Louisville Birds in January

The unseasonable weather has the local birds out and about and I was lucky enough to get these shots.  Looks like the rest of the week will be feeling more like April than January so be on the lookout for birds in your area.

Northern Mockingbird

Swamp Sparrow

White-crowned Sparrow

Posted in: Northern Mockingbird,Swamp Sparrow,White-crowned Sparrow

Louisville Birds

The weather is starting to change and I've been seeing a few different types of birds around Louisville, but I've only been able to get pictures of the most common birds!  Oh well.  In the last week I've seen several species of sparrows, such as: White-throated, White-crowned, Swamp, Vesper, Lincoln's, and Chipping, along with several Dark-eyed Juncos.  Also saw a Northern Harrier for the first time this season.  So lots of movement lately, especially with the sparrows.  Here are a few of the most common birds in Kentucky I've seen this past week.

Song Sparrow

Mourning Dove

Northern Cardinal

It is getting that time of year when the berries are becoming ripe on the exotic honeysuckle.  I've read where the berries offer very little nutrition for the birds but they sure seem to devour it and defend their honeysuckle patches with determination.  The two Northern Mockingbirds below were fighting over a small patch of honeysuckle berries.

A Northern Mockingbird on his territory...

...a rival is eying his honeysuckle patch...

...they take turns signaling to each other by flashing their tails...

...and when that doesn't resolve the problem they take to the air and battle it out.  These two birds were fighting for some time before the challenger decided it wasn't worth it and flew off. 

Posted in: Mourning Dove,Northern Cardinal,Northern Mockingbird,Song Sparrow

Shepherdsville Birds

I took a trip to Shephardsville to visit the Cedar Grove Industrial Park a couple weekends ago to scout for birds for my upcoming field trip this Sunday.  I found a few birds that were nice enough to come close for photographs.  It looks like the weather is going to be colder this weekend so I don't expect to see too many warblers on this trip.  Usually I can count on a couple Palm Warblers or Common Yellowthroats on the trip, but this year it is later than usual and the cold weather will likely encourage any remaining birds to flee south in search of warmer climes.  There should be plenty of sparrows as usual.  Last year we saw dozens of White-crowned Sparrows and in years before we have logged White-throated, Savannah, Swamp, Vesper, and more.  We could encounter some Dark-eyed Juncos as well.  Some come on out and get your FOS sparrows with me and the Beckham Bird Club.  Without any further ado, a couple birds from my scouting trip.

American Crow

Northern Mockingbird

Common Yellowthroat

Posted in: American Crow,Cedar Grove Industrial Park,Common Yellowthroat,Northern Mockingbird

Garvin Brown: Sunset and a Loon

After the "storm" yesterday, my wife and I made a trip to Garvin Brown in the evening.  There were a lot of birds and critters about, making it an exciting evening.  We will start with our cold-blooded friends first.

I found this Black Racer relaxing all tangled up in a tree.  These guys get pretty big, up to six feet long.  I've seen more of these guys in the last few days than I have ever before.  They love to bask on roads and sunny paths, which is where I've seen most of them lately.  This guy caught my eye as we were walking by and seemed fine with our presence.  Only when I got too close for a head shot did he slither away.

The trees are in full bloom, and Garvin Brown is full of what I'm calling naturalized Bradford Pears.  They appeared to be the only tree in bloom but the sight of several of them lined up along both sides of the path was beautiful.  Spring Azures, a species of small bluish-gray butterfly, were flitting back and forth between the violas and the Bradford Pear flowers.  They would only stay for a second before erratically taking off and flying high in circles, only to land on the flower directly adjacent to the one they were just on.

The very tops of the Bradford Pears made a great spot to advertise your fitness and ability to breed...if you are a Red-winged Blackbird.  Their lovely songs providing a background chorus to the evening.

Red-winged Blackbird

Initially I wanted to go to Garvin Brown because I was hoping to see some Tree Swallows back at the nest boxes, bickering back and forth and fighting over real estate.  I observed at several boxes but was not lucky enough to find any Tree Swallows.  Looks like I will have to come back again soon.

I did manage to find and photograph several other birds however.  The most numerous being Brown Thrashers, most numerous except the grackles and starlings.  Brown Thrashers are in the same family as mockingbirds (Mimidae) and have a similar song.  They both mimic other birds, but Brown Thrashers repeat their song in sets of two phrases, while Northern Mockingbirds repeat the same phrase three times or more.  Check out the other birds I found below.

Brown Thrasher

Northern Cardinal

White-throated Sparrow

This Northern Mockingbird wasn't as vocal as the thrashers, but he did let me get a lot closer for some pictures.

Perhaps the most exciting thing to happen last night was the eerie sound coming from the river.  I've been wanting to hear this haunting call for some time and was in the right place at the right time last night.  The call was that of the Common Loon.  They are fairly common on the Ohio River but this was the first time I had ever heard one.  Watch the video below, the call is at the very end. 

Posted in: Black Racer,Bradford Pear,Brown Thrasher,Common Loon,Garvin Brown,Northern Cardinal,Northern Mockingbird,Red-winged Blackbird,video,White-throated Sparrow