Bulletin 196 - spring migration April 18 - 20

My friend Martin Jackson, from NYC, and his son Tom, from Los Angeles, visited last weekend to see the migration of birds to the upper Texas coast. We  had a great weekend and saw 110 species of birds. Here are some photos from the weekend.

One of my target birds is the molting first year male Summer Tanager (Piranga rubra). These male are yellow-green over winter and then start getting their red feathers in spring. They can have all sorts of combinations of color. This first one has a partially red face but green rump.

Summer Tanager - 1st year male

The next one has a little more red. His head is all red as well as his rump.


Summer Tanager - 1st year male

This last one is all red except for a patch on the nape of his neck and the wing edges.



Summer Tanager - 1st year male

The male Scarlet Tanager (Piranga olivacea) was very numerous on Saturday. In fact, I saw more of them that day than ever before. The guide books state that they come in an orange variant, but they tend towards orange-red rather than orange like an oriole. On one occasion, we had 3 birds together, one was scarlet, one was the orange variant, and the third was an in-between shade of red. Here is a red one.

Scarlet Tanager - breeding male

 And here is an orange variant male.

Scarlet Tanager - breeding male

The Blue Grosbeak (Guiraca caerula) is much less common here than the Indigo Bunting, so I was pleased to see 3 birds and all had different plumages.The breeding male is royal blue with a rufous wing patch. The wing patch is the important field mark.

Blue Grosbeak - male

The juvenile birds are rufous brown  and then molt in next spring. The first year male has a blue face and rump and tail, with the rufous back of head.



Blue Grosbeak - 1st year male

The adult females are a dull gray brown, but this female has the bright rufous on her head, so I would assume that she is a first year female.

Blue Grosbeak - 1st year female

There was a scarcity of warblers, but a male Common Yellowthroat (Geothlypis trichas) did put on a show at the drip at LaFitte's Cove. This bird is an easy ID with his black mask.

Common Yellowthroat - male

The reason spring migration is so awesome along the coast, is that many neotropical migrants fly across the gulf from the Yucatan peninsula of Mexico. The distance is 600 miles. A few of the birds don't make it and fall into the sea. Most continue inland, but a lot of them stop at the 'migrant traps' on the coast to rest, feed and bathe. The locations include High Island, Galveston, and Quintana on the upper Texas coast. However an occasiona bird just makes it to shore and collapses, totally spent and can't fly. We found one such bird on the Bolivar peninsula. It was a female Scarlet Tanager and she landed on a mud flat 50 yards inland from the ocean. She couldn't fly and there was nothing for her to eat at that location. It was a cold foggy morning and she would have died form hypothermia. I picked her up, wrapped her in my jacket, and took her to High Island. She had warmed up and recovered and flew to a mulberry tree to feast. Here I am holding her. Thanks to Tom Jackson for the photo.

David McDonald holding Scarlet Tanager
Photo by Tom Jackson

As we were leaving Brazoria National Wildlife Refuge, there was a 6 foot alligator lying on the road.
Several cars had stopped to watch it. Of course, we got out to see it as well. As all photographers know, the ideal way to photograph a person, animal, bird etc is to be a eye level. So of course I got down on the road to get these photos up close and personal with a gator.

Alligator on road - Brazoria NWR

And another showing his acute need of dental work and a cleaning.

Alligator on road - Brazoria NWR

A short time later, he got up and walked off into the grass.

Alligator on road - Brazoria NWR

Happy birding and photography,

David McDonald dkmmdpa@gmail.com

photos copyright 2014 David McDonald

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Bulletin 174 - more end of migration birds

A formerly nemesis bird for me was the American Golden Plover (Pluvialis dominica). I first saw this bird on the Texas coast in 2010. Now I see it annually. This was my first time to find them on Galveston Island, on Settegast Road, very close to my favorite haunt at LaFitte's Cove. I actually saw about 5 birds over 2 weekends there. This is a beautiful bird in breeding plumage, but unfortunately, it doesn't molt to breeding plumage until it reaches breeding grounds in the Arctic.

American Golden-Plover - non-breeding

The Dickcissel (Spiza americana) is a sparrow like bird with its brown back. However, as can be seen by the large beak, it actually is in the cardinal family. The large beak, yellow breast and black throat actually make it look like a small meadowlark. This is a male. The female lacks the color on the underparts. It is named for its call (like the Killdeer and Chickadee). The rufous ahoulder patches are distinctive in both sexes.

Dickcissel - male

and

Dickcissel - male

My most exciting photos were finally getting some of the Golden-winged Warbler (Vermivora chrysoptera), This is one of the rarer birds in Texas during migration. I started doing photography in 2006, and finally got a glimpse of one last year but didn't get a photo. this year I saw 3 of them. It was a great year for Golden-wingeds on the coast. This bird is overall gray with a bright gold wing patch. It has a yellow cap. The female has a plain face.

Golden-winged Warbler - female

The male has 2 black marks on his face. This photo from behind shows some black. These aren't the best photos, but I was ecstatic to finally get any photos of this tough bird.

Golden-winged Warbler - male

The Northern Waterthrush (Parkesia noveboracensis) is the later of the 2 waterthrushes to migrate. It is brown with breast streaks and a buffy eye stripe. The sexes are similar.

Northern Waterthrush

Magnolia Warblers (Setophaga magnolia) especially the male are dramatic with dark backs, wing bars, bright yellow breasts and black streaking on the breast. Here is one bathing in the drip puddle.

Magnolia Warbler

A tough to photo bird is the Yellow-breasted Chat (Icteria virens). This large  (7.5") bird was once in the warbler family, but now is in a family by itself as ornithologists try to resolve where it belongs. It is normally secretive and stays well hidden. However, I got lucky and this bird popped out onto a bare branch. The bright yellow breast, olive brown back and black and white facial markings ID this bird. The sexes are similar.

Yellow-breasted Chat

Everyone's favorite is the male Painted Bunting (Passerina ciris). I only saw 2 of them this spring, but this greenish female came to the drip.

Painted Bunting - female

I got another photo of a male Scarlet Tanager (Piranda olivacea) with a green hackberry seed in his mouth.

Scarlet Tanager - male

The 1st year male Summer Tanagers (Pirangra rubra) are greenish and molt into their all red color in the spring. Sometimes they have some weird patterns. Sibley says that the amount of each color can be quite variable. here is one that is almost all red, with just some green on the belly.

Summer Tanager - 1st year male

This one is really peculiar looking. He sort of looks like a green bird with a sunburn on his face.

Summer Tanager - 1st year male

Happy birding and photography,

David McDonald dkmmdpa@gmail.com

photos copyright 2013 David McDonald

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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

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Bulletin #153 - Spring migration #2

We have not had a fallout this year so far and the weather suggests it will be unlikely in the next week or so. Birding has been rather slow everywhere on the coast from what I can read on Texbirds.

Still, a few birds can lead to some good photos. This weekend has seen an influx of the more sought after beauties, but few warbler species.

The perennial favorite of all is the Painted Bunting (Passerina ciris). The gaudy male is unmistakable with his red breast, blue head and yellow-green back. This bird came to the drip at LaFitte's Cove and perched on a snag by the pond for his photo to everyone's delight.

Painted Bunting - male

Of interest, I noted the green feathers between the eye and bill. I had not noticed this before, but when I checked my other photos of this bird, they all have it. It is amazing how we can miss a curiosity like this.

He got down into the drip and took a bath as we all clicked away. This photo has his feathers on his head standing up and his head in a reflection. What a great bird! These were my best photos ever of this species.

Painted Bunting - male

Another favorite of mine is the Scarlet Tanager (Piranga olivacea). Last year I read and told you that the piranga genus of tanagers were going to be moved to the cardinal family. Apparently it hasn't happened yet. The male is red with black wings and tail. It has been a hard bird for me to get a good photo as usually when he is in the sun, the photos ar overexposed on the back and head in the sun. This bird was low down in some shrubs eating a berry. the time was 6:30pm, so no sun and a perfect exposure using flash. I like the photos with the bird doing something..eating, singing etc.

Scarlet Tanager - male breeding

Here is another photo a minute later in another pose with a half-eaten berry.

Scarlet Tanager - male breeding

The black, red, and white male Rose-breasted Grosbeak (Pheucticus ludovicianus) is an easy ID.

Rose-breasted Grosbeak - male breeding

Baltimore Orioles (Icterus galbula) have always been a difficult bird for me to photograph as they tend to perch near the treetops. This one at least was in a bare tree. The breeding male with black head, black wings with white bars, black tail and orange body is stunning.

Baltimore Oriole - male breeding

The best warbler for the weekend was this Magnolia Warbler (Setophaga magnolia). Notice the genus change from dendroica as I mentioned in the last bulletin, all the warblers have been renamed and reordered. The yellow beast with black streaks, gray head and back, and black face ID this bird.

Magnolia Warbler - male breeding

The female American Redstart (Setophaga ruticilla) is gray with yellow wing and tail patches.

American Redstart - female

The male Yellow Warbler (Setophaga petechia)is all yellow with red streaks on the breast. The female lacks the streaks.

Yellow Warbler - male

 Happy birding and photography,

David McDonald
dkmmdpa@gmail.com

photos copyright 2012 David McDonald

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

Bulletin 139 - other migrants

David McDonald photography
Friendswood TX
5-29-11

Here are some of the other migrants seen over the past few weeks.

The Yellow-billed Cuckoo (Coccyzus americanus) is by far the more common cuckoo that we have in Texas during migration. This one flew down to the drip at LaFitte's Cove and sat there while we clicked away with our cameras. This is full frame photo. One can see the lower mandible and part of the upper is yellow. The bird is also supposed to have a yellow eye-ring, but this may be a young bird as there is just a hint of a few yellow feathers around the eye.

The Common Nighthawk (Chordeiles minor) is a summer resident here. Often we find them during migration in the woods. Notice that they characteristically perch along the branch rather than across the branch. This family of birds including Whipoorwill etc are usually dull brown with some white spots. One can tell that this is the Common Nighthawk as the wings are very lomg and extend beyond the tail. Nighthawks catch insects in the flight. The other birds in the family perch and just dart out to catch their bugs, so don't need as powerful wings and their wings are short.

The Western Kingbird (Tyrannus verticalis) is one of 4 kingbirds that are similarly colored with green backs and yellow bellies. This is not a usual bird along the coast. It can be differentiated form the other 3 by voice or by the tail. Notice the dark tail with a white lateral edge. None of the other 3 have the lateral white edge. The bird was at LaFitte's Cove.

The Philadelphia Vireo (Vireo philadfelphicus) is similar to the Red-eyed Vireo in coloration, but the colors are more muted. It is differentiated by the yellow throat.

The Tanagers are the bright red migrants. The male Summer Tanager (Piranga rubra) is all red in breeding plumage. This bird was at LaFitte's Cove and is the best photo I have ever taken of this magnificent bird.

His cousin, the male Scarlet Tanager (Piranga olivacea) is red with black wings and tail. This stunning bird along with the male Painted Bunting, are the 2 birds that most beginning birders want to see.

Shorebirds are another attraction on the upper Texas coast during migration. The ponds at LaFitte's Cove are a good place to look for many of them. They are often a difficult identification problem for begining birders, but with study, most can be sorted out. After 5 years, I can now confidently ID most of them in the breeding plumage that we find in spring migration.

The Pectoral Sandpiper (Calidris melanotos) is IDed by yellow legs, bicolored bill and the clean demarcation of the breast streaking from plain belly.

The Stilt Sandpiper (Calidris himantopus) is a long legged bird that has very dark streaking and a rufous top of head and cheek. They often don't obtain the dark streaks until May, so earlier birds are quite pale.The first photo is a bird that is still molting. The second is one in full breeding plumage with bright rufous cheeks and very dark streaking. This was the first time I have seen this bird in full breeding plumage.

Lastly, the tiny (0.11 oz) Ruby-throated Hummingbird (Archilochus colubris) also makes the 500 mile trans-Gulf flight from the Yucatan to the Texas coast. These little jewels are also seen in good numbers in the usual migrant traps. This year I saw them drinking water at the drip for the first time. Normally they just drink nectar, but I guess they are dehydrated for the flight and need to quickly replace their lost fluids.

Here is a female drinking from the puddle under the drip.

The next week I saw this male sitting on a pebble in the drip to take a drink. Amazing! I had never seen a hummer on the ground before.

So the spring migration is over and we are left with the summer doldrums, until the birds head our way in the fall migration. However, many wonderful memories and photos remain to remind us of the beauty and wonder of this annual act of nature.

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.