Sunday, September 29, 2013

Parc Perlière: September Bird Fiesta in a Tree

Red-Eyed Vireo -- Parc Perlière -- Charleston, SC -- September 9, 2012

            I know September has arrived when the leaves begin shaking in the Magnolia Tree just 25 feet off of our back deck.  Closer observation reveals the annual arrival of Red-Eyed Vireo who find a tasty treat in the fruits of this tree's cones.  We have counted as many as 7 birds in this tree at a time -- it's a bird fiesta!  I love to start my day with a quick look at the tree before leaving for work -- just a little daily dose of nature before my daylong 'imprisonment' indoors.  

         The tree provides us with the closest views that we have of this species all year!  Though Red-Eyed Vireos breed in relative abundance in our forests, we struggle to see them in the Spring as they prefer the high canopies overhead.  Come September, those yummy magnolia berries bring them down.  We believe that most of the birds who come are juveniles (note the brown eyes) and are migrating through.  With such a close perspective, we cannot resist documenting their presence photographically each year.  The photo above may appear familiar to my regular readers as I did indeed post it last year in the post, "Parc Perlière: Our Birds of the Day for the Weekend -- September 8 &9."   Somehow, I missed on recording these birds in 2011.  My best Red-eyed Vireo photo from 2010, below, shows one on  a rather worn-out cone.

Red-eyed Vireo -- Parc Perlière -- Charleston, SC -- September 6, 2010

         This year, my favorite Bird Fiesta photos of the Red-Eyed Vireo include:

Red-eyed Vireo -- Parc Perlière -- Charleston, SC -- September 8, 2013

Red-eyed Vireo -- Parc Perlière -- Charleston, SC -- September 8, 2013
 
 This year, also, a few other species were noted crashing the party.  For example, this scruffy Northern Mockingbird decided to give the berries a try.

Juvenile Northern Mockingbird -- Parc Perlière -- Charleston, SC -- September 22, 2013

Also, this adult White-Eyed Vireo, checked out the tree multiple times.



White-Eyed Vireo -- Parc Perlière -- Charleston, SC -- September 22, 2013

          I did not see him eat any magnolia berries but that does not mean he did not.   Though primarily an insectivore during the breeding season, the White-eyed Vireo ingests fruit & insects during its non-breeding season.  

          September will end soon and the Red-Eyed Vireos will be moving on to their wintering grounds in the Amazon Basin.  I will miss them but I look forward to the fiesta bird's return to the Magnolia tree next September!


Citations:

Cimprich, David A., Frank R. Moore and Michael P. Guilfoyle. 2000. Red-eyed Vireo (Vireo olivaceus), The Birds of North America Online (A. Poole, Ed.). Ithaca: Cornell Lab of Ornithology; Retrieved from the Birds of North America Online: http://bna.birds.cornell.edu/bna/species/527

Hopp, Steven L., Alice Kirby and Carol A. Boone. 1995. White-eyed Vireo (Vireo griseus), The Birds of North America Online (A. Poole, Ed.). Ithaca: Cornell Lab of Ornithology; Retrieved from the Birds of North America Online: http://bna.birds.cornell.edu/bna/species/168 
           

1 comment:

  1. mmmmm, only thing I have seen in our magnolias is grackles...... and they are VERY noisy g!

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