Since I am going to be in Phoenix for business, I decided to take a few vacation days to visit with some friends and go birding. I have some target birds I hope to see, not the least among them are those pesky quails. I will be going out with Melody Kehl again. I’ll keep you posted. In the meantime, here is a photo of a Roadrunner to tide you over.
With a view of the Panama Canal and the surrounding forest canopy, the Canopy Tower is an incredible place to stand in the early morning light. I climbed the narrow steps to pop my head above the hatch to see the vista open before me. As I walked in wonder around the roof, a flicker of movement caught my eye in a cecropia tree. There, facing east, as if waiting for the sun’s rays to dazzle the eye, were 2 Golden-hooded Tanagers. Nice.
I continued my walk around the huge yellow dome with a jig in my step.
Both Turkey and Black Vultures were swirling around at eye level. Three Red-lored Parrots landed in a clump of leaves and disappeared. A Keel-billed Toucan clacked in a tree across the way.
Each direction had new trees to scan. I made the turn on my route around the dome when a flash of blue zipped into a cecropia tree. I stared in disbelief. My first lifer in Panama was not a little nondescript something, something, but…Holy Crap… a Blue Continga.
I’ll tell you more about all of this tomorrow. Right now the rain is letting up and there are birds to see.
Filed under Uncategorized
I stood next to the car smearing on sunscreen. My reflection shimmered in the heat in the dark-tinted windows of the car a few feet way. I was leaning in my car to stuff the bottle of sunscreen in the pocket of the door when I heard the hum of a window lowering and a high-pitched voice.
“Excuse me, What’s that?”
I turned around to see a long manicured finger pointing at my feet. I looked down to see a non-descript brown butterfly had lighted on the stones next to my tire.
“Is it a moth? Or maybe a leaf?”
I squatted down to to peer at it. “Nope, it has club antennnae. It’s a butterfly.”
“What kind?”
Ugh. I knew that was coming. “I don’t know. Maybe a Comma.”
“A comma, like in English?” I debated being a smart aleck and pointing out that most languages had commas.
“Yes, Commas have little white comma shape marks on their wings. ” I hestiated, “There are Question Marks too.”
“Like in English?”
I sighed, “Yup.”
“Do they have little question marks on their wings then?” The woman tittered.
“Uh huh.”
I hunkered down, took a picture then walked over to the car to show her the mark.
“Will ya look at at that! The things you learn””
I smiled and turned away as her phone rang and the window rose again.
On my walk, I found lots of butterflies. Most of them were easily IDed; the Tiger and Black Swallowtails chased each other. The Monarch ladies were flitting from milkweed to milkweed. But there were also tiny confusing skippers and various whites and sulphurs that would not sit still long enough to give me a chance at Iding them.
Speaking of grammar, this is the only look I got at what I think is a Question Mark.
And this one, I think, is a Comma.
But if so, then I think the top one must be a Hop Merchant?!?!?!?
What do you think?
Filed under Local schmocal, Photos
I came across a nice flock of Turkeys with several displaying males. The head color and warty wonderfulness was fantastic. Ain’t he a looker.
Check out this week’s Bird Photography Weekly for other hotties of the bird world.
Filed under Photos
Have you ever seen this before? Look at those 2, count them, 2, red patches. When I first saw him, I thought maybe he was something else, but no, look at that small bill. He is definitely a Downy; but a bird with a different sense of style. If one red patch is good then two must be better. Oooo, but I bet he is a killer with the ladies.
Filed under backyard
Winter is a great time to look for Eagles. We have them here in NJ on both the Delaware and Hudson Rivers as well as most reservoirs. Many bird groups or Audubon Societies offer winter Eagle field trips. Check it out and dress warm if you go. I almost froze my patootie once on an eagle trip.
But, let me tell you an Eagle story.
A few weeks ago, as I was driving around the Wanaque Reservoir I glanced through the trees and there were thousands of Common Mergansers sitting on the water. Thinking there might be other things hanging around with such a large flock, I slowed up and squeezed into the only available hint of a pull-off. I walked back to peer over the fence and through the trees. Hoping for a better view, I followed the fence line until I found a thin opening through the trees, when all of a sudden the Merganzers exploded into a swirling mass of white. I looked up expecting a Peregrine or some other raptor. What I saw was a 3rd year immature Bald Eagle. As soon as the flock would settle down onto another part of the water, he would buzz over the top of them causing them to take to flight again. He did it repeatedly, I could almost hear the laughing. I watched transfixed. I had never seen anything like it. After playing with the Merganser for several passes, he started to swoop low and drag his big yellow feet in the water that they had vacated. Maybe he was fishing? He suddenly veered off to the north when a large adult Bald Eagle appeared. It started to do the same thing though-flying low over the water and dragging its feet. Within a few minutes the immature Bald Eagle was back and they both skimmed the water back and forth dragging their feet. I watched them for perhaps 20 minutes. They were still doing it when I left. It was one of those birdwatching moments when I wished someone else had been there to see it. Have you seen Eagles do this? Were they fishing?
To see other birds check out Bird Photography Weekly.
Filed under Local schmocal, Photos, Stories
I love that Juncos come in flavors. Hmmmm, that sorta sounds like a Popsicle, but you know what I mean. Here in the east, we have only one type of Dark-eyed Junco, the Slate-colored one. But in the west, there are several colorful variations: Oregon, Pink-sided, White-winged, Gray-headed and Red-backed.
This one is a Gray-headed Junco. See the reddish back and the soft gray head and chest. The Red-backed Junco is very similar except that the bill is bi-colored. Trust me, I checked out every Junco that was there, probably more than once, trying to make one of these into a Red-backed. But nothing doin’.
Another fun fact, you know that Juncos are actually Sparrows, right?
What kind of Juncos do you have?
To see other birds check out Bird Photography Weekly.
There is chasing, and then there is chasing, and then there is the possibly getting a lifebird a few blocks from my house. I got an email from the Director of Weis Ecology Center that she had a female RED Crossbill at her feeder. Red? Since she only lives around the lake from me, walking distance really, I threw on my coat, grabbed my camera and drove over. (I didn’t realize it was walking distance when I drove, OK?) When I approached the house, I could see activity on her back deck and after a few minutes of scanning the trees, her deck and her neighbor’s deck; I spotted a drab bird with a funky bill. I could only see the bird’s head popping above the deck railing. She flew, I smiled, Score! and settled in for a long wait at the end of her driveway. I wanted to see her again. But I never did.
Karla came out and invited me onto her deck and then we all went next door to her neighbor’s house and watched and waited from the comfort of their kitchen. The Crossbill was consorting with a flock of House Finches and a lone Pine Siskin. We watched hoardes of Finches come and go, eagerly scanning any and all birds high in the trees. But, to no avail. I am hopeful she is still around. I ended up spending a lovely day with Karla and her husband, met her charming neighbors, and watched and chatted about birds. My kind of Saturday.
Having things to do, a pie to bake and not wanting to wear out my welcome (as my mother would say), I left for home as the light lengthened and turned golden. When I got home, my own little flock of feathered neighbors were congregated in the forsythia next to the garage, (I swear they associate the sound of the garage door opening with food, like Pavlov’s dogs.) I filled my hand with black-oil sunflower seeds and stood stock-still as the bravest of the Chickadees landed on my outstretched fingers, selected a seed then flew to a sturdy branch to peck it open. I love that.
Filed under Local schmocal, Photos
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