Bulletin 292 - miscellaneous local birds from winter and spring

I did not get out as much recently due to work requirements and I guess some degree of boredom, as I already have pretty good photos of most local birds. I do take photos when a good opportunity pops up to improve my existing photos of various species. And also, having been to Ecuador and Colombia, it does not seem nearly as exciting here. So here are my interesting photos since the New Year.

The Burrowing Owl (Athene cunicularia)  returned to the same place at Anahuac NWR for a second winter.

Burrowing Owl

A funny looking leucistic American Coot (Fulica americana). A leucistic bird is one with some white feathers, but is not an albino.

American Coot - leucistic

I had a Buff-bellied Hummngbird (Amazilia yucatanensis) once again in my yard this winter, but he was not there regularly. I saw or heard him maybe a half dozen times, but at least I got a nice photo. Such a treat to have this bird as a winter visitor.

Buff-bellied Hummingbird

The cute 13" Bufflehead (Bucephala albeola) is our smallest duck in North America. The male appears almost all white with just some purple on his head. The female is all brown with a white stripe across her cheek. This pair was at LaFitte's Cove in Galveston.

Bufflehead - pair

This spring I got several good photos of various birds. Photographers are told to get the best photos, it is necessary to be at eye level with the subject. So a bird on a fence is a better photo than one on the ground or way up in a tree.

Here is a beautiful male Scissor-tailed Flycatcher (Tyranus forficatus).

Scissor-tailed Flycatcher - male

I also got a nice 13" Forster's Tern (Sterna forsteri) on a fence post. The small size and bicolored bill is the ID for this bird.

Forster's Tern - breeding

There were 2 birds that I saw in the ponds at LaFitte's Cove in Galveston this spring, that I do not recall having ever seen there before. The first was a 30" Reddish Egret (Egretta rufescens). This bird is normally in salt water rather than fresh water ponds. It is IDed by the gray body, shaggy reddish neck and pink bill with black tip.

Reddish Egret

Also, last weekend I saw Wilson's Phalaropes (Phalaropus tricolor) in the ponds at LaFitte's Cove for the first time. Phalaropes are sandpipers that swim. They are unusual for birds in that the female is more colorful and the male looks after the eggs and raising the babies.

Wilson's Phalarope - female

A 23" Glossy Ibis (Plegadis falcinellus) was found at LaFitte's Cove last weekend as well. This bird has raised considerable discussion on Texbirds as to whether it is a Glossy Ibis or aberrant White-faced Ibis or possibly a hybrid. The discussion is still ongoing, but it sure looks classic to me for a Glossy and a number of other experts who saw it. It has classic Glossy field marks with the dark face and eye, pale blue lines above and below the face and dark legs.

Glossy Ibis

And a second photo.

Glossy Ibis

I also got photos of a new turtle at High Island this year. This large turtle (estimated 10-12") had a very long neck with a streaking. I looked in my guide book and came up with the ID of a Chicken Turtle (Deirochelys reticularia). I confirmed the ID with a Texas reptile expert.

Chicken Turtle

And a close up of the head.

Chicken Turtle

Overall, spring migration was very quiet for the second year in a row. The most warbler species I saw in a day was 8. Normally mid teens is average and 20 or more is possible in a good day. I hope this is not indicative of a severe decline in the bird populations.

Happy birding and photography,

David McDonald
dkmmdpa@gmail.com

photos copyright 2006 - 2017 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 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.