birds

Finding Snow in April

Posted by ozarkbill on April 8, 2018
Posted in: birds, wildlife photography. Tagged: , , , , , . 3 Comments

Snowy Owl – BK Leach Conservation Area

A huge thank you to Danny Brown, without whom I most likely would have stayed at zero Snowy Owls for the great Snowy irruption of the 2017/2018 winter. Because of travel and just poor luck, I had missed out on finding the Snowy Owls that had salted the state this winter and would never have imagined that we would have another chance a week into April. But, since the weather to date  suggests little of spring, I suppose we should have not been too surprised.

Snowy Stretch

The birding on Saturday was seemingly great everywhere and Steve, I and others were having good luck finding interesting species at RMBS when we received the messages from our phones about Danny’s find. I think Steve and I would have been satisfied with our usual views from a football’s field or two away, but were ecstatic to find the bird perched at an optimal viewing distance, resting after a nice meal that others had documented earlier in the day.

Snowy Yawn

We left the bird still on its perch shortly after sunset. On the way out of the conservation area we had a Short-eared Owl and American Bittern flyovers. Thanks again, Danny.

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Birds of Australia – Masked Lapwing

Posted by ozarkbill on March 1, 2018
Posted in: Australia 2017, birds, wildlife photography. Tagged: , , , , , . 2 Comments

Masked Lapwing

I had come across Lapwing species in Brazil. These are pretty interesting birds – often colorful, loud, large and not too off-put by human activity. They are classified in the family Charadriidae that includes the plovers and they always remind me of our Killdeer.  Most birds in this group use alarm calls and maybe injury feigning to protect themselves and their nests and offspring. These guys have similar tools, but look closely at the next image. Can you see their special weapons?

Masked Lapwing

Yes, these guys pack a little something extra in those wings. Also known as the Spur-winged Plover, the Masked Lapwing uses those spurs in territorial conflicts with one another as well as against potential predators that may be after their nests and developing chicks. Humans have been known to be struck by these not-so helpless birds.

‘Spur-winged Plovers’

 

Birds of Australia – The Fairy Wrens

Posted by ozarkbill on February 4, 2018
Posted in: Australia 2017, birds. Tagged: , , , , , . 2 Comments

Superb Fairy Wren

Among the most well known and sought after of Australia’s passerines are the Fairy Wrens and probably none is more popular than the Superb Fairy Wren that is found in New South Wales and Victoria in southeast Australia.

Superb Fairy Wren

Confident and brash, these guys have the personality of a chickadee on a mood-altering substance. On a couple of occasions, Collin and I found ourselves face to face with these guys at an arm’s length, being the apparent subjects of their songs and scoldings.

Superb Fairy Wren

The Fairy Wrens are sexually dimorphic, with males having an eclipse phase in the off-season where they molt to an appearance similar to the females. These birds tend to be found in family groups of 5 – 10 birds.

Variegated Fairy Wren

I found this Variegated Fairy Wren foraging among some low trees in a parking lot for Sawn Rocks at Mount Kaputar, NSW.

Birds of Australia – Black Kite

Posted by ozarkbill on January 8, 2018
Posted in: Australia 2017, birds, wildlife. 2 Comments

Soaring Black Kite

Considered by some to be the most abundant member of the family Accipitridae, the Black Kite is found throughout the old world. Populations of this species winter in the tropics and spend their summers in northern Europe, Asia and in Australia. Their diet is varied and consists of whatever they can catch, including carrion. This was one of the first Australian species I came to know. One morning I watched a group of at least 15 of these birds roosting in freshly plowed fields within the Monsanto research station we were visiting. I assume they were attracted to this area due to the mice and other rodents that were finding food and shelter among the large dirt clods.

Fievel’s no good horrible very bad day

 

The original carry out

 

Black Kite juvenile

 

Black Kite juvenile (I think)

Birds of South Texas – Common Black Hawk

Posted by ozarkbill on July 1, 2017
Posted in: birds, South Texas Birding, wildlife. Leave a comment

Common Black Hawk on Nest. Big Bend National Park, TX.

One of my favorite of my lifers from our south Texas trip was the Common Black Hawk.  I would have been happy for a glimpse, but finding this one on a nest was more than I could have asked for.

Common Black Hawk. Big Bend National Park, TX.

Common Black Hawk. Big Bend National Park, TX.

Common Black Hawk. Big Bend National Park, TX.

Common Black Hawk. Big Bend National Park, TX.

Common Black Hawk. Big Bend National Park, TX.

It’s Officially Spring!

Posted by ozarkbill on May 11, 2017
Posted in: birds, wildlife, wildlife photography. Tagged: , , , , , , , , . 4 Comments

Blackburnian Warbler, Carondelet Park, May 2017

Along with finding the typical rarities that everyone looks for during spring migration, I will not count spring as arriving until I lay eyes on a male Blackburnian Warbler.  This past Saturday, not only did Miguel and I find my prize at Carondelet Park, but I got my best photos to date of this tree-top dwelling, piece of greased lighting.

Blackburnian Warbler, Carondelet Park, May 2017

With a throat this bright and luminous, a song that is so high-pitch that dogs aren’t safe for blocks and a never resting habit, more than one birder has assumed these guys must be powered by a battery.  Seriously, there’s a reason these guys eat all day long.  They have to!

Blackburnian Warbler, Carondelet Park, May 2017

Well, hopefully I might have another before the season has completed springing.  If not, I’ll always have something to look forward to next year.

-OZB