Tag: ozark bill

Swainson’s Warbler – In St. Charles County!

Nesting Birds of Missouri, wildlife, wildlife photography
The StL birding community is ecstatic about the arrival of of a male Swainson’s Warbler. This bird appears to have set up a territory that it defends and is only a 20 minute drive from the authors home.

The Swainson’s Warbler (Limnothlypis swainsonii) is a very secretive bird whose summer nesting range occurs in the southeastern United States. It requires a habitat of dense undergrowth and heavy leaf litter for foraging and nesting and, in Missouri, this species is rarely found north of the Current River watershed. It’s safe to say that in the St. Louis birding community, the most popular bird of the past week is a Swainson’s Warbler that has apparently set up a territory along the Lost Valley Trail in Weldon Spring Conservation Area in St. Charles County.

If you decide to try for this bird, be prepared and know what the Swainson’s Warbler song sounds like. It may be the only sign you have that you are in his territory!

Named for William John Swainson, a naturalist, illustrator and contemporary of John James Audubon, the Swainson’s Warbler could fit in well in the lush habitat of this section of Weldon Spring C.A. Here it will compete with the bounty of other low-feeding passerines found here like the Ovenbird, Kentucky Warbler, White-eyed Vireo, Worm-eating Warbler and the occasional Hooded Warbler. Like we needed another reason to love birding at this location!

Swainson’s Warbler – not your typical warbler!

The Swainson’s Warbler is definitely not your typical species of wood warbler. The Parulidae family is well known for the gem-like coloration and spectacular patterns of many of it’s species. The Swainson’s Warbler, however, has a color and pattern more adapted to a lifestyle of foraging in the leaf litter and spending time in the dark understory of swamps and bottomland forests. This bird has a brownish back and lighter, white to cream-coloration on its breast. This typical countershading coloration allows it to blend in and virtually disappear within its environment. There is no sexual dimorphism in the coloration of this species – males and females are virtually identical, unlike other species of warblers also found along the Lost Valley Trail like the American Redstart and the Cerulean Warbler.

The bird is rather flat-headed with a much longer and stronger bill than most other warbler species. It is also known for its pink-colored and strong legs. These adaptations are probably helpful while lifting dead leaves and other detritus of the forest floor while it forages for its arthropod prey.

It is this author’s opinion that the song of the Swainson’s Warbler is one of the most satisfying of bird songs. It sounds like it took the stuttering song of the Louisiana Waterthrush (a closely related species) and perfected it. I can still completely enjoy myself just being in the woods with these guys singing. Be prepared for frustration if you are waiting for one of these birds to pop out of the dense understory to get a nice clear look.

Here you can find video of singing Cerulean and Swainson’s Warblers I took years ago at the Greer Spring Access location.

A new regular nester in central Missouri?

Colombia, MO has had one or more Swainson’s Warblers for the past five years or so. Will this species become a regular at Lost Valley Trail? Is this one of the “good consequences” of climate change? It should be mentioned there have been a few reports that there are currently more than one bird along the trail. Some have claimed two males in separate territories and/or two birds spotted at the same location, indicating the potential presence of a female. I have spent four mornings over the past week looking for this bird and have seen no evidence of more than a single male yet, but there is always that potential.

Best of luck to those going to try for this bird. You would be hard pressed to think of a better place to spend some hours on a spring morning.

Thanks for visiting and let me know if you have had success hearing or laying eyes on this bird or if you have had any luck finding evidence of more than the one bird.

-OZB

Cypripedium parviflorum (Yellow Lady’s Slipper)

macro, Missouri's Orchids, native plants
A fresh Cypripedium parviflorum photographed in late May in St. Francois County, Missouri.

May was definitely a lady’s slippers month. My friends and I found four species within a week (three in MO, 1 in AR). Of the three species found in Missouri, two are species of conservation concern within the state – Cypripedium candidum, small white lady-slipper (S1) and C. reginae, showy lady-slipper (S2S3). I’ve shared photos of C. reginae on this blog before and a C. candidum post will be coming shortly.

I’ve posted photos of C. parviflorum (yellow lady’s slipper) here before as well but these accompanying photos were taken at a new location for me in St. Francois County. Some taxonomists, books and keys have this species split into two varieties – C. parviflorum var. pubescens, or the “greater” yellow lady’s slipper and C. parviflorum var. makasin, the “small” yellow lady’s slipper. Some authors have even split these two into specific status while even others have argued there is no basis in splitting these into varieties. From my limited experiences with these in Missouri and the taxonomic descriptions I have read, I have not seen ample evidence to suggest these should be split into varietal forms. There seems to be a lot of variation in the characteristics that are supposed to describe these two varieties and until someone shows me better proof that these should be treated as two separate forms, all I can say is that, “I’m from Missouri” and I will not be including these as two in my “master list” of the Missouri orchids.

If you are knowledgeable in this area and wish to argue, by all means, please let me know.

A very nicely patterned Cypripedium parviflorum.

-OZB

Chestnut-sided Warbler

birds, Nesting Birds of Missouri, wildlife, wildlife photography

It looks as though I may get only one opportunity for Tower Grove Park this spring, but it was a good one. I’m glad it was a nice morning for Kathy Duncan’s first visit. We had quite a few cooperative birds at the water feature of the Gaddy Bird Garden where these photos of Chestnut-sided Warblers were taken.

Myrmecochory – Dicentra cucullaria (Dutchman’s breeches)

Hymenoptera, insects, macro, myrmecochory, native plants

In continuing my work from last year, this year I was able to capture a few Aphaenogaster rudis moving the diaspores of Dicentra cucullaria (Dutchman’s breeches). Although this was the best year I’ve ever seen for D. cucullaria, getting everything to work just right in order to photograph this process was difficult. I was often short on the time needed to do this. Also, the cool temps we had this spring made it a bit difficult to find the foraging ants, even when the supply of diaspores I had at my disposal were ample.

-OZB

Orchid season is here!

macro

The 2021 season has started with great success. The following orchids were found in Stoddard County on a trip with Pete Kozich, Casey Galvin and Stephen Dilks. Many thanks to all of you for your parts in finding these and several other fascinating plants on this day. It was a pleasure botanizing with you.

Worm-eating Warbler – April 2021

Nesting Birds of Missouri, wildlife, wildlife photography

This spring has been flying by. With great cool and wet weather, the spring ephemeral wildflower season has been one of the best I’ve experienced and in the past two weeks the bird diversity has been on the rise. Just today, I had a Wood Thrush, a Cooper’s Hawk and a Barn Swallow from my suburban yard alone! This morning I found a Sedge Wren in the grasses at Beckemeier Conservation Area among about half a dozen warblers.

I hope you are getting out to enjoy some of this action and I want to share a few photos of one of my many favorites, this Worm-eating Warbler that is already setting up territory at Bush Wildlife Conservation Area.

Thank you for visiting!
-OZB

Ozark Spring Beauty (Claytonia arkansana)

macro, native plants

Originally described in 2006 as Claytonia ozarkensis, this plant was considered a near-endemic to the Ozarks, being found in Missouri, Arkansas and Oklahoma. Yatskievych et al. (2013) further defined this form and re-described this as C. arkansana. This species is known from only three counties in Arkansas and is classified as G2, or globally imperiled due to its required specialized habitat. C. arkansana is only found on sandstone bluffs and ledges. An interesting adaptation this plant has required to ensure its offspring remain in this required habitat is by negative phototropism of the pedicle after flowering. As the fruits develop, the pedicle turns away from light so that the seed may be dispersed in the cracks and bluff ledges where they need to germinate.

I want to thank Casey Galvin and John Oliver for helping me find this fascinating plant!

Yatskievych, G., R.J. Evans, and C.T. Witsell. 2013. A reevaluation of the Ozark endemic Claytonia ozarkensis (Montiaceae). Phytoneuron 50: 1-11.

Chasing Waterfalls in the Shawnee

landscape

Following a rainy period this spring, Casey and I visited a few spots in the Shawnee of southern Illinois. Some of these spots are well known, but can be difficult to visit. Another location is not nearly as well known, but easier to get to. The Shawnee really does canyons, large rocks and water features well. This is but a small sample of what can be found there.