Eastern Towhee

This male Eastern Towhee preferred to go unnoticed.  I had to get down very low to see him.  Because they hide deep inside forest thickets, to scratch the leaf litter for food, you also need luck to find one…I got lucky today.

His female companion was more accommodating to pictures.  She was singing out her song and making her presence known in plain sight.  My friend, Fred Thorne, and I were searching for new birds in the Lion’s Den Gorge, south of Port Washington, Wisconsin when we came across this pair.  

Huge bird migrations are passing through Wisconsin right now. Although, some birds will make Wisconsin their home, many species are on their way to someplace else. It’s the occasional and rare birds, only present during these migrations, which Fred and I were looking for today.   

We waited for the male to come into view, but he was having no part in pictures.  Uncharacteristically, the female was a lot less skittish and even posed for a while.

Fred was faster than me and made this picture of the male when he briefly appearance to announce himself.   He quickly retreated.  

Two days later Fred and I were back in the Lion’s Den Gorge after reports of another rare bird sighting, the Western Tanager.  We had no luck finding the tanager, but I was able to get two more good angles on the Eastern Towhee.  He was singing out on a low branch.

After briefly claiming his territory with a song, he retreated into the thicket again.  He’s more comfortable in dense cover, so that is where you’ll need to look to find one. The Eastern Towhee will be in Wisconsin for the next six months, until the fall out-migration, so you have time to search.

Allan

Horned Grebe

The Horned Grebe gets everything he needs from the water.

He’s at home in the water, but awkward on land because his legs aren’t squarely positioned under his body…rather somewhat behind. That adaptation gives him great speed for catching fish, but makes walking on land difficult. Some species of grebes can’t walk on land at all.  

Despite the inability to navigate well on land, for a bird that eats, sleeps and rears young on floating mats of vegetation, his flying and swimming skills alone are more than adequate to get him around.

Plucking flies, beetles and spiders from the water’s surface is just a snack for him. He excels at fishing. 

Tail-chasing a fish, to catch it underwater, is something I'd like to see. 

Diving to fish, he rises again a few hundred feet away.  This one was fishing the waters between the Calatrava Art Museum and Discovery World in downtown Milwaukee, WI.

April to August is the breeding season for Horned Grebes. They’re in full breeding colors now.  They transform themselves from a basic black and white bird into a new multi-colored version each year. Sporting bright yellow 'horns' behind blood red eyes, a rusty-red neck and charcoal back...males and females look alike.

This Horned Grebe was in color transition when I found him riding the crest of a wave in the Atlantic Ocean in early April.

The Horned Grebe enjoys a unique, sought-after status in the birding world. Reports of a Horned Grebe sighting will bring out all manor of wildlife photographers.  

Horned Grebes are not rare in Wisconsin. These are likely just passing through on their way to Canada or Alaska to raise their young.

He will be turning to leave Wisconsin soon, so if you want to see one in person, now is your time to go looking.

Allan

Ruby-crowned Kinglet

Spring is an exciting time of year for birds…the breeding season.

There are excitable boys all over Wisconsin right now, sporting their brightest feather coats of the year.  The Ruby-crowned Kinglet has to be one of the most excited.  His head looks to be on fire.

Fast, tiny and extremely restless, the Ruby-crowned Kinglet flits through the branches in search of miniscule flying insects and aphids. You can’t see what he’s catching…assume something, though, for the vast amount of energy he’s expending. His landing points are best described as launching platforms to someplace else.

I spent an hour sitting on the rocks of a tiny tributary to Trinity Creek with my neighbor Ralph Nowicki…cameras ready.  We stared into the thicket as a half dozen male and female Ruby-crowned Kinglets zigzagged before us.  The activity was furious…the pictures few.

In spring the competition for mates is on. Ruby-crowned Kinglets choose a different partner each year.  For the male the process involves flashing his ruby crown to impress a female and intimidate a rival. The display is quick and effective.  Males face off to display to one other for the briefest of moments, followed by a short chase.  They’ll repeat this display/chase routine in a different location of the same thicket again later. One eventually wins, I assume.

Following a Ruby-crowned Kinglet through the thicket is an exercise in frustration.  Expecting him to sit still for a picture only compounds your exasperation.  Picture a hummingbird with way too much caffeine and you’ll understand its fidgetiness.

He flashes his ruby crown only when he wants to be seen.  With his crown hidden, he blends nicely into the background.  Olive-green overall with only a short white wing bar for accent, hiding is no problem for the Ruby-crowned Kinglet.

For such a tiny bird he has an unusually robust range of songs.  Chattering and chipping in the thicket you might guess he wants to be found…more likely he wants to play a game with you…a game requiring incredible patience on your part.

Allan

Willet

Fairly common on coastal beaches and marshes, the Willet is a rather stocky, stout billed shorebird in shades of gray to dun.  Wading into depths his long legs can manage, he searchs for aquatic animals, small fish and spiders.  Being able to detect prey with a sensitive bill tip makes feeding both day and night possible.  When brooding eggs, the male usually takes the night shift while the female forages.

Being drab and colorless serves them well when nesting or head-down in the sand. When they take flight though, they transform into slender, sleek showy birds. 

With their boldly striped wings spread out in flight, they become graceful acrobatic flyers...streamlined and curvy.

Although mainly a shoreline bird they are often seen inland, too. There are presently reports of Willets in Green Bay, La Crosse and Waukesha, Wisconsin. A mudflat or marsh would be the best  place to look for them.

Whether flying or resting, males and females look alike.  Even in their breeding season their color transition is only from medium gray to a mottled dun color. 

If you’re lucky and find a flock of Willets, either onshore or inland, have some patience and wait until they rise into the air.  The flock puts on a striking air show.

Allan

Ruddy Turnstone

Ruddy Turnstones foraging at the water’s rocky edge claim what the waves brings in. Claiming it quickly, then retreating ahead of the next wave. Foraging in blind rock crevices, they have to be fast and possess a keen sense of timing to stay dry…they rarely lose.

Living on aquatic invertebrates and insects, Ruddy Turnstones form small flocks for mutual benefit.  Slippery rocks are not a problem for the Ruddy Turnstone.  Surefooted, they trot and jump in the rocks, appearing randomly like pop-up toys.

I was with Lou Skrabec, an experienced birder. It was getting late.  The sun was low on this second day of April and we had just started back.  We had a mile to walk to our cars when this small group of Ruddy Turnstones appeared on the rocks in good light and near-full breeding colors.  Aware of us, but unconcerned, they accepted us as no-threat as they patrolled the quarter mile long walls that make up the Murrells Inlet jetty. 

Prying nourishment from these rocks would seem a difficult task, but with their uniquely shaped upturned bill they skillfully wedge food loose.   Stepping lively when the wave comes in, they inspect the rocks as it receded.  I can’t tell you what they’re eating. Their ‘turnstone’ name comes from the act of turning stones over to discover what’s below.  

Though their food search seemed productive, they suddenly  decided these rocks weren’t good enough anymore. They flew off to check the millions of other rocks that form the Murrells Inlet jetty. 

It was a great day!

Allan

Locator for Murrells Inlet:

https://www.google.com/mapmaker?ll=33.528409,-79.03616&spn=0.02261,0.038924&t=h&z=15&vpsrc=6&utm_medium=website&utm_campaign=relatedproducts_maps&utm_source=mapseditbutton_normal

Red-headed Woodpecker

It took a while for this Red-headed Woodpecker to get comfortable with me beneath his tree.  He flew away when I first arrived, but with all the holes in the trees I knew he’d be back. The holes in the trees told me he’d been here for a long time already. This was in one of his favorite resting spots.

Vereen Memorial Garden is on the North Carolina, South Carolina Stateline. The Intracoastal Waterway makes up the eastern border.   A quiet park with only basic amenities…bring what you need and take nothing when you leave, except the experience. Wide forest paths and marsh boardwalks take you around the park in loops.  With the tides, the park changes twice a day.

It didn’t take long for the Red-headed Woodpecker to return.  He knew I was still there on the boardwalk, but I didn’t threaten him enough to concern him.  He flew between several dead Loblolly Pines, staying half out of sight and always keeping one eye in my direction.

This is the Red-bellied Woodpecker, a dramatically different looking bird than the Red-headed Woodpecker.  I found him nearby, but much lower in the trees.  I see many more of the red-bellied, than the Red-headed Woodpecker, but that is only due to the local conditions where I live. They’re both widespread and common birds in the eastern half of the United States.

The Red-headed Woodpecker is listed as ‘Near Threatened’, though, due to loss of habitat. They need standing dead trees to hunt, nest and store food.  This one is looking for a hole for a newly found acorn. They have been known to stuff live grasshoppers into crevices to eat later, too.

Boldly feathered in red, white and black, he makes no attempt to blend into the marsh environment.   If you miss him, he will let you know where he is by drumming out his calling card on a hollow log.  Don’t pass up the invitation.

Allan

Locator for boardwalk:

http://www.google.com/mapmaker?ll=33.875457,-78.592393&spn=0.010386,0.016651&t=h&z=16&saddr=vereen+gardens&daddr=Vereen+Rd,+North+Myrtle+Beach,+SC+29582&utm_source=mapseditbutton_normal&dirflg=d&gw=56&lyt=large_map&mid=1366470586839&source=mapseditbutton_normal

A Personal Update

To the people on my Bird List and my additional Facebook friends, 

I would like to give a personal update.

On a recent vacation/birding trip with my wife, Linda, to the state of South Carolina, USA, I suffered an incident concerning my health.  It was not an official heart attack, where parts of one's heart actually dies, rather it was clear, advanced warning of what would happen if I did not address the problem immediately. 

I had an 85-95% blockage of the blood the heart muscle needs to function as a pump. Without sufficient blood to the heart muscle  it simply stops working. Due to the blockage, I had a triple bypass.

I was extremely lucky to be near quality health care personnel when I noticed the problem.  Their encouragement to have my heart further checked out saved my life.  I will always be indebted to them. 

This blog is about birds and my encounters with them.  I'd rather not get too far afield of that outline. If you would like to know more, feel free to contact me by responding to any bird story or Facebook post.

Thank you,

Allan