Cinnamon Teal

The cinnamon teal is a colorful duck that is found in the western portions of North and South America. It is the only duck that has separate breeding populations on each of the continents. In North America they breed in the western United States and Mexico. Their breeding does not extend as far east as most other species of western ducks, ending before the center of the US. In South America they breed primarily in Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, and Peru. Most of the birds that breed in the US migrate to Mexico or the California coast for the winter. Most the birds that breed in Mexico and South America are year round residents of theri breeding ground. 

As with many species of ducks the male cinnamon teal is much more colorful then the female. The ducks in the photos above are both male. The female is a mottled brown with a brown eye color. The female looks similar to the females of many other species of ducks. The reason that females are not as bright as the males is because they need to blend in while they are on the nest. The cinnamon teal nest on the ground near the water. The nest is covered from all sides by vegetation hiding it from predators on the ground and in the air. The female helps keep the nest hidden by accessing it through tunnels in the vegetation. Clutch size is about 4-15 eggs. The young leave the nest for the water with in days of hatching.

Burrowing Owl

 The burrowing owl is a small owl that is found in the open fields, prairie grasslands, and desserts of the western half of North America, Mexico, Central America, South America, Florida and the Caribbean. As their name implies they live in under ground burrows. However most burrowing owls do not dig their own burrows, instead they use old burrows dug by ground squirrels, prairie dogs or other mammals. In Idaho where the photo above was taken the burrowing owls typically live in holes that are dug by badgers who are trying to dig out ground squirrels which they eat. The danger is that the badger might return and burrowing owls could be the next item on the menu. The burrowing owls hunt small mammals, such as mice and voles, as well as larger insects, such as grasshoppers.

 In North America the burrowing owl mating season begins at the end of March or beginning of April. The owls are typical monogamous. Unlike most raptors their is very little difference in size between male and female burrowing owls. When she begins to lay eggs the female will lay an egg every day or two. Since ground nesters typically more chicks to predation they often compensate by having larger clutch sizes. The average clutch size of the burrowing owl is 9 eggs only about half of which will survive long enough to leave the burrow. The chicks in the photo above are only days old. You can see that they are covered with down and their eyes have not opened. The shiny spot on the end of their beak is their egg tooth. This is that they used to crack the shell when they were ready to emerge from their eggs. When the chicks get a little older they will hiss when a potential predator tries to invade the den. The hissing sounds similar to a rattle snake and will often make potential predators think twice about continuing.

Their are approximately 22 subspecies of burrowing owls, although their is very little difference between them. In the United States there are only two subspecies, hypugaea (northern burrowing owl) and floridana (Florida burrowing owl). The northern subspecies is found from southwestern Canada down through the western U.S. down into Mexico and Central America. The Florida subspecies is only found in Florida. One of the key differences between the two North America subspecies is that the Florida subspecies typically digs its on burrow. This is because there are not really any mammals in the range of the Florida subspecies that digs burrows that they could use. Fortunately the Florida subspecies live in parts of Florida where the soil is very fine sand. This allows them to use their long legs to kick out the loose sand. The first two photos are examples of the northern subspecies where the last photo is an example of a Florida burrowing owl.

American Redstart

 The American redstart is a small warbler that breeds in the eastern United States and most of southern Canada. Their preferred habitat is deciduous forests preferably with a good deal of shrubs and undergrowth. Like most warblers their primary food is insects.They catch their prey both in the air and by gleaning from branches and leaves. Often they will flash their tails and wings where the flash of color startles insects allowing the bird to snatch them as they try and fly away. The bird in the photo above has caught some prey. Since they are insect eaters they do migrate south to Central America and northern South America during the winter months.

 The American redstart is sexually dimorphic, meaning that there is an obvious difference between males and females of the species. Males are predominantly black with a white under belly and orange patches on their sides, wings, and tails. The top photo is an example of a male. Females are not as colorful. They are a combination of yellow, olive, and grey, as demonstrated by the second photo. Immature birds, both male and female, have the same coloration as the female. The male will begin to molt into their adult plumage in its second fall. Most males do not breed until they are in their adult plumage, although some immature birds do try to hold a territory and a few are able to attract a mate in this stage.

Zonotrichia albicollis (White-throated Sparrow)

 The white-throated sparrow is a new world (Emberizine) sparrow that is named for the white throat patch below it's beak. They breed in the eastern three quarters of Canada as well as in parts of north central and north eastern United States. They spend the winter in the eastern half of the U.S. or along the California coast. Their primary habitat is forests with thick undergrowth but they can also be found in bogs, fields, parks and yards, particularly during the winter.

There are two different color variations of white-throated sparrow. There is the white crowned, an example of which is the first picture, and the tan-crowned, pictured above. The males of both varieties prefer white-crowned females, however the females all prefer the tan-crowned males. It appears that the white crowned birds are more aggressive then the tan crowned. So the guys are looking for an aggressive women while the females are looking for a laid back dude. You can see in the picture above that white-crowned sparrows eat a variety of fruits and berries. They also eat a lot of the seeds from different grasses as well as insects that they find while foraging on the ground.

First Birds of the Year

 I have never been much of a bird lister. My pictures are basically my bird list, but this year I am thinking of trying something new. I am going to try and post any new bird species that I photograph each week and then at this time next year I will be able to look back and count the number of species that I have seen throughout the year.

So I started 2014 off with a bang. I did not get out on the first but I spent most of the day Friday running around Dakota County, where I live. With the cold front that hit this past weekend we have a good influx of snowy owls (top). Snowy owls are usually found around the arctic circle but in years where there is a lack of food or they have a productive breeding year owl migrate south into southern Canada and the US. The northeast US has been experiencing a snowy invasion for a while now but it started out kind of slow here and just kicked in the past week. I found 4 different owls yesterday and it is estimated that we could have 7 or more just in this area. My second bird is another arctic visitor. The long-tailed ducks breed in pretty much the same range as the snowies do. Most long-tailed ducks migrate to the east or west coast of the US during the winter. For the past few years though we have had one or two that winter at the confluence of the St Croix and Mississippi Rivers. The water there usually stays open unless it gets really cold and the long-tailed duck usually join with flocks of other diving ducks, such as common goldeneye and mergansers, and fish the icy water. I hope that my next set of birds is this good but it is going to be hard to beat this pair.  

Happy New Year!

I decided to start out the new year with a bit of a face lift on the blog.

Please let me know what you think.

Yellow-rumped Warbler

 The yellow-rumped warbler is a mid-sized warbler found in North and Central America. They get their name from the bright yellow rump patch that is located at the base of the tail. This patch has also the reason for their nickname, "Butter Butt". They also have yellow on their heads and yellow patches on their sides. Males are usually a striking contrast of black and white, while females tend to be more brown.

Yellow-rumps are expert foragers. They primarily eat insects which they glean from trees, males typically foraging higher in the trees then females. They will also catch insects on the wing, flying out from the branches that they have been gleaning from like a flycatcher. When there are no insects around yellow-rums will eat seeds and berries. They are the only species of warbler that can digest bayberries and wax myrtles. Because of this they are able to winter further north then other warbler species. Which is why they are usually the first warbler species that we see in spring and the last to leave in the fall.

 

There are four different variations of yellow-rumped warblers. Two of the forms are non-migratory. They are the Black-fronted, from north western Mexico, and the Goldman's from Guatemala. The other two forms are migratory. They are the Myrtle (top 2 photos), which breed in eastern Canada and parts of the northern United States, and the Audubon (last photo) Which breed in western Canada, Alaska, the Pacific Coast, and Rocky Mountains. Both forms winter in the southern United States, Mexico, Central America and the Caribbean.

Merry Xmas

White-tailed Kite

 The white-tailed kite is a medium sized raptor that is found along the west coast of the United States, southern Florida, Mexico, Central and South America. They were at one time, grouped together with the European black-winged kite as a single species called the black-shouldered kite. However because of differences in size and behavior the species was divided into the white-tailed kite, in the Americas, The black-winged kite, in Europe and Africa, and the black-shouldered kite, in Australia.

The first white-tailed kites that we spotted, and photographed, where at the Elkhorn Slough National Estuarine Research Reserve near Monterey Bay in California. White-tailed kites were almost extricated from California by 1940 due to hunting and egg collecting. Preservation laws, like the Migratory Bird Act, gave protection to native species of birds and their eggs. This includes the white-tailed kite which, I am happy to say, are now common again in many parts of California. These first two pictures where taken in southern Texas where white-tailed kites can also be found.  

Their preferred habitat is open country, such as grass savannas, marshes, desert grasslands and farm fields, where they hunt primarily small rodents. In 2012 while I was out photographing at Crex Meadows in Wisconsin I was surprised to spot a perched white-tailed kite. Now Crex meadows is perfect habitat for white-tailed kites, however it is way out of their normal range. This was only the third time on record that a white-tailed kite had been observed in Wisconsin. Now the winter of 2011 -2012 was unseasonably warm and lacking in snow which might explain why this bird was in Wisconsin. The have been known to venture far from their range and have been spotted as far away as New England. It was still exciting though and people came from all around to get a glimpse, especially since the last sighting in Wisconsin was over 10 years before.

Veery

The very is a member of the thrush family that breeds in the swampy forests of the northern United States and southern Canada. They are much less common then the American thrush, otherwise known as the American robin. They are a spotted thrush but have less spots then other species of spotted thrush. As an insect eater they do not hang around on their breeding grounds during the winter. Instead they migrate down to the northern and central portions of South America, primarily Brazil. Like most passerines they migrate at night and can travel distances up to 160 miles per night.

Unfortunate!

 As an environmentalist I am happy that small steps have been made to transition our energy needs to cleaner sustainable sources. New sources like wind, solar and wave technologies lessen our dependency on sources like coal, oil, natural gas, and nuclear. These older technologies pollute the environment and can be very dangerous.

Unfortunately good intentions can sometimes have bad side effects. That has been the case with wind energy. A study by the Us Fish and Wildlife Service reports that at least 85 golden and bald eagles were killed at wind farms between 1997 and 2012. That may not sound like a huge number over 5 years, however the study relied mainly on volunteered reports of fatalities by the wind energy companies. So it is possible the number may be much higher. The study also did not include all US wind farms. The Altamont Pass Wind Resource Area in California was not included in the study. It is located in an area with a high population of golden eagles and may be responsible for as many deaths as reported in the study every year.

 

Most of the concern is about eagles but other types of raptors also collide with windmills. Raptors typically watch the ground when they fly because they are looking for food. By the time they notice the structure it is too late as the blades which can be spinning in excess of 150 mph create wind currents that can suck the birds in. Most of the deaths happen at older facilities. While the UFAWS report has sparked awareness on this issue from concerned citizens a 1 million dollar fine that was recently levied against a wind energy company in Montana has gotten the attention of the wind industry. Some Wind energy companies now hire people to do impact studies before building new farms. Unfortunately the best location for wind farms are often great habitat for eagles. Other technologies, such as radar that can turn of turbines when it detects an eagle in the area, are also helping us to create a cleaner environment while minimizing our impact on eagles and other birds of prey.

Three-toed Woodpecker

 The three-toed woodpecker are found in the boreal forests of North America, Europe and Asia. At one time they were considered one species but in 2003 the species was split into the American three-toed and Eurasian three-toad. The three-toed woodpecker breeds farther north then any other species of woodpecker. The American version is found through out Canada, Alaska, and the Rocky Mountains. Typically they stay on their territory year round foraging for the larva of bark and wood boring beetles. Unlike most other species of woodpeckers they find their prey by pealing the bark off of trees instead of boring holes into them.

The three-toed woodpecker gets its name because it is one of the only woodpecker species that has three toes on each foot instead of four. Other then the two varieties of three-toed only the black-backed woodpecker has three toes. The black-backed are also found in boreal forests, although they do not breed quite as far north. The black-backed is very similar in appearance to three-toed except as its name would suggest it has a black back where the three-toed woodpecker's back is mottled black and white. The top photo in the post is a three-toed where the second is a black back. As you can see they look very similar. These are both males which you can tell by the yellow crown on the top of their heads. The female three-toed woodpecker has a mottled black and white crown where the top of the female black-back's head is all black.

Orange Sulphur

 The orange sulphur is a common yellow butterfly that can be found through out most of North America. They are very similar in appearance to the clouded sulphur when perched, as in the photo above. However when they open their wings the upper surface is more of an orange color where the clouded sulphur is yellow on the tops of their wings.

It is possible to tell the difference between male and females by looking at the black border on the upper side of the wings. With the male the border is solid black, like in the photos above, while the females have yellow spots in the border. Orange sulphurs larval host plant is alfalfa, clovers, and other legumes.