Bird of the Week 23

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pvYRbyoSw70&feature=youtu.be

Hello again, we have been cruising around the deserts of the Southwest for almost two months now and this bird is often present.  His call is unique and in fact movie producers love his sound and you will find his call in the background of many movies that have nothing to do with the desert. 

A prolific breeder, they often have three clutches a year and many were busy building nests at Seminole Canyon State Park where we stayed about a week ago.  I found a pair hard at work on a nest in a bush near our campsite.  Here's an extra point situation, in one of the clips, a sparrow flies in and lands right next to our bird of the week.  This sparrow is wide spread across North America and winters in most of the states but breeds in the north.  They can be found in Deschutes County year around. Do you know what he is?

Good luck with this great bird and happy birding.

Bird of the Week, 22

 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Gk36oFYpRA

Howdy students, we are winding our way across Texas and will be heading north and west to New Mexico in the next couple days.  We can't leave Texas without sharing this wonderfully gregarious bird.  He is a tropical flycatcher that is found throughout the Rio Grande Valley and if he is present, you will know it.  And they are usually present as they are pretty common.  The video is a bit long but I just wanted to share his antics.  At least one clip has him saying his name his name.

Although he is classified as a flycatcher, I have seen them eating berries, lizards, and diving for fish in the water like a kingfisher.  I even saw a picture of one with a snake in his mouth.  So have fun with this guy and Happy birding. 

Bird of the Week 21

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sghg07Ohqtw&feature=youtu.be

I think you will agree that the bird IDs up to now have been fairly easy.  I am hoping you have learned to look for the field marks that help distinguish one bird from another.  This week we have a sparrow.  These birds present a challenge to birders because, as we discussed in a previous post, they are ground feeders and most of their time is spent on or near the ground. Many of them nest on the ground.  So they all have that camoflague plain brown look that causes some bird watchers to throw up their hands and just say, "I really don't care about the little brown jobbies."

So let's review the things we look for to separate one bird from another.

Does it have a distinctive crown marking such as a solid cap or stripes
Does it have an eye-ring
Does it have lines above, through, or below the eye
What color is the throat
What color is the chest or does it have distinctive markings
What color is the belly
What color are the wings and do they have wing bars.
What is the shape and color of the tail, is it round, flat or notched on the end.

These are the most helpful thing so look for to begin to separate all birds but when it comes to plainly colored birds it is really important to go through the check list.

This bird  barely makes into the US on the Texas border and can be commonly found in most of Central America.  It is a very plain bird and many of the markings you will look for on the above list will not be present.  The other way that you can easily tell sparrows apart is if they are singing because each has a distinctive song and this guy is no exception.  Good luck and happy birding.

Bird of the Week 20

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PBcdMoiH5m8&feature=youtu.be 

Our next Bird of the Week is a really interesting seabird similar to a Tern. This bird lives in North and South America and in winter is found along the gulf coast and most of Florida. I went out to South Padre Island last week and filmed a series of clips that show its behavior, hanging out with the Laughing Gulls,  you can hear them calling in the background. There are also clips of it bathing and preening and you get brief glimpses of a pair of American Wigeon ducks and an immature White Ibis preening and in the last clip the bird flies in and you get a glimpse of some Least Sandpipers. The last few clips show the bird feeding which is where it gets its name. Have fun with this weeks bird and happy birding. 

Camoflauge

This is one of the best examples of protective Camouflage in birds. The Common Paureque, a nightjar,  hunts at night and sleeps in the daytime. He looks just like the forest floor.

The topic today is camouflage. Have you given much thought to how birds stay hidden from their enemies? One of the things that birds do that really present the challenge to birders, is that they constantly move around. But when they are not moving, they take advantage of several things that keep them from being seen. Here is a list.

Color

Markings

Posture

Birds are in constant danger of being lunch for many mammals and birds of prey so they take advantage of camouflage as their number one protection when they are not on the move and even when they are moving, the camouflage works.

Daytime Roosting Birds: Birds that roost during the day and are more active at night often have heavily camouflaged plumage to protect them from the day's active predators. Owls, nighthawks and nightjars are all primarily nocturnal and have developed strongly camouflaged plumage for daytime protection when they are less alert.

Nesting Females: In bird species where the female does most of the incubation and care of young chicks, she is often far more heavily camouflaged than the male. This is true of many types of ducks, as well as for warblers and other songbirds. The female's camouflage helps her blend in with the nest surroundings so she can stay protected without abandoning her young.

Juveniles: When first hatched and before they are fully mature, most juvenile birds have camouflaged plumage that may resemble the look of an adult female. Because juvenile birds are vulnerable in the nest and do not initially fly well, this camouflage gives them a slight edge over predators until they are grown enough to avoid danger more successfully.

Ground Foragers: Birds that regularly forage on the ground where they may be more susceptible to predators often have more camouflaged plumage. This includes many shorebirds, game birds, sparrows, thrashers and brown thrushes that have evolved different colors and markings for protection in their preferred habitat.

Here are a few of the pictures I have taken recently that illustrate some of the camoflague used by birds. 

This little Marsh Wren is colored just like the reeds that it lives in with markings that look like shadows and grasses.

The Clapper Rail, just like the Marsh Wren, is colored like the reeds and shadows of the marsh and just blends in which is why you seldom see them out in the open.

This eastern Blue Jay, is an example of how pretty colors help because when he is in this tree, the blue and white blend with the sky and he sort of disappears.

 

February 1, 2015, we are camped next to one of the best bird spots in Texas, Bentsen State Park which is one of the designated World Birding Centers.  So I found three more examples of bird camouflage to share:

Most sparrows are ground feeders so you can see why they are "Little Brown Jobbies"  all their brown streaks and spot blend in very well with the dead grass, dirt and other ground debris

It is of course winter down here even if it is currently 80 degrees but when these guys are in a tree without leaves, they really stand out.  However You can see that the yellow color of the Great Kiskadee blends right in with the yellow-green leaves

This Eastern Screech Owl is another classic example of night hunters sleeping in the daytime blending right in with their surroundings. 

And here's one more, I'm sure you can see the Savannah Sparrow here but look who well he blends in. 

Here are the next 21 birds for the list.

310 Vesper Sparrow, Williamson County, Texas

311 Harris's Sparrow, Williamson County, Texas

Striped Sparrow, Williamson County, Texas Note: this is a first record for North America, a really rare bird sighting. I must be approved by the American Birding Association as a bird that arrived here on it's own power so at this point it is not counted as an official wild bird. (it's complicated)

312 Glossy Ibis, Guadeloupe National Wildlife Management Area

313 Couches Kingbird, Guadeloupe National Wildlife Management Area

314 Le Conte's Sparrow, Guadeloupe National Wildlife Management Area

315 Whooping Crane, Aransas National Wildlife Refuge

316 Boat-tailed Grackle, Aransas National Wildlife Refuge

317 Lesser Black-backed Gull, Mustang Island, Texas

318 Snowy Plover, Mustang Island, Texas

319 Northern Bob White, Sabal Palm Sanctuary, Cameron County, Texas

320 Least Grebe, Sabal Palm Sanctuary, Cameron County, Texas

321 White-tipped Dove, Sabal Palm Sanctuary, Cameron County, Texas

322 Buff-bellied Hummingbird, Sabal Palm Sanctuary, Cameron County, Texas

323 Blue-gray Gnatcatcher, Sabal Palm Sanctuary, Cameron County, Texas

324 Long-billed Thrasher, Sabal Palm Sanctuary, Cameron County, Texas

325 Wilson's Warbler, Sabal Palm Sanctuary, Cameron County, Texas

326 Hooded Oriole, Sabal Palm Sanctuary, Cameron County, Texas

327 Plain Chachalaca, Sabal Palm Sanctuary, Cameron County, Texas

328 Inca Dove, Sabal Palm Sanctuary, Cameron County, Texas

329 Green Kingfisher, Sabal Palm Sanctuary, Cameron County, Texas

330 Golden-fronted Woodpecker, Paul's RV Park, Cameron, County Texas

331 Tropical Kingbird, Paul's RV Park, Cameron, County Texas

Bird of the Week 19

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MnXvUpyrpYs

I think you will really like this bird of the week, sorry if it is a bit long, I just love these guys. This is one of the birds I come to Texas to see. They are sub tropical and most of their range is south of the border. Listen to all the different birds calling in the background. Any idea what any of them are? Sounds a bit like the jungle doesn't it. You may already have guessed what family these birds are in but in the way of a great big hint, most of the rest of this group are colored some kind of blue. Enjoy these tropical birds and Happy birding.

Feral Birds

Lilac-crowned Parrots, Brownsville, Texas

Feral Birds

Sorry I have gotten behind on my midweek blog posts. We have not always had good internet and I have been a bit busy chasing birds. I promised to address feral birds. Feral birds are ones that have esaped from cages and have managed to establish breeding populations in the wild. Usually this refers to birds that escape accidentally and not the result of releases by people who want to add them to the local fauna. Exotic species such as parots and parakeets are a prime example. The American Birding Association has now accepted population of some exotics that have established populations and thus  birders are allowed to include them on their official lists. They are always studying populations of escaped birds and they have fairly strict rules in the interest of good science. They mainly want to see strong populations that continue to remain stable or grow before they will consider them established.



Because most of these exotic birds come from warm climates, they are only found in the extreme south of the US in places like Florida, Texas, Arizona, and California. I am currently in Texas as you know and there are three species here that are currently accepted, the Red-crowned Parrot, Monk Parakeet, and Green Parakeet. You had the Monk as the bird of the week and I will be seeing and photographing the other two this week as well as some that are not fully established as of yet but are present in good numbers, such as the Lilac-crowned Parrot. 



I need to get the year list caught up and I will submit portions of the list each 

week till I catch up so as not to overwhelm our map all in one day. The number is up to 340.



293 Monk Parakeet, White Rock Lake, Dallas, Texas
294 Ruddy Turnstone, Bolivar Peninsula, Gulf Coast, Texas
295 Red-cockaded Woodpecker, W. G. Jones State Forest, Montgomery County, Texas
296 Brown-headed Nuthatch, W. G. Jones State Forest, Montgomery County, Texas
297 Mottled Duck, Anahuac National Wildlife Refuge, Texas
298 Forester's Tern, Anahuac National Wildlife Refuge, Texas
299 Barn Owl, Anahuac National Wildlife Refuge, Texas
300 Mountain Plover, Bolivar Flats, Texas
301 Long Billed Curlew, Bolivar Flats, Texas
302 Marbled Godwit, Bolivar Flats, Texas
303 Least Sandpiper, Bolivar Flats, Texas
304 Short-billed Dowitcher, Bolivar Flats, Texas
305 Black Skimmer, Bolivar Flats, Texas
306 Stilt Sandpiper, Terrell Park, Beaumont, Texas
307 Lapland Longspur, Walker County, Texas
308 McCown's Longspur Walker County, Texas
309 Pine Warbler, W. G. Jones State Forest, Montgomery County, Texas

Monk Parakeets, Dallas, Texas