Birds and Blooms

Black-throated Green Warbler

Every spring, we have a hard decision to make. Where shall we go this year for birds and blooms? We belong to several organizations which sponsor weekends at various state parks. Or there are trips to the Smokey Mountains or Magee Marsh in Ohio. April is also a busy time for our volunteer activities, so it's hard to get away at all. Add the Kentucky Derby to the equation (even though we aren't too much into horse racing) plus grandchildren, and you can see our dilemma. Sigh.

Yellow-throated Warbler

This year we threw a dart at the wall (figuratively speaking of course), and decided to join the Kentucky Ornithological Society on their spring trip to Cumberland Falls State Park. I haven't been to this park, home of the "Niagara of the South," since we were newlyweds with no vacation money. Plus, if we are looking for warblers on migration, it's always best to go with the experts. We came a day early to take a few hikes on our own before the official activities began. The Weather Channel forecast rain and storms for all day Saturday and most of Sunday, but birders are tough, so I just packed my raincoat and pants.

Black and White Warbler

Birders are subject to an ailment in the spring known as "warbler neck." You guessed it - watching these small but often colorful birds can give you a stiff neck from looking straight overhead all day. Since most of the facilities at Cumberland Falls State Park are built atop steep sandstone cliffs, we had one advantage over the birds. We can stand on the cliff top, and see many birds at eye level! Our trip leader today knows every bird song and call there is, so when we heard a bird, he brought out his phone, with birdsong software and a wireless speaker to invite the bird in for a closer look. Some came in, but hid among the leaves and blossoms on the trees. Others darted from branch to branch so quickly, it was hard to find them in the binoculars let along a camera lens. But birders are nothing if not persistent!

Kentucky Warbler

This little Kentucky Warbler slipped in to spy on us from behind a branch. Then he popped over the top of the branch to challenge us in song, before dropping back into hiding again.

Hooded Warbler

We saw and heard more Hooded Warblers than anything else today. Some on our trip were disappointed not to see more variety, more exotic species of birds. I, on the other hand, was glad for a chance to reinforce my somewhat scanty knowledge of the more common warblers shown here. I don't get out to go birding as often as I did a few years ago, and from year to year I tend to forget birds I might only see once a year. This weekend allowed me to add some good photos to my collection. I only hope I will remember the songs for them after I get home!

Northern Parula

One little bird was easy to identify by ear, but trying to pronounce its name.... You probably know of the controversy between the "pill-e-ated" and "pile-e-ated" woodpecker. There is also the "par-you-la" and the "pa-roo-la".  If George Gershwin were still alive, he could probably write a song, concluding "let's call the whole thing off!"

Red-eyed Vireo

Among the warblers, we saw and heard several species of vireos. When I was a Brownie Scout in Ohio, we went to day camp in the summer, and I remember one bird that sang all day, no matter how hot it got. When I became a birder, many, many, many years later, I was surprised to find that call came from the mysterious Red-eyed Vireo. It still sings from the tree tops all day long. And they all seem to be named after colors - the red-eyed, the blue or the white-eyed.

Yellow-throated Vireo

The Yellow-throated Vireo must have bad vision, since it wears little yellow spectacles! In case you haven't guessed, many of these photos are the first I have ever taken of the species, so this has been a great weekend for me. KOS was joined this weekend by a young man who went to birding camp with the American Birding Association last year on a scholarship from KOS. He is here this weekend, and still very enthusiastic. Plus, he brought along 4 or 5 friends or brothers too, so I traded birding photo stories with one of his friends all morning. It's great to see some young people interested in my favorite sport. Our speaker this evening was from the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, and he gave a great update on eBird and how the data collected by birders around the world is being used. Absolutely fantastic stuff. Guess I need to look into it again. All my birder friends assure me that it's easy to use, even if I don't go out very often.

Birding in the Fog

Although the weather guys predicted rain all day Saturday, none fell until the thunderstorm struck about 10 p.m. that evening. But we were all in bed, and nobody cared. Sunday morning, all the rain turned into fog, requiring us to bird by ear.

Worm Eating Warbler

One last warbler came when called, this little Worm Eating Warbler. What? Don't they all eat worms? I often shake my head at the names these birds get. This little guy opened his mouth as wide as he could and sang with all his might, but we could hardly hear anything because he sings at an extremely high pitch. Birders who have trouble hearing the higher ranges often miss many small birds.

Mississippi Kites in Kentucky

A few years ago, Raptor Rehab of Ky took in a Mississippi Kite, found in far western Kentucky, which had been impressed on humans and couldn't be released. He was the sweetest bird, who was happy to eat meal worms from your hand, and sang every time you walked in his cage. These Kites normally migrate to Argentina every winter, to have a good ongoing supply of insects to catch and eat on the wing. Although we did our best to keep him warm over the winter, he developed respiratory problems and didn't survive. We still miss little Miki.

In the last few days, emails and messages are going around about a pair of Kites actually nesting in a nearby Louisville neighborhood. I normally would expect to find them closer to a nice open field where it's easy to find and catch large flying insects, but the local residents say they have been here for a couple years now.

For someone unfamiliar with this raptor, and I'd never heard of them till Miki came to RROKI, you might think this was a Mourning Dove or maybe a Pigeon. They have long dark wings and a long tail - all the better for catching grasshoppers and cicadas! But look at the eyes, which are surrounded by dark feathers making them look really big. The sharp hooked beak also says this is a raptor.

Kites have many features expected in a falcon - the long wings and tail, and dark around the eyes - an example of form following function. When you are chasing speedy flying insects you have to be fast and maneuverable. Their usual habitat is in the plains area, where they are known to nest in colonies. The young birds come back to the same area after their first migration, and help feed and tend the new nestlings. After their second migration, they will get these beautiful feathers and red eyes, indicating they are sexually mature. I must admit, this was the easiest life bird I've ever found!

Night Jars and Technology

Tree Swallow

My friend, Birder Barbara, is tops at identifying birds at sight, but also from their calls. She hears a soft chip and immediately knows what it is. I don't know how she ever learned all this, but I'm glad to take advantage of it. She mentioned that she had gone to a place in nearby Oldham County, KY, where she found both Whip-Poor-Wills and Chuck-Will's-Widow. Nightjars are not exactly common birds, so when she called with plans to go there last evening, Dick and I were excited to join. Morgan Conservation Park is billed as an "urban forest," but we first noticed the beautiful meadow of native grasses and purple smooth vetch blooming, while the Tree Swallows took turns guarding the nest box and swooping after insects for their babies inside. The park was acquired in 2003 using Kentucky Heritage Land Conservation Funds and contains 4.3 miles of trails.

Henslow's Sparrow

While walking down the road, trying to avoid exposure to ticks as long as possible, we heard an unfamiliar bird calling. Tossing around ideas, we though maybe a Cowbird? Bob O Link??Grasshopper Sparrow? Finally Barbara suggested a Henslow's Sparrow, and just as she said the magic words, this gorgeous little sparrow jumped to the top of the vetch, and posed for pictures in the purple blossoms. I pulled out my brand new iPhone with Audubon's bird app, and we confirmed by picture and voice that is was a Henslow's Sparrow!  A LIFE BIRD for me! Who Hoo! Barbara was excited to see one in this part of the state, since she says she usually drives several hours to Western Kentucky to find them.

Narrow Leaf Verain

The park features an unusual geological outcropping identified in a biological inventory as a glade. The Morgan family referred to the area as a marl bed. Generations ago, farmers valued marl as a fertilizer for lime-deficient soils and as a soil conditioner for sandy soils. The lime in marl cements sand grains together, so the soil can better retain heat and water. When added to clay soils, marl has the opposite effect: soil particles became less cohesive, allowing more air, heat, water and plant roots to penetrate. The feature is noteworthy because glades are known to house rare plant and animal species. The soil is hard, bare and rocky, yet special plants have adapted to the poor conditions. We notice this small narrow leaf verain (no, I didn't know what it was, but found it in the flower field guide this morning). It was no taller than 6 inches anywhere we found it growing. The guide says it is common, but I don't recall seeing it anywhere else.

We saw evidence of animals all along the trail. I have no idea what kind of bug travels around with a hole punch to put round notches in the leaves it samples. Coyote scat was abundant.

I would suspect the deer have been nibbling on the white blades of these daisies, leaving the yellow centers.

Around 9:00, as the sunset blazed in pinks and purples, we heard the first Nightjar - a Chuck-Will's-Widow. It sounds like he's just saying "widow, widow." In a few minutes, Whip-Poor-Will joined the evening chorus. I'm always amazed at the names these birds have. Once again, I pulled out the iPhone and tried the DragonSpeak dictating app to record their songs. Click HERE and listen to the serenade. Blogger isn't good at sound files, so I hope this works, since the song is really neat. On later reflection, it might have been easier to just take a video and post it on YouTube. I had to figure out how to get the sound file off the phone, into iTunes, and then edit it, since I left the recorder on too long and picked up some conversation as well. You learn with experience, and I was just playing with my new toy. So this was a pretty good trip - 2 life birds (the Henslow's Sparrow and Chuck-Will's-Widow) and a chance to use some high tech birding tools! I itched all the way home, just imagining all the ticks climbing under my clothes, but after close examination was tick free, for this trip at least.

Conk-koo-ree!

 

The raucous Red Winged Blackbird is an easy bird to identify, and very common any place where there is a bit of water. The black males have a red shoulder with a yellow band below. Most of the photos I have show him with mouth open. When the nest is nearby, he is constantly defending his territory or chasing away intruders.

The Red-winged Blackbird is a highly polygynous species, meaning males have many female mates – up to 15 in some cases. In some populations 90 percent of territorial males have more than one female nesting on their territories. But all is not as it seems: one-quarter to one-half of nestlings turn out to have been sired by someone other than the territorial male. No wonder he's always so defensive!

Occasionally, you may see a black bird with only the yellow band. Is that a different kind of bird? A juvenile perhaps? No, it is the adult may when he's not in an assertive mood. At feeders he'll look like this, sending the message "Hey guys, I'm just looking for a bite to eat and don't want to start a fight right now."

His seldom seen mate is also a very attractive bird. The first time we ever saw one we spent half an hour searching through all the sparrows in the field guide looking for the biggest sparrow we could imagine! Of course, she must blend in with the cattails where she builds her nest.

When you live in the marsh, you have to land on anything available, even if you do the splits!

The female of any species lays only one egg per day. The brown splotches on these are added just before they are laid, and each egg has a different pattern. Looks like they've been pooped on. Predation of eggs and nestlings is quite common. Nest predators include snakes, mink, raccoons, and other birds, even as small as marsh wrens. The Red-winged Blackbird is occasionally a victim of brood parasites, particularly Brown-headed Cowbirds. Since nest predation is common, several adaptations have evolved in this species. Group nesting is one such trait which reduces the risk of individual predation by increasing the number of alert parents. Nesting over water reduces the likelihood of predation, as do alarm calls. Nests, in particular, offer a strategic advantage over predators in that they are often well concealed in thick, waterside reeds and positioned at a height of one to two meters. Males often act as sentinels, employing a variety of calls to denote the kind and severity of danger. Mobbing, especially by males, is also used to scare off unwanted predators, although mobbing often targets large animals and man-made devices by mistake.

Rare Bird Part II

Ah! The sun has reappeared after what feels like a whole week of rain, and it feels wonderful. Since we saw the rare Red Necked Phalarope during a downpour on Saturday, I thought I'd try again in the sun. Some people reported finding it, and others on the KY Birdlist said it was gone.

On Saturday, we saw two females at this vernal pond. Just to show you how small a bird this is, here is an un-zoomed view, as it were. That dark dot in the middle of the pond is the single Phalarope found today. No idea what happened to the other one - hope she's OK.

This gorgeous little girl was busy with her toilette today. Ducking into the water for a bath...

...stretching her wings up to help dry them, then preening each feather so it lays perfectly.

All this activity gave me some great looks at the markings on her wings...

...before a couple of dogs jumped into the pond. She took off in a hurry, but casually circled around, and when the dogs moved on, she landed in exactly the same spot to finish her bath before looking for a late afternoon snack.

The rest of the pond was empty except for one Teal-winged Duck couple, and this Green Heron, who also fled squawking to a nearby tree as the dogs came to his end of the pond. I always wish I could get a clear photo of the Meadowlarks who live on the other side of the pond, but guess I'll just be happy listening to their beautiful songs!

Rare Bird in Kentucky

The sun may shine bright on my old Kentucky Home, but not today. Even though it's Derby Day here in Louisville, the rain will probably be falling most of the day. What does the fashionable birder wear on such a day? A green rain poncho, of course! Unfortunately, cloudy skies and rain are not the best conditions for photographing a rare bird sighting of these Red Necked Phalarope found on a small pond in a city park nearby, so please forgive the fuzziness of these photos.

Dick remarked that they looked much larger in the field guide, and it was hard to find them at all in the camera lens since they are only about 7" long, with lobed toes and a straight, fine bill. Red-necked Phalaropes, like Red Phalaropes but unlike other shorebirds, prefer to swim rather than wade, a habit that enables them to spend the winter on the high seas, although on occasion they wade in pools and feed on mudflats with many other shorebirds.



When feeding, a Red-necked Phalarope will often swim in a small, rapid circle, forming a small whirlpool. This behavior is thought to aid feeding by raising food from the bottom of shallow water. The bird will reach into the center of the vortex with its bill, plucking small insects or crustaceans caught up therein. On the open ocean, they are often found where converging currents produce upwellings. During migration, some flocks stop over on the open waters at the mouth of the Bay of Fundy to take advantage of food stirred up by tidal action.

How rare are they? Looking at the map, you can see that they breed along the Artic Circle, and winter far to the south. Almost all of the nonbreeding season is spent in open water. As this species rarely comes into contact with humans, it can be unusually tame. Ours weren't concerned at all when some folks with dogs walked by.  Easy to see, mid-May-Jul, in the Arctic; otherwise seen on pelagic boat trips during migration or from coasts during on-shore gales in fall.

The typical avian sex roles are reversed in the three phalarope species. Females are larger and more brightly colored than males. These were pretty bright, so we think they are both females. The females pursue and fight over males, and will defend their mate from other females until the clutch is complete and the male begins incubation. The males perform all incubation and chick-rearing activities, while the females may attempt to find another mate. If a male loses his eggs to predation, he may re-pair with his original mate or a new female to try again. Once it becomes too late in the breeding season to start new nests, females begin their southward migration, leaving the males to incubate the eggs and look after the young.

This sure beats going to the track in the rain and having all your possessions search by security people. Did you know that you are NOT allowed to carry umbrellas to Churchill Downs?

The Hills Are Alive with the Sound of Birdsong

Scarlet Tanager



In the last 24 hours, I have been inundated with beautiful bird songs! We decided to join the Beckham Bird Club's trip to Mammoth Cave, and it was truly worthwhile.

Summer Tanager

Since I sometimes find it difficult to actually see the birds way over my head (such as most of today), I try to learn a few more songs/calls every Spring, and last night it paid off! I'd never actually seen a Summer Tanager until last summer, when a Beckham friend helped me find one. Arriving at the Park yesterday, I drove to the Visitor's Center to locate our meeting point for early this morning. Just outside the Center, I heard a distinct "picky-tucky-tuck," recognized it as the Summer Tanager, and tracked it into a nearby tree. Fortunately, he perched on some bare branches at the top and was easily visible. I was so excited!!!  So this morning when we joined the group, I was ready for bear, so to speak.

Indigo Bunting

Sometimes I think my birding friends must have had surgery to enhance their senses. One birder has telescopic vision, and sees things I can't find with binoculars, while one on today's trip has enhanced hearing. Superman has nothing on this guy! Not only does he hear birds on the next hillside, he knows all their songs and calls! It's great to go birding with him because you learn so much. At least, I learn it for the period we are together. I don't know if I'll remember it that well after I've slept for the night. I hope I learned songs for the Ovenbird, Louisiana Water Thrush, and Prairie Warbler today.  Maybe I need to apply for a memory upgrade.

Red-eyed Vireo

Until I got into birding seriously, I'd never even heard of a vireo, and now find that there are many species of vireos in the woods, the most common being the Red-eyed Vireo. When I first heard this bird on the CD, I gasped aloud. I remember hearing it (and the Wood Thrush) in the woods where I attended day-camp as a Brownie! They say that aromas and sounds evoke memories you forgot you even had.

Louisiana Water Thrush

In the Smokes last week, we heard and saw the Louisiana Water Thrush, but I never got close enough for a photo, so it was a real thrill today to photograph one for the first time. "Are they thrushes or warblers?" I asked innocently. "It's a warbler." "Then why do they call it a thrush?"  In fact, some day I'll have to really study up on all the birds similar to this one - there must be at least half a dozen. We saw some Cerulean Warblers, a lifer for me, and I asked if they were really blue. All I could see was a grey looking belly with a little necklace. How are you supposed to see their blue backs when they are always directly overhead? Ouch! My neck hurts!

Common Yellowthroat

Some birders object to using a recording of the bird's song to bring it in closer. I am so glad we have a resource like this. Otherwise I would very rarely get to see any of these birds! Don't worry about the birds. They are all smart enough to know that you shouldn't reveal yourself when reconnoitering the enemy position, and even though closer, they still tend to stay safely in the leaves. There are many birds I saw a glimpse of today, with no chance at all of getting a photo. Darn it!

Eastern Bluebird

Yes, learning new songs for new birds is an accomplishment, but my heart sings too just to hear the familiar songs of my old friends when I go for a walk! I don't understand why everyone else doesn't as well!

Oh, and thank you Blogger for updating your software. It's about time we can select multiple photos to upload at one time, and get little red squiggles for misspelled words. Hooray!

Follow the Birders to Goose Pond

Muskrat Den in Marsh

The Kentucky Bird List sends emails to subscribers about sightings in this state, and, of course, Indiana has one too, but I don't subscribe to it. Others in the Beckham Bird Club do, however, and at the board meeting they were talking about a Redshank sighted at Goose Pond, IN. "What's that?" I asked, and as birders do, someone pulled out their smart phone to show me a picture. It is a Eurasian sandpiper-like bird with bright orange-red legs and bill. It doesn't belong in mid-America though, and would be considered a very rare bird here. Hmmm, I've heard about Goose Pond, and this might be a good opportunity to explore it and get a rare bird on the same day. Let's do it! Google maps says it's about 2.5 hours from Louisville, on two lane roads most of the way, to Linton, in western Indiana. "Just look for all the cars and follow the birders."

The flat corn fields spread for miles, with natural gas pumps nodding here and there. Suddenly the sun shines off water, as lakes, ponds and shallow pools in the corn fields announcing my arrival at Goose Pond Fish and Wildlife Area. The last glaciation flattened most of Indiana, and left a large ice chunk at Goose Pond creating a basin which still retains water due to the clay layer underneath. Farmers fought with the marshiness for years, with limited success. The Indiana Department of Natural Resources (IDNR) purchased the entire 8,000-acre Goose Pond site from a private landowner in 2005. The Goose Pond project is part of several very large Wetland Reserve Projects that NRCS has put together up and down the Wabash River to help re-establish part of the weave of the Mississippi flyway. As a result, Goose Pond is attracting some of the most diverse birds that anyone has ever seen in the state. Listen to these chuckling leopard frogs! I thought they were some kind of strange bird at first.

Northern Shovelers and Blue Winged Teal Ducks

I followed the birders, who all had long faces. "No luck today," they said. Although the Redshank had been sighted for 4-5 days, it was gone now. Goose Pond attracts the normal water birds - ducks, geese, Sandhill Cranes, and sandpipers, but in its short existence, has also hosted a number of very unusual birds for Indiana, including a Roseate Spoonbill, Whooping Cranes (whose whereabouts are not broadcast to the birding world), a Hooded Crane (also from Asia), and Black-necked Stilt.

Look at the normal range for the Redshank! I know that birds can fly from the Arctic to Antarctic on a regular basis, but Indiana is definitely NOT in the normal territory of this bird. I was sorry to miss it. But of course, Goose Pond is about 8,000 acres, and it could easily have moved to a different area, along with the Black-necked Stilt which I also missed. I often wonder how the first birds who needed to move developed the whole pattern of migration. How in the world did this one bird get so far off track and away from everything familiar? Now it will have to find its way home somehow.

American Pelicans

I did, however, get some good views of about 500 American Pelicans, Double Crested Cormorants...

 

Green-Winged Teal

...some Green-Winged Teal, Northern Harriers, American Kestrels...

Rough-legged Hawk

...and a beautiful Rough-legged Hawk. I actually lugged my scope for at least a mile, moaning about its weight every step. I need a scope wallah - a servant who does nothing but carry and setup the scope when I want it. Had trouble getting it to focus well too, or is that just my eyes at this stage of life? Hooray for Indiana, for restoring wetlands - we need more of them!