Wednesday, November 28, 2012

Ring-billed Gulls

I was able to get up close and personal with a couple Ring-billed Gulls yesterday.  These birds are beginning to come back to the Louisville area as they overwinter nearby on the Ohio River.  The best place to see Ring-billed and other gulls is at Falls of the Ohio in Indiana.  Bring a birding scope or a couple quarters for the coin operated binocular viewers, as the birds are often out a ways over the river.

Ring-billed Gull


Ring-billed Gull

Tuesday, November 27, 2012

Lapland Longspurs and More

More good cold weather birds showed up in Louisville today.  This time it was a flock of Lapland Longspurs, a small sparrow-like bird that often travel in mixed flocks with Horned Larks and Snow Buntings.  They get the name "Longspur" from their long hind claw on their foot.  They belong to the family Calcariidae which includes other longspurs and Snow and McKay Buntings.  The family Calcariidae recently separated from the sparrow family Emberezidae after DNA tests confirmed they were genetically different enough to form their own clade.

Lapland Longspur

Lapland Longspur

On top of seeing 50+ longspurs today, I also got the privilege of seeing a Bald Eagle and a flock of Sandhill Cranes fly over. All in all a pretty good day for birds.

Friday, November 16, 2012

Louisville Snowy Owl, Snow Bunting, and More

If you read my post from earlier today about the finch superflight (and if you didn't you can find it below) then you'd know we are expecting some interesting birds this winter.  Well, seems they are already here.  Today I saw a single Snow Bunting and a flock of around 50 American Pipits at the landfill.

Snow Bunting

Snow Bunting

Snow Bunting
Snow Bunting

American Pipit
American Pipit

Yesterday, several people got a good look at a Snowy Owl on the outskirts of the airport by I-65 and Preston Highway.  The bird couldn't be relocated today, but Eddie Huber was able to get a great pic before it left.

Snowy Owl

Can't wait to see what turns up next.

Finch Superflight

If you don't have your feeders out yet, get to it, because this winter is shaping up to be a spectacular one.  This year is being deemed a finch "superflight".  What exactly does that mean?  A "superflight" means a mass migration of many species of birds to areas where they are not usually seen.  In this case we are talking about many species of Canadian birds flying south to parts of the U.S. that are not normally part of their winter range.  Some of these species are known as "irruptive" species, like the Pine Siskin, that have erratic movements in winter as they follow food sources.  So the "superflight" can be thought of as a mass "irruption", with many birds on the move in search of food.

The reason for this winter's superflight is due to the drought and mass nut and pine cone failure in Canada.  If you remember here in Louisville a couple years ago, we had a late frost in May that killed all the flowers on the trees, which led to a mass failure of the nut crop.  That year there were virtually no acrons, beech nuts, or hickory to be found.  What happened in the drought in Canada this year is similar.  Without their usual food crops to be found, birds are venturing far and wide to find food, maybe to your backyard.  Which is why you should get your feeders up ASAP if you haven't already, because the flight has started and there are already interesting Canadian birds being reported in Louisville and the surrounding area.  Learn more about the superflight on the ebird blog

Red-Breasted Nuthatch
Red-breasted Nuthatch by Karen Bonsell 

 Some of the birds we might see this year are: Red-breasted Nuthatches, Pine Siskins, both species of crossbills, Common Redpolls, even possibly Evening Grosbeaks and Bohemian Waxwings.  If you've never heard of any of these birds it's probably because they aren't found around here too often.  Putting your feeders out now and you may attract these once in decades visitors.

So what should you do if you see one of these species (or any species for that matter)?  Report it!  And how do you do that?  With eBird of course!  It allows you to record when and where you see different species and also lets you view other people's observations.  Check out this map of White-throated Sparrows seen in Louisville this year.  You can type in different species to see where they are being seen anywhere in the country.  The more people that report, the better the data becomes, which scientists use to track and monitor bird populations.  There is no doubt that eBird reports this winter will allow scientist to track the winter superflight like never before.

If you want to follow Louisville Naturally on Facebook just visit our page.  Happy birding.

Not Just Another Sparrow

Some people may not like sparrows as much as me, but I'm going to keep posting more photos regardless.  I put sparrows right up there with warblers.  Many people call sparows LBJ's (Little Brown Jobs, not Lyndon B. Johnson's) because they are difficult to identify and they all look the same.  That's not true if you look a little harder.  Take this Savannah Sparrow for instance.  You might be inclined to look at it and say "just another sparrow", but if you take the time to observe up close you can see the yellow on the head, the fine streaks on the flanks, and the forked tail.  I implore you to give sparrows a chance and you will see they are just as interesting as a spring warbler or as magnificent as a soaring hawk.

Savannah Sparrow


Savannah Sparrow


Savannah Sparrow

Friday, November 9, 2012

Sparrow Day

All the dried weeds and grasses have dropped their seeds and the sparrows are loving it. 

Savannah Sparrow

Savannah Sparrow

Savannah Sparrow
  Savannah Sparrow

Song Sparrow
Song Sparrow  



Field Sparrow
 Field Sparrow

Tuesday, November 6, 2012

Goldfinches

So I've had these photos of goldfinches sitting on my computer for months now that I thought I would share.   And no matter who you voted for, I think we can all agree a momma goldfinch feeding her babies is cute.
 
American Goldfinch

  Goldfinch Family

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