Ospreys

Raptors captivate people. And the Osprey is a premier attention getting raptor.

Common throughout North America, Ospreys live near water, allowing for great first-time raptor watching.

Size matters.

I suggest it's an imposing presence that makes the Osprey so interesting.

They prefer tall structures, whether natural or manmade, for their nests. Humans, thankfully, have provided the Osprey with thousands of towers, poles and buoys across America for their personal use.

It's a fair compensation for nearly wiping them out with DDT in the 1970's.

This trio lives a centerfield lifestyle in a Thiensville, Wisconsin softball park. They call out as people pass.

Listen to their call at:  https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Osprey/sounds

The chick shakes off early morning dew.

Seventy-foot lights tower over open spaces and the nearby Milwaukee River provides good fishing.

According to a local woman I met at the ball park, there were two chicks on this nest. But, as is often the case, one did not survive. An Osprey females doesn't lay all her eggs at one time. If food is scarce only the oldest, strongest chick survives.

Food seems to be plentiful for this pair though. Still, fratricide is a fact.


Ospreys look alike, but I'm assuming this is the male. He's bringing home some food, but it looks as if he had snacked on it beforehand.

The Osprey's territory overlaps the territory of a particularly aggressive Eastern Kingbird, who'd routinely harass him whenever he passed.

You have to hand it to the kingbird for attempting a feather pluck.  He's grossly out matched, yet, ready to teach a lesson to an ill-informed Osprey.

Whether he won the battle and lost the war is an open question.

He did make the Osprey loop around rather than passing directly through, so there was some victory in his fight.

Still, it'll be an ongoing battle.

(Click any picture to enlarge.)

Seeing a bird with a nearly six-foot wingspan in your local ballpark is a special event. It's free for all who wish to partake.

That's nearby nature.

Allan

Credits: 
Cornell Lab of Ornithology, All About Birds
The Sibley's Guide to Birds

Migration Story

The northbound birds that migrated through Wisconsin this spring have long since passed.   The southbound migration from Alaska and Canada has barely commenced. We only have our summer resident birds to enjoy now.

This new 1^st year Cedar Waxwing still looks warm and fuzzy.  He’s attained some degree of self-sufficiency in his short life, but he still needs his parents. He looks to be healthy and able to migrate, but he needs to learn the Cedar Waxwing migration routes yet.

Two juvenile Tree Swallows wait to be fed along a branch .  They weren’t catching their own insects over a nearby pond, nor did I see them being fed, but someone is still caring for them.  Just barely out of their downy feathers, they depend on their parents for nourishment.

A pair of Eastern Kingbirds lingered in a tree as I approached. They didn’t fly away as I expected. They had something to protect. Just barely visible in the branches below was the nest they were guarding.

Eventually they responded to my intrusion by taking to the air.

They hovered above to persuade me to leave. 

Wanting to stay, but needing to go, 

I left.

Another somewhat older, but still  juvenile Eastern Kingbird perches at the top of a tree in Cedarburg, waiting to be shown by an adult which way to fly .

Appearing insecure, curious or maybe a bit cautious, this Baltimore Oriole might be an adult female or a 1^st year juvenile.  Baltimore Orioles are summer residents in Wisconsin.  They will leave soon.

Another summer resident, the Red-winged Blackbird, is well known for his scolding, harassing and  in your face attitude that can get annoying.  Aggressive and protective of his territory, a Red-winged Blackbird could draw blood from the top of your head if you came across a particularly mean one. 

Besides having your hair rearranged by a Red-winged Blackbird, another danger of summer is stepping onto a bumblebee nest. 

I was a half-second away from stepping onto what I thought was a bare patch of ground in an otherwise tall field of grass.  

Not so…bad mistake...I diverted my foot just in time…no harm, no foul. I departed quickly.

The American Goldfinch is a permanent Wisconsin resident. Still in his spring breeding colors, this male was keeping his feathers clean. Males and females will take on a paler appearance during the winter months. Easily attracted to a backyard seed feeder, you could have American Goldfinches  eating outside your window throughout the winter.

The goldfinch’s colors are not the only colors in transition in mid-August. Treetops are changing too and  birds get to see the colors change up close.

The out-migration will begin soon.  Thousands of birds will be passing through Wisconsin and not just the big Canada Geese. The southbound songbirds will be less colorful and somewhat weather feather worn at this time of year, but a recognizable resemblance of their springtime selves.  

Think of the fall migration as another chance to see these beautiful birds in a different light.  

The show is free.  Just look up!

Allan

Eastern Kingbird

An Eastern Kingbird waits at the water’s edge for something delicious to fly by.  He’s not being lazy.  Why not let your meals come to you?

He’s hungry for insects at this time of the year.  He’s been living on fruits and berries over the winter.  The insect hatch is fresh and tasty and his migration is lengthy.  After wintering in South America, he could be passing through on the way to Canada now. A stop at the millpond is refreshing and may be necessary, too.

The Mt. Morris Mill Coffee Shop is an old water-driven mill which now sells 'Dam Good Coffee.' It's closed on Tuesdays, but we had permission to be at the millpond in back.  

I was with my nephew, Brian Block, and we were looking for places to ‘bird.’  Near water is always a good choice.  

Sadly, a pair of Eastern Kingbirds were all we found. That surprised us.  We thought we would find lots of birds along the millrace.   

We dismissed all the ducks, geese, sparrows, swallows and starlings flying around as not interesting enough.

Eastern Kingbirds aren't rare, but these were special for us today. Perched on the edge of the millpond and dressed-to-kill, this pair was looking very smart.  The bird literature playfully describes the Eastern Kingbird as ‘wearing a business suit’ and it doesn’t take much imagination to see the description fits.  Only the penguin seems more formally attired.

Patiently waiting, but missing nothing, he disappeared PDQ when a meal flew by.  The smaller insects he’ll eat in the air. If it’s a large grasshopper or dragonfly, he’ll take it to a tree to bash it around a bit more before swallowing it whole.  I rarely get to see what birds catch due to the distance…tiny creatures for sure.  I can only imagine it takes quite a few flights to fill up an Eastern Kingbird.  On the other hand, a couple of grasshoppers could fill up this medium-sized bird rather quickly.

Black and white and bold is not really the norm for flycatchers/songbirds. The Eastern Kingbird is unusual in this way. Reds and yellows are more common.  But for what he lacks in color and song, he compensates for nicely in presentation and style.  This pair entertained us for a half an hour.  We weren’t bored when we decided to leave…we just had other birds to discover.

Allan

Eastern Kingbird

The Eastern Kingbird is a favorite bird of my friend, Tom Gerber.  Formerly of Cedarburg, now of Florida, Tom has been on me quite a bit about finding an Eastern Kingbird.  I’ve tried to fill his request, but I can’t find birds on demand; it doesn’t work that way.  I take them as they come.  He knows that, but you have to know Tom to know that no excuse will satisfy him.  Tom Gerber and patience have never been introduced. 

Eastern Kingbirds are widespread and common, so I can’t explain my failure to find one other then to say they fall into the category of LBB’s (little brown birds) that everyone sees yet fails to distinguish.  It has taken me quite a while to find enough Eastern Kingbirds to post.  They are songbirds in the general category of tyrant flycatchers (flying insect-eaters), which means they are extremely fast and extremely difficult to photograph in the air.  I haven’t been lucky enough to find many perched on branches either. 

This one is a juvenile.  I found him on a branch in Mequon, Wisconsin.  He looked to be waiting to be fed.   When startled, he flew away, but struggled only far enough to feel safe again.  He likely was in his home territory and either unwilling or unable to stray out of it. 

The males, females and juveniles all look alike…soft black and white to shades of gray.  They have the slightest hook at the tip of their bill.  They are sleek, slender and agile enough to catch flying insects as their prey darts and dives to avoid capture. Like all flycatchers, they are fun to watch. 

Maybe now that I’ve found these three my luck in finding Eastern Kingbirds will improve and I will find them everywhere.  

I can only hope and Tom will be pleased…finally…possibly…unlikely…damn!

Allan