"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
There were no real interesting shots taken during the hour that I spent at the nest in week seven. So, let’s skip to week eight, where I found the birds to be more active.
The first two shots were taken from the other side of the river.
This Indigo Bunting photograph was taken near Big Spring, Missouri.
Did you know…?
The Cerulean Warbler population has declined more than 80% since breeding bird surveys began in 1966? Habitat destruction, in the form of mountaintop removal and stream filling in the Appalachians, and forest destruction for agriculture in the Mississippi Alluvial Valley, along with wintering grounds destruction for coffee and cocoa production in South America are responsible. Habitat preservation via cessation of deforestation in both nesting grounds and wintering forests are crucial if we are to continue hearing the Cerulean song.
At riverine locals like RMBS, the warbling song of the Warbling Vireo can be heard all day long throughout the summer. However, they have always given me grief when it came to getting a photograph – lurking shyly among the leafy branches of the Cottonwood. This year, I hit a trail where I know they set territories for nesting. Early in the spring, before the leaves expanded, I was able to follow this guy as he made the rounds and get some photos.
Photographed at Big Spring State Park. The American Redstart song seems to be more variable than any of the guidebooks suggest.
Who cooks for you all? My chef of a wife, Sarah, that’s who… 😉
No, not a song bird today. I was lucky enough to come across this Owl during a day hike this spring. Usually, an Owl spotting OZB does whatever it can to escape, but this guy seemed not to be concerned and continued to scan the ground for mice and voles roaming through the leaf litter as I took its picture.
The Kentucky Warbler’s chury, chury, chury can sometimes be difficult to discern from the songs of the Ovenbird or the Carolina Wren. This warbler builds its nest usually just off the ground, confined within heavy vegetation, and often are parasitized by Brown-headed Cowbird. This guy was coaxed out with a little playback in a woody thicket near the parking lot at Greer Spring. Check out the short tail, easily evident in this photo, which is a good field mark for this species.
A Thousand Acres of Silphiums 