Frequent Flyer Miles

The bobolink is long distance traveler. They breed in open grassland in the north eastern half of the US and southeastern half of Canada, from the east coast through the Dakotas and even further west on Canada. They winter approximately 12,000 miles away in central South America. That means that every two years a typical bobolink will travel the circumference of the earth at the equator. They can travel over a 1,000 miles per day. They typically migrate in flocks stopping to feed on grains and insects in agricultural on their way. Unlike most passerines the bobolink molts twice a year, once on the breeding territory at the end of the summer and once on the wintering territory before they begin their return flight. When the males molt on the wintering territory the feathers have yellow tips which makes it look like they have not changed from their non breeding plumage but as they begin to head north the tip wear off and by the time breeding season arrives their black and white breeding plumage is visible. This is a pair that I photographed at Necedah NWR in Wisconsin.

Tuesday Tweets

The bobolink is an unusual bird usually found in open fields and grasslands. They breed in the northern United States and migrate all the way to the central portion of South America for the winter. They have two molts per year. On their breeding grounds the males are unmistakable with their black belly, white back and yellow head. On their wintering grounds in South America they molt into a much more drab plumage.

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Icteridae

Icteridae is a family of passerine birds found in North, Central, and South America. There is a wide variety of variation between the different species of Icterids but all have long slender pointed beaks. Icteridae consists of 97 species in 27 genera, most of which are found in the tropical regions of Central and South America. North America has 23 species in 8 genera. The North American species and genera include:
Xanthocephalus- which consists of only the yellow-headed blackbird. Even though it is called a blackbird it is more closely related to meadowlarks then it is other new world blackbirds.
Agelaius and Euphagus- Angelaius consists of the tricolored blackbird and red-winged blackbird. While Euphagus is closely related to grackles and consists of the Brewer's blackbird and the rusty blackbird.
Dolichonyx- consists of just the bobolink which combines characteristics form multiple other genera.
Molothrus- consists of the cowbirds including the brown-headed cowbird, shiny cowbird and bronzed cowbird. All three species are parasitic nesters, laying their eggs in the nests of other birds and leaving the other birds to care for the chicks.
Quiscalus- grackles, including the common grackle, great-tailed grackle and the boat-tailed grackle. Grackles are larger then blackbirds with larger bills and a longer tail.
Sturnella- which consists of the eastern and western meadowlark. It is difficult to distinguish the difference between these two species in the field. If I was better at my bird calls I would probably have an easier time since most people say that their song is the easiest way to identify them.
Icterus- These are the Orioles including streak-backed, Bullock's, Baltimore, hooded, orchard, altamira, spot-breasted, Audubon's and Scott's orioles. These are the most colorful of all of the Icterids found in North America.

Necedah National Wildlife Refuge

With the Independence Day holiday last week I had a three day weekend so I decided to head over to central Wisconsin and shoot in the Necedah NWR for a couple of days. This was my first opportunity to get a look at the new visitors center and it is very impressive. Inside is a store, educational displays, offices, an info desk, small theatre and a nice sitting room complete with a fireplace. You can see from the picture above that much of the building is powered by renewable solar power.
One of the things that Necedah is famous for is their work with the endangered whooping crane. It is dangerous to have the majority of the remaining population of whoopers all in one area. Disease or natural disaster could destroy the entire population adding another extinct bird to the list. So the staff at Necedah has been working with a number of other organizations to set up a second migrating population. Unfortunately the only crane that I spotted over the weekend was a sandhill crane.
There were a lot of young birds that had recently fledged. I found a young kingbird perched on a branch overhanging a small stream. I watched for a while and was rewarded as one of the parents came down to feed the youngster a plump insect.
As I watched the kingbirds feeding four river otters appeared and began to play in the stream. So I switched subjects. I think that Michelle was kind of jealous because she really likes to watch otters.
Necedah has a variety of habitats to explore. Near the new Visitors Center they have built some trails into and over the wetlands. Raised boardwalks help give visitors a good look at wildlife with out getting their feet too wet.
I also took a hike on the new boardwalk that skits a boggy area. I was hoping to get a glance and a photo of a ringed boghaunter dragonfly. Necedah is in one of the few counties in Wisconsin where this member of the emerald family can be found, the only other place to find them in the Midwest is Michigan. It was a little late in the year for the boghaunter but I did find quite a few racket-tailed emeralds.
Also near the bog trail I found several bobolink. There were two pairs that squawked at me noisily as I walked down the trail. I wonder if they were nesting near the trail and I was getting to close to the nest.
One of the birds that I always like to photograph when I go to Necedah is the red-headed woodpecker. Although they are not endangered like the whooper are their population has been decreasing over the years. The problem that they are facing is habitat lose. Red-headed woodpeckers live in a habitat that has a lot of dead trees for nesting and caching food. They also require some space between the trees. This type of habitat has become scarce and the red-head population has declined as a result. Fortunately Necedah still has a lot of area that fits the bill and it is quite easy to see the red-heads flitting between the trees.
On my way out of the refuge I saw another youngster crossing the road. Mom was already in the woods on the side of the road but junior slowed down to take a look at the curios shiny creature on the road in front of him.