Fall into Migration

 

 

Fall Migration is underway and has been for a couple of weeks.  As many as 1400 Mississippi Kites have been spotted in one day at the hawk watches on the coast of Texas.  Uppies are moving as well.  Yellow warblers have been spotted migrating through Central Texas.  All this means the end of summer and the beginning of one of the great birding seasons of the year.

 

 

So, whether you’re traveling or not, you need to have a good pair of binoculars available.  Consider these 8x42 Vortex Crossfire II’s, light and compact to carry in a daypack or purse or place in the glove compartment of a car.  Good to have available for a visiting friend.

Get outdoors and go have some fun.

Nemesis Bird

I suppose everyone has their own nemesis bird, one they just can’t seem to find.  I seem to be a day late, an hour late, or just missed it with a Blackburnian Warbler.  Oh, to see its fiery orange throat, black eye patch and that white blaze on its wing—that would make my day.  To be sure, there are more species for me to see.  Yet, this is the one I prize for now.  I’ve even challenged my fellow birders to help me find this bird to no avail.

The good news is I live smack dab on its spring migration route.  The bad news is this species is a migrant and moves quickly along its route to its spring breeding habitat in the north.

Photographic credit to Bill Ravenscroft.

Of Sparrows and Phoebes

 

Sparrows are a confusing lot, yet, this is the time of year when they become a focus.  As we get ready for Christmas Counts many of us are boning up on these LBJs (little brown jobs).  As fall migrants they are already giving us practice.  With my group’s last field trip, our first challenge was a sparrow identification.  From a distance we made one guess only to be proven very much incorrect when the bird in question joined two others of the same species in a nearby brush pile.  Savannahs they were.

One bird which travels through our area twice a year as a migrant is the Eastern Phoebe.  Its song is distinctive and its posture and behavior leaves nothing to doubt.  It is a joy to see them as well.

 

Photographs courtesy of Bill Ravenscroft.

Feed the Birds This Fall

 

Feed the Birds

Especially During Fall Migration

 

Millions of birds of many species, big and small, are on their way to their winter grounds.  We can help many along the way by offering food and water on their route.  The journey is long and arduous.  We help the birds and in return get a show not equaled.

 

Droll Yankees A6RP Tube Feeder

Droll Yankees Finch Flocker

High Island Rookery

 

One of my favorite birding spots is the High Island Rookery.  Late in the day, after walking a considerable amount and often in the hot sun, this is the place to be.  A shaded path dotted with several observation decks provides a place to sit comfortably.  There is plenty of wildlife to observe.  Over time one can see quite a lot.  Bullfrogs abound and alligators sun in wait.  Many species of birds inhabit the rookery. Yet, there are more who visit.  It’s a grand place during migration in the spring. 

 

Texas has good birding all year round and almost anywhere in the state.  However, a trip to the Upper Texas Coast in spring can be something special.

Too Black and White to Ignore

Photograph by Bill Ravenscroft

Warblers are a sure sign of spring migration.  These will put a smile on your face or nothing will.  Enjoy but watch out for warbler neck.

On the Wing

 

This is the hawk of which I spoke in my previous post.  What a sight to see—150 to 200 hawks in a kettle!  This is a favorite hawk for me, and only one with which I’ve become familiar as an adult.  I can remember staring at Red Tailed Hawks making lazy circles over the fields in the summers of my youth. However, this one became known to me later.



The Broad-winged Hawk is unusual in size and proportion.  It doesn’t have the considerable size of some Red Tails and is not small as the American Kestrel.  Yet, what catches my eye is the breadth of its wings and the banding of its tail.  When you can find a hawk with alternating white and black stripes in equal amount on its tail, it’s a safe bet the hawk is a Broad-winged.

 

 

I really enjoy this time of year.  Migration and the crisp mornings of fall, such a perfect time to grab your binoculars and scope and head to the field. 

Photographs by Bill Ravenscroft. 

Orange You Glad

 

I know, it’s a corny title for this post, but there it is.  And it’s all because of the orioles migrating through the region.  This time it’s a Bullock’s Oriole. 



 

 

It took me a while to adjust to the splitting of the Northern Oriole into two different species.  Their field marks are distinctive, though.  There has been some interbreeding between the Bullock and the Baltimore in the Great Plains.  Fully breeding males of the two species are easily recognized.  Concentrating on the head, the Baltimore is completely black while the Bullock has a lot of orange invading the cheek and eye regions (actually a stripe of black through the eye adjacent to an orange supercilium).  Next, the wing is barred in white for the Baltimore, but the Bullock’s wing has a large distinctive white patch.

The difficulty is in the immatures.  The above photographs are of a Bullock first year male.  The clues are the dark throat patch and the eye line.

Photographs by Bill Ravenscroft

Blowin' In the Wind

My yard erupted in orange a while back.  Isaac blew in some migrants, birds I haven’t seen for a while.  Wind blowing, excitement, and birds hopping all over in search of food—no way was I going to get a great picture.   I did try.  I watched with camera and binoculars for several hours that day.  Work took a back seat. 

Baltimore Oriole, female

 

It is evident that fall is around the corner.  Cool mornings followed by still hot afternoons foretell of a change of season in my neck of the world.  Also, migrants coming into the area distract from the routine in a much welcomed way.  This species also brings fond memories of my childhood and is one of the first species with which I became familiar.



Winter Visitors

Spotted Towhee photographed by Bill Ravenscroft

Spotted Towhees have found their way into Texas.  This cold snap not only has brought us much needed rain but new migrants.  The Spotteds come from the west.  But when you live on the I-35 corridor, west meets east to great advantage.

Male and females of this species are very similar.  Eastern Towhees demonstrate more sexual dimorphism.  Remarkable, to me at least, towhees are in the sparrow family.  At first glance, it just doesn’t seem possible.  The coloration and pattern of the feathers are not similar to other sparrows.  This is a large bird in comparison to the other sparrows.  Its tail is longer than the normal sparrows’.  However, its bill shape is conical just like the other sparrows, and its behavior and feeding pattern mimics many sparrows.

These are shy and skittish birds.  Most of the time one must seek them in underbrush and thicket habitat.  They scratch underneath shrubbery for insects and seeds.  And if you are a photographer, you must be quick, and good, and persevere.

Hummingbirds are Headed North!

Photograph by Karen Gerow Arquette

John reports they’re in Central Texas:  Mary Ann says they’re in South Carolina.  They’re on the border of New Mexico.  They’re on the way to your place.

Ruby Prism Feeder

Kinglets

Finally, they've arrived in our neck of the woods. Kinglets are birds with high activity: they just do not stand still. Their constnt movement makes it difficult to near impossible to get a decent photograph, and they tend to flick their wings often. You catch as catch can. Kinglets are active foragers. Arthropods, small insects, and the eggs of spiders are gleaned from the banches and leaves of trees and shrubs. Kinglets forage from tree top to the ground. They will sometimes catch prey acting a bit like flycatchers.

Ruby Crowned Kinglets are more prevalent than Golden Crowns in our area. The red erectile top-knot is often not visible. A male Ruby Crown will generally not display unless it is in dispute with another male. It is a sign of aggression.

In migration, kinglets will flock with other species such as chickadees and wood warblers.

One final bit of trivia, these birds which do no stand still are also quite small. Interestingly, it would take three ot five of them just to make one ounce. That is truly remarkable.

Regardless, kinglets are a sure sign of fall. I'll still grab my binoculars in an effort to find...and see if the bird is a Ruby or a Golden.

Photos by Bill Ravenscroft

Signs of Migration

It would appear that migration is well underway. Many immature birds as well as warblers and orioles have been visiting. The last, and welcomed, rains brought in the orioles to our feeders. The rains have seemed to chase the hummers away. We had several hummers at the feeders before the rain, but none now. Such is the nature of migration—here today, gone tomorrow.

Photos by Bill Ravenscroft.

Fast but Lonely Travelers

Decidedly, fall migration has begun. Hummingbirds are once again gathering at the feeders, fattening for the trip south. Our feeders sometimes have five or six at a time seeking nectar. Even the few flowers left are being methodically visited for a last drink by the birds.

It is amazing that these little birds will practically double their weight at this time in preparation of their long flight south to Mexico and Panama. Their routes require nonstop flight of 20 some hours over the Gulf of Mexico at an average speed of 25 mph. Sustaining that seems incredible. Yet, these little dynamos do and mostly as solitaires. Large flocks of hummers do not occur. Speculation as to the reasons for this lonely migration include the declining populations of insects and flowers that prohibit a large gathering of hummers at one place and time, that large flocks are easier pickings for predators, and the possibility that a single storm could conceivably wipe out an entire hummingbird species.

Photographs by Bill Ravenscroft

Fall Report

Photograph by Bill Ravenscroft

As the day presses on during the past week, the few sightings of hummers at the feeders have come to a halt. However, noticeable are different birds visiting the water bath and surrounding cover of the bushes in my back yard as well as the high branches of the oaks above. For the past two days, three or four Ruby Crowned Kinglets have visited, flitting back and forth between the Rose-A-Sharon and the Oaks. They have been accompanied by six to eight Nashville Warblers. The Nashvilles were particularly interested in the water bath gathering at least three at a time and affording me a good look at their white eye ring, gray head, and yellow throat. Yesterday evening, there were other warblers high in the oaks. However, before I could acquire my binoculars and focus on these birds, they were off. Scratching about the under growth has been a Brown Thrasher.

Steady are the constant companions, the Carolina Chickadees, Tufted Titmice and Carolina Wrens. A female Downy also frequents the peanut feeder. Not seen in a while are the Red Bellied Woodpeckers. They are heard about the neighborhood, however. Tough Yellow Bellied Sapsuckers have not yet been seen in the yard, I have seen one in the park.

My good friend has a different visitor. Since Tuesday, this Red Shouldered Hawk visits early in the morning in his yard. The smaller birds do not show for four or five hours afterwards. Oh well, one must be appreciative of whatever gift comes along.

Fall Migrants

Migration has begun. These warblers were photographed in the area around Lake Waco by photographer Bill Ravenscroft. The above is a Nashville Warbler. Below is a Yellow Warbler.

A Brown Thrasher was spotted tooling around under my Rose-A-Sharon near the waterbath. I fumbled trying to get a picture and did not succeed. Most of the hummers have departed, although I have one to three still visiting my feeder and the few remaining flowers.

We are experiencing cool mornings and mild, pleasant afternoons,--perfect conditions for some great fall birding.

Central Texas Hummingbirds

Adult male Ruby Throat

Photo by Karen Arquette

Migration seems to have begun. Karen was reporting that 80 to 100 hummers a day would visit her feeders this summer. Yet, recently, the numbers have dropped to around 30 or 40 a day. Flowers are still blooming. The feeders are still being filled. These jewels are tanking up for their flights south. We will enjoy them all we can.

Immature male Ruby Throat

Photo by Karen Arquette

Cedar Waxwings

One of the great joys of migration is that twice a year I get to witness the gathering hundreds of these marvelous birds. Over the last couple of days their frenzied activity has occurred in my back yard, coming and going to the bird bath and feasting on the berries in the tress all around my yard and the neighbors'.

I was spending a good deal of time watching and trying for a good digiscoped photo of these when they exploded from the yard en masse and hightailed it for some distant shelter. Immediately searching the sky above me, I found a Cooper's Hawk gliding across the ravine headed my way.