numerous birds as well as good photo ops. It is IDed by the long bill, striped head and 3 long beige stripes down the back.

Wilson's Snipe

Happy birding and photography,

David McDonald
davidkmcdmd@yahoo.com

photos copyright 2011 David McDonald

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