Seasonal Tanagers

Between being down a few people at work meaning lots of shifts and a lot of family obligations I haven't been out very much at all this month.  This weekend we traveled to southern Indiana for Ginger's family reunion.  I had hopes of Blue Grosbeak or Chat pics since they're listed as common at a nearby wildlife refuge.  However as it turned out the refuge was only open 2 days a week.  I did come across a few Summer Tanagers at a nearby county park.

 This pair was actually flycatching in bluebird-like fashion, flying down to chase after some stinkbugs that were buzzing around a few inches off the ground.  If I were more facile with the camera I'd have had a shot at some sweet flight pics; I was just glad I managed to push the exposure and not end up with a bunch of backlit shots when they landed on anticipated perches.

I had a distant view of a transitional male, but my only pic was badly out of focus.

I spent a decent amount of time walking around the edges trying to drum up a Blue Grosbeak.  There were a few Orchard Orioles around so I couldn't have been far off in terms of habitat.

There were tons of Indigo Buntings, a few Bluebirds and Blue Jays, just not the grosbeak.

Zebra Finche

Zebra Finches inhabit a wide range of grasslands and forests, usually close to water.They are typically found in open steppes with scattered bushes and trees, but have adapted to human disturbances, taking advantage of human-made watering holes and large patches of deforested land. Zebra Finches — including many human-bred variants to the species — are widely kept by genetic researchers, breeding hobbyists and pet owners.

The Zebra Finch breeds after substantial rains in its native habitat, which can occur at any time of the year. Birds in captivity are ready to breed year-round. Wild birds are adaptable and varied in their nesting habits, with nests being found in cavities, scrub, low trees, bushes, on the ground, in termite hills, rabbit burrows, nests of other birds, and in the cracks, crevices, and ledges of human structures. Outside of the breeding time, brood nests are constructed for sleeping in.

The life expectancy of a Zebra Finch is highly variable because of genetic and environmental factors. The Zebra Finch may reach up to five years in its natural environment. If they are kept caged, they normally live for 5 to 7 years; if they are well looked after and happy, they may live up to 12 years,with the exceptional case of 14.5 years reported for a caged specimen.The greatest threats to the survival of the species are predation by cats and loss of natural food.
Data refer : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zebra_finch

Sweet Birding on Sugar Creek

A vista along Sugar Creek Road, Fayette County, WV.

Among the many trips I've lead over the past ten springs at The New River Birding and Nature Festival, the one we call Sugar Creek is right at the top of the list. There are three warbler species that are the most sought-after birds at this annual West Virginia birding event: cerulean warbler, Swainson's warbler, and golden-winged warbler. Sugar Creek has many breeding pairs of the first two species, which makes it a sell-out trip most every year.

In this post I'm going to take you along on our Sugar Creek field trip from this spring.

 Sugar Creek Road has some big timber. The road itself is about 1.5 car-widths wide and gravel. It is cut into a steep mountainside and at places the road is so narrow that the school bus driver and the folks who drive the vans and buses during the white-water rafting season call out their positions and progress on CB radios to reduce the chance of a head-on collision on a blind curve—of which there are many.

The severity of the landscape is what makes this road special for cerulean warblers. And it's one of the few places where you can see tree-top-loving warblers (like the cerulean) in the tops of the trees BELOW you on the mountain.

Looking down on a flitting warbler.

My strategy for Sugar Creek is to walk the roadway as much as possible. Birds we are seeking are often heard before they are seen, so we ask our bus driver (usually Hank, a veteran driver on this road) to drop us at the top and meet us at various spots as we walk down the mountain toward the bottom where the Gauley River rages.

 

 

This past spring I got to guide the Sugar Creek trip with New River Birding Festival co-founder Geoff Heeter. Guiding with Geoff is always fun and rewarding for a number of reasons:

1. He speaks the native tongue.

2. He knows where the birds are each year.

3. He's mighty handy in a pinch.

4. He cracks a good joke.

5. He always dresses for birding success:

Fresh off the runway from the birding fashion show: Geoff "Hotlegs" Heeter.

This year my Sugar Creek trip also had Katie Fallon along. Katie is the world's most passionate fan of cerulean warblers. In fact, she wrote a really great book about them called Cerulean Blues. You should buy and read this book immediately—especially if you love warblers and appreciate good writing.

Geoff Heeter (in plaid Bermuda shorts) points out a treetop cerulean warbler for Katie Fallon.

Male cerulean warbler.

 

 One of our two primary target birds on the Sugar Creek trip: the singing male cerulean warbler. We found at least a dozen territorial male ceruleans along the route.

Female American redstart nest building.

We also saw lots of nest-building activity during the field trip from a variety of species including American robin, American redstart (above), blue-headed vireo, wood thrush, and worm-eating warbler.

There are other glorious things to see along the way. Hooded warblers are thick in the roadside woods.

We found some morels right along the road as we neared the bottom, but we left them in place for the local folks to harvest if they wanted to...

Ernesto Carman (in the orange hat above) was super fast at finding birds in his scope. He's had years of practice birding in the rainforest of Costa Rica and it shows. He generated a LOT of smiles with his scope-wielding talent.

  Down at the bottom of the mountain, Sugar Creek Road goes through a scattering of small houses and takes a sharp bend to the left when it reaches the Gauley River. This area is owned by one of the rafting companies, so it's not normally open to the public. And this is where we get our very best looks at the Swainson's warbler!

As I got off the bus along the river trail, I heard a Swainson's singing and, after getting everyone else off the bus and ready, I slowly walked forward to see if I could spot where the male was perched. It's always best to find birds doing their thing naturally, without having to resort to song playback, pishing, or bushwhacking to find them.

And there he was, left of the trail, about 35 feet up in a tree. Singing. Preening. Oblivious to the 35 gasping bird watchers who were focusing about $20,000 worth of optics on him.

Male Swainson's warbler.

After a session with the Swainson's, we headed to the end of the trail and had a picnic lunch, followed by a stroll back out to a spot in the river where a collection of giant boulders makes a perfect setting for a photo.

 

The Sugar Creek Birders along the Gauley River.

A big thank you to my expert fellow guides! I'm already counting down the days until next year!

L to R: Ernesto Carman, BT3, Katie Fallon, Geoff Heeter.

That time of year ...

... Slow.

Slow like an Eastern Box Turtle

Slow like a Blanding's Turtle

Slow like a Woodchuck munching through the Waterleaf flowers in my backyard

So far I've struck out on finding the uncommon breeders I missed in migration, if weather cooperates I'm going to try again in the morning.

Berkshire Birds Of Hawley Bog & High Ledges

Before visiting the Berkshires I asked some western Massachusetts birders if they knew of any good places to check out near the Mowhawk Trail. One of the locations I chose to visit was Hawley Bog. There were numerous Black-throated Blue and Black-throated Green Warblers along the wooded trail leading to the bog. It might just be my imagination but the BT-blues seemed to have a Massachusetts accent.

I was told that Hawley is known more for rare plants than it is for birds but there is something about wild natural places that fascinate me. It has a 30 foot thick condensed layer of peat floating on water. 

 As I walked along the boardwalk trail, unseen warblers and flycatchers were singing in the surrounding vegetation. The first warbler to reveal itself was Chestnut-sided Warbler, quickly followed by a Northern Waterthrush. I recorded the sound of one secretive warbler that I later determined to be a Canada Warbler.

If I had just walked out to the end of the boardwalk and came back then I would have only seen a limited number of species but a special habitat like this requires time and patience before it reveals its secrets. Instead of walking around I chose a couple of select places to sit, watch, and listen. It payed off with some sightings of birds that landed near me instead of flying away from me (Yellow-bellied Sapsucker photo).

A Common Yellowthroat may be common but watching a brilliant colored male singing from a branch above your head is a rewarding experience in my book.

Another place suggested to me was High Ledges Wildlife Sanctuary. I only wish  I was able to spend more time there because there were a lot of trails left to be explored. One of the trails led to this scenic farm.

I wasn't sure if the farm was open to the public so I turned around and out popped a Chestnut-sided Warbler singing pleased-pleased-pleased-to-meet-you! 

I also had a surprise encounter with a Lincoln's Sparrow which is an uncommon sighting in Connecticut. I'm not sure what their numbers are in Massachusetts. 

Here's a short video of a proud Common Yellowthroat singing his famous song. A Chestnut-sided Warbler can also be heard in the background.

Thanks to the birders in western Massachusetts who suggested these great places!
For anyone interested in birding Western Massachusetts there is an excellent book called : Bird finding Guide To Western Massachusetts available at amazon. Both of the places I visited are included in this book.