birds

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

Species #282 – Veery

Posted by ozarkbill on May 7, 2017
Posted in: birds, wildlife, wildlife photography. Tagged: , , , , , . 1 Comment

Veery, Tower Grove Park, St. Louis Missouri

Miguel Acosta and I decided, along with many other birders and bird photographers, to head to Tower Grove Park to check out the latest migrant action.  Although the migrant songbirds were overall pretty disappointing, the morning was surely not a bust for me as I was able to photograph my 282nd species in Missouri and contiguous states – the Veery.

Veer!

This guy’s polyphonic vocalizations have been among my favorite of bird songs for a long time.  On the rare occasion these guys sound off during migration, the songs come from a deep thicket and I rarely get to lay eyes on the songster.  The beauty of migrant traps like Tower Grove and Carondelet Park in the heart of the city is being able to get great looks at these northern nesters.

Veery

-OZB

How I Spent Superbowl Sunday

Posted by ozarkbill on March 5, 2017
Posted in: birds, landscape, sunset/sunrise, wildlife, wildlife photography. Tagged: , , , , , , , , , . 3 Comments

For the first time since junior high I did not watch a single down or minute of the NFL this season and I couldn’t be happier for it.  Rape my town three times, NFL – shame on you.  I’ve been pleased to get those precious free minutes back for my Sundays, several of which I found I could spend not dreading the upcoming workweek.

Short-eared Owl

Short-eared Owl

When the forecast showed a near perfect meteorological condition for shooting the Short-eared Owls of BK Leach, I figured this could be promising.  While most other naked apes with functioning vision would be in front of the picture box and ingesting mass quantities of wings and beer, I would enjoy the warm and lightly breezy evening in my own kind of chair with friends of a different sort.

Short-eared Owl

Short-eared Owl

Of course there is never a sure thing.  Often, when I have expected the best due to light and temperature, the owls don’t show where I set myself.  On this particular day, all conditions came together and I had a super time.

Short-eared Owl

Short-eared Owl

I want to give huge thanks for my lovely and talented wife, Sarah, for the special help she gave me this season in getting my best to date SEOW in flight shots.

Short-eared Owl

Short-eared Owl

A perfect day ended in the perfect way – with a great sunset on the Lincoln Hills.

Sunset on the Lincoln Hills

Sunset on the Lincoln Hills

Until next time…
-OZB

The Goldeneye

Posted by ozarkbill on January 14, 2017
Posted in: birds, wildlife, wildlife photography. Tagged: , , , , . Leave a comment
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Common Goldeneye, Riverlands Migratory Bird Sanctuary, St. Charles County, MO

Just a few of my favorite Goldeneye shots from RMBS this season.

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Common Goldeneye, Riverlands Migratory Bird Sanctuary, St. Charles County, MO

 

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Common Goldeneye, Riverlands Migratory Bird Sanctuary, St. Charles County, MO

 

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Common Goldeneye, Riverlands Migratory Bird Sanctuary, St. Charles County, MO

 

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Common Goldeneye, Riverlands Migratory Bird Sanctuary, St. Charles County, MO

 

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Common Goldeneye, Riverlands Migratory Bird Sanctuary, St. Charles County, MO

 

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Common Goldeneye, Riverlands Migratory Bird Sanctuary, St. Charles County, MO

Until next time…
-OZB

Birds of the Texas Gulf Coat – Laughing Gull

Posted by ozarkbill on January 10, 2017
Posted in: birds, Texas Gulf Coast Birding, wildlife. Tagged: , , , , , . 3 Comments
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Laughing Gull – Galveston Ferry Crossing, TX

When traveling to a new location it is always interesting to see what gull species is the local equivalent to our Ring-billed Gull.  In the case of the Texas gulf coast, that is definitely the Laughing Gull.  We found that a really great place to see hundreds at great distance is the ferry ride between the Bolivar Peninsula and Galveston.  Be sure to check the water as well as the skies if you take this 20 minute boat ride.  Steve and I were able to spot a bottlenose dolphin or two during the crossing.

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Laughing Gull – Anahuac NWR, TX

After hearing their vocalizations for quite a long period, we can say this species is quite aptly named!

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Laughing Gull, Anahuac NWR, TX

In summer plumage, this is obviously one of the easier gulls to identify.  Largest of the hooded gulls, with red bill, legs and feet, slate-colored back and black primaries.

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Laughing Gulls, East End Lagoon Preserve, TX

Birds of the Texas Gulf Coast – Black Skimmer

Posted by ozarkbill on December 20, 2016
Posted in: birds, Texas Gulf Coast Birding, wildlife, wildlife photography. Tagged: , , , , . Leave a comment
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Black Skimmer – Skimming – East End Lagoon Preserve, Texas

Coastal bird photographers, particularly those who have access to areas highly trafficked by humans, have really got things easy.  We were consistently surprised at how much luck we had getting close enough to our subjects – and this was with visiting these locations for the first time.  I can’t imagine the fun to be had with some time, experience and practice.

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Black Skimmer – Houston Audubon Society – Bolivar Flats Shorebirds Sanctuary, Texas

The Black Skimmer just may be one of the perfect targets for the bird photographer.  The species is colorful and contrasty, which is so nice for autofocus.  This species is rather large.  It prefers to spend time in groups that enable the photographer to capture interesting social behaviors.  If you are lucky enough to be at the right time and place, the chicks are unbelievably cute.  And, if that isn’t enough, they of course have their namesake feeding behavior that can be seen in the image at the top of this post.

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Black Skimmer – Houston Audubon Society – Bolivar Flats Shorebirds Sanctuary, Texas

Closely related to the gulls, auks and waders, the skimmers are in the small family – Rynchopidae (roughly translated to beak-faced).

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Black Skimmer – Houston Audubon Society – Bolivar Flats Shorebirds Sanctuary, Texas

If you inadvertently flush a group, don’t give up or chase.  Skimmers have favorite resting places and will often settle to the same stretch from which they flushed.

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Black Skimmer – Houston Audubon Society – Bolivar Flats Shorebirds Sanctuary, Texas

Until next time…
-OZB

Birds of the Texas Gulf Coast – White-tailed Hawk

Posted by ozarkbill on December 18, 2016
Posted in: birds, Texas Gulf Coast Birding, wildlife photography. Tagged: , , , , . 2 Comments
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White-tailed Hawk – Fort Bend County, TX

This stunning and large buteo is often seen with the last Texas gulf coast bird featured, the White-tailed Kite.  This was one of the birds that Steve and I got a big kick out of finding.  Although common and abundant over much of its range in the Americas, the White-tailed Hawk can only be found along the Texas coast and the Rio Grande Valley within the United States.  I was doubly fortunate to be able to find another perched in a tree in Fort Bend County when my New-Englander friend, Sam, and I came across it during a few precious hours birding following several hectic days on the job.

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White-tailed Hawk, San Bernard NWR, TX

White-tailed Hawks are birds of the air.  Pete Dunne (Pete Dunne’s Essential Field Guide Companion) suggests that the species is most often spotted in the air.  Steve and I first located a pair at San Bernard NWR on an island of trees within coastal prairie.  I paid the price by taking a number of fire ant bites by wading through the prairie trying to get a bit closer.  We watched as the pair eventual flushed and rose higher and higher on the coastal thermals, eventually rising to a height where they were almost invisible to the naked eye.  Once spotted in the air, there is no mistaking this species with any other bird, with contrasting white body with black-edged wings and striped tail.

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White-tailed Hawk – Fort Bend County, TX

Until next time…
-OZB