Bird a Day: Great Blue Heron

The Great Blue Heron is the largest and most common Heron found in North America. They stand around 4 ft. tall and have a wingspan of 6 ft. They fly with slow deep wing beats. (a good quality for photographers!)

Great Blue Herons will eat many kinds of animals, including mice, but they prefer fish. Because of this, they will often be found along the edges of a body of water. They are considered to be expert fishers. One of the most interesting things about Great Blue Herons, is the way they catch their fish. They stand or move very slowly through the water until they see their prey, then they stab it with their long sharp bills. (I have only witnessed this a few times and ultimately hope to capture it with my camera someday). They then swallow the fish whole. Herons have been known to choke to death trying to swallow prey that is too large.

Great Blues nest in colonies, usually called Heron rookeries. They will often have a few trees with several different Heron families. Their nests are made of sticks and both sexes take turns incubating the eggs for 25-29 days. Since they are in such close proximity to other Herons, they do not defend their nesting territory, but are very territorial with their feeding areas.

I found a statement in a book entitled, Birding: The bestselling guide to the birds of North America, that I found humorous. “ If disturbed, the Great Blue takes off heavily and flies away with slow deep wing beats, often giving a deep, throaty call as it goes.” I find this funny because it is so true. I believe they hear me, even before I am aware of their presence. I always feel like they’re irritated that I disturbed them.

If you have never observed a Great Blue Heron in the Louisville area, you would be sure to see them at Falls of the Ohio during the summer. They love to fish in the shallow water on the fossil beds close to the dam.

Posted in: Great Blue Heron

Bird a Day: Ring-billed Gull

This is my last bird a day, Karen will be finishing the month out tomorrow for me.  It has been fun finding all these birds and sharing them with you this month.  It was a lot of work but it got me out and taking pictures I otherwise wouldn't have been able to get.  Thanks so much for reading along all month.  :)

A common visitor in the winter but less so this time of year is the Herring Gull.  These birds spend the winter in Louisville but fly to the arctic to breed.  This bird must be getting a late start to its migration.  The Herring Gull is a part of a complex of large, white-headed gulls that are spread across the northern hemisphere.  Some people consider this complex all one species while others recognize 10 or more distinct species.  The discrepancy comes from their tendency to interbreed and intermediate variations between the recognized species.   

Identification of gulls is notoriously difficult.  Gulls go through several plumages as they age and look different from one year to the next.  Add on top of that the similarities already seen between species and it can be quite hard to tell them apart.  The Herring Gull above looks to be an adult bird based on the bright white and uniform gray in the plumage.  Younger birds are more mottled and "dirty" looking than adults.  Herring Gulls are medium sized gulls and are larger than the similar Ring-billed Gull.  They also differ in that the Herring Gull has a red spot on the tip of the bill and the Ring-billed has a solid black bar on the tip of its bill.

Posted in: Herring Gull

Bird a Day: Song Sparrow

I'm getting low on bird pictures so today I present you with the commonest of the common birds, the Song Sparrow.  These little sparrows are here year round and they are everywhere.  Go in your backyard and there will be one singing from the bushes.  Take a walk in the park and you're bound to hear several.  Going on a arctic vacation this summer?  You'll hear them there too.  In fact it is tough to find a place you won't hear Song Sparrows, here is a list of just some of the habitats they can be found in: tidal marshes,desert scrub, pinyon pine forests, aspen parklands, prairie shelterbelts, Pacific rain forest, chaparral, agricultural fields, overgrown pastures, freshwater marsh and lake edges, forest edges, and suburbs.  Quite an extensive list for sure!  But just because they are common doesn't mean they are uninteresting.  Did you know that a single male can have 20 different songs he will sing along with over 1000 improvised variations?  Young males learn the songs of other males nearby and quietly sing to themselves to get their tune just right before they perform for females in the spring.

Song Sparrows have highly variable plumage across their range.  The eastern form which is in our area has a gray face, gray back with brown streaking, and a streaky back.  They are one of a handful of sparrow species with a dark central chest spot.  They also have a dark "mustache" on the side of the face that can be used to differentiate them from other sparrows.

Posted in: Song Sparrow

Bird a Day: House Wren

Now here is a bird with Napolean Syndrome.  House Wrens are small, only around 5 inches and weighing less than half an ounce, but they think they are the biggest baddest bird of them all.   Backyard birders have a love-hate relationship with House Wrens.  They are a drab small but endearing bird because of their big voice, which is why they are loved.  They have a habit of destroying the nests of and even killing adult Eastern Bluebirds, Tree Swallows, and chickadees, making them unwelcome to the backyard birder.  House Wrens will search out nearby nests and punch holes in the eggs to prevent other House Wrens and birds of any species from successfully breeding.  It is thought they do this because it decreases their competition for food resources to feed their chicks.

House Wrens are the smallest wren in Kentucky during this time of year (in winter the similar Winter Wren is present and is even smaller).  This time of year though the presence of House Wrens are most easily located by their song.  Other identification features are the long decurved beak, short wings, a barred brown back, and a pale eyebrow.  House Wrens also have the habit of cocking their tail straight up so that is a behavior to look for as well.

Posted in: House Wren

Bird a Day: Hooded Merganser

We're getting close to the end of the month and bird a day is almost over!  Good thing because I'm running out of pictures to share.  Today's bird is the Hooded Merganser.  It is one of the few species of waterfowl that breed in our area, along with Mallard and Wood Ducks (and I guess the parking lot variety of the Canada Goose too).  They nest in tree cavities like the Wood Duck with several females sometimes laying in one nest.  They have a serrated bill like all mergansers that they use to catch fish underwater.  Hooded Mergansers dive underwater and use their nictating membrane (third eyelid) like goggles so they can see underwater.

Above is a female Hooded Merganser and she is much more drab than the male.  Both sexes have a long serrated bill and a hood on the back of the head, though it is much more pronounced in the males.  Here is a picture of the male courtesy of my friend Bob over at Texas Tweeties.  You can see the contrasting black and white facial pattern and the large white hood make this bird unmistakable in summer.

Posted in: Hooded Merganser

Bird a Day: Great Egret

The most widespread egret in the world, the Great Egret was first named the American Egret, but this was hardly appropriate since the bird is found worldwide.  In the late 19th century, these birds and other herons and egrets were hunted extensively for their feathers.  Most herons and egrets have long plumes on their heads that they use in courtship, but they not only attracted other birds, but humans as well.  It was the style to have one of these long plumes adorned on hats and the population of these birds were reduced dramatically.  Public opinion started to turn against plume hunting and Teddy Roosevelt established the first Federal Bird Reservation at Pelican Island specifically to protect birds from plume hunters.  He went on to create 50 more bird reserves during his presidency.  This protection allowed the Great Egret population to recover and they are now a very common bird in the south and here in Kentucky.

Great Egrets are easy birds to identify.  They are the only large all white heron in our area.  They have a long neck and large bright orange bill that they use to stab fish.  They have black legs and feet which set them apart from the smaller Snowy Egret which have yellow feet.  They are common around the edges of ponds, streams, and other wetlands.

Posted in: Great Egret

Bird a Day: Clay-colored Sparrow

The Clay-Colored Sparrow is a small, five inch bird with black streaked brown upperparts and buff underparts. The face is pale with a finely streaked crown, brown cheek patch, white eye stripe and a gray nape. Their song is a series of three to five identical raspy buzzes.

They can usually be found breeding from north-central Canada & Great Lakes region south to Colorado and Michigan. They spend winter from the southern tip of Texas to points south. Very rarely would they be seen in Kentucky! However, I had a very lucky encounter with one of these sparrows on Mother’s Day! I went to Shippingport Island to check on the Ospreys, and saw this little guy foraging around very close to where I was standing. I snapped a few pictures and went on my way, not realizing how rare of a sight I had just witnessed.

I was unsuccessful identifying this sparrow on my own, so while on a field trip with Beckham Bird Club, I showed the picture to Eddie Huber, who was leading the trip. He and some of the other members felt certain it was a Clay-Colored Sparrow. I sent the picture on to Brainard Palmer-Ball to complete the confirmation.

I only wish I had known what I was seeing so I could have posted it on BirdKY. It would’ve been nice if other birders could have observed him as well. I guess that is one of the pitfalls of being a newbie bird watcher.

I have done some research on the Clay-Colored Sparrow, and discovered a few things I would like to share.

- Clay-Colored Sparrows tend to forage outside of their nesting area, which gives them a smaller area to defend. This is unusual behavior, as most birds defend a larger area that includes their feeding grounds.

- Brown-Headed Cowbirds frequently parasitize Clay-Colored Sparrow nests. They will sometimes abandon the nest, but often stay and raise the Cowbird young. This can be problematic since the Cowbird young are larger than the sparrow babies and tend to monopolize the food brought by the foster parents. Very often some of the sparrow babies do not survive.

- Clay-Colored Sparrows can often be found in large flocks of various other birds, including Brewers Sparrows, Chipping Sparrows and Lark Buntings.

I reported my sighting on eBird and they have confirmed the identification, as well. I also have the privilege of having one of my photos in the eBird rarity flickr group. This group can be accessed here.

Posted in: Clay-colored Sparrow