Barn Swallows Return

I saw my first Barn Swallow today, several actually.  Looking at my old ebird sightings they are two days earlier than they were in 2011 and two days later than in 2010, so in other words right on time.  With the locust trees in bloom and most trees fully leaved out they probably think they are late.

Posted in: Barn Swallow

Barn Swallow

Just a quick update of what I've been seeing lately.  The Barn Swallows are starting to congregate together as they prepare to fly back south.  I've been seeing big groups of birds together feeding on insects, getting that extra fat needed to fly to South America.  These little guys are one of my favorite birds and I'll miss them once they are gone.

Posted in: Barn Swallow

Birdathon: Part Two

Moving on to part two of the Birdathon posts.  After looking for birds at the landfill I stopped by my parent's to see what they had moving in the trees.  I had been hearing several species of birds singing on their property like Northern Parula, Yellow-throated Warbler, Common Yellowthroat and many more.  By Friday night things had slowed down some and not as many birds were singing.  Perhaps the best bird to be seen was the male Cape May Warbler below.

Cape May Warbler

There were other more common birds making themselves obvious.  This Brown Thrasher was doing just that, thrashing around in the leaves under the neighbors evergreen tree.  I watched him for a while and observed that he was collecting dead sticks and branches.  He was either building or redecorating his nest as he kept coming back for more and more.  He took a break and hopped up on the fence where I was waiting with my camera.

Brown Thrasher

The House Finches were any and everywhere as usual.  There are several pairs breeding on the porch and in the gutters.  They go about their day flying to and from the nest, feeding chicks, and seemingly talking back and forth.  They really come together when the cat is sitting on the porch.  They land within a couple feet of her and scold her for being so close to their nest.

House Finch

Saturday wasn't quite as good a day for birding as I was hoping it would be.  I went on the Beckham Bird Club field trip to Floyds Fork Park because it is usually a great trip for seeing warblers and migrants.  Not so much on Saturday.  We heard several species of common birds but seeing them was a different story.  The overcast sky made it almost impossible to take a picture.  Nevertheless we tried anyway.

At the onset we were hearing Eastern Wood Peewee, Prairie Warbler, and White-eyed Vireo from the parking lot.  We had very little luck finding any of them however.  We got a brief glimpse of a Yellow-breasted Chat by the soccer fields.  There used to be a lot of habitat for these birds but it all got mowed several years ago and now there are only a few chats around.  We made it to Floyds Fork and walked down the road that goes along it.  Again we heard much but saw very little.  A Warbling Vireo was singing, as were Alder Flycatcher and Scarlet Tanager.  Towards the end of the road we saw two Great-crested Flycatchers that most likely have a nest in the Sycamore tree.

Finally I had had enough of not seeing any birds so we played back the song of a Prairie Warbler.  The one that was singing nearby zoomed right toward us.  He got real close and gave us good looks, but with the gray sky the picture below was the best I could do.

Prairie Warbler

On the way back to the car, this Eastern Kingbird was flying around the parking lot.  These guys are becoming my favorite birds because they are so photogenic.

Eastern Kingbird

And at McNeely Lake the Eastern Kingbirds were even more cooperative.  There is a pair nesting in a tree that is standing in the middle of an un-mowed field.  The sun had come out finally and lit this bird up perfectly, making one of the best bird photos I think I have ever taken!

Eastern Kingbird

Before leaving I had to check the lake.  There were several pairs of Mallards and farm ducks.  A beautiful pair of Wood Ducks approached from across the lake and offered some great views (check back tomorrow for pics of those guys).  They didn't have any ducklings following them yet.  Dark clouds were approaching so I did my best trying to capture the swallows flying across the lake snatching up insects.

Barn Swallow

All in all i think it was a successful birdathon. Check out the video below to see some of the footage I got of the various birds. Thanks for stopping by and thanks to those that donated!

Posted in: Barn Swallow,Brown Thrasher,Cape May Warbler,Eastern Kingbird,House Finch,Prairie Warbler

Birdathon: Part One

I counted birds for the 2011 Beckham Bird Club Birdathon this weekend and found a total of 69 species in two days.  I planned on doing it all on Saturday the 14th but the weather was looking grim and indeed it was, so I supplemented Saturday's count by counting birds at the landfill on Friday.  My goal was to get some good pictures and video to share and I think you will enjoy what I found.

First a little about the Beckham Bird Club Birdathon.  The Birdathon is a competition held every year with the goal of raising money for bird conservation, habitat, and education.  Last year the Birdathon raised around $14,000 for groups such as Raptor Rehab, Kentucky Natural Lands Trust, and Louisville Nature Center just to name a few.

So let's begin on Friday.  In this post I will focus on the birds I saw Friday at the landfill and tomorrow's post will focus on the birds I saw at Floyds Fork Park, McNeely Lake, and my parent's house.  There are a lot of good birds at the landfill and they were certainly out Friday night.  A few common birds (at the landfill anyway) are below:

Dickcissel

Barn Swallow

Blue Grosbeak

There are always several Yellow Warblers singing along the wet ditches at the landfill.  A lot of warblers have some yellow on them, but the Yellow Warbler is completely so, only showing some red streaking on the breast and sides in males.  The bottom picture is unfortunately out of focus, but you can see the bird is carrying something big and white in its beak and it is a clue that the bird has a nest of chicks nearby.  What the bird is carrying is a fecal sac.  When the chicks poop the adults must clean it out of the nest.  They gather it all up in their beaks and carry it far away from the nest so as not to attract predators.

The light was really nice Friday as you can see in the pictures below.




Northern Cardinal

Gray Catbird

American Goldfinch

Right before I left I decided to go down a gravel road that runs along a swampy area on the landfill.  I'm glad I did because I got to see a neat interaction between two species of birds.  I came across an immature Orchard Oriole taking a bath in a puddle in the middle of the road.  He was really going at it, splashing around like a kid in a pool.  He was so oblivious to everything else that he let me stand right next to him and take several pictures. 

Maybe next time he shouldn't be so caught up in his bath because all of a sudden another bird dropped down out of the trees and attacked him.  The little oriole was caught unaware and desperately tried to escape as fast as his little wet wings would let him.

Strangely enough the other bird was an immature Summer Tanager.  Adult males are entirely red, but this bird has mottling of green and yellow as well.  I think he may have mistaken the Orchard Oriole for another tanager because after he pecked at him a few times he just sat there and looked a bit puzzled, almost as if he was embarrassed for having made a mistake.

All in all it was a good day and I came away with some great pictures (and video) to share.  I didn't break it down how many birds were seen each day but the total across both days was 69.  I think I could have easily added 10-15 more species if the weather had not been so dreary last weekend.  All in all I am happy with what I saw and the pictures I was able to get.  Below is a list of all the species seen for both days.

Canada Goose    
Wood Duck    
Mallard    
Black Vulture    
Turkey Vulture    
Red-tailed Hawk    
American Kestrel    
Killdeer    
Solitary Sandpiper    
Mourning Dove    
Chimney Swift    
Ruby-throated Hummingbird    
Belted Kingfisher    
Red-bellied Woodpecker    
Downy Woodpecker    
Hairy Woodpecker    
Northern Flicker    
Pileated Woodpecker    
Eastern Wood-Pewee    
Acadian Flycatcher    
Alder Flycatcher    
Willow Flycatcher    
Eastern Phoebe    
Great Crested Flycatcher    
Eastern Kingbird    
White-eyed Vireo    
Warbling Vireo     

Red-eyed Vireo    
Blue Jay    
American Crow     

Northern Rough-winged Swallow    
Barn Swallow    
Carolina Chickadee    
Tufted Titmouse    
Carolina Wren    
House Wren    
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher    
Eastern Bluebird    
Wood Thrush    
American Robin    
Gray Catbird    
Northern Mockingbird    
Brown Thrasher    
European Starling    
Cedar Waxwing    
Northern Parula   
Yellow Warbler    
Cape May Warbler    
Black-throated Green Warbler    
Prairie Warbler    
Common Yellowthroat    
Yellow-breasted Chat    
Eastern Towhee     

Field Sparrow    
Song Sparrow    
Summer Tanager    
Northern Cardinal     

Blue Grosbeak     

Indigo Bunting     

Dickcissel     

Red-winged Blackbird     

Eastern Meadowlark     

Common Grackle    
Brown-headed Cowbird     

Orchard Oriole    
Baltimore Oriole    
House Finch    
American Goldfinch     

House Sparrow

Tomorrow we will look at the birds seen at Floyds Fork Park, McNeely Lake, and my parent's house.  Stay tuned!

Posted in: American Goldfinch,Barn Swallow,Blue Grosbeak,Dickcissel,Gray Catbird,Northern Cardinal,Orchard Oriole,Summer Tanager,Yellow Warbler

Bird a Day: Barn Swallow

I'm getting low on new birds to take pictures of, hopefully I will be able to get some new species this weekend!  Today's bird is the Barn Swallow.  Aptly named as they make their nests on the eaves of old barns, but they also will use the underside of a bridge or any structure where they can attach their nests.  I even saw a video of a Barn Swallow nesting inside a Home Depot and operating the door by flying in front of the sensor and making it open.  They use mud and their own saliva to build the nest.  When the mud hardens it holds grasses, hair, and feathers together into a cup-like structure where the eggs are laid.  The Barn Swallow below was gathering mud to build its nest.

Barn Swallows are medium sized swallows with long forked tails.  The upper parts are a slatey iridescent blue and underneath they are two different shades of orange with the throat being darker than the belly.  Color in males is an indication of fitness and females choose the male with the brightest plumage.  

Posted in: Barn Swallow