Birds and Nature

In this clip three male Bobolinks are seen displaying and engaging in countersinging while between 2 and 4 additional male Bobolinks are heard singing as they are perched nearby. The Bobolink in the center has it's back to the camera providing a good view of it as it alternates aggressive posturing with grooming actions. SeEtta

I found several male Bobolinks engaged in countersinging in the middle of some farm fields for which I had permission to enter so I was able to get about 80 feet from them for this video. I was able to get 3 Bobolinks in the lens view as they were close together as they engaged in the aggressive territorial auditory and behavioral display. They sand for more than 5 minutes with a few collective pauses as they fluffed up their feathers and engaged in various aggressive poses. Though only 3 Bobolinks are seen at one time the voices heard on the video are of a total of 9 Bobolink that sang in this location, all within 40 feet of each other so they came through nicely. Occasionally a Western Meadowlark, also perched nearby, is heard singing.  At the end of the video I pan over to a 4th Bobolink that has it's back to us showing it's gorgeous golden-yellow and white feathering like the two in this pic. This is the largest group of Bobolinks I have ever seen in one location

This is one of the two male and one female Lazuli Buntings that have been singing in trees in my yard and several several adjacent yards for over a week. Hopefully one of the males will pair up with the female and nest in one of our neighborhood trees. Have also had a male Indigo Bunting during the same time period, also singing, but haven't spotted any females for him. In this photo the male Lazuli is eating at Sean and Melanie's feeder. SeEtta

The Northern Parula I found in my yard this afternoon was kind enough to show off it's very yellow throat and black band across it as shown in top pic. In the bottom pic the bird was going after the fat worm seen in the photos on the previous post and what a very yellow mouth it has. His green back shows well in this photo as do his white eye crescents.  The other field marks--bluish gray hood and wings plus white wing bars are visible in all pics. SeEtta

Yesterday I was pleased with the mini-fall out in my yard of neotropical migrants though none was rare at all. This morning all that remained were the Gray Catbird and the buntings that have been here for a week or so. So I birded the Canon City Riverwalk (actually I live less than 500 feet from the greenbelt that is the bluff over the Riverwalk) but no sign of the Yellow-rumped Warblers that visited my yard last night. When I got home around 1 pm and stepped out of my car, I heard a buzzy warbler singing above me and found this male Northern Parula in my Purple Ash trees. I watched it for almost 10 minutes as it foraged actively high in the tree foliage where it got a nice fat worm as shown in it's beak in the top two pics. I have a photo in the next post of the bird with it's beak open wide as it went for the worm. SeEtta

A number of years ago a pair of Gray Catbirds nested right under my dining room window--what wonderful intimate views I had. Unfortunately I had to clean up the very overgrown shrub in which they nested so they haven't nested in my yard since but do come to visit--well, they come to eat here anyway. And the male, or males, engage me in countersinging--or I engage them. This afternoon we had a strong storm with some small hail and a half inch of rain--afterwards there was a mini-fallout of birds: a female Rose-breasted Grosbeak and 2 male Black-headed Grosbeak; 4+ Yellow-rumped Warblers (more than I have seen on our Riverwalk all week); several singing Yellow Warblers; 2 Broad-tailed Hummingbirds; two male and 1 female Lazuli Buntings and 1 male Indigo Bunting (that have been around for a week); a few Pine Siskin that should have gone to breeding territories; and the pair of Gray Catbirds. Since this action took place around 6 pm with still a few raindrops from clouds, I wa