"What a thousand acres of Silphiums looked like when they tickled the bellies of the buffalo is a question never again to be answered, and perhaps not even asked." -Aldo Leopold
Beginning in the first few days of April, Ruby-crowned Kinglets move northward through the St. Louis region on their way up to their eventual nesting grounds of the Canadian boreal forests.
Ruby-crowned Kinglet
Moving through our area this early allows for nice opportunities for watching and photography before our deciduous trees have begun leafing out. Although described by Pete Dunne as “A bird that moves like spit on a skillet”, if patient, the nature photographer can find brief periods where even these birds will stop and have a look around.
How on earth did these birds get their name?
When flitting through the branches looking for their insect prey, the intense scarlet-colored crown patch can be difficult to spot. But with camera and patience, this spot that the birds use to aggressively communicate with other Kinglets, can be seen.
The Music Box
The song of the RCKI I find to be quite special. These guys typically start with a couple or three wind-up notes that lead to a wren-like jumble of rapidly progressing complexity. A welcome sound of spring.
See you in the fall…
The Kinglets have mostly removed themselves from the Show-Me State by now. They will return this fall following their nesting season and there will be folks with lenses of all sorts looking to find that ruby-red crown.
On a rainy March day at BK Leach CA Sarah and I came across a couple of young Bald Eagles hanging out. The bird on the left is a 4-year old and his partner is likely a 2nd year bird.
While driving around BK Leach Conservation Area this spring, we came across a Turkey Vulture feeding on a raccoon carcass. Did you know that the Turkey Vulture has the most advanced olfactory system of any known bird? They can pick up the smell of a rotting animal from more than a mile away. As shown below, we noticed the bird would attempt to cover up its meal when it spotted other vultures soaring nearby.
It’s all mine!
Turkey Vultures can often be seen with their wings widely spread in what is referred to as an “horaltic pose”. The benefits of doing this are not entirely known but have been hypothesized to be an aid in warming the birds and helping to dry feathers. The bird posing in the shot below was taken one morning while I was hiking at Shaw Nature Reserve.
Horaltic Poser
Finally, I thought I would share some video footage that this patient bird let us take whilst it was digging into some coon.
The northernmost breeding blackbird of North America, the Rusty Blackbird unfortunately has the distinction of being in one of the steepest population declines of all N.A. bird species.
Rusty Blackbird – Female
Rusty Blackbirds nest throughout the boreal forests of Canada and Alaska, but winters throughout the eastern United States in areas including wet forests near permanent bodies of water. They will also utilize agricultural environments. Among the protected areas considered important for overwintering habitat is Mingo NWR, located in south-eastern MO.
Rusty Blackbird – Male
Rusties exhibit an interesting variability in plumage throughout winter and spring, as can be observed in the different birds photographed in this post. Males are dressed with varying amounts of the rusty warm color that gives this species its name. This coloration is located on the tips of newly emerged feathers during the molt. As these fine feather tips wear and break off, the males will become primarily black and luminescent in summer breeding plumage. Female Rusties are even more interestingly plumaged, with tans, browns and blues.
Rusty Blackbird – Female
Different survey methods, such as the Breeding Bird Survey and Christmas Bird Count all suggest that the Rusty Blackbird population has declined by more than 90% over the past three decades. Reasons for this decline are not well understood, but are likely to include the acidification of wetlands, loss of wetland habitat in general, loss of forested wetland habitat on wintering grounds and poisoning of mixed-species wintering blackbird flocks in south-eastern United States, where they are considered as agricultural pests.
Rusty Blackbird – Male
In his book Birder’s Conservation Handbook – 100 North American Birds at Risk, where much of the information in this post was collected, Jeffry Wells suggests the following actions to address the population decline of the Rusty Blackbird:
Limit global warming pollution and acid deposition via air pollution.
Implement protections and management plans across the boreal forest of North America.
Stop deforestation of wintering habitat and implement habitat restoration.
Sarah and I came across this gorgeously colored Red-tailed Hawk early this spring at BK Leach C.A. I may be wrong, but my best call is a juvenile Harlan’s.
Typically found in warmer coastal waters of the Americas, St. Louis birders were in for a treat by the visit of this Brown Pelican that arrived about a month ago.
Brown Pelican – Preening
The bird has been seen consistently and may stick around at RMBS for the rest of the summer.
Brown Pelican
Unfortunately, these photos were strongly affected by heat wave distortion that was prominant on this clear day.
No, I’m not referring to that no account, poor excuse of a season we witnessed a few months back. What I was finally able to do was capture a few pics of a Winter Wren. I have never been able to get more than a fleeting glance at this skulking bird as it somehow is able to hide by rarely moving more than a few feet off the ground. This spring, however, I was in the right place (Shaw Nature Reserve) and was lucky to find a few of these birds and follow them long enough to get a few poor quality images.
Winter Wren
With more than 35 recognized subspecies, the Winter Wren has an enormous range and is the only member of the wren family to be found outside of the Americas.
Winter Wren
According to NatGeo, “Per unit weight the Winter Wren delivers its song with 10 times more power than a crowing rooster”. I was able to hear the quite complex and rapid musical songs as I watched one or two of these birds foraging. I could tell they were merely partial songs and not delivered with full attention and voice as is often the case of migrating birds, but I was still awed by the sounds.
Winter Wren Tail
The photo above focuses on the quite short tail of the Winter Wren, a distinguishing and obvious field mark.
Although the next photo is quite poor, I like that it captured the typical squat, egg-like shape of the bird.
Winter Wren
Finally, I thought I would add an image of a House Wren that I took on the same day, the first of this species that I found this spring. Notice the much longer tail and the lack of any barring pattern on the flanks forward of the legs. A generally paler bird.
I have shared images and discussed the Short-eared Owl on a number of previous blog posts. Never did I imagine the “storm” that the “winter” of 2015/2016 was to bring. On many different trips to a few different places, I along with my partners Sarah and Steve, were fortunate to have great looks at great numbers of these fluffy fascinations in feathers. I can’t say for certain if this winter in this region was abnormal for hosting a greater than average number of SEOW, or if my observational skills have just improved, but it certainly seemed easier than in past years to find and watch these birds. I’ve just finished putting together a video with some video clips and highlight images that I wanted to share. Without further ado, here you are…
Oh, the challenges video brings to an inexperienced, unprepared and poorly equipped photographer. Throw in the fact that these birds are utterly unpredictable and it’s hard to believe I was able to capture what I did. So, I learn and take notes and hopefully improve next year.
Short-eared Owl
Other than the simians, is there another species easier to anthropomorphize? Here we have cute and inquisitive SEOW, followed mere seconds later by the evil, harbinger of doom SEOW of which early writers told.
Short-eared Owl
And then we have the indifferent SEOW…
Short-eared Owl
Okay, I’ll stop now before they take my biologist card away from me…
Although I got a few images, I struggled mightily and missed several great opportunities at capturing SEOW in flight this season. The randomness of the encounters coupled with challenges with lighting and equipment make this a true challenge. Funnily, one of my better in-flight photographs was taken with a setting sun at the bird’s back – not the best opportunity…
Short-eared Owl
The image below was taken with the sun in a better position. Notice the catch light, which suggests that the bird was up and in flight with the sun still in the sky. Something else in this photo that I noticed before is the difference in dilatation of the lit pupil compared to the pupil of the shaded eye.
Short-eared Owl
Below is a flight shot from a further distance. I liked the warm light of the golden hour, painting the dead prairie vegetation in fire.
Short-eared Owl
One night Steve and I were fortunate to have an owl perch close to our car well into dusk. It then left its perch and landed nearby in the vegetation. We could not tell if it was after a prey or decided to go back to bed, as it sat there for the short remainder of the day.
Short-eared Owl
The final image I am sharing here is just to show off those feather-covered legs. A great adaptation for the cold climates in which these birds are found.
Missouri is home to three giant white swan species that can be difficult to distinguish without a bit of training or education. All three swans belong to the genus Cygnus and rank among the largest waterfowl on the planet. The first species we will consider is the Trumpeter Swan (C. buccinator). Ranked as both the largest waterfowl species in the world and the largest flying bird of North America, the Trumpeter Swan is considered a conservation success. Beginning in the 1600s the birds were collected for their meat, skins and feathers. This unregulated slaughter lasted until the passage of the Migratory Bird Treaty Act, which provided the species some protection. Their population rebounded from a level as low as 32 birds documented in 1932 to 15,000 – 20,000 estimated today. Trumpeter Swans only winter in Missouri, spending their summer nesting season from the upper great plains up to Alaska. As many as 600 birds have been counted at Riverlands Migratory Bird Sanctuary during a winter season.
Trumpeter Swans
The Tundra Swan (C. columbianus) are more widespread across North America compared to its larger relative, the Trumpeter. And, although they far outnumber the Trumpeter in total population, the Trumpeter is actually the more abundant winter resident in Missouri. For reasons unknown, this winter we have seen an unusually high number of the comparatively rare Tundra, giving birders something to be excited about.
In single species groups, especially at a distance, the two species can be challenging to tell apart. However, when seen up close and spaced closely together, the differences are more easily identified. On average, the Tundra is 1/3 to 1/2 the size of the Trumpeter. In addition the border of the black color surrounding the bill is different in the two species and the Tundra usually has a yellow spot on the lores, near the base of the bill. I’ll guide you to your favorite field guide for more specifics. With this information, can you spot the four Tundras in the image below?
Mix of Swans
Here is a closeup of the two species in flight. Easy to spot the Tundra here. Right?
Trumpeter : Tundra – 2.1
It was such a treat being able to watch a group of Tundras carrying on…
Tundra Swans
Finally, our last (and quietest) of Missouri’s Cygnus – the Mute Swan (C. olor). The Mute is native to the old world and exists in North America as a naturalized resident. Still raised and sold on the captive market, the Mute is typically a year-round resident in these parts, moving only to find open water in the dead of winter. These birds are easily recognized by the large, orange-collored bills, often with a bulge at its base. I photographed this pair at Binder Lake S.P.
Mute Swans
There you are, a quick overview of the Missouri’s white giants.
Wow. I’ve been looking for an evening like this for a number of years. I have heard and read that Short-eared Owls will often start their night early and often will often be up and active with several hours of day left. I have seen them before at dusk, right before sunset, but last night at B.K. Leach C.A. we had several on the move with almost two hours of light left. We were able to count a minimum of eight SEOW, but there may have been more. Immediately before sunset I was able to observe somewhere between 25-30 Northern Harriers along with the owls. It was quite a treat, listening to the Owl’s peculiar barks and screams as they were dog-fighting with the other owls and the Harriers who were looking for their spots to spend the night.
A Thousand Acres of Silphiums 