Another decent morning. First year with new camera, no good warbler shots. But had 45 species. Blue-headed vireo, ovenbird, b+w, Nashville, parula, yellow,palm, yellow-rumpled, bt green, rb grosbeak among others screech owl on nest Solitary sandpiper tree swallow turkey vulture
I probably could ask this in the random thoughts thread but I merely searched the word “mallard” which brought me here. We had tornado warnings a few weeks back and I think it fucked with the duck population. I live like two miles from our lake and shortly after the storms I found a mama duck in my flower bed with 11 eggs. She’s been out there for 2+ weeks and google tells me the eggs should hatch in another week or two. I assume there’s no way she’s gonna make it out to the lake with ducklings since there’s a lot of traffic between my house and the water. She used to hiss at me when I got close or when I brought out water but now we’ve basically become best friends and I can even pet her if I want. I don’t want anything to happen to her and the babies. Should I call the game warden or fish and wildlife or what’s the best course of action here?
Owsley or anyone A dove had made a nest on my porch and this morning there was a big pile of feathers in my yard. Came home from lunch and no sign of mom but I can see the baby looking around. It looks like it’s starting to get some dark colored feathers and isn’t too tiny. I tried calling the local animal wildlife place (Ruffner mountain) but didn’t get an answer. I know this is probably a let nature take its course thing but I’m going to feel like shit walking by the nest everyday knowing that thing is scared and starving to death. Any ideas? Edit: mom finally returned. Crisis averted
So I will give my two cents here. And it’s just that. avian mortality can run near 90% in the first year. Your best course of action is just to let nature play itself out as brutal as that sounds. They “have to figure it out”, so to speak. but don’t despair Pelican. Ducks are incredibly resourceful. I had a wood duck nest in my yard when I was a kid in a woodpecker hole that was a solid 10 miles from the closest freshwater. I know a few of them at least made it. r:K selected breeding strategies. Best course is to leave them alone and let them figure it out, they have been here for millions of years, even with the modern changes-roads etc. but if you wish I would go through a private rehabilitator and not through the state. There are a lot of mallards however, they be just fine. Crass, but true. mourning dove feathers… most likely a feral/outdoor cat. But, but, doves will also pluck feather as a predator distraction. Thirdly, they also molt. But that is usually in fall
Both male and female doves incubate nests. Actually it’s most often the male, especially during the day. so it’s also possible there is one remaining parent,
That’s what it looks like. Whichever one it is they’ve run out of space in the nest for both of them.
Decent morning today. FOY(first of the year, keep up wannabe nerds). Scarlet tanager, black-throated blue. First big flight of wood thrush and oven birds. Had singles, but multiple today. night fellas, love
I think I’m slowly making this a one person thread. But this is my true passion, and former profession. First on may, and on cue it heated up today. 67 species. Solid warbler flight. P cool that screech owl nest I found the other day, the pair is one gray morph and one red. Had only seen the gray the last few days
Had a very good morning. Got to see a federally endangered Least Bell's Vireo, among a lot of other cool shit. Cooper's Hawk Cedar Waxwing gathering nesting material, seems weird. Green Heron. So fucking cool to see one perched, they are usually skulking. Western Tanager. Saw multiples of these guys flying around. So incredibly bright and vibrant, color is crazy. This one is drab compared to the others. Red-tailed soaring. Was previously getting mobbed by Red-winged Blackbirds. Red-winged Blackbird
That screech owl nest, the young fledged today. I try not to anthropomorphize, but that thing is really cute. Crushed it this AM 63 species, 15 species of warblers.
Never heard of this bird before and never seen. Was in my backyard yesterday afternoon with the sun hitting him, brilliant color Summer Tanager
Very cool summer tanager, prospector. Yeah cool birds, song is neat too. They don’t really make it up to this part where I am, but are in South Jersey. I took over running the World Series of birding team for my local two counties. From a dude that did it for 37 years. Don’t do coastal stuff, and Somerset and Morris counties(where we were restricted to) have little, if no bodies, of fresh water. But was cool. Had 26 people on our jersey based “World Series of birding day”/global big day. Raised a bunch of money and awareness, had fun. No way we could win, or even compete with the heavy hitters. Ended up with 89 species. 18 warblers. Winning teams will be 200+. Was still good. Long day, and we had olds and kids along, so moved kinda slowly. Missed on a mallard, and a chickadee! Others also, willow flycatcher thrasher, etc. missed. Was not for winning, some crazy ass birds seen today here(not by me/us). The teams that win. Swallow tailed and Mississippi kites, parasitic jaeger, curlew sandpiper, etc. Couple youngsters participating, which is encouraging. The only somewhat semi-rare things I found today were a Lincoln’s sparrow and a Wilson’s warbler(common out west, hard here). But wasn’t the point. That’s for next week with my fellow power nerds. Next week is the best week all year for birding here. Won’t be encumbered by guiding, and just bird. I’ll report back later . Monday and Tuesday look like possible epic fallout days.
Once you are on the lookout for summer (and scarlet) tanagers, you will begin the resent the little ol cardinal doing it's cheap impersonation. Or at least that's how it goes around here when tanagers are in the area.
Agreed tanagers can dunk on cardinals. Merlin is great, but if you learn their chick-burr call note, you can find them. Summers are pit-ti-tuck. Scarlet tanager is in my top ten birds in North America. Those two tanagers are, differing shades, SO red. The western is cool too. A decent morning, 73 species, 19 warblers had an olive-sided flycatcher. It’s a very small group in here, but the next few weeks are bonkers. 330ish million birds flying over each night. That’s pretty cool . Despite being diurnal, the neotropic passerines mostly migrate nocturnally. Been thinking on this for a few years, may head up to Quebec after the next week. The circle of super bird nerds is pretty small, so I “know” some of those guys at that bird observatory in Quebec. It’s like a ten hour drive, could camp on the way up/stay in Montreal and/or Quebec City on the way there. if you are reading this -click on that list!!!! It’s utterly bonkers. 144,300 bay-breasted warblers. 108,000 cape may and magnolia. And these guys are not bullshitting, they are ACE birders/scientists. https://ebird.org/checklist/S46116491 just a true WTF list. When I first saw it a few years back, I had to read it like 15 times before I could process, and then intense FOMO- which I rarely feel.
Catbirds are great, that rufous-reddish thing under their tail is really cool- for an otherwise drabish bird. Love their weird, variable calls. Brown thrashers are my favorite mimid, however. That yellow eye, and they are fierce birds. Mockingbirds are cool too, had one once when I lived in downtown DC that could do perfect police sirens and that “ambulance get out of the way” beeping thing. In groups of three. Catbird one, thrasher two, mockingbird three(this ends the mimid vocalization lesson). Also I beleive it’s callled longcatting, in you guys parlance. But I’ve never sent an email that isn’t like 500-1000 words long. But hey- people pay me to say this shit, so it’s a freebie for y’all. Owsley and other nature lovers. No one is going to comment, or like, the lebron james of birding list I linked? And how the fuck is a thrasher not your favorite mimid, Atlanta hockey team name etc. I was mostly posting because I caught a brief call note of a yellow-bellied flycatcher(FOY), wanted to e-brag. Not really, just sharing with folks that might like that. Really on YBFL, not on the e-brag Much love, happy birding.
My pictures suck compared to Popovio, whose pictures are beautiful! realized I can’t take photos of my favorites. So I just more birding than phots, plus I’m guiding so I need to not take that time. my eBird profile is private, and I’m reticent to post the whole lists because other people are on them too. Would not want to post their names. I’ve shared most of the good pictures I’ve taken, which are pretty few for the last few weeks. I’ll probably make a photo account and send it like I did for my Texas trip. Also this may sound weird, but I don’t want to share my spots. Both for too many people disturbing them and for guiding secrecy. but if you want to DM me, you can. I’ll take you out for a hike if you want! and I do still use Merlin occasionally. Both to see if it gets them, and for backup. Good one from last week today was a little slow-ish. Still decent. Didn’t drive to my super spot, stayed local. Had another Wilson’s, had a Tennessee singing at my place at dawn.
Nice morning super local spot(which is awesome hiking, just not a migrant trap. 2 FOY in one little stretch. Bay breasted and Canada warblers. Up to 29. Just missing Kentucky, golden winged, mouring, and Connecticut of the non Uber rarity 33 we get here. Try and get 30 every spring. Still another week or so!
No idea what I’m doing here. Ha. Sometimes it’s a full image and sometimes it’s like that little upload thing. and I forgot it’s actually 34 but swainson’s warblers don’t breed here, and not north of here either. So don’t migrate through. An occasional one will overshoot and then have to migrate back south.
Nah dude, that was Jorts .Not me. His pic previously, and his bunting shot. Which was great. chunky lil’ guy. Prominent double wing bars, the males have that awesome cool throat. With the fading into yellow but bright orange crescent. And jorts pic was great, that triangle of yellow on its back. had this weird moment where I’m like sharing people on the Internet and I’m like -do they think I’m legit cause I’m fucking legit. Check out my books
I also took like 55,000 pictures of one bay-breasted warbler. They are all out of focus tree limbs. This photography shit is hard of the warbler
Bird photography is extremely difficult. Continuous AF & let 'em rip... this is the way. 5% usable image rate is pretty normal
Love Great Crested Flycatchers... Observed this one hunting in our garden for the last 30 minutes or so
very cool, yes love them too. Where you at again Jorts. I remember that you posted a painted bunting so you must be somewhere down south. so that’s probably a breeding bird not a migrant. they’re kind of an anomaly of tyrant flycatchers, in that they are cavity nesters, almost always old flicker holes. And they have their perches and spots, usually a pretty easy nest to find. Kingbirds still my favorite tyrant flycatcher, but those thing are a close second. Colorful for a flycatcher too. especially for pictures. I bet you if you watch that thing you could find its nest. It’s probably close to your yard. They have pretty small territories, they just let the insects come to them. happy birding to all
Historic district in Jacksonville, near the St. John’s River, with tons of 150+ year old oaks & other mature trees. The wife landscaped with native plants & got registered as a national Wildlife habitat and butterfly way station… so, I don’t have to venture far to practice wildlife photography. Can’t recall if I shared this one, captured several months back:
Great pic! Yeah almost definitely on territory, always exceptions. Live oaks complicate things a bit as they are so “‘branch-y” and always leafed out. Harder to find. Probably nesting in an old woodpecker hole very, very near you, which would be a good photo op. They can’t shut up with that wheeep call, but if you see it sitting silently, always have their perches(like most flycatchers). They only shut up near the nest. They like to perch up really high, but nest in the mid canopy. Florida is awesome for birds
Had a decent last few days, warblers slowing down-flycatchers picking up. They are generally are a week later. Warblers do a lot of caterpillars, flycatchers insects. So they need to time the insect hatches, caterpillars out earlier. Still struggling with warbler photos. Had a worm-eating warbler today which is always cool. Found a few nests. White breasted nuthatch nest Chipping sparrow eastern kingbird hairy woodpecker on nest mourning dove next to nest. Underrated bird, that blue around the eye(and eyelids!) is cool. enjoy the day! Beautiful here today. edit- someone found and photographed a common swift. The European one, not a chimney the other day here. I’m not a huge chaser and it’s 2 1/2 hours away but that’s a pretty crazy bird.
Change of plans, no Quebec. Headed out to Oregon, central coast. Alcid colonies(murre, pigeon guillemot, occasional rhinoceros auklet, tufted puffin(tough to get). and of course, those tiny marbled murrelets, which only nest on the top of old grow coniferous trees! Pelagic and brandts coromorants. Never seen a murrelet nest, but will see them in the water. a client/friend. Kinda a freebie, housing. Not getting paid. Wanderlust post migration. and you guys don’t know me I posted something really kind of tongue and cheek obnoxious and it was a joke so love y’all.
I don't know shit, so I didn't know there was a joke. Hope you have a fun, safe, and successful trip. Also, take pics
Decent morning migration really already slowing down. Had a few parula, bunch of blackpoll(sometimes still see them in June, don’t breed here latest warbler along with mourning). So mostly just was nest searching. Found nests for thrasher, orchard oriole, Baltimore, scarlet tanager, rose breasted grosbeak, warbling vireo. Pictures kinda stink, but trying Male Baltimore and its super cool nest which is a hanging woven basket. young male rose-breasted grosbeak Singing eastern wood pewee bad pic of a scarlet tanager near its nest
So I’m a horrible photographer. Here is a pic of a tree limb, in perfect focus, and one of my favorites, a thrasher -the most regal of all birds, not in focus Great pic of the tree limb in front of it, not so much the awesome thrasher near its nest. I like to do underated/overrated birds. mouring dove… criminally underated. Just a beautiful bird.
Decent morning today, mostly just breeders except swainson thrush and veery. Two Canada warblers which was cool Saw a snapping turtle that was all banged up, clearly got in a fight with a bigger snapping turtle! not a bird. have birded for at least two hours every day this year!