Northern Jacana

Another life bird that we photographed on our trip to Texas earlier this year is the northern jacana. The pictures are not the best. The bird was a good ways away on the other side of a pond. However south Texas is the only place in the US to see this species, and even there it is a rarity, so even though I could not get great pics I was excited. The typical range of the northern Jacana is from Mexico down to Panama.

Little Blue Heron

 This February we decided to take a trip down to south Texas for a week. This is about the fifth time we have made this trip. It is a great place to go in the winter. Michelle likes getting away from the Minnesota winter and enjoying the sun. I go for the wildlife. The Rio Grande in south Texas is probably the best birding location in the United States. There are many species of birds there that cannot be found any where else in the US. There are also many different species of butterflies and dragonflies. Unfortunately we went a little earlier this year so there were not as many insects as we have seen on past trips.

 This year we were able to photograph quite a few new life birds. This however was not one of them. The little blue heron is fairly common around the gulf coast. But just because it is common in Texas does not mean that it is not something special for us to photograph. This is a species that we do not see here in the cold waters of Minnesota.It was fun to watch this one hunting around the vegetation. Several different times he caught what appeared to be crustaceans of some sort.

Gray Hawk

 I spent last week photographing in south Texas' Rio Grande Valley. The weather was near perfect with mostly sunny skies and temps getting up into the 80's. We made the most of a lot of great photographic opportunities including about 10 new lifers and 11 different species of raptors. This bird was one of our lifers. It is an immature gray hawk. I photographed it in Bentsen State Park. South Texas and southern Arizona are the only places in the US that you can find gray hawks. There range extends south through coastal Mexico, Central America, and the northern half of South America. Although they are a member of the Buteo genus, or soaring hawk, they are built more like an Accipiter with a long tail and shorter wings. Because of this they used to have their own genus. Adult gray hawks are gray in color with barring across the chest. We believe that we may have spotted an adult at the Laguna Atascosa but unfortunately it took off before we could get a good look, or a picture. I will have to add an adult to my target species for our next trip to Texas.

Bordered Patch Butterfly

 The bordered patch is a butterfly found in the southwestern United States, Mexico, Central and South America. They are usually food in habitat such as desert hills, pinyon or oak woodlands, thorn and mesquite scrub, road edges and agricultural fields.

 This is what is left of the chrysalis once the bordered patch emerges. In south Texas, where I took these photographs the adults can be seen flying through out the year. Adults feed primarily on nectar from flowers while the larva (caterpillar) feed on members of the sunflower family.

Cassin's Finch

 On one of our trips to Yellowstone I had the opportunity to photograph a few Cassin's finch. I almost missed out because at first I thought they were house finch. House finch are pretty common through out most of the United States. But house finch have more streaking on the belly which this bird obviously does not have. Next I was thinking purple finch but Yellowstone would be a bit out of their range. It also has that distinctive red crown, a by product of the carotenoid pigments that are found in the colorful berries that they like to eat. The purple finch has a more uniform red color on the head. I finally identified the birds as a Cassin's finch, which were named after famous ornithologist John Cassin, who first recorded them in the 1850's while part of the Pacific Railroad Survey. Cassin's finch breed in the western third of the US and winter in the Pacific southwest and Mexico.

Black-billed Cuckoo

Black-billed cuckoos breed through out much of the eastern half of the United States and southeastern Canada.  They prefer woody areas, typically building their nest in deciduous trees or shrubs usually fairly close to the ground. Black-billed cuckoos migrate down to northwestern parts of South America for the winter.

 Black-billed cuckoos are insect eaters. They eat a variety of larger insects which they glean from trees and shrubs. They particularly prefer large caterpillars. They will often knock caterpillars against branches to dislodge their spines before they eat them. They are not always successful and end up with spines lodged in their stomach. To counter this they will shed their stomach lining to get rid of excess spines.

American Avocet

 Every couple of years or so we make a trip out to Yellowstone National Park to photograph the wildlife. Since most of what we photograph at Yellowstone are mammals we usually stop at one or two Montana wildlife refuges on our way home. The two that we usually go to are Bowdoin NWR and Medicine Lake NWR. Both of these refuges are located around wetland areas in the Prairie Pothole region of North America. Both are typically a haven for waterfowl, waders, shorebirds and prairie species.

On last years Yellowstone trip we stopped at both refuges. At Bowdoin I snapped these images of an American avocet. The red coloration that you can see on the head and neck is breeding plumage. When it is not the breeding season these areas would be white. These birds typically winter in coastal water of southern California, Mexico, Florida, the Caribbean, and along the Gulf of Mexico.

Zebra Clubtail

 The zebra clubtail is a member of the Gomphidae or clubtail family. Cubtails are named for the wide or clubbed end of their abdomen that many species have. This is not a requirement though. Gomphidae are identified because they are the only clubtails that have eyes that are separated, like damselflies. The zebra clubtail is a Stylurus or hanging clubtail. They are often often hanging from vegetation.

 Zebra clubtail are found around forest streams or sandy bottomed rivers. They usually emerge later in the summer, primarily late in the summer. The first photo is an example of a male while the second is a female. As you can see the female can be distinguished easily from the male because she has very little clubbing at the tip of the abdomen in comparison to the male..

Yellow-headed Blackbird

 Yellow-headed blackbirds are members of the Icteridae family which consists of their smaller cousin the red-winged black bird as well as bobolinks, cowbirds, grackles, meadowlarks, and orioles. They usually breed in the central and western plains region and migrate into the south western United States and Mexico for the winter. During their winter migration they often travel as part of large mixed species flocks.

 The prefered breeding habitat of the yellow-headed blackbird are cattail marshes. They often share this habitat with red-winged blackbirds. Since the yellow-heads are larger they often dominate the smaller red-winged blackbirds and take the prime nesting locations for themselves. Males will fiercely defend their breeding territory and may mate with up to eight females nesting within his territory.Nests are built by the female out of vegetation and connected to four our five stalks of cattail, reeds or other marshland vegetation.

Wilson's Phalarope

 In the world of birds if there is a difference in color between male and female it is typically the male of the species that is brighter and more colorful. The reason for this can be that the more colorful males are more appealing to females and thus more easily attract a mate, thus ensuring that their more colorful DNA is passed down. Or if the species typically nests in a more vulnerable location, such as the ground, females that can blend in better are more likely to survive, along with their eggs. Since the males do not spend much time at the nest they do not need the same camouflage

 The Wilson's phalarope is just the opposite of most birds. In this species it is the female that is more colorful. This is to be expected because it is the female that does the work of attracting a mate. So it is important that she look pretty. The male's dull plumage is also an advantage as he is the one that stays home to take care of the little ones. The female lays her eggs in a scrape in the dirt and then takes off to find a new man, leaving Mr Mom to build a nest of vegetation around the eggs. With sole custody he will raise the young on his own.

Have a happy wild Tom Turkey Thanksgiving

 Did you know that only the mature male turkey (called a tom) makes a gobble sound? Females (called hens) only cluck.

Rough-legged Hawk

The rough-legged hawk is a large buteo found throughout much of the northern hemisphere.  Hawks are classified into one of two genus, Buteo and Accipiter. Buteo hawks are often referred to as soaring hawks. They have long broad wings and short tails which help them take advantage of wind currents and thermal air. Rough-legged hawks have longer thinner wings and longer tails compared to many other buteos.

 Rough-legged hawks are circumpolar. They nest in the Arctic and tundra regions of North America, Europe, and Asia. During the winter they migrate south into The US, Central Asia and Europe. In Europe and Asia they are called the rough-legged buzzard.

 The rough-legged hawk gets its name because it is one of two species of hawks that have feathers that run down to their feet. Rough-legged hawks also have a variety of different color morphs. All of the birds in this post are rough-legged hawks but th last photo is a light morph, the middle is a dark morph and the first is a more of a mixed morph.

Pied-billed Grebe

 The pied-billed grebe is the second smallest grebe found in North America. Only the least grebe, which is only found in Texas and Mexico in North America, is smaller. Grebes are often mistaken for ducks but they differ from ducks in that they have lobed toes instead of webbed feet.

 Pie-billed grebes are not strong fliers. They are much more likely to dive under the water than they are to fly away if danger approaches.When the dive under the water they often do so by sinking straight down, much like a submarine, with their head being the last thing to submerge. Under the water they are excellent swimmers. They are able to trap water in their feathers to help control their buoyancy.

 Young pied-billed grebes usually leave the nest a day after they hatch. While they are able to swim almost immediately they typically spend most of their first week riding on one of their parents back. Immature grebes are easily identified by the striking feather patterns on their face.

Osprey

 The osprey is a bird that is in a class all its own. Literally, the osprey is the only member of the genus Pandion, which is the only genus in the family Pandionidae. So what makes the Osprey so unique? First off is the fact that they have the ability to rotate one of their toes so that they have two facing forward and two facing back. This adaptation helps them to catch fish, which is their main food source. Most species of owls have this ability but the osprey is the only diurnal raptor, active during the day, that has this unique ability. Their feet also have rough pads on the bottom which helps in grabbing slippery fish.

 Even though the osprey is the only member of its family they are not so alone. Osprey can be found on every con tenant in the world except Antarctica. They are found near water where they hunt for fish, often diving up to two feet under the surface. In the Western Hemisphere Osprey breed primarily in northern sections of North America. The breeding range includes most of Canada, the northern United States, and the Pacific Northwest. These birds migrate south to central and South America for the winter, some traveling over 2500 miles each way. Populations in Florida and the Gulf Coast typically are year round residents.