The Great Kiskadee

Great Kiskadee

Finally, here he is, the bird you have all been waiting for...The Great Kiskadee!

He is a a member of the flycatcher family, and is considered a "tropical flycatcher" in that his range in the U. S. is pretty much limited to the southern tip of Texas.  He is described as stocky, short-billed, round-winged and large-headed with a heavy bill. The Great Kiskadee is slightly smaller than the American Robin.

The Tropical Parula and the Painted Bunting

Tropical Parula

As long as we are warbling, this is a warbler that I did see, not far from the Rio Grande.  They are really quite rare, as they exist mostly in Mexico and South America.  There were however, reports of one or two being spotted in this particular wildlife preserve we visited, where we also saw the Ibiis, the Least Grebe, and a number of other aquatic birds that will be discussed in future postings.

Painted Bunting

We also saw the beautiful painted bunting, an unbelievably pretty little bird.  Apparently they both enjoy similar environments. The Parula hangs out where there is Spanish moss, or halfway up in large trees. 

As we walked back to our cars, we passed a group of birders called "listers," or "head hunters."  They seem to be only interested in adding to their list.  I had just seen the bunting, and was excitedly telling them about the find, just around the corner.  They dismissed me out of hand.  "We're after the Tropical Parula."

The Colima Warbler

Colima Warbler

Well, it is finally time to talk about the Colima Warbler.  I've been avoiding this bird, which is found in the U.S. only in the Big Bend National Park, in Texas, and only at an elevation of about 7,000 feet, as one climbs up towards Emory Peak...one of the highest in the Chisos Mountains in the southern part of Texas.   This is the very northern part of the bird's range, which spreads out into Mexico in equally inaccessible areas.

He is quite shy, and flits about, making him even difficult to spot once you have gotten to him.  Unfortunately, I never got to him. The afternoon before, the three of us scrambled up about a fifth of the distance, just to check things out.  As we ascended, and I was sweating and panting for breath, I noticed my two comrades hadn't even broken a sweat.  They weren't panting any more than if they had walked from your kitchen into the dining room.  Not that I didn't already know it, these guys are the hikers from hell..definitely in a different class. 

The plan was to get up at about 5 AM, and be on the trail by 6 AM, so as to be in the area of the warbler around 11 AM, when the temperature would be approaching 100 degrees.  Throughout my life, I have been known as the "bulldog"...kind of dumb, but never giving up.  And so it pained me greatly to back out of this adventure, using my recent knee replacement, asthma, blah, blah, blah..whatever..as an excuse.

The boys made the trip without me, and indeed saw the Colima Warbler.  Along the way, they encountered a couple of hikers that only went half the distance, and claimed to have seen the bird.

Just like the Repubulicans, they lied.

Republican

Enjoy the Colima Warbler...

The Glossy Ibis & the White Ibis

These strange looking birds inhabit ponds and swamps.  They forage in groups by walking slowly with heads down, probing the mud with their long, curved bills.

White Ibis

The white Ibis is only fully white when he becomes an adult.  As a juvenile, he has a lot of brown, or is mottled.

Glossy Ibis

The Glossy Ibis is dark in color, and appears to be, guess what...glossy.  You won't see them around here, except possibly in migration.
They love crustaceans, so don't let your crustaceans out of sight

The American Crow Vs. The Common Raven

Common Raven

American Crow

A good friend recently asked what the difference was between a crow and a raven.  Everyone has seen crows around these parts; a large black bird, considerably larger than a blackbird.  We don't really have ravens around here, but they flourish in the northern part of the state. 


They are considerably larger than a crow, and have a sort of rough look about them.  The have a thick bill, and a head that begs for a trim.

The call of the the crow is, of course "caw-caw-caw".  When they all get together as a group. like they do around Loring Park, they are called a "murder of crows"  Weird.  The raven, however has a much more guttural call...almost a loud croaking.  There is another, smaller raven that inhabits the plains of West Texas and Oklahoma called the Chihuahuan Raven.  He has a tiny patch of white on the nape of his neck.  Sometimes you can only see it when he puffs up his head to utter his call "ay chihuahua, ay chihuahua."

Let's just agree to call them LBB's (Little Brown Birds)

Since yesterday's posting of the English Sparrow, I have been viciously attacked from all quarters, over the question of this particular bird.   Bill Brown, who I thought was my good friend, and one of the state's leading birders contradicted me, saying in reality, the bird is a Weaver's Finch.  Even my own brother launched into me!  Consequently I turned to a dear friend, and librarian (if a librarian doesn't know, then who does?) for clarification.  Thank God she cleared this up for all to see. 

As for me...well, I never want to see one these critters again..except that there is one right outside my window.  Life can be cruel!

Unfortunately, this has set back what was to be my next posting; Crows Versus Ravens...maybe tomorrow.  Gotta go practice now.

Librarian

Dein Bruder ist schon zu Hause.Es ist BOMBENSICHER ein SPATZ, und zwar ein Hausspatz – steht ja auch drunter. Wenn Du das Bild vergrößerst, siehst Du den riesigen Bart.
Wenn es ein Fink sein sollte, dann also ein Kernbeißer = hawfinch? Da käme dann wohl nur ein Kernbeißerweibchen in Frage, die Männchen sind zu bunt. Kernbeißerweibchen haben aber einen viel kräftigeren Schnabel, der außerdem hellgrau ist. Die Farben beim Weibchen sind ansonsten allerdings ähnlich. Aber der Kernbeißer ist viel, viel, viel größer als der Hausspatz. Und der riesige Bart fehlt. Die Kernbeißer sitzen ab und zu bei uns auf dem Vogelbeerbaum und fressen den Minis die Meisenknödel weg. Unfair.
Spatzen haben wir gerade zum Brüten über unserem Esszimmerfenster.

Zur Erläuterung ein Bild. Kannst vergleichen. Oder Deinen Bruder nochmal fragen. Der weiß es natürlich garantiert am besten. Allerdings ist heute Abend keiner da, der ihm das Bild ausdrucken kann….

Also glaube mir nichts J

Conny

The House Sparrow (English Sparrow)

House (English) Sparrow

Affectionately know as the "Sputzie", this is the most common of all birds..it is everywhere. You would have to be blind not to see at least one of these little buggers every day... on your front lawn, your sidewalk, your bird feeder.

They are all over Europe and Asia too.  Eight pairs of sputzies were brought here in 1850 to rid shade trees of the inch worm.  The rest is history.

This, however, is only one of the many species of sparrows that exist in North America.  There are many more, and many of these will be dealt with as our "Bird of the Day" series proceeds.

Audubon's Oriole

Audubon Oriole

As long as we are looking at Oriole's, here is another one, found only in the southern part of Texas.  This is a photo of an adult.  The juveniles have more yellow, as the black is only beginning to develop.
This bird takes his name, of course, from the great naturalist/painter, John James Audubon, one of the very first to depict the birds of North America, way back in the early 1800's.  Lacking, perhaps, the sensitivities of the modern day nature lover, he shot 'em, stuffed 'em, and painted 'em.       

The Altamira Oriole

Altamira Oriole

The name borrows from the spanish; alta, (high), mira (look!).  In other words, look high. (What else is new?)

Altamira Oriole

It seems that 80% of the birds are up high.  Being in rattlesnake country, one is always aware that while looking high, you are not looking low, where you should be looking.  There are several orioles in this part of Texas.  In these parts, mostly what we see are the neighborhood Baltimore Oriole and the Orchard Oriole.  All the orioles are beautiful birds, mixing yellow with orange and black.  The juxtaposition of these colors varies with each species.  The Altamira Oriole is the largest of the oriole family with a large bill and a short tail.  He has perhaps more black under his chin that the others, and white at the base of the primaries. 

We were standing on the banks of the Rio Grande while observing this bird.  We struck up a conversation with a fellow who had a huge telephoto lens, and was only 15 or 20 birds away from seeing and photographing all seven hundred and some birds in North America.  His other passion was rock climbing.  The guy was 60 years old, and had just scaled El Capitan in Yosemite!  He had been to Minnesota last winter looking, without success, for the Great Grey Owl.  I began to wonder what this guy did for a living to be able to devote so much time to these passions of his.  At the same time, I was beginning to realize that I was involved in a hobby for which my level of income was poorly out of sync with reality.  I might have to settle for the sparrows and robins of Bedford street.

The Fulvous and Black-Bellied Tree Ducks

Fulvous Tree Duck

Now here is a duck for you.

He is very goose-like in appearance and perhaps a little larger than a mallard, with quite a long neck.  He is generally brown in color (the Black bellied has a black belly).

Black Bellied Tree Duck

They both have a bit of white on the wings, and the Fulvous has white outer tail feathers. They love to roost in trees, and were, until recently called Fulvous and Black-bellied Whistling Ducks -- which means that besides sitting in trees, they like to whistle.

I thought my friend Dan Elsen was a strange duck!  They can be seen (except around here) grazing in open fields and swimming in shallow ponds. Their range is along the southern fringe of the U.S.

Brewer's Blackbird

A good friend of mine who lives in the Loring Park area of Minneapolis, and is also quite knowledgeable about birds recently posed a question.  She watched as a red-tailed hawk dined on what some said, was a crow.  Her thought was that it must have been a blackbird.  Who knows...I'll have to ask my good friend and top notch birder, Jim about that.  Do red-tailed hawks eat crows?  I know I have been forced to eat crow many times.  I suppose there are a number of blackbirds it could have been, or maybe even a cowbird?

Brewer's Blackbird

The Brewer's blackbird is the size of a robin, slender with a longish tail, and mostly black, but with that haunting yellowish eye again.  Where do those yellow eyes come from?  We saw many of these guys in Texas, which is their winter range, but they do enjoy Minnesota in the summer and probably love Loring Park, which, due to the pleasant pond with it's accompanying aquatic plants is also home to the Red-wing blackbird.  Look for the Brewer's on your front lawn in the fall.  They go after those acorns from the oak trees, as do the grackles and other blackbirds.

The Least Grebe

Least Grebe

I guess they call him that since he is the smallest of the Grebe family.

The Grebes are small water birds who forage for tiny aquatic animals at the bottom of ponds and lakes.  The have lobed feet, and can dive very quickly out of sight.  The Least Grebe is specific to the southern region of Texas.  He is a gray, drab little bird with a sharp bill.  He is much smaller than a duck.
About the most exciting thing you can say about him is that he has yellow eyes.

When I first saw this little bird, I thought of a turd bobbing up and down in the water.

Pied-billed Grebe

The Pied-billed Grebe, on the other hand, is a bit larger, and a little more exciting, with a black throat patch and a ring around it's bill.  This guy can be found all over Minnesota. You have no doubt seen them when driving by a small lake.  You will ask yourself, is that a duck? Something tells you, however, that it is not.  You might also be seeing a coot, a bird we will delve into at a later time.

The Plain Chachalaca

Plain Chachalaca

This crow-sized bird with a long tail exists only at the very southern tip of Texas, near the Rio Grande.

It is a very raucous bird, constantly squawking it's name.  Sometimes there will be two or three of them carrying on at the same time, filling the area with their sound.  The bird is a depressing brown in color, and can be seen either on the ground, or up in a tree.  We almost stepped on the egg of one of these birds...looked exactly like a chicken egg.

It was here, I suspect, that I left some items in a drawer at the motel, including my "Law and Order," and "Paco de Lucia" T-shirts."  The boys had to put up with a one-T-shirt partner. Towards the end of the trip, the T-shirt was able to stand up on it's own, and walk around the room like the Plain Chachalaca.

The Black Capped Vireo

Black Capped Vireo

Found mainly in the hill country of S. Texas.

Cute little bird with a black cap and a big white eye ring.
If you get close enough, you'll see that it has a red eye, maybe a permanent hangover.

Preferred environment: scrup oak and mesquite.



As we entered the wildlife area, a sign said "rattlesnakes abundant here."   Rattlesnakes!!??   The problem with this little bird is that it is very shy, and flits around. You have to keep the glasses up and ready for the only quick peek you will get, but you are always looking down to see if a rattlesnake is creeping up on you.