Featured Feathered Friend: American Wigeon

Now that wintering waterfowl have mostly moved on, I think back to some of the loveliest ducks we've seen. The American Wigeon is always a delight to see! They're both adorable and elegant. They're not too big, not too small - just right. 

Coming in for a smooch?! Or just wanting to feed on the same duck weed patch… Likely but not as cute.

A nice little trick to figuring out duck species is to think about "Where's the white?" Other than the head, you can see just a little tease of a strip of white on its wing and white hip patch.

The first set of American Wigeons in this post are ones we saw at Talking Water Gardens in Albany, OR. There so many of them this past November when we birded this quaint little spot. This sunny late fall/early winter day really highlighted the gorgeous colors in these birds. 

As through most of this winter, I had the luck of spotting out a couple of Eurasian Wigeons in the bunch. I just love these cinnamony cousins of the American Wigeon. I always get excited when we can find one of them!

The cinammony delicious Eurasian Wigeon

This next bunch of American Wigeons we spotted at Green Lake in Seattle, WA (where we also got lifer Redpolls!). The typical Seattle overcast gave these birds a more moody, grungy feel. Hipster Wigeons?

This one is just feeling so emo...

This male is just so over it. (But isn't he lovely?)

You can spot American Wigeons with their stout little bodies and smoothly rounded heads. The males have this creamy, buttery yellow or buffy on it's face and going mohawk style over the top of its head, but it's that glimmering emerald green going from its eye all along the side of its head that gives it an air of mystique and just wows you.

Featured Feathered Friend: Red Crossbills

One of the great things about my job is the proximity to some great flora and fauna, including birds like the spunky Acorn Woodpeckers. Another great thing is having my own office with windows that give me 3rd story views over a grassy patch housing large Sweetgum Trees. In these close trees, I’ve gotten good looks at Black-Capped Chickadees, Dark-Eyed Juncos, Bushtits, and the occasional Downy Woodpecker. However, over a few weeks in mid-April this year, I heard an odd raucous outside my window which I couldn’t quite identify. I could see flashes of red and yellow, but without my binoculars, I could only take my best guess that these were Red Crossbills!

Male and Female Red Crossbills

Male Red Crossbill

Female Red Crossbill

We had barely gotten mediocre looks at a couple of Red Crossbills previously on the coast at Beaver Creek. I thought surely this couldn’t be true that these birds that tend to feed high up in conifer trees would be right outside my window eating from the sweetgum balls. I conferred with a birder coworker of mine, and he independently suspected the same. He said he hadn’t really seen these guys here before, but other birders I spoke to later said that this does in fact happen every so often as Red Crossbills fly through town.

The next day, I was prepared with binoculars and my camera, and after rearranging some office furniture, I was able to get a good look out and capture these fleeting migrants through my windows that luckily open in our older building. It was quite an incredible sight to see hoards of these very hungry birds swarm to the sweetgum balls and just tear through those seed pods. They are some of the most interesting birds, in my opinion, in terms of form and function. Those bills are just so bizarre and anyone unfamiliar with them would think it impossible to eat with them. But watching them use those pointy, sickle-like bills pry open those gumballs with such ease was quite impressive.

They would only come once or twice a day for the next few days, and then again a week later. I tried to bring Nick to campus over the weekend to try to witness this spectacle, but alas, he was not so lucky. Hopefully he’ll be able to enjoy them with me the next time they decide to grace us with their presence. 

Featured Feathered Friend: Bird of the Year Edition - Green Heron

Well, as you all may know by now, the American Birding Association (ABA) has announced its Bird of the Year for 2015 – the ever-lovely Green Heron. So here is a FFF featuring this BOTY or BOY. These are some older pictures from back in our early Florida days (most of them from our point-and-shoot), and they tell a little story. 

I’ve always had trouble thinking about what was my “spark bird” – what was that one bird that made me realize “Aha! I love birding!” I could just never really pinpoint just one bird that did me in. And when I thought about it some more, I recalled one special little bird that caught me by surprise in an ever so good way, and it was the Green Heron. It’s funny that I was actually thinking about this recently even before the BOTY announcement.

So why was it the Green Heron? Well, when we first started exploring birding, before we even really knew what we were getting ourselves into, I remember that we’d see such a variety of herons and egrets just dotting our little manmade pond behind our apartment building. There was one little funny one that stood out amongst the others because it was so short and stoutish compared to the long and graceful Great Egret and Great Blue Heron we’d often see, or even the smaller, but still lean Tri-Colored Heron and Snowy Egret. 

But it wasn’t just its unique shape that made it stand out. I distinctly remember a time when walking by another little pond that we saw such a peculiar bird that looked sort of familiar, but different at the same time. What took us a somewhat embarrassingly good while to figure out in our novice days was that we were looking at a Green Heron with its neck extended! When we finally figured this out and laughed at ourselves for not realizing this was the same bird we had seen other times before, it just made me realize that birds are such funny little creatures with such quirky and wondrous ways about them, that I wanted to know more, see more, and learn more. 

The Green Heron always has a special place in my heart. I love its colors and its behavior. I even love it although I could never get a good shot of one flying no matter how hard I tried. Oh, and who couldn't love a darling little ball of fuzz baby Green Heron like the one I captured photos of back in the day.

We were spoiled with seeing these skulky herons quite regularly in Florida, and then less so in the Savannah area. And now it seems to be a rare treat here in Oregon, but they still make me smile and yell out “Greenie!” every time I see or hear one.

I even sketched out a Baby Green Heron as one of the several mini sticky-note bird sketches I've drawn for Nick. ;)

Featured Feathered Friend - Wood Stork

Sometimes you just get to thinking about a bird and missing it. Recently for me, such a bird has been the Wood Stork. Living in Florida and the Georgia coast for a while, we would regularly see these bizarre but beautiful birds. They would dot small lakes and canals in the sunshine state, as well as appear on the lovely beaches.

Beautiful sunset lighting at Fort De Soto, FL

Once considered endangered, this hearty bird has been recovering successfully as evident in the Southeast. We've had the pleasure of seeing various large groups of these awkwardly magnificent birds in Florida and a large breeding colony in George at Harris Neck NWR. They are mostly silent birds, except when you hear funny barking and gargling noises at the nest.

Just a small section of the nesting Wood Stork Colony at Harris Neck NWR

These birds are so striking with their large white bodies and woody-looking, bald heads. As they soar, you can't miss them with their black flight feathers that glisten with a green sheen during mating season.  So as I reminisce about these lovely birds, I hope you enjoy this photo montage.

A Wood Stork in a tree sometimes seems funny as they are so tall and large

A Vision in White on Blue

Featured Feathered Friend: Swainson's Warbler

I’m delighted to bring back a “Featured Feathered Friend” segment in which I showcase a story and photos of a great encounter with one particular avian beauty. This FFF is the one and only Swainson’s Warbler. As you may recall from a recent post a single Swainson’s Warbler almost magically appeared in Forsyth Park in Savannah one of the last times we birded in Georgia before heading west. It was a glorious sighting, especially as we knew we’d be parting ways with many awesome warbler species.

One of the only other times we had seen a Swainson’s Warbler was when we saw a flash of our lifer bird in the leaf litter under the azalea bushes. That little magician disappeared for good – never to be found again, no matter how hard we looked, even if it meant ruining a family portrait session in the park.

Luckily, a few weeks after this brief sighting, we found another individual, and it was spectacular! Nick and I had joined our friend, birding expert and THE local “bird lady,” Diana Churchill, in scouting for this target species for a guided tour that we were going to give to a gentleman and his wife in a couple of weeks, specifically seeking the elusive Swainson’s Warbler.

When we hit the buggy, swampy trail at Ogeechee Canal, we were graced with not only a gorgeous Swainson’s Warbler, but he was up in the trees and singing his heart out! He gave us nice, long looks as we semi-silently squealed with delight, high-fived, and fist-pumped at this amazing experience we were having. These birds are notorious for being hard-to-find skulkers, and we found quite a boisterous one acting like he was Elton John in concert.

Upon looking at this bird, most people would wonder what the big fuss is all about. It’s just an LBJ (Little Brown Job), right? Well, as stated on the Swainson’s Warbler’s entry on Cornel Lab’s “All About Birds” page:

One of the most secretive and least observed of all North American birds, the Swainson's Warbler is a skulking bird of the southern canebrakes and rhododendron thickets. If it weren't for its loud, ringing song, the presence of the species in many areas would go completely undetected.

So this was an incredibly successful scout outing! Unfortunately, when we brought the couple to this very spot a couple of weeks later, there was no Swainson’s Warbler. No singing. No tree-hopping. Not even silent skulking. Nada. I felt bad for them, but also felt grateful that we had been able to find this magnificent yet understated bird with the experience that we had.

Featured Feathered Friend: Baby Edition! - Downy Woodpecker

Here's a little quickie FFF post to highlight the delight of seeing all the new baby birds that I'm sure many of you have been experiencing lately. I know that Nick and I have been coming across all kinds of new baby birds in the past few weeks, including warbler chicks, like Northern Parulas and Pine Warblers, that we never got to see when we lived in South Florida.

Dad with bits of bugs still left on his bill after dropping off food to the little one

"Hey, where are you going?!?"

So speaking of South Florida, we had spotted a Downy Woodpecker chick right in front of our apartment in Boca Raton back in May 2009. We had noticed a couple of Downy Woodpeckers hanging around the trees in our parking lot, which was such a treat to see in itself. But we were even more delighted when we discovered that the Downy Woodpecker pair had nested right in the tree just steps away from our front door. We first heard the anxious chatter of the chicks as they were awaiting mom or dad to bring in some food. And then we finally got a peek of a chick as he poked his head out to see what the delay was for more lunch.

Downy chick and adult

"Yum yum, gimme some!"

This little guy gave us great looks at his Downy Woodpecker sweetness. This chick showed off his bright red cap as he looked around for mom and dad. These are already one of the cutest woodpeckers as they are the smallest, add to that a baby one, and you've got cuteness to the 10th power! I fondly and clearly remember sometimes opening the front door to be pleasantly perked up by the sound of this baby Downy calling. I think I giggled with joy every time. Such a sweet and desperate little cry.

Sweet little face =)

Oh so hungry!

Featured Feathered Friend: Baby Edition! - Green Heron

This FFF features a face that only a mother could love. Here we have a darling little Green Heron fledgling. We found this little guy right outside of our old apartment in Boca Raton, FL in mid-May 2009. We were lucky to have a man-made pond there that attracted a number of herons and egrets, Green Herons being no exception. Often when we'd walk by, we'd spook one that we may not have even seen until he took flight.

Green Heron fledgling

Showing off his stubby wing feathers

Green herons are quite a funny heron. The first one we saw was in the typical crouched position with his neck tucked in. And the next time we saw one, we saw it with its neck fully extended, and we were astonished! "Could this be the same bird?!?!" we wondered. And we quickly found out that it was, and we've been entertained by this funny little heron ever since.

He kept falling asleep... Awww... 

What a fuzzball!

This little fuzzball here was all on his own, it appeared, when we found him. I recall it being a bit breezy, and he was just clinging on to dear life onto the delicate branches of this bush. But he held on strong even though he looked so fragile. We watched him for what seemed like an hour, just mesmerized by this almost so-ugly-he's-cute baby. This may have been one of the first baby birds we encountered after becoming birders.

Showing off the typical Green Heron stance

HELLLOOOO!!!

The last photo is of another baby Green Heron that seemed to have a little more gusto as he was venturing out on his own and strutting about, feeling that stretch in his neck! We didn't relocate these fledglings afterwards, but I'm sure they stuck around the pond, stealthily lurking about as Green Herons do.

Sweetness

Strutting his stuff!