Bulletin 162 - AZ hummers #2

The Magnificent Hummingbird (Eugenes fulgens) is another large (5.25") hummingbird of southeast AZ. It is appropriately named, as the male has a bright green gorget and purple crown. The rest of his body appears dark.

Magnificent Hummingbird - male

We also saw for the first time, a juvenile male. He is just starting to get some of his bright green throat feathers and purple crown feathers.

Magnificent Hummingbird - juvenile male

The Black-chinned Hummingbird (Archilochus alexandri) is a common hummingbird of the USA southwest. It is very similar to his cousin, the Ruby-throated Hummingbird of eastern North America. The male has a black chin and thin purple gorget below the black. I have always found it difficult to photograph to show off the purple feathers. This time I got lucky.

Black-chinned Hummingbird - male

Here is another hovering while doing his business.

Black-chinned Hummingbird - male

The Costa's Hummingbird (Calypte costae) is a very small (3.5") hummingbird of southern California and Arizona. I photographed a male bird last November in Tucson. This trip I got the female. She is IDed more by her shape. Notice the large round head and short thick neck. Also, the wing tips extend just beyond the tail.

Costa's Hummingbird - female

The familiar Rufous Hummingbird (Selasphorus rufus) is a small (3.75") hummingbird of the Pacific northwest. However, a few winter along the Gulf coast and I have been blessed to have had a few birds visiting my feeders the last 3 winters. The adult male is almost completely orange. We saw a single bird, but I wasn't able to get a photo. However, here is a juvenile male.

Rufous Hummingbird - juvenile male

Here is another juvenile male. He appears to have some sort of tumor on his face, as there is a tuft of feathers just above the beak.



Rufous Hummingbird - juvenile male

The female has less rufous and just a couple of red throat spots.

Rufous Hummingbird - female

Lastly we had a hybrid hummingbird. This was explained as a Lucifer x Costa's cross. The Costa's is evident with the purple crown. I am not sure how the Lucifer was delineated. The Lucifer does have a very narrow tail, and maybe this bird had that, but I didn't see it, if that was the case. They called it a Costifer Hummingbird for the parents.

Lucifer x Costas's Hummingbird - hybrid

Happy birding and photography,

David McDonald
dkmmdpa@gmail.com

photos copyright 2012 David McDonald

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Bulletin #131 – Mexican Visitors and GBBC

David McDonald Photography
Friendswood Texas

February 14, 2011

Bulletin #131 – Mexican Visitors and GBBC

There have been a couple of Mexican vagrants in my area of Texas recently.

The first was a Fork-tailed Flycatcher (Tyrannus savana). This handsome bird looks like a cross between an Eastern Kingbird and a Scissor-tailed Flycatcher. It normally occurs from Mexico to South America. However, it turns up regularly in the USA along the Texas coast and east coast. This was the first one I had an opportunity to see in the USA and photograph. It was in Galveston Island State Park in January and it may still be there.

In this photo he landed with his back to the strong wind that day and his tail feathers blew over his back.  

The second bird was a Yellow-faced Grassquit (Tiaris olivacea). This is another bird that has an extensive range from Mexico to South America. It was at Goose Island State Park near Rockport TX. It is a small (4")sparrow like bird. The only US Field Guide that shows it, that I have, is National Geographic. In that field guide, it is listed in the same family as sparrows. However, the IOU (International Ornithologists Union) include it in Thraupidae family (Tanagers). This bird is a male. He IDed by the olive body and black face and breast with yellow stripes on the face.In the sunlight, he was beautiful and the book illustrations don't do him justice.

While waiting for the grassquit to appear, I photographed this Field Sparrow (Spizella pusilla). It is IDed by the reddish crown, plain face with distinct white eye-ring. The breast is unstreaked.

The Great Backyard Bird Count is an annual event in February, sponsored by National Audubon and Cornell University Ornithology to get people everywhere in North America to count the birds in their yards, local parks or anywhere else desired. The dates are Feb 18-21, 2011. All you have to do is count the most number of birds of each species that you see at any one time. Plan to spend at least 15 minutes in a location. Then you enter your data online. You can pick any time during those 4 days. Also, you can do several sightings in different locations or the same location on different days over those 4 days.

Hummingbirds are unusual in winter here in Houston, but I have been blessed to have several of these jewels in my yard, the last 3 winters. When I entered 3 different hummer species last year in the GBBC, I was queried by a screener to make sure I had identified them correctly. Currently I have just 3 of them, a female Black-chinned and this stunning Buff-bellied Hummingbird (Amazilia yucatanensis). I showed his photo before Christmas when he first showed up. But he is still here and I took this photo of him last week hunkered down near the house to avoid the wind and 30 degree temperature. For a tropical species, he is quite cold tolerant. 

This 1st winter male Rufous Hummingbird (Selasphorus rufus) showed up this weekend. 

Other birds at my feeders that I hope to find and enter on the GBBC next weekend are the Orange-crowned Warbler (Vermivora celata). This drab olive bird has grayish head and no distinguishing features other than the faintly streaked breast shown here. All these photos are taken out my kitchen window. 

The male Pine Warbler (Dendroica pinus) is the brightest winter warbler I have at my house. I have several pine trees to attract them and they readily come to the peanut butter mix on this feeder.

The female is less brightly colored with the yellow just on the breast. 

The peanut butter mix even attracts the Ruby-crowned Kinglets (Regulus calendula) in my yard. This is the only feeder I have found that will attract the kinglets that normally eat insects. 

So, if the Great Backyard Bird Count interests you, I hope that you will participate next weekend and survey your yard or a local park etc.

Happy birding and photography,

David McDonald

email: davidkmcdmd@yahoo.com

photos copyright 2011 David McDonald

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For complete instructions, follow the GBBC link above. Last year, there were almost 100,000 lists submitted totaling 603 species and 11.2 million individual birds reported.

Bulletin #98 – Misc birds of upper Texas coast

David McDonald Photography
Friendswood Texas
December 21, 2009

Bulletin #98 – Misc birds of upper Texas coast

Hello friends,

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays.

First of all, I have a correction from the last Bulletin #97. The bird listed as a Chipping Sparrow is actually a juvenile White-crowned Sparrow. Thanks to guide Darrell Vollert for pointing out my mistake. Let me try and explain the subtle difference between these birds. Here is a Chipping Sparrow - juvenile. Notice the black line goes through the eye to the bill. That area in front of the eye is called the lores. In a Chipping Sparrow, the lores are dark or black. In the photo posted, which was actually a White-crowned Sparrow, the lores are light gray. I have relabeled the photo correctly.

One of the other birds on my to do list for this winter, is the Nelson's Sharp-tailed Sparrow (or just Nelson's Sparrow) (Ammodramus nelsoni). This bird is very similar to the LeConte's Sparrow highlighted in Bulletin #97. However, the differences include a gray midline crown stripe and gray back of neck. The habitat in winter is also different, with the Nelson's strictly in salt marsh and the LeConte's in fields.

Here are 2 photos of a Nelson's Sparrow taken on Crab Road, Surfside Beach, Texas.

I arrived at Surfside Beach in the early morning to find the sparrows when they became active at daylight. There were a number of other marsh birds, that photographed beautifully in the early morning light.

Here are a couple of photos of an adult Clapper Rail (Rallus longirostris). I was only 15 feet from this bird, my closest encounter yet with a rail. The photos are full frame. The gray cheek differentiates this rail from the closely related and very similar King Rail.

The juvenile birds are almost completely gray. This was my first time to see one. Also, these rails swim at times as shown in Sibley, and I caught this juvenile swimming.

Another bird was the Short-billed Dowitcher (Limnodromus griseus). This bird was practically at my feet.

On the way back home, I drove through Brazoria NWR. One of the special birds there is the White-tailed Hawk (Buteo albicaudatus). This large hawk (23") is a resident of the Texas coastal area from Houston to the Rio Grande valley. The adult has a snow white breast, gray back and rufous shoulders. The tail is white with a terminal black band.

In contrast, the juveniles are often completely brown with just a white spot on the breast. Here is an old photo from my files.

Turkey Vultures (Cathartes aura) have bare pink heads. I was unaware, until Joe Kennedy posted some photos on Texbirds, that the juveniles have black heads just like a Black Vulture, but they gradually turn pink. I looked for such a bird and found one beside the road at Brazoria NWR.

I gave 2 talks in November on the subject of winter birds along the upper Texas coast. One of the items I mentioned was the chance of getting a wintering hummingbird in your yard, if you take the time to leave your feeder up and change the food regularly. I have had the pleasure of a Buff-bellied Hummingbird in my yard last winter and once in the mid 1990's at my previous house in Seabrook, Texas.

As everyone who lives here knows, we had a freeze and snow on Friday December 4th. This killed many of the flowers in our gardens that the hummers depend on, so they are even more likely to come to your feeder.

The fates have smiled upon me as I had 3 different birds in my yard the week of Dec 9-13th. I had my first ever Rufous Hummingbird (Selasphorus rufus). This was a beautiful male, who is still here. He is roosting on a wilted hibiscus bush, which is their preferred plant in winter.

I also had a female Archilochus species (either Ruby-throated or Black-chinned) as I haven't been able to differentiate yet.

The third bird was a Buff-bellied Hummingbird (Amazilia yucatanensis) again. I did get a good look at him on the feeder and he appears to be banded on his right leg. The one I had last year was also banded, so I think it is likely the same bird. Hummingbirds have excellent memories and will often return to the same place, year after year. The bird disappeared for a while and reappeared yesterday, when I was able to get a photo. What a beautiful creature!

So if you haven't put up a hummingbird feeder, and want to try to attract one, this winter would be ideal. I have only had 2 birds in winter in 20 years, and now 3 this year already! Good luck, and if you do attract one, I would love to photograph it, if it is an unusual bird. Please email me with the details. Thanks.

All comments and suggestions are welcomed and appreciated.

Happy birding and photography,

David McDonald

email: davidkmcd@comcast.net

photos copyright 2009 David McDonald

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