Birds and Nature

A recently published study in The Condor --' Influence of condition and habitat use on survival of post-fledgling songbirds' found that life after fledging for Overbirds and Worm-eating Warblers is fraught with perils, especially the predator king. Between 2004 and 2007 they radio-tagged just over a hundred fledglings of these species in Ohio. Their calculations indicated that "post-fledging survival to be 65% for Overbirds (51 days after fledging) and 67% for Worm-eating Warblers (31 days after fledging)." They also found that those fledglings that spent the most time in dense growth had the highest survival percentage which highlights the importance of providing high quality habitat to birds after they fledge as well as other times in their life cycle. There is previous research on other bird species showing similar issues. A 1967 article "POSTFLEDGING SURVIVAL AND MOVEMENT IN DICKCISSELS (SPIZA AMERICANA): IMPLICATIONS FOR HABITAT MANAGEMENT AND CONSE...

I returned 4 days ago to Holcim Wetlands before 7 am to try to refind the rare Least Bittern and hopefully get some pics in good light. Though I succeeded, the bittern was much more distant than when I photographed it last week in the evening (at least a hundred feet out). However, I was able to get postable pics of it engaged in classic bittern hunting as is shown in the two pics. Note that it is 'perched' by straddling cattail shoots, a feet made possible by their small size, allowing it to strike downward at prey in the water below. Gee-these pics are almost identical though the sun was out in the bottom pic but not in the top pic (the top pic was taken at F10 while the bottom pic at F8 as a result). Actually these show a progression, a very, very slow progression of the hunt--look closely and you will see that the bird's bill in the 2ndh pic is a few inches forward of and below the position in the 1st pic. So what? The 2nd pic was taken 3 minutes after the 1st pic...

It didn't take this female bird long to start eating her grasshopper prey, a frequent meal item for this species. It's interesting how she holds her prey in one 'hand' while she eats it. SeEtta

Here is another a in series of close-up encounters I have experienced in the past few weeks--this time this American Kestrel flew onto a tree branch less than 25 feet above me earlier this week. This is especially surprising as I have found this species to be pretty wary of people. If you super-enlarge this pic (by double clicking on it then clicking on it again) you can see that the prize it is clutching in it's foot is a grasshopper. With her mouth open, she seems to be ready to devour her catch. More to come. SeEtta

I was very surprised to see the gleam in this bird's eye which is shown so well in the top pic. So commonly this is the result of photographer's using flash, something I rarely use and did not use in these pics. This is all natural, likely from the sunlight, no artificial gleam in the eye. I mentioned in the previous post that this bird was part of the landbird migration along the river corridor. So how do I know it's a migrant and not a bird that was here this summer? There were few Bullock's Orioles in this area this summer and those in the closest nests (1/4 mile away) had already moved on weeks ago. In all the pics this bird has it's bill open--it was pretty hot and this is how birds cool off. SeEtta

Landbird migration has been in full swing this week in riparian areas in the Canon City, CO area. I have apparently been living right as this oriole flew in less than 15 feet above me providing a wonderful opportunity for close-up photos. From the plumage characteristics this bird is a female or immature. The mostly flesh/pinkish colored lower mandible (with rustyish markings) makes me think this may be a juvenile. Birds of North America online calls the lower mandible "bluish gray, dull white at tip and doesn't mention anything about juvenile birds nor could I find anything online or in my books about it. Note: I didn't do any color modification or other editing of these pics with the exception of some cropping to preserve color and shading. SeEtta

As I noted in last post the Lewis's Woodpeckers landed in a snag almost directly above me and that produced the top pic, a view from right underneath this adult bird. This provides a very nice view of the undertail coverts as well as the underparts and the tail feathers from below. The bird in the bottom pic is one of this year's hatch evident as it is in juvenal plumage and it is late summer. Though not real apparent, it does have some reddish feathering on it's breast and belly.   It should begin moulting into Basic I plumage this fall. SeEtta