Our Birds of the Day for THIS Weekend -- September 15 & 16

          I was quite ready for this weekend and quite ready to spend it at home editing photos.  Carl was restless for birding elsewhere however.  I woke up extra early on Saturday morning and since I managed to edit a few photos during the wee hours, I decided that I would join Carl on a birding excursion.

Saturday, September 15
          After tossing a few ideas around, we decided to do the regular Saturday Bird Walk led by the informative Keith McCullough at Caw Caw Nature & History Interpretive Center, one of our excellent parks in the Charleston County Park System.  For my readers who do not live close-by, if the name Caw Caw rings a bell, yes I have blogged before about birding here last September.  Here's a link to that previous post if anyone wishes to revisit it.  Thus, Carl and I joined Keith and a group of other relatively experienced birders.  Our group, composed of birders we already knew and others who were new to us, was delightful, friendly, fun and helpful.  We slowly made our way through the woods, the swampy areas and around the old rice impoundments in search of our quarry -- BIRDS!  Some of the birders, like us, came loaded with their photography gear also.

Carl and another birder/photographer shooting a Great Blue Heron across the canal -- CawCaw Interpretive Center -- Ravenel, SC -- September 15, 2012

The Great Blue Heron across the canal -- CawCaw Interpretive Center -- Ravenel, SC -- September 15, 2012

           Thanks to Keith's and the other birders' expertise and help, we accumulated a list of 56 species -- several warblers, Indigo Buntings, and Painted Buntings were my favorites.  I missed some of the birds the others saw, unfortunately.  Ah well -- there will be more opportunities this Fall for finding the Yellow-Billed Cuckoo and the Swainson's Thrush.  I did locate this delightful green and red katydid, known commonly as a "Red-headed Meadow Katydid," singing on a reed though.

Red-headed Meadow Katydid -- CawCaw Interpretive Center -- Ravenel, SC -- September 15, 2012

               Photographing birds, when in a large group of birders, often takes a back seat to birding.  This is particularly true when I am on bird counts.  So I am not usually as successful photographically in such situations.  I do not mind because the camaraderie as well as the opportunities to learn and find more birds are rich indeed when birding with other talented birders.  Besides, I already have a huge pile of unedited photos on this hard drive of mine.  Yet, I did manage to acquire this OK shot of a backlit Black-and-White Warbler.

Black-and-White Warbler -- CawCaw Interpretive Center -- Ravenel, SC -- September 15, 2012

 
And I am very happy to report that Saturday I did get decent shots of "Our Bird of the Day" -- a leucistic Eastern Kingbird!  In the preceding link, the Cornell Lab of Ornithology defines the paleness characteristic and compares it to albinism in birds.  This Eastern Kingbird is leucistic instead of albino because there is some color in his feathers.  The location of these faint deposits of color, as well as the bird's shape and size, helped us to identify it as an Eastern Kingbird.

A leucistic Eastern Kingbird -- CawCaw Interpretive Center -- Ravenel, SC -- September 15, 2012

A leucistic Eastern Kingbird -- CawCaw Interpretive Center -- Ravenel, SC -- September 15, 2012

A leucistic Eastern Kingbird -- CawCaw Interpretive Center -- Ravenel, SC -- September 15, 2012

 Also, to help confirm the ID, he was hanging out with another Eastern Kingbird.
 

An Eastern Kingbird -- CawCaw Interpretive Center -- Ravenel, SC -- September 15, 2012 -- Photo by Carl Miller

 
             What a great find!  Since this was our most interesting bird find for the day, it qualified as "Our Bird of the Day!"  We returned home, happy, to edit photos, of course.


Sunday, September 16
            I again woke up earlier than Carl and began editing photos.  When Carl came into the office, he again tried to persuade me to leave the computer to go birding with him.  Since I had just read on the Carolina Birds listserve that our birding buddy Chris Snook had seen on folly Beach on Saturday the Lark Sparrow -- the same Lark Sparrow that Keith McCullough had seen on Friday, I caved in at 9 am and told Carl that I would go to Folly Beach with him to get that bird.  A Lark Sparrow would be a life bird for both of us -- no. 327 for me!  With the temperature rising, we quickly left and arrived at Lighthouse Inlet Heritage Preserve at 9:30 a.m.  Following Chris' clues, we hung out by the foundations of the old Coast Guard Station, and perused the roadside, the brush and the trees.  Chris had said that the bird liked to forage next to the blacktop and would fly back into the bushes and trees when flushed by the beach-goers coming down the roadway.  Within 10 minutes, Carl saw him and beckoned me over to confirm the ID!  Yes, indeed!  The Lark Sparrow was ours to photograph and to add to our life lists!  Thus, no other bird could possibly be "Our Bird of the Day" today!

Lark Sparrow -- Lighthouse Inlet Heritage Preserve, Folly Beach, SC -- September 16, 2012

Lark Sparrow -- Lighthouse Inlet Heritage Preserve, Folly Beach, SC -- September 16, 2012

Lark Sparrow -- Lighthouse Inlet Heritage Preserve, Folly Beach, SC -- September 16, 2012

         So why have Carl and I never seen this bird before?  Well this is not a bird that is usually found in South Carolina.  By visiting All About Birds Lark Sparrow page (by Cornell Lab of Ornithology), you will see a range map showing that this bird generally remains west of the Appalachian Mountains!  So what is he doing here?  It is possible that Hurricane Isaac blew him eastward off his usual migration track.   This species account on the National Geographic site shows a range map that includes Florida and coastal Georgia and coastal South Carolina as potential winter ranges.  So maybe this guy will stay the winter with us!  When I checked the eBird range map for the  Lark Sparrow, it showed only three sightings of this species since 2008 on our coast and one of those sightings is this bird seen this weekend!  Also, I ran a search in The Chat (the official publication of the Carolina Bird Club) database.  Sightings of this bird have been very occasional for the Carolinas even though there have been  a very few rare instances of some breeding pairs in North Carolina.  Indeed, I believe that these resources provide pretty solid evidence that a Lark Sparrow can be considered an unusual find.  Hooray!  How nice to know that Carl and I have not been missing a common bird all of these years! 

         Even though the backlog of photos needing editing is still rather daunting, I cannot complain about the opportunities to see our 2 great birds for this weekend.  No, no!  We celebrate those 2 birds by sharing them with you here in this blog!  So maybe I will stay home next weekend to edit those photos..... Ha! Ha! Ha!

Parc Perlière: Our Birds of the Day for the Weekend -- September 8 & 9

          After a work week of several evenings away from home, I was ready to veg at home for the weekend, work on photo-editing and blogging as well as accomplish a few chores, of course.  Even though Sunday morning in the mountain gaps between Asheville and Mount Mitchell State Park in North Carolina seemed to be offering ideal conditions for warbler migration in herds, I passed on that temptation for a quick trip to the mountains in order to spend the weekend in the comfort of home and to snuggle the kitties claiming neglect (Ha!).  Thankfully, birding at Parc Perlière, the name we have given our 1/3 acre yard, did not disappoint when we took breaks from the computers and the kitties to enjoy the outdoors.    

Saturday evening, September 8:  The yard bird of the day:
           We had all of the usual suspects lurking in the trees, the shrubs and at the feeders throughout the day in which we had sun and showers mixed as a cold front began to push through.  At 7 pm, I stepped out onto the back deck to watch the crazy storm clouds blow across the sky.  The lowest clouds moved quickly in one direction while the somewhat higher clouds appeared motionless.  I called Carl out to come see the spectacle.  Aside from some Northern Cardinals, Carolina Chickadees and  Carolina Wrens, most of the birds seemed to have settled down for the evening.  As we were observing the cloud movement, we suddenly saw a bird flapping somewhat erratically in a south-westerly direction into a head wind.  It was the size of a Merlin with very pointed, narrow wings and white windows in those wings towards the wingtips.  Carl asked, "What is that?!"  I recognized the species and knew we had a new life bird for the yard -- a Common Nighthawk!  I was thrilled!  I had read some other Carolina birders' sightings of the Common Nighthawks migrating through and had envied them the experience which was now ours.  I grabbed the bird guide so that I could show Carl how I identified the bird.  The next thing we knew, we had a flock of nine flying over!  That group was soon followed by a pair which was then followed by another singleton.  In 30 minutes, we counted 13 of these birds!  I later did my eBird list to confirm that the Common Nighthawk was Parc Perlière's life bird number 105!  Celebrate!

            Unfortunately, the storm-boding skies were too dark and the birds were moving too fast and too high for us to attempt a photo.  Thus, the photo below of a Common Nighthawk taken on Dewees Island is all I have to offer.  But it will show you the wing shape and pattern that allowed us to identify our yard's life bird no. 105 on Saturday evening!
 

Common Nighthawk -- Dewees Island -- May 2, 2010

 Just in case you were wondering what this bird's appearance may be when not in flight, the next photo shows a Common Nighthawk photographed a year later in the dunes on Dewees Island. 

Common Nighthawk -- Dewees Island -- May 1, 2011

Sunday morning, September 9: The bird of the day
           Sunday morning, with the cooler temperature and somewhat lower humidity, Carl and I decided to eat our breakfast on the back deck.  As we ate, we watched a few birds moving in and out of the Magnolia tree in the corner of our neighbors' yard.  The binoculars revealed that they were the suspected Red-Eyed Vireos!  I have managed to obtain a few decent shots of these lovely migrants but not the shot that I truly wanted -- a Red-Eyed Vireo eating the seeds off of the red Magnolia cones!  Though we have witnessed it, this is a difficult shot for us due to the poor lighting conditions (the tree is backlit in the morning) and the shyness of the birds.  Nonetheless, we decided to give it a try setting ourselves as close to the tree as we could without discouraging the birds' forays and also trying to angle our position so that the light was a bit more from the side than from behind.  We soon discovered that one bird seemed to be drawn to a particular cone -- which allowed Carl to pre-focus.  I, on the other hand, still had the goal of trying for the all-time great Hummingbird shot.  Since the Hummingbird feeder was on the opposite end of the deck, I did not bother with the pre-focusing.  I simply had to be ready for both events.

       Only one Ruby-Throated Hummingbird came to feed at a time but I did not miss my shot.  And I am relatively happy with the photo below from this morning.  The hummer is not THE bird of the day though because we see them daily.  WHEN I get the 2-for-1 hummingbird shot, it will most definitely be my bird of the day.  I am still working that problem...

Ruby-Throated Hummingbird -- Parc Perlière -- September 9, 2012

          Our target bird for the Bird of the Day for both us was going to be the Red-Eyed Vireo eating seeds off of a Magnolia cone!  Success!  We both got good shots -- here are mine!

Juvenile Red-Eyed Vireo -- Parc Perlière -- September 9, 2012

Juvenile Red-Eyed Vireo -- Parc Perlière -- September 9, 2012

Juvenile Red-Eyed Vireo -- Parc Perlière -- September 9, 2012

Juvenile Red-Eyed Vireo -- Parc Perlière -- September 9, 2012

Juvenile Red-Eyed Vireo -- Parc Perlière -- September 9, 2012

 From the caption, you may have noted that I labeled this bird as a juvenile.  The brown color to the eye is the give-away.  The adults have the red eyes, such as this fellow below.

Adult Red-Eyed Vireo

         We are very happy to report that this Magnolia tree is full of cones so we will have plenty more feasting Red-Eyed Vireos over the next 2-3 weeks.  These birds winter in South America and will need plenty of seeds for fuel for the trip.  These birds migrate at night and generally, we only see them early in the morning.  I assume they are resting after their morning forage.

          Both of our Birds of the Day for this weekend have long travels ahead of them as both species are headed to South America.  Migratory birds fascinate and amaze me with their journeys!  How wonderful for us to have a window into that trip as they fly over or as they pause to build up their reserves of fat for the trip!  I wonder what the next week will bring as we bear witness to this wonderful phenomenon of the Fall Migration season. 

From David Yarnold, President of National Audubon -- Urgent Advocacy Opportunity for our National Wildlife Refuge System

Glossy Ibis --Savannah NRW (established by President Calvin Coolidge in 1927)  Photo: August 13, 2011

          Today, I received an e-mail alert for an important advocacy opportunity in this letter from the President of National Audubon, David Yarnold.  In it he explains the dire consequences that the House Bill 3009 will have on the future creation of National Wildlife Refuges (NWR).  This bill would make it impossible for a President to establish any new refuges.  Presently both Congress and the President have the ability to create National Wildlife Refuges.  Historically, 90% of our refuges have been created by Republican and Democratic Presidents alike with nearly equal numbers established by Presidents of both parties.  Also, the proposed bill, if passed, is retroactive  to September 2011, essentially undoing the newly created, by President Barack Obama, Everglades Headwaters National Wildlife Refuge.

Bottled-Nose Dolphin -- Cape Romain NWR (established by President Herbert Hoover in 1930) -- Photo by Carl Miller, February 27, 2011

Big American Alligator -- Bulls Island in the Cape Romain NWR  (established by President Herbert Hoover in 1930) -- Photo taken on February 27, 2011

               Our wildlife refuges provide a network of protected habitat to hundreds of species of animals and plants as well as clean air and clean water environments and fabulous outdoor recreational and educational opportunities.   I encourage you to visit the National Wildlife Refuge System site to learn more about how important they are to the protection of wildlife, our environment, our natural resources and American life outdoors.

Myself & Andy Harrison birdwatching & photographing wildlife on Bulls Island in the Cape Romain NWR  (established by President Herbert Hoover in 1930)  --  Photo by Carl Miller, February 27, 2011

Naturalist from Coastal Expeditions, company providing ferry service to Bulls Island, explaining the estuary of the Cape Romain NWR (established in 1930 by President Herbert Hoover) to visitors -- May 27, 2012

Patrick McMillan, naturalist and conservationist of Clemson University and the PBS show Expeditions, explaining the beneficial properties of the leaves of the Toothache Tree to a group of visitors on Bulls Island for a fund-raiser for the Cape Romain NWR (established by President Herbert Hoover in 1930) -- Photo taken May 27, 2012.

               Let's consider for a moment our National Wildlife Refuges (NWR) here close at home in the Carolinas.  As I perused a list of our National Wildlife Refuges in our 2 states, not one of them had been established by Congress.  After you contemplate the richness of these South Carolina National Wildlife Refuges portrayed via the photos in this blog, please remember that it is because of the Power of the Office of the President to establish refuges that we have such a rich outdoor heritage today.  We need to continue to protect more land to ensure that we have such places and wildlife for generations to come.  I hope you will read David Yarnold's letter and then write to your Representative in the House asking him/her to oppose this bill for the sake of our nation's valuable natural resources.  

More photos from the Cape Romain NWR ....

Peregrine Falcon -- Cape Romain NWR (established by President Herbert Hoover in 1930) -- Photo: February 27, 2011

Jack's Creek, Bulls Island -- Cape Romain NWR (established by President Herbert Hoover in 1930) -- Photo: June 14, 2012

Boneyard Beach,  Bulls Island -- Cape Romain NWR (established by President Herbert Hoover in 1930) -- Photo: May 27, 2012

The black subspecies of the Fox Squirrel -- Bulls Island -- Cape Romain NWR (established by President Herbert Hoover in 1930) -- Photo: June 14, 2012

 Photos from the ACE Basin NWR ....

Grove Plantation House -- Ernest F. Hollings ACE Basin NWR (established in 1990 by President George H.W. Bush) -- Photo taken on March 13, 2010

Live Oak & morning mist -- Ernest F. Hollings ACE Basin NWR (established in 1990 by President George H.W. Bush) -- Photo:  March 13, 2010

Rough Green Snake -- Ernest F. Hollings ACE Basin NWR (established in 1990 by President George H.W. Bush) -- Photo: March 13, 2010

Live Oak in morning light -- Ernest F. Hollings ACE Basin NWR (established in 1990 by President George H.W. Bush) -- Photo taken on March 13, 2010

Young American Alligator -- Ernest F. Hollings ACE Basin NWR (established in 1990 by President George H.W. Bush) -- Photo taken on March 13, 2010

Photos from Santee NWR ....

Green Winged Teal -- Santee NWR(established in 1942 by President Franklin D. Roosevelt) -- Photo taken during the 2009 Christmas Bird Count -- December 26, 2009

Red-Winged Blackbirds and American Coots -- Santee NWR (established in 1942 by President Franklin D. Roosevelt) -- Photo taken during the 2009 Christmas Bird Count -- December 26, 2009

American Bald Eagle -- Santee NWR (established in 1942 by President Franklin D. Roosevelt) -- Photo taken during the 2011 Christmas Bird Count -- December 22, 2011

 Birders -- Santee NWR (established in 1942 by President Franklin D. Roosevelt) -- Photo taken during the 2011 Christmas Bird Count -- December 22, 2011

Santee NWR (established in 1942 by President Franklin D. Roosevelt) -- Photo taken during the 2011 Christmas Bird Count -- December 22, 2011

Photos from Pinckney Island NWR ....

Doe and Fawn White-Tailed Deer -- Pinckney Island NWR (established in 1975 by President Gerald R. Ford) -- Photo taken June 8, 2012

White Ibis -- Pinckney Island NWR (established in 1975 by President Gerald R. Ford) -- Photo taken June 8, 2012

 

Juvenile Little Blue Heron & Passion Flower -- Pinckney Island NWR (established in 1975 by President Gerald R. Ford) -- Photo taken June 8, 2012

I hope these photos have inspired you to write your Representative in Congress to urge him or her to vote NO on House Bill 3009 which proposes to eliminate the President's ability to create National Wildlife Refuges. 

My Very Close Wildlife Encounter of the Day -- September 1, 2012

        Ah, a Saturday at home, there's nothing like it, after a long tedious workweek of extra long days.  Yes, I could have gone birding.  Yet, I have a surplus of photos on my computer that need editing so my first priority for the day was photo-editing.  Migration season has started but is not in full tilt yet.  There's no need to add considerably more photos to the pile of the unedited.  Besides all that,  I have birds here to entertain me and to challenge me photographically -- such as this Red Eyed Vireo that I shot 2 weeks ago from my back deck.

Red-Eyed Vireo -- Parc Perlière (home) -- August 18, 2012

          Yes, when at home, I do add photos to the unedited pile -- but not nearly so many as with an excursion.  After all, how can you resist shooting a well-lit Northern Cardinal?

Northern Cardinal -- Parc Perlière -- September 1, 2012

Or a newly-fledged baby Northern Cardinal being led to cover by its Mama?

Newly-fledged Northern Cardinal -- Parc Perlière -- August 25, 2012

Newly fledged Northern Cardinal being led to cover by its Mama -- Parc Perlière -- August 25, 2012

           Speaking of photographic challenges, capturing the hummingbird wars digitally is also best attempted right here at home.  That, however, will be the subject of a whole other post once the skirmishes have died down and the migrating Ruby-Throateds have moved on.  Just so you know that I am collecting photos, here's a teaser photo of a young guy with attitude!

Young male Ruby-Throated Hummingbird -- Parc Perlière -- August 19, 2012

            So if I spent most of the day yesterday at the computer editing photos, what was my very close wildlife encounter of the day, you may be asking.  Here's the scoop:  After my supper break, I was bringing my dishes back into the kitchen.  I turned around and saw a warbler perched on my feeder at my dining room window looking in at me!  A warbler!  Our yard attracts migrant warblers in the spring occasionally, more in the fall and we do have some pine warblers here in the winter.  Still, it is quite unexpected to see a Northern Parula on a feeder at my dining room window.  Then he disappeared into the live oak.  Thankfully, because I had been attempting to capture some of the hummingbird battles, the camera was still on and ready.  And knowing that Northern Parulas are curious birds that will check out a phish, I stepped out my door onto my deck and phished.  This bird showed up immediately! -- eighteen inches from my nose -- hovering for several seconds while I phished!  I could not focus on him through my bifocals.  Had I raised the big lens at that point, he could have perched on it!  Back off birdie!  And he did.  He landed on a plant hanger 10 feet from me and stared back at me curiously.  Now I could get my photo!  Clickety-click!  Wow!  What a wonderful moment!  What a great encounter!  It made my day!   I hope you enjoy the photos!

Northern Parula -- My bird of the day! -- Parc Perlière -- September 1, 2012

Northern Parula -- My bird of the day! -- Parc Perlière -- September 1, 2012

Northern Parula -- Now my bird of the day has become bored with me and is ready to leave! -- September 1, 2012