Wednesday Warblers

Yellow Warbler (Dendroica petechia)


Cerulean Warbler (Dendroica cerulea)


Hooded Warbler (Wilsonia citrina)


Northern Parula (Parula americana)


Blackburnian Warbler (Dendroica fusca)

All were taken last spring at HAS Boy Scout Woods in High Island, Texas.

As always, you can click on any of the images above to see a larger version. Also, check out World Bird Wednesday for more great bird photos from around the world.

Wednesday Warbler

Chestnut-sided Warbler (Dendroica pensylvanica)

World Bird Wednesday: Prothonotary Warbler

Here is another bird I am looking forward to seeing again when spring migration wings its way through the Texas Gulf Coast in a couple of months. I spotted this pretty little female Prothonotary Warbler last spring at High Island.


Prothonotary Warbler (Protonotaria citrea)
As so often is the case in the world of birds, the male Prothonotary far outshines the female in terms of pure color and audacity. Unfortunately, the best shot I have yet to get of a male of the species pales in comparison to the image above. This one is from the year before, down at Brazos Bend State Park:


With a little luck (and a whole lot of time and patience), I hope to get some better views of this radiant warbler once April rolls around again.



As always, you can click on any image to see a larger version.

For some great bird photos from around the world, check out this week's installment of World Bird Wednesday.

Signs of Spring: Yellow-Rumped Warblers

I'm beginning to see more and more of these little fellows all over town. We must be getting closer to spring.




Yellow-rumped Warbler (Dendroica coronata)

Taken last spring at the Smith Oaks sanctuary in High Island, Texas.


As always, you can click on any image to see a larger version. Also, check out Bird Photography Weekly #127 for more great bird photos from around the world.

Blackburnian Warbler

This weekend I got to meet and spend the afternoon with fellow bloggers Dawn and Jeff Fine (of Dawn's bloggy blog) out at High Island, Texas. Dawn and Jeff are the nicest folks you could ever meet, and were quite willing to help this poor little warbler-ignorant blogger find a few treasures. And treasures there were aplenty!

The morning was a bit nasty, with rain and then a heavy foggy mist covering the area like the proverbial pea soup. Which, to our luck, turned out to be the perfect weather for bringing migrants in for our viewing pleasure. There were warblers, warblers everywhere! One of my favorites — a new addition to my life list, in fact — was this male Blackburnian Warbler:


Blackburnian Warbler (Dendroica fusca)




I'll post a few more pics from the High Island Migrant Extravaganza as soon as I have time to get them uploaded. In the meantime, check out Bird Photography Weekly #88 for more great bird photos from around the world.

In the Bleak Mid-Winter

Okay, so it's a little past "mid-winter," but with all the rain and sleet we've had lately and the temperatures hovering just barely above freezing, I'd say the bleakness wins out.

Luckily, I did catch a break in the steady drizzle long enough to make a run over to Bear Creek Park at lunch. Most of the park is currently closed — due to being underwater at the moment — but I was able to find a few objects of interest lingering on the outskirts of the flooded areas.


Red-shouldered Hawk (Buteo lineatus)
This Red-shouldered Hawk was hunkered down against the wet and cold, and nothing and nobody was going to make him move.

On the other hand, there were dozens of warblers flitting about, heedless of the inclement weather conditions.


Pine Warbler (Dendroica pinus)


There were harbingers of the coming spring already in place as well, mobs of robins scouring the soggy green groundcover for sustenance during the cool spell.


American Robin (Turdus migratorius)
And as always, the waders were out and about, treading slowly through the standing floodwater and along the water's edge.


Great Blue Heron (Ardea herodias)

I look forward to the end of this rainy season, to heading back onto the trails at Bear Creek once the water goes down and things dry out just a bit.

SWISS and a Spring Warbler Primer

As a pretty new birding enthusiast, I must admit to some slight trepidation at the onset of spring migration. Sure, I can handle the cardinals, mockingbirds, egrets and woodpeckers that make up the bulk of my birding experience to date. And I am getting a little more comfortable with identifying some of the various raptors and waterfowl that are found around here.

But as March progresses and the listservs begin to report the leading edges of migratory passerines, I have begun to feel a debilitating case of SWISS* coming on. I mean, just a glimpse of something grayish green or [gasp] yellow moving through the trees is enough to make my knees quiver and my brain, such as it is, lock up.

So you can imagine what a relief it was to open a TexBirds email this morning and find a link to local birder David McDonald's recent Warbler ID Primer post.

David has laid out his "primer" quite well, with simple descriptions and comparative photos of most all the various warblers that move through the upper Texas coastal region this time of year. And if you need to check the details a little closer, you can just click on any of David's images to see a full-size, full-detail version.

Thank you, David! I've got some studying to do, but now I feel like I can walk outside and enjoy the spring in peace and sanity. ...Well, in peace, anyways.


(* For the woefully non-clairvoyant among you who haven't yet learned to intuitively decipher my unique brand of idiocy, SWISS = "Spring Warbler Identification Stress Syndrome." I'm just sayin'...)

A Tail of Three Rumps

Yesterday was another one of those days when I just couldn't stay cooped up inside any longer than I had to, so I snuck out at lunch and headed for my favorite near-the-office neighborhood park.

I had hoped to spot the local Downy Woodpecker around the nest, but alas the park really wasn't very birdy at all until I crossed over to the opposite side of the bayou.


Yellow-rumped Warbler (Dendroica coronata)
I did finally encounter a small group of Yellow-rumped Warblers right at the treeline, and watched them flit around scolding each other (or me?) for a bit. But when I got back and took a look at the handful of pictures I had snapped, I noticed something interesting.

Of the three warblers that I happened to get underside shots of, the markings of each were very distinguishable. (I'm sure that's nothing new to most of you, but this is a new insight to me.)


(Click any image to enlarge)
I have no idea whether the tail markings or the amount of yellow or streaking on the breast identifies either gender or age, but I was just intrigued by the amount of difference between birds. Next step: start reading and see what the various markings can tell me.

Identification Milestone

I headed out to Bear Creek Park at lunch today for a little exercise and a quick bit of birding. I've been reading about the First Annual Rusty Blackbird Blitz, and thought I'd see if I could find the Rusty Blackbirds that have been reported at the park this week.


American Robin (Turdus migratorius)
The first thing I found was a whole horde of robins. They've been all over the Houston area for a week or more — a sure sign that spring is right around the corner. Several others made an appearance before a pair of the much sought after Rusty Blackbirds finally showed. Rounding out the small count for the half hour were an Eastern Bluebird, a few vultures and crows, and a pair of woodpeckers.

The first woodpecker I spotted was a Red-bellied Woodpecker. But soon after, my attention was drawn to a darker bird of similar size but much more aggression. It took me a little while to recognize what I was seeing.


Immature Red-headed Woodpecker
(Melanerpes erythrocephalus)
An immature Red-headed Woodpecker had staked its claim to a nearby tree and was busy venturing from trunk to ground and back catching bugs, grubs and tasty treats. Its brown head was just beginning to show hints of the bright red hood it will eventually flaunt.


Further evidence of its immaturity was demonstrated as it showed juvenile delinquent tendencies, repeatedly launching itself at its red-bellied cousin several trees away and finally driving the other woodpecker from the area.

But the highlight of my lunchtime excursion came from a pair of warblers that ventured down to the damp grass nearby, although it was not so much the sighting as the recognition of these two that got me so excited.


Yellow-rumped Warbler (Dendroica coronate)
I mean, sure, one of them was a "butterbutt." But I recognized it! First time I've ever been able to identify a warbler on my own, and in the field at that. Definitely a milestone worth celebrating!

The second one took a little more work and cross-checking between my Peterson and Sibley guides, but I'm pretty sure I nailed this one, too. If not, I trust someone will let me know and give me another lesson on warblers...


Pine Warbler (Dendroica pinus)
I trust you will excuse the quality of these last two images, but I had to have some proof to share of my milestone.