Yellow-breasted Chat

Last Sunday I decided to drive to a local natural area where in the past I have often seen Yellow-breasted Chats. As we arrived at this natural area, there was the Yellow-breasted Chat sitting on a very unnatural wire. I pulled out my long lens and fired off a couple of shots, then waited as he flew into a group of small trees. I was able to click off a few more shots. I commented to my wife on the way home that this bird really doesn't resemble the rest of the wood-warblers. She then pulled out a bird guide which stated that the Yellow-breasted Chat is the largest of the warblers, has an unusual call comparatively, sometimes sits on a wire, and has the bill of a tanager. Despite constant speculation about its' taxonomic relationships, all evidence points to it being simply a large and unusual wood-warbler.

More Warblers

More pictures of warblers taken at Crane Creek. The bottom two are a male and female Black-throated Blue warblers. The male is the more colorful. The top two are American Redstarts the top one being an immature male.

Warblers

I have had a very good year birding so far. It started with Sanibel Island, FL in January, then the end of February and first of March in Texas, loads of action in my own back yard, and a couple of weeks ago, northern Ohio on Lake Erie. There is a spot on the shore of Lake Erie where the migrating birds stop for a breather and some fuel. The petite warblers wait for a strong southerly wind to help carry them across the great lake to Canada. This place is no secret because it is swamped with not only migrating birds but also with birders and bird photographers. This extraordinary place is Crane Creek/Magee Marsh and is about 50 miles or so east of Toledo, Ohio. There are several species of birds there but I was mostly intrigued by the warblers. We saw 27 species in two days and some close enough you didn't need to use binoculars to view them. We saw our first Cerulean Warbler, a female, which is the bottom photo. I overheard Jon Dunn, a well-known bird guide author, say that the Cerulean was his favorite bird. The middle photo is a Magnolia Warbler and the top photo is a Bay-breasted Warbler. I was able to photograph a nice variety of warblers. I will post them very soon.

Lark Sparrow

The Lark Sparrow is a striking sparrow, common in the west, but scarce in the east. Coles County is right on the edge of its' range. They like to frequent bare ground near brushy areas. They display a strong face pattern, dark spot on the chest, and have white edges and corners on a long tail. A courting male Lark Sparrow crouches on the ground, holds his tail at a 45 degree angle, showing off the white edges. If the female is receptive, he gives her a stick before copulation. I show a picture of the male with the stick but the rest is up to your imagination.

White-thoated Sparrow

Because people consider sparrows to be common, like the House Sparrow, many sparrows are overlooked. That is really too bad because many sparrows are actually quite handsome. The White-throated Sparrow is a beautiful bird with an equally beautiful song. They are migrating through Illinois at this time heading for their breeding area of Canada. They forage on the ground as well as tree tops. Today I saw them eating dandelion seeds and elm tree buds and sipping on the sap of Maples. (I made that last part up.)

Sora

A few years ago, Douglas Hart Nature Center built a wetland and many birds use it as a stopover during migration or as a permanent home. It was reported to me that an American Bittern was loitering around the wetland last week but today, it wasn't to be seen. Fortunately, there were a handful of Soras. These Rails are not quite as secretive than most and I got a good look at the one pictured.

Killdeer

I was leaving work a few days ago and, close to a machine shed, I spied some baby Killdeer. There were 4 babies and one adult. The babies were very young, probably not over a couple of days old and I was surprised to see them this early in the year. One photo is a picture of one of the babies (very cute)and another photo shows the adult pretending to be hurt so I would chase her and leave the babies alone. As I was getting ready to leave, a second adult showed up and was apparently viewed by her as an intruder. What followed was something to see. The mother Killdeer really put up a fight - none of that "Look at me, I have a broken wing" strategy this time. I snapped a picture of Mother Killdeer biting the rump of the other interloper. What is not shown is that after the altercation, the mother Killdeer walked off with a mouth full of the intruder's tailfeathers!

Yellow-rumped Warbler

Pictured is a Yellow-rumped Warbler, the first warbler we have seen this year. They are probably one of the more common warblers and most easily identified because, as the name implies, they have a yellow patch on their rump and also a yellow patch on each side in front of the wings. Even though not considered rare or unusual, they are a very beautiful bird. The one pictured doesn't show the yellow rump but does show the yellow patchs in front of the wings and the underneath side as it flies up to a branch to grab an insect. We also saw a Northern Parula today, making our total warbler species two for this spring.

American Pipit

In a bean stubble field south of our house, I spotted a flock of small birds. After checking them closely with my Stokes binoculars, I wasn't sure what they were. I suspected that maybe they could be American Pipits. After checking my bird book, I felt certain that my first instinct was right. This is not only a new species for our property but also for our life list. This bird is a long distance migrant and is heading for the northern tundra where it will nest. They usually travel in flocks and are often seen wagging their tails up and down as they hunt for insects or seeds in old fields.

Horace's Duskywing

Nature has many ways of protecting itself from the enemy. One method is to blend in with the surroundings, just like this Horace's Duskywing does. We were travelling along Highway 62 this morning in southern Indiana enjoying the spring colors of Redbuds and Dogwoods and pulled off to look at on old abandoned bridge crossing the Blue River. We saw several butterflies, including the one pictured.

Baby Owl 8 Weeks Old

This guy left the nest about a week ago. At this time of his life, he just sits around on a tree branch waiting for someone to bring him a meal. Since he doesn't fly much and mostly sits on branches of trees, he is sometimes referred to as a "brancher". Owlettes usually leave the nest when they are between 6 and 7 weeks old and start to hunt on their own at about 9 to 10 weeks. I believe this baby to be about 8 weeks old. I got fairly close to this guy, probably less than 20 feet. I can't turn my head 270 degrees like owls but I did keep looking behind me to make sure mom didn't mistake me for the enemy. His sibling is still in the nest. Either he is enjoying the extra space or he is like me - a little afraid of flying. Do mother owls go through "empty nest syndrome"? Somehow you have to believe she does.

Great or Snowy Egret????

Even though this bird looks similiar to the Great or Snowy Egret, closer examination shows it to be the White Morph of the Reddish Egret. Even a closer look shows a pinkish bill with bluish legs, suggesting breeding plumage. This bird is restricted to the saltwaters of the Southeast and the uncommon white form is a treat to see. Also note, unlike the Little Blue Heron which is white as an immature bird, the white morph of the Reddish Egret will keep this white form for its' entire life.

Cooper's Hawk

Well, sometimes you go looking for birds and sometimes they come to you. As I was leaving my office for lunch yesterday, I spotted this hawk next to a large factory water tower who had already found his/her lunch. I carefully turned my truck around, readied my camera and headed back to hopefully snap a few pictures. I hurriedly fired off a couple of shots before the raptor retrieved the bird he was feeding on and flew away. I identified the hawk as a Cooper's Hawk because of its'size. It is very similiar to the smaller Sharp-shinned Hawk. I ID'd the dead bird as a pigeon. I am not 100% sure it was a pigeon but I am 100% sure it was dead.

Wood Ducks

Spring is an exciting time of year in the Midwest i.e. bird migration. The warblers haven't quite made it yet but the water fowl are here in full force. North of Charleston is a slough built some time ago with approx. 20 acres of water and in close proximity to Interstate 57. In the last two days, we have counted 15 species of ducks, 2 species of geese and 1 species of swan. The ducks are in their most magnificent of colors so, if possible, get your binoculars and head for a lake, a pond, or river. Pictured are Wood Ducks. So gorgeous! Actually taking these photos is a real experience. To see the ducks, geese and swans without disturbing them, you have to scramble up a huge embankment, lay down on your tummy before you reach the top and then crawl the rest of the way to the top of the hill. You can't let any of the waterfowl see you at all or they all take flight. Then, you have to just barely raise your head to view them. You have to photograph them through a lot of grasses and while not moving or lifting your head very far off the ground. Talk about a pain in the neck! The variety is so spectacular and the birds so beautiful, it is so worth it!

Great Horned Owl with baby

About three weeks ago, Charleston received a good 8" plus snow, so we put on our Carharts and went 4-wheeling. On a portion of the farmland that we own, there is a farm lane that runs along a ridge and looks down on a large amount of bottom ground that we farm. In the past few days, we noticed that as we drove up to the highest point on the little ridge, we had scared a bird from a tree in the same location several times. It didn't look like a hawk so we thought possibly it could be an owl. Diane soon located the nest high in a tree that was rooted at the base of the ridge at the edge of the farm field. The next day, we cautiosly approached and sure enough, a Great Horned Owl was sitting on a large bunch of sticks with snow hanging from the sides. Great Horned Owls usually don't build their own nest but use old hawk nests, cavities or other animal nests. In Coles County, these owls are the first birds to mate and have young. We were adviced by friends to not scare her from the nest by our presence too much, especially when it is cold. Today was my first chance to get a photo of one adult and one owlet. There are two owlets in the nest, but the other one was evidently taking a snooze. We are so pleased that the owl family is nesting on our farm and that we have habitat that is suitable. If you look at the lower left part of the nest, you can see the furry remains of a meal. Male owls will bring food to the nest as much as ten times a day. It will be so fun to watch them grow, but we are going to try and not be intrusive either. Stay tuned for more photos!!

Texas Birds

We found Texas to be a great place to bird. We added thirty-three new birds to our life list. The three that I have shown only live in the southern part of Texas or farther south.
Pictured from top to bottom is the Clay-colored Robin, Long-billed Thrasher, and Great Kiskadee.

Black-necked Stilts

We have been staying on South Padre Island and today is our last day. We hadn't done any birding here but had heard that the Convention Center had a nature trail, so we tried it. The elevated boardwalk that eventually led us to the Laguna Madre Bay wound through a very nicely preserved wetland. We were told as many as 5 different species of rails lived in the wetland. We heard several, but they never let us see them - very usual for rails. At the end of the boardwalk was a nice viewing platform looking out over the bay. Many different species of waders, gulls and shorebirds were visible from this location. The bay was very shallow for quite a distance and this provided wonderful feeding and resting opportunities for the birds. There were three Black-necked Stilts close to the viewing platform. We noticed some odd behavior from a particular pair that didn't resemble the usual feeding behavior that we had been witnessing. The male circled around the female as she kept her neck extended and bill pointed slightly downward. He would sometimes cross her bill and sometimes he appeared to get some water and put it on her. Finally after circling several times, they decided to play piggy back with the male on top. After the mating ritual was over, they decided to cross bills and rest, apparently they were in a no smoking zone.

Port Isabel Lighthouse

We are staying on South Padre Island and just before you cross the bridge that crosses the bay between the Texas mainland and the island is the Port Isabel Lighthouse. It was built of brick brought from New Orleans by schooner. The Beacon's 16 mile range guided ships into the harbor and to the Rio Grande bringing commerce to SW Texas. Darkened during the civil war, it was used as a lookout by both the union and confederate forces (I guess one was looking north and one south.Itwas also used as a lookout again during WW I.

Long-billed Curlew

The Long-billed Curlew is nicknamed the "Sickle-bill" because of its prodigious bill. In flight, its' wings show a cinnamon color. We witnessed this beautiful bird in flight as 20 or so flew right in front of the truck and landed in a nearby field. The Long-billed Curlew is uncommon but is seen in much of the west plus Florida and the east coast. It was fun to see so many as we were finishing our drive through the Atascosa NWR.

Altamira Oriole

Well, I read in one of my guides that the Altamira Oriole is rare with a very limited range in southern Texas. Let tell you how I got this shot. It was during our birding day at Laguna Atascosa. When I went in the visitors center just to look around, I overheard one of the staff say to another visitor, "That is an Altamira Oriole." I turned around and through the big viewing window was this first year bird, eating an orange that had been hung on a big tree branch. What a beautiful bird! I still had my camera hanging from my shoulder so I turned and fired off a couple of shots.