Tag Archives: Bristol Herald Courier

Ruffed Grouse manages to keep low profile

While driving to work on Nov. 5, I was surprised with a wonderful observation of a Ruffed Grouse, which flew across Simerly Creek Road. I got a great look at the grouse as it coasted over a field, crossed the creek and landed in the woods. It’s my first grouse sighting near home in probably more than a year.

Early naturalist John James Audubon painted this scene dominated by a group of Ruffed Grouse.

The Ruffed Grouse is named for the male’s neck ruff. These feathers around the neck can be erected in mating displays, creating an impressive “collar.”

Males do not vocalize during mating displays, which sets them apart from other species of grouse. Instead, they beat their wings at high speeds to create a thumping sound known as “drumming.” The low-frequency sound carries a good distance even in thick woodlands.

Photo by Jean Potter
Ruffed Grouse thrive in second-growth woodlands.

The Ruffed Grouse has been officially recognized as the state bird of Pennsylvania. Legislation enacting the recognition was passed by the General Assembly on June 22, 1931. In the recognition, the Ruffed Grouse is described as a plump bird with mottled reddish-brown feathers. This protective coloring makes it possible for the grouse to conceal itself in the wilds.

As a game bird, the Ruffed Grouse has been studied more extensively than some other birds. This bird is not known for longevity. Few survive to three years of age, according to research conducted by the late Gordon Gullion, head of the Forest Wildlife Project at the University of Minnesota’s Cloquet Forestry Center.

Guillion showed in his research that of 1,000 eggs laid in spring, only about 250 Ruffed Grouse will survive to their first autumn, 120 to their first spring, about 50 to a second spring and less than 20 will still be alive the third spring. These statistics emphasize the many enemies and other perils faced by this game bird. Yet, despite dismal numbers, it’s enough to continue the survival of the species.

According to the website for the National Ruffed Grouse Society, Ruffed Grouse typically have a short life span. A brood consisting of 10 to 12 young are hatched in the spring, but by mid-August about half of them have perished. The cold months of late fall and winter will claim more of them.

Photo by Jean Potter
This Ruffed Grouse has inflated its namesake ruff of feathers.

Studies have also revealed that Ruffed Grouse populations undergo a cycle of peaks and crashes. This population cycle of peaks and valleys repeats about every 10 years. What this means is that Ruffed Grouse numbers decline to a low point every decade, but there is also a corresponding peak when the local population of Ruffed Grouse surges.

Other related grouse in North America include the Greater Prairie Chicken, also known as the Pinnated Grouse, as well as the Lesser Prairie Chicken, Spruce Grouse and Sharp-tailed Grouse.

Photo by U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service
A Sharp-tailed Grouse, a relative of the Ruffed Grouse, prefers prairies rather than woodlands for its habitat.

Despite some superficial similarities, grouse are not closely related to quails and turkeys. They are important as a game bird, but careful management is necessary.

Particularly during the nesting season, individual Ruffed Grouse may lose their fear of humans. Many years ago, a Ruffed Grouse boldly walked into my front yard and then ventured onto the front porch. Only my timely intervention rescued the visiting grouse from a cat that belonged to my parents.

Holston Mountain in Carter County has long been one of the more reliable locations for finding Ruffed Grouse, especially during the nesting season.

Photo by U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service
The Spruce Grouse is a distinctive looking relative of the Ruffed Grouse.

Orange-crowned Warbler sighting punctuates fall’s parade of migrants

Leave a reply

The annual migratory parade of warblers has ended, but not without a few final surprises. By the arrival of the region’s only winter warbler — the Yellow-rumped Warbler — it’s a foregone conclusion that the migration season for this colorful family of birds is almost at an end.

Photo by U.S Fish & Wildlife Service
An Orange-crowned Warbler perches on a branch.

There is, however, one final exception. One of the warblers tends to migrate later in the season than its kin. In a family of colorful birds like the Cape May Warbler and the Black-throated Blue Warbler, it’s also at a decided disadvantage when it comes to considerations like appearance.

Although it has a striking name — Orange-crowned Warbler — the patch of orange feathers atop this warbler’s head are rarely seen by observers in the field. In fact, the most conspicuous thing about the Orange-crowned Warbler is its lack of conspicuousness. This is a grayish-greenish warbler with only two dashes of color. It can also show some surprisingly bright yellow plumage under the tail. Only once, however, have I noticed the namesake orange crown patch that is usually kept concealed beneath a layer of gray-green feathers.

“Warblers of the Americas,” an identification guide written by Jon Curson, David Quinn and David Beadle, stipulates that the crown patch that this warbler’s common name derives from is visible only when the warbler raises its crown feathers. This little twist makes the orange crown patch a very unreliable field mark.

Photo by U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service
The faint gray streaks on the breast helps distinguish the Orange-crowned Warbler from the related Tennessee Warbler.

In fact, over the years, I’ve only observed a handful of these warblers. They tend to migrate through the region long after most other warblers. They’re also easily confused with Tennessee Warblers, which are another drab, greenish warbler that migrates through in large numbers in the autumn.

In my limited experience with these warblers, I’ve found they spend less time in trees and more time foraging in tall shrubs, such as Joe-pye weed and goldenrod. In many of my guide books, the text also indicates that this warbler prefers shrubby, weedy habitats.

This is a continent-ranging warbler, but it is much more common in the western United States than it is in the eastern half of the nation. A few of these warblers migrate into the southern United States for the winter. I’ve observed this warbler on a couple of occasions during late winter trips to the coastal areas of South Carolina. Other Orange-crowned Warblers push as far south as Guatemala for the winter season.

The orange-crowned warbler is related to the Tennessee warbler, and both species share a similar appearance. The Tennessee warbler is usually more greenish. The Tennessee also lacks the faint gray streaking that is present on the breast and flanks of the Orange-crowned Warbler.

Photo by U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service An Orange-crowned Warbler forages for insects in a shrub’s bare branches.

I usually manage to see an Orange-crowned Warbler once a year, usually in the late fall. This year’s sighting took place during the final bird walk conducted each Saturday during October by members of the Elizabethton Bird Club at Sycamore Shoals State Historic Park in Elizabethton, Tennessee.

Photo by U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service The Orange-crowned Warbler is more common in the western half of the United States.

Some other good birds on this final walk of the 2014 season included Common Merganser, White-crowned Sparrow, Swamp Sparrow and Blue-headed Vireo.

Other species found on the walk included Canada Goose, Mallard, Blue-winged Teal, Pied-billed Grebe, Cooper’s Hawk, with captured starling in its talons, Killdeer, Mourning Dove, Red-bellied Woodpecker, Downy Woodpecker, Northern Flicker, American Kestrel, Eastern Phoebe, Blue Jay, American Crow, Carolina Chickadee, Tufted Titmouse, White-breasted Nuthatch, Carolina Wren, Eastern Bluebird, American Robin, Gray Catbird, Brown Thrasher, Northern Mockingbird, European Starling, Cedar Waxwing, Yellow-rumped Warbler, Northern Cardinal, Common Grackle, House Finch and American Goldfinch.

As usual for a late October walk, it was also a very good day for sparrows. We found Eastern Towhee, Field Sparrow, Song Sparrow, Swamp Sparrow, White-throated Sparrow and White-crowned Sparrow.

Photo by Bryan Stevens A Field Sparrow perches on a briar's stem.

Photo by Bryan Stevens
A Field Sparrow perches on a branch.

I suppose it’s a little strange to get so excited about getting a brief look at a bird that I usually see once a year during a rather brief window of a couple of weeks. Of course, it’s that very scarcity of the bird in East Tennessee that makes these typically annual sightings so wonderful to experience.

••••••

I visited Wilbur Lake with my mother on Nov. 8 for the first time this fall. We wanted to see for ourselves that the flocks of Buffleheads had returned. We were rewarded with looks at about 50 Buffleheads, as well as 10 Gadwalls and seven Ring-necked Ducks. Plenty of Canada Geese and Mallards were also present on the lake.

Photo by Bryan Stevens
Buffleheads, such as these, have spent the winter on Wilbur Lake for decades.

Column marks 19th anniversary this week

2 Replies

Photo by Ken Thomas Cutline: Dark-eyed Juncos are also known as "snow birds" because of their tendency to flock to feeders ahead of a bout of snowy weather.

Photo by Ken Thomas
Dark-eyed Juncos are also known as “snow birds” because of their tendency to flock to feeders ahead of a bout of snowy weather.

I wrote my first “Feathered Friends” column on Sunday, Nov. 5, 1995. Over the years, the column has appeared in various newspapers. I’ve also been posting weekly blogs on the subject of birds since this past February.

It’s with some irony that I can now reflect in just the few months since the paper that gave the column its start decided to rudely cut ties with both the column and me, other news outlets have stepped forward to carry my weekly thoughts on birds and birding.

The column is currently published weekly in three different newspapers: the Bristol Herald Courier, the Erwin Record and The McDowell News in Marion, N.C. The column also runs weekly in the Carter County Compass, an online news source for the citizens of Elizabethton and Carter County.

Sometimes, I wonder where the time has gone as I reflect on the fact that I am celebrating the 19th anniversary of my writing this weekly column, which has appeared in four different newspapers. These days, I also write a weekly online blog about birds while also making bird-related and nature-related posts to my Facebook page.

I constantly wonder what I am going to write about each week. Fortunately, I seem to have enough interested readers that someone is usually calling or e-mailing me with an interesting observation or a question that helps get the ball rolling for another column.

In that respect, writing “Our Fine Feathered Friends” has also been a great means of getting to know other people interested in birds and nature. So, too, has “For the Birds” and “Feathered Friends.”

I always enjoy hearing from readers, and I hope to continue to do so in the coming years as well.

Photo by Bryan Stevens
This Dark-eyed Junco was the first of its kind to return to my yard this fall. This individual arrived on Oct. 28.

That first column I wrote back in 1995 focused on one of the region’s most prevalent winter residents — the Dark-eyed Junco. The first Dark-eyed Junco to put in an appearance in my yard this year did so on Oct. 28, just a few days ahead of the first winter storm.

Here, with some revisions I have made through the years, is the very first “Feathered Friends” column.

••••••

Of all the birds associated with winter weather, few are as symbolic as the Dark-eyed Junco, or “snow bird.” The junco occurs in several geographic variations.

John V. Dennis, author of “A Complete Guide to Bird Feeding,” captures the essence of the junco in the following description: “Driving winds and swirling snow do not daunt this plucky bird. The coldest winter days see the junco as lively as ever and with a joie de vivre that bolsters our sagging spirits.” The Dark-eyed Junco’s scientific name, hyemalis, is New Latin for “wintry,” an apt description of this bird.

Most people look forward to the spring return of some of our brilliant birds — warblers, tanagers and orioles — and I must admit that I also enjoy the arrival of these birds. The junco, in comparison to some of these species, is not in the same league. Nevertheless, the junco is handsome in its slate gray and white plumage, giving rise to the old saying, “dark skies above, snow below.”

Just as neotropical migrants make long distance journeys twice a year, the junco is also a migrating species. But in Appalachia, the junco is a special type of migrant. Most people think of birds as “going south for the winter.” In a basic sense this is true. But some juncos do not undertake a long horizontal (the scientific term) migration from north to south. Instead, these birds merely move from high elevations, such as the spruce fir peaks, to the lower elevations. This type of migration is known as vertical migration. Other juncos, such as those that spend their breeding season in northern locales, do make a southern migration and, at times, even mix with the vertical migrants.

Photo by Bryan Stevens A Dark-eyed Junco on a fence at Carver’s Gap on Roan Mountain.

Juncos are usually in residence around my home by early November. Once they make themselves at home I can expect to play host to them until at least late April or early May of the following year. So, for at least six months, the snow bird is one of the most common and delightful feeder visitors a bird enthusiast could want.

Juncos flock to feeders where they are rather mild-mannered — except among themselves. There are definite pecking orders in a junco flock, and females are usually on the lower tiers of the hierarchy. Females can sometimes be distinguished from males because of their paler gray or even brown upper plumage.

Since juncos are primarily ground feeders they tend to shun hanging feeders. But one winter I observed a junco that had mastered perching on a hanging “pine cone” feeder to enjoy a suet and peanut butter mixture. Still, most Dark-eyed Juncos often are content to glean the scraps other birds knock to the ground.

Photo by Bryan Stevens A Dark-eyed Junco feeds on sunflower seeds in a hanging feeder.

Juncos are widespread. They visit feeders across North America. The junco is the most common species of bird to visit feeding stations. They will sample a variety of fare, but prefer such seeds as millet, cracked corn or black oil sunflower.

There’s something about winter that makes a junco’s dark and light garb an appropriate and even striking choice, particularly against a backdrop of newly fallen snow. Of course, the real entertainment from juncos come from their frequent visits to our backyard feeders. When these birds flock to a feeder and begin a furious period of eating, I don’t even have to glance skyward or tune in the television weather forecast. I know what they know. Bad weather is on the way!

Photo by Bryan Stevens A Dark-eyed Junco feeds on the ground beneath a feeder.

Common Nighthawk member of nightjar family that is neither nocturnal nor a raptor

Leave a reply

With September looming just a few pages ahead on the calendar, I have been keeping an eye on the skies. For the most part, I focus on the trees and feeders during the migration season, but I also make sure I look up from time to time.

The reason? Well, that’s the best way to detect flocks of migrating Common Nighthawks.

Photo by U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
A Common Nighthawk finds a perch for a brief rest.

So, what is a Common Nighthawk? First, this bird, despite what is implied by its name, is not a hawk. It’s also not strictly nocturnal.

My observation of this particular Common Nighthawk completed my tally of the members of the nightjar family found in the region during the summer months. The nightjar family is represented by three species of birds — Common Nighthawk, Whip-poor-will and Chuck-will’s-widow in Northeast Tennessee. Readers may recall from earlier columns that I have already heard Whip-poor-wills and Chuck-will’s-widows this year. Each fall, Common Nighthawks form large flocks, ranging in size from dozens to hundreds or even thousands of individuals, as they migrate south for the winter.

john_james_audubon_common_nighthawk_bird_print

Painting by early American naturalist John James Audubon of Common Nighthawks.

The Whip-poor-will, after the Common Nighthawk, is the second most widespread member of its family to spend its breeding season in North America. The Whip-poor-will ranges from southern Canada to the Gulf states. The Whip-poor-will also occurs in Arizona, New Mexico and southwestern Texas. The Whip-poor-will favors habitat consisting of deciduous woodlands and the edges of forests.

All members of the nightjar family feed exclusively on insects that are caught on the wing. In this respect, the nightjars can be considered the nocturnal counterparts of the swallows. The nightjars have comparatively large, gaping mouths they use to scoop up flying insects. They also have large eyes, an adaptation to their nocturnal lifestyle.

Whip-poor-will numbers have apparently been declining in the past few decades. These nocturnal birds frequent woodland edges, but they seem to be rather particular about such habitats. A forest that is too mature seems to hold little interest for them. Disturbed habitats, such as those created by logging, are acceptable to the birds once secondary growth begins. As this new growth matures, however, the Whip-poor-will apparently abandons such territory. Because of these requirements, Whip-poor-wills can be somewhat localized in their distribution and sometimes difficult to locate.

When I was a kid one of my favorite summer activities was sitting on the front porch of my grandparents’ home on Simerly Creek Road and listening to the Whip-poor-wills call after dark. I remember how the plaintive call would be repeated for long intervals before a passing automobile’s headlights might frighten the bird into silence for a short while. Then, tentatively, the calls would renew.

Today, I’m living in my grandparents’ old home and the Whip-poor-wills no longer call. Well, there was a single individual that called for a single evening back in May of 1997, but that was apparently a migrating bird that did not remain in the surrounding woodlands.

The only member of the nightjar family that I dependably encounter at home on Simerly Creek Road these days is the Common Nighthawk, and then only during that narrow window of late summer and early autumn.

Photo Courtesy of Jean Potter A Common Nighthawk rests on a metal railing.

So, keep looking skyward. The next flock of migrating Common Nighthawks may fly over your home. These flocks are usually on the move from mid-August to mid-September.

Unlike Whips and Chucks, the Common Nighthawk does fly only at night, which makes it much easier to observe these birds. They look somewhat like swifts and swallows but are much larger. They are brownish-gray birds with pointed wings and forked tails. They are easily identified by distinctive white patches on the underside of their wings.

The nightjar, or Caprimulgidae, family of birds is also sometimes known as “goatsuckers.” There are almost 80 species of nightjars in the world. Less than 10 occur in North America. The Common Nighthawk, Whip-poor-will and the Chuck-will’s widow are neotropical migrants. While they breed in a wide range of territory in North America, they spend their winters in Central and South America. Like all nightjars, Common Nighthawks feed almost exclusively on insects, which they catch on the wing.

Keep looking skyward once September arrives, and you’re likely to see one of these impressive migration flights of Common Nighthawks. I’ve seen flocks that would easily number more than 500 birds in locations ranging from Greeneville and Unicoi to Sycamore Shoals State Historic Park in Elizabethton.

Invite butterflies into your gardens, yards

Leave a reply

Photo by Bryan Stevens Spicebush Swallowtail and Tiger Swallowtail seeking salts and minerals from the edge of a gravel driveway.

I’m taking a break from the birds for one week to bring you some other things with wings in the form of a pictorial essay on butterflies, which include such families of winged insects as skippers, swallowtails, fritillaries and much more.

Most of these photos were taken at my home on Simerly Creek Road in Hampton, TN. A few were taken in other locations, including South Carolina and Georgia.

Photo by Bryan Stevens White Peacock found on Fripp Island, S.C., in October of 2012. Resident from Argentina north through Central America, Mexico and the West Indies to South Texas and southern Florida. This butterfly migrates and temporarily colonizes to central Texas and coastal South Carolina. It is a rare wanderer to North Carolina, Missouri, Nebraska and Kansas.

According to the North American Butterfly Association, there are about 20,000 species of butterflies in the world. About 725 species have occurred in North American north of Mexico, with about 575 of these occurring regularly in the lower 48 states of the United States, and with about 275 species occurring regularly in Canada. Roughly 2,000 species are found in Mexico.

Butterflies are part of the class of Insects in the order Lepidoptera. Moths are also included in this order.

Butterflies are not newcomers to the world of insects. Fossilized butterflies are known to date back to the Eocene epoch, some 40 to 50 million years ago.

10293711_10203217981762763_2929721534219810613_o

Photo by Bryan Stevens Some butterflies, such as the sulphurs, are known to migrate.

According to NABA, species that move northward each year include Cloudless Sulphur, Little Yellow, Gulf Fritillary, Painted Lady, American Lady, Red Admiral, Common Buckeye, Long-tailed Skipper, Clouded Skipper, Fiery Skipper, Sachem and Ocola Skipper.

In especially good years, one can see Painted Ladies, Cloudless Sulphurs or Clouded Skippers streaming northward along migratory routes. Most years, however, these migrant dispersals are so gradual they don’t attract much notice. During fall trips to coastal South Carolina, I have often noticed hundreds of Cloudless Sulphurs along the edges of the interstate highway system.

Photo by Bryan Stevens
A Monarch sips nectar from blooming Ironweed.

Photo by Bryan Stevens Pipevine Swallowtails seeks nectar from zinnia blooms. This butterfly was the most common one found during the recent Roan Mountain Butterfly Count. A total of 236 individual Pipevine Swallowtails, many located on milkweed in the fields at the Dave Miller Homestead at Roan Mountain State Park, were found.

The North American Butterfly Association holds annual Butterfly Count in much the same manner as the Audubon Society conducts annual Christmas Bird Counts. Locally, an Elizabethton Butterfly Count and a Roan Mountain Butterfly Count are conducted every July and August.

Each count is a compilation of all butterflies observed at sites within a 15-mile diameter count circle in a one-day period. The annually published reports provide a tremendous amount of information about the geographical distribution and relative population sizes of the species counted. Comparisons of the results across years can be used to monitor changes in butterfly populations and study the effects of weather and habitat change on North American butterflies.

This year’s first attempt at conducting the 22nd annual Roan Mountain Butterfly Count was rained out. A week later — July 26 — the count was re-scheduled and enjoyed a convergence of good weather and abundant flowers. A total of 764 individual butterflies were counted. The total of 34 species was considered very high for this count, according to compiler Don Holt.

Photo by Bryan Stevens A male Diana Fritillary seeks nectar from a zinnia bloom.

Holt noted that other common species found on this count included Silver-spotted Skipper, Aphrodite Fritillary, Eastern Tailed Blue and Meadow Fritillary. Some exceptional finds included a male Diana Fritillary at the Dave Miller Homestead and a Harvester at Hampton Creek Cove.

Photo by Bryan Stevens Northern Pearly Eye

Photo by Bryan Stevens A Northern Pearly Eye perches on the vertical surface of a concrete step.

Photo by Bryan Stevens The non-native Cabbage White is one of the few butterflies considered an agricultural pest. The butterfly’s caterpillars damage such crops as cabbage, as well as other mustard family plants.

Photo by Bryan Stevens A Northern Checkerspot finds colorful coneflowers a convenient perch.

Photo by Bryan Stevens A Wood Nymph clings to a leaf near a pond.

To attract more butterflies closer to your home, landscape with a variety of flowers and plants. Don’t forget to provide host plants that will feed hungry caterpillars, as well as nectar-rich flowers to feed adult butterflies. Do not use insecticides! You want to welcome these beautiful insects, not kill them.

To learn more, visit this page provided by the Missouri Botanical Garden.

http://www.missouribotanicalgarden.org/visit/family-of-attractions/butterfly-house/butterflies-and-plants/butterfly-gardening.aspx

Photo by Bryan Stevens The Least Skipper is one of the smallest of butterflies in the eastern United States.

There are several fun Facebook pages for butterfly enthusiasts. Check out https://www.facebook.com/groups/ButterfliesoftheeasternUnitedStates/ and https://www.facebook.com/groups/303259184298/

Photo by Bryan Stevens Red-spotted Purple perches atop a platform provided by a wide poplar leaf.

Photo by Bryan Stevens A Common Buckeye suns itself in a gravel driveway.

Photo by Bryan Stevens Red Admiral in the wetlands along the the Ivy Creek Greenway at George Pierce Park in Suwanee, Ga.

Look for herons along edges of local ponds, rivers

1 Reply

I enjoyed a recent trip to Atlanta, Ga. The extended weekend visited gave me the opportunity to see some birds I don’t see often at home in Northeast Tennessee, including Brown-headed Nuthatch and Pine Warbler.

Photo by Bryan Stevens
A Great Egret resting on a spit of land in a lake at Murphy Candler Park in Brookhaven, Ga.

I observed a Great Egret at Murphey Candler Park in Brookhaven, Georgia. Hiking trails around a small lake at this park offer some convenient locations for scanning the lake for wading birds and waterfowl. The egret was the first Great Egret I’ve observed in the Atlanta area.

I had visited this park hoping to find dragonflies, but for the most part struck out on finding these winged insects. I was compensated not only with the egret, but with observations of Double-crested Cormorants, Canada Geese, Mallards, Belted Kingfishers, Cedar Waxwings and Song Sparrows.

Photo by Bryan Stevens
A Great Blue Heron moves stealthily through a wetland.

Egrets are members of a family of birds known as Ardeidae, which includes herons, bitterns and egrets. The Great Egret is a very stately, graceful bird with white plumage, long legs and a sharp, yellow bill. It is smaller than the Great Blue Heron. The Great Egret stands 3.3 feet tall and has a wingspan of 52 to 67 inches. On average, however, they weigh only about 2.2 pounds.

Photo by Bryan Stevens
A large flock of Great Egrets flies over the Watauga River in Elizabethton.

These egrets nest in large colonies. In the late 1800s and early 1900s, the colonial nesting habits of these birds made them particularly vulnerable to humans who slaughtered the birds in the millions to harvest their feathers for use in the fashion industry. The Great Egret and other wading birds were almost decimated in order to decorate fashionable hats for women.

The National Audubon Society was founded in 1905, largely as an effort to combat the unregulated slaughter of birds like Great Egrets, Snowy Egrets and Roseate Spoonbills. Now, more than a century later, the Great Egret still serves as the official logo for the National Audubon Society. In addition, the Great Egret has rebounded from those dark years. In fact, this bird now ranges as far north as southern Canada in appropriate wetland habitats. During spring and fall migration, Great Egrets also pass through northeast Tennessee. Look for them along rivers, lakes and on small farm ponds.

During visits to favorite birding locations in Elizabethton and Erwin, I have also observed Green Herons and Great Blue Herons.

Photo by Bryan Stevens
A young Green Heron rests at the edge of a pond.

The Green Heron can easily be overlooked as it lurks near a stream’s banks or the edges of a pond. This heron is not tall and stately like the Great Egret or Great Blue Heron. The bird is a patient ambush predator capable of remaining motionless for extended periods as it waits for prey to move within reach of its sharp, pointed bill. I’m always flushing these herons from cover before I even realize they are present.

I do get fortunate on occasion, however, and manage to approach a Green Heron without panicking the bird into a hasty flight. If you stand very still and don’t make sudden movements, you can manage to observe this bird from a respectful distance.

Such was the case of a Green Heron that I found stalking the edges of the pond at Erwin Fishery Park. I had my camera, so I snapped some photographs as I watched the heron’s slow, deliberate steps along the pond’s edge. Then, with a lightning-quick motion, the bird lunged its bill into the water and snatched a large tadpole. The heron required a brief time to get the wiggling tadpole positioned. After that technicality was resolved, the heron swallowed the plump tadpole quickly and almost immediately resumed search for more prey.

Photo by Bryan Stevens
A Green Heron finesses a captured tadpole in its bill.

The unfortunate tadpole had developed hind legs, which did not prove an obstacle for the bird swallowing it, but still had a tail. Although it was very close to achieving frog-hood, this particular tadpole instead became part of the varied diet of a Green Heron, which can also include fish, crustaceans, insects and even mice. At this same Erwin pond, I once watched another Green Heron patiently stalking and successfully snatching dragonflies that perched on pond vegetation within reach of the bird’s bill.

Photo by Bryan Stevens
A Green Heron elevates a shaggy crest of feathers, a behavior often initiated when the bird feels alarmed.

The Green Heron is usually present in Northeast Tennessee from April to October. The bird migrates to Central America for the winter months. A few other herons, including the Great Blue Heron and the Black-crowned Night-Heron, live year-round in the region.

Kingfishers are world-class anglers

Leave a reply

1622507_10202822806683633_5738404313137626778_o

Photo by Bryan Stevens A perched Belted Kingfisher rests between attempts to catch fish along the waterfront at Winged Deer Park in Johnson City.

Fishing is a favorite pastime for many people, who like nothing better than to spend a lazy summer afternoon trying their luck at their favorite fishing spot.

There’s also an angling counterpart among our feathered friends. The Belted Kingfisher’s nature as an angler rules out this bird visiting feeders in the backyard, but that doesn’t mean you’re unlikely to see this bird. With a little strategic effort, an observation of a Belted Kingfisher is fairly easy to obtain, especially during the summer months. If you live near a stream, pond, river or other body of water, you have probably been fortunate enough to observe a Belted Kingfisher as it completes its daily routine.

If you are a fishing enthusiast yourself, you’ve likely shared some favorite fishing holes with this bird. The Belted Kingfisher is patient in its pursuit of fish. The birds prefer to perch on an exposed branch or a wire that overlooks a body of water that offers ample fishing opportunities. The Belted Kingfisher, however, is capable of hovering in place in order to spot and then capture its prey in an impressive plunge and lunge into the water.

Most of my observations of hunting kingfishers have involved the birds in their ambush approach to fishing — perching and diving on the unsuspecting fish. I have on a few occasions, however, also observed kingfishers as they hover over the water in a quest for a meal.

The Belted Kingfisher, like most of its kin, looks to have a head and bill that are slightly too large for the rest of the body. It’s the long, heavy bill that the Belted Kingfisher uses to snatch fish from their watery homes.

A walnut tree with some dead branches overlooking my family’s fish pond is a favorite perching site for visiting Belted Kingfishers. A few Belted Kingfishers become regular visitors almost every spring and summer. In past years, I’ve been delighted by pairs of kingfishers that have brought as many as six of their offspring to hunt around the edges of the pond and creek near my home.

When a Belted Kingfisher does manage to capture a fish — not always a certainty, despite their great skill — the bird will usually fly to a perch where they will beat the fish unconscious before swallowing it. I remember one particular kingfisher that liked to catch fish in the creek and then fly to the corner of the metal garage roof where the bird proceeded to beat senseless the unlucky fish.

Worldwide, there are about 90 species of kingfishers that range in size from the 16-inch-long Laughing Kookaburra of Australia to the tiny African Dwarf Kingfisher, which at four inches in length is smaller than most sparrows. This family of birds is divided into three groupings, the river kingfishers, the tree kingfishers and the water kingfishers.

Despite the name “kingfisher,” not all kingfishers exist on a diet of fish. Some members of the kingfisher family instead prey on other quarry, such as snakes, lizards and insects.

Some interesting common names have been used to identify the world’s kingfishers, including Half-collared Kingfisher, Shining Blue Kingfisher, Blue-eared Kingfisher, Azure Kingfisher, Indigo-banded Kingfisher, Silvery Kingfisher, Malachite Kingfisher, White-bellied Kingfisher, Cerulean Kingfisher, Rufous-backed Kingfisher, Spangled Kookaburra, Rufous-bellied Kookaburra, Shovel-billed Kookaburra, Lilac Kingfisher, Brown-winged Kingfisher, Stork-billed Kingfisher, Great-billed Kingfisher, Striped Kingfisher, Lazuli Kingfisher, Ultramarine Kingfisher, Cinnamon-banded Kingfisher, Sacred Kingfisher, Mewing Kingfisher, Chattering Kingfisher, Glittering Kingfisher, Red-breasted Paradise Kingfisher, Pied Kingfisher and Green-and-rufous Kingfisher.

Kingfishers comprise a cosmopolitan family of birds with species present on every continent except Antarctica.

A depiction of Belted KingfisherS painted by John James Audubon.

The three North American kingfishers, however, are exclusively fish-eaters. The Belted Kingfisher, with a range that spans most of the United States, is the only kingfisher encountered by most Americans.

Two others, the Ringed Kingfisher and the Green Kingfisher, are found in Texas and occasionally in other locations near the Mexican border. The Ringed Kingfisher is similar in appearance to the Belted Kingfisher, but is somewhat larger with a rufous-colored belly. The little Green Kingfisher, not quite nine inches long, has the typical kingfisher appearance, but is green rather than blue on its upperparts.

With the Belted Kingfisher, only the female sports a ring of rufous coloration across her breast. She is an exception to the rule that most male birds are more vividly colored than their female companions.

In her book The Folklore of Birds, Laura C. Martin writes that in some accounts the kingfisher, not the dove, was the second bird Noah released from the ark after the Biblical flood. Instead of looking for land, the kingfisher flew too high and the sun scorched the bird’s feathers. After his setback with the raven and now the kingfisher, Noah made the kingfisher remain on the ark’s deck to catch its food from the water.

Halcyon days, a term meaning a period of peaceful quiet, is derived from Greek legend. According to the legend, the god Zeus restrained the storms during the period when the kingfishers nest. The scientific name for the Belted Kingfisher is Megaceryle alcyon, a variation on the term “halcyon.”

Photo Courtesy of Jean Potter Belted Kingfisher sits on a wire to scan for fish.

Belted Kingfishers nest by excavating a cavity in a dirt bank, usually near water. The tunnel slopes upward from the entrance, and may extend as far as eight feet into the bank.

Again in Martin’s book, there is an account of a Cherokee legend about how the kingfisher acquired its angling lifestyle. The poor bird wanted to be a waterbird, but lacked the equipment to make a living at fishing. The other animals convened a council and, in pity for the kingfisher’s plight, endowed the bird with its spear-like bill. Since that time, the bird has been known as “king of the fishers.”

The “king of the fishers” is indeed to be envied by human anglers. Although not successful in every attempt, the Belted Kingfisher is certainly exceptional in its pursuit of fish. According to John Eastman in his book, Birds of Lake, Pond and Marsh, the Belted Kingfisher typically captures about 10 fish per day.

If you want to observe this bird for yourself, stake out a pond or section of river. You’re not likely to have to wait for long before you are rewarded with an observation. In my experience, however, the Belted Kingfisher is somewhat shy and wary of humans, so observe from a respectful distance or you’re likely to scare off the bird, which will depart giving its rattling call that sounds so much like the sound of annoyance on its part.

Summer is the season of the swallow

Leave a reply

No matter where you live, you probably don’t have to go far to see one of the members of the swallow family. These graceful, aerodynamic birds are quite familiar to most people. If you spend much time at all outdoors during the summer months, chances are you’ve observed some members of this family.

Overall, it’s been a good year for swallows. It’s usually not too difficult to find five of the six species that are known to make Northeast Tennessee and Southwest Virginia their home from spring to fall. In addition to barn and tree swallows, I have seen purple martins, cliff swallows and northern rough-winged swallows so far this year.

Photo courtesy of Mary Taylor Beierle
A tree swallow peeks inside a nest box at the Beierle home.

Barn swallow and tree swallow are the two members of the family that are probably best known to people. They have adapted to life in both suburban and rural areas, which brings them into frequent contact with people.

These days, the barn swallow is as apt to nest in a parking garage or on an apartment balcony as inside a barn in the countryside. Once young swallows leave the nest, parents will park them on a perch as they continue to feed the still dependent young. Adults fly over nearby fields, foraging for insects that they catch on the wing and deliver back to the waiting, always hungry, young birds.

A freshly mown field is a magnet for swallows. I don’t know how the word spreads so quickly among these birds, but I’ve observed dozens of these birds descending on fields soon after they have been mowed for hay. At times, the birds arrive while the mowing is still taking place, swooping after insects stirred up in the tractor’s wake.

I haven’t observed any bank swallows in the region this year, but these members of the swallow family are rather hit-or-miss in the region. Because of their specialized nesting needs, bank swallows are localized in their distribution and not as widespread as their kin.

Cliff swallows nest beneath many local bridges. These swallows, which at one time nested primarily on rocky cliffs, hence their name, now frequently nest under man-made structures. These swallows make their jug-shaped nests out of mud and clay. These nesting “jugs” are all located in clusters beneath bridges and other structures. It’s a wonder that the parents flying in with food are able to tell their nests apart from the nearby seemingly identical nests of their neighbors.

Photo by Bryan Stevens For such a small bird, the Northern rough-winged Swallow has a long name.

Northern rough-winged swallows are opportunists when it comes to nesting. According to a profile written by Mark Johns with North Carolina Wesleyan College, this small swallow nests near rocky gorges, shale banks, stony road cuts, railroad embankments, gravel pits, eroded margins of streams and other exposed banks of clay, sand or gravel. They will also nest in old kingfisher burrows, protruding drainpipes, crevices in brick or stone structures such as dams, bridges or tunnels, gutters and culverts. Their nests are often built near open water.

The Northern rough-winged swallow ranks as one of the species with the longest common names in North America. It’s name consists of 26 letters and a hyphen, which ranks it one letter below both the Northern beardless-tyrannulet and a recently-created species — the saltmarsh sharp-tailed sparrow — which each have 27 letters and a hyphen. Formerly known as sharp-tailed sparrow, the species was renamed with “salt marsh” added to distinguish it from a relative, Nelson’s sparrow.

Photo courtesy of Mary Taylor Beierle A male Tree Swallow surveys his territory from atop a nesting box.

Purple martins, which rank as the largest species in the swallow family in North America, are famous for nesting in large colonies. Nesting facilities range from groupings of natural or artificial gourds fashioned into a nesting chamber, as well as large, multi-level condominium dwellings tailored for the specific needs of this communal bird. A colony can consist of several dozen to several hundred pairs of these birds. Only the adult male purple martin shows the iridescent, dark blue-purple plumage that provides the species with its name.

The tree swallow is my favorite, probably because a pair of these birds has nested in my yard for many years. Unlike other swallows, these cavity-nesting birds will readily accept nesting boxes. They compete with Eastern bluebirds for boxes, but the two species usually can work out a truce and settle down to nest in close proximity to each other. The iridescent blue-green male tree swallow, complete with white underparts and a forked tail, is a handsome bird and a welcome addition to the bird population in any yard or garden. Tree swallows enjoy water, so a nearby pond or creek is a boon for attracting these birds.

Photo courtesy of Mary Taylor Beierle Tree swallows readily accept human-provided nesting boxes. They also make delightful neighbors during the summer season.

While only a few swallows range into the United States and Canada, a total of 83 species of swallows can be found worldwide. Some of the common names for these different swallows (and martins) are quite descriptive. A sampling includes white-eyed river martin, square-tailed saw-wing, white-headed saw-wing, grey-rumped swallow, white-backed swallow, banded martin, violet-green swallow, golden swallow, brown-chested martin, brown-bellied swallow, pale-footed swallow, white-bibbed swallow, pearl-breasted swallow, greater striped swallow, mosque swallow, fairy martin and chestnut-collared swallow.

••••••

Several of the photos this week were provided by Mary Taylor Beierle, a resident of Stoney Creek in Carter County. Mary is also the author of the book, “Edmond The Daddy Turkey,” a delightful story about a male turkey who learns how to be a father.

Mary emailed me the photos with a brief note about her visiting swallows. “I am thrilled to have them here as we had never seen them before,” she said. “Good thing I have several bird books so I could identify them.”

To learn more about Mary’s book, visit http://www.amazon.com/Edmond-Daddy-Turkey-Taylor-Beierle/dp/0985986123

10441231_838490356179548_1093306511537972714_n

Photo by Bryan Stevens A Barn Swallow perches on a utility wire over a field.

Brown Thrasher’s nesting habits bring this golden-eyed bird into our yards

2 Replies

Photo by Bryan Stevens
A fledgling Brown Thrasher perches on a ledge inside a garage.

It’s been a banner year for brown thrashers at my home. In recent weeks, these large songbirds have provided plenty of entertainment by bringing their young to the feeders. They especially like the suet feeder. The parent birds work to detach chunks of suet. Once they secure these morsels, the parents feed their hungry young.

Photo Courtesy of Jean Potter
A Brown Thrasher scans the grass for insect prey.

A few years ago, quite by accident, I came across a brown thrasher nest. I hadn’t gone looking for it. The nest, expertly woven into a thicket of honeysuckle vines, was tucked beneath a sheltering eave of an outdoor storage building. I don’t think anything but a fortunate accident could have ever revealed the nest. I still remember peeking into that tangle of vines and seeing a golden eye staring back. The bird didn’t look in the least pleased that I had accidentally stumbled across her nest.

The otherwise extroverted brown thrasher, which prefers to nest in difficult-to-access, tangled messes, found the cluster of vines a perfect location. I haven’t discovered any thrasher nests this year, but I’ve observed several fledglings when they began visiting the feeders with their parents. For those not familiar with brown thrashers — relatives of the Northern mockingbird — they are known for their feisty and fearless protection of their nest and young.

Photo by Bryan Stevens
Brown Thrashers prefer thickets and brushy areas that offer security for these somewhat shy birds.

The brown thrasher (Toxostoma rufum) belongs to the family of “mimic thrushes,” which provides a label for a group of songbirds capable of imitating the songs of other birds. Mimidae, the Latin root for “mimic,” provides the scientific name for the family, which includes mockingbirds and the New World catbirds, as well as thrashers. The Northern mockingbird is best known for the ability to mimic, but relatives like the gray catbird and brown thrasher are also talented mimics.

The thrasher is a fairly large songbird about 11.5 inches long with a wingspan of 13 inches. Much of the body length comes from the bird’s long tail feathers. A thrasher weighs, however, only about 2.5 ounces.

The brown thrasher is not a picky eater. It’s known to eat everything from berries and nuts to insects and small lizards. It’s also aggressive in defending its nest and young. John James Audubon, a French-American ornithologist, naturalist and painter, painted quite a dramatic scene of a group of brown thrashers valiantly defending a nest from an attacking snake. The painting is so detailed that you have to imagine Audubon based his work on a real-life experience. His work, originally painted in the early decades of the 1800s, still holds up today.

Early American naturalist and artist John James Audubon painted a dramatic scene of Brown Thrashers defending their nest from an attacking snake.

Incidentally, Audubon knew the brown thrasher as the “ferruginous thrush.” Another former common name for this species was “brown thrush.”

This brown thrasher breeds across the United States and Canada east of the Rocky Mountains. Thrashers withdraw from the northern part of their range in the winter months, spending the season in the southeastern United States.

They are familiar birds in southern gardens. In fact, the brown thrasher is the official state bird of Georgia and also provided the name for Atlanta’s National Hockey League team, the Atlanta Thrashers. The thrasher became Georgia’s state bird due to passage of a Joint Resolution of the Georgia General Assembly in 1970.

The brown thrasher is the only member of the thrasher clan in the eastern United States. In Texas and the western half of the country, however, there are several other species of thrasher, including sage thrasher, long-billed thrasher, Crissal thrasher, curve-billed thrasher, Bendire’s thrasher, California thrasher and Le Conte’s thrasher. Many of these thrashers also occur in Mexico.

These New World birds also occur in the Caribbean, including such species as White-breasted Thrasher, Pearly-eyed Thrasher and Scaly-breasted Thrasher.

Photo by Bryan Stevens
A pair of Brown Thrashers perch near a fence at Tipton-Haynes Historic Site in Johnson City.

•••••

Rebecca Howe, who resides in Kent, Ohio, has sent me an email.

“I am blessed to have rose-breasted grosbeaks come to my house each spring,” she wrote. “I watch males arrive first and then females.”

She has recently been seeing young birds arriving at her feeding station.

“Now the birds seem to be leaving,” she noted. “Do they leave their breeding grounds around this time to move south for the winter?”

I thanked Rebecca for sharing about her rose-breasted grosbeak observations in a follow-up email and informed her that different birds depart at different times to go south for the winter. Some birds do not get into a rush to reach their destination, so the start of migration is more of a slow-paced, casual “wandering” that takes them to different locations in a more or less southern direction.

Brown Thrasher visits a suet feeder. The thrasher diet consists of everything from berries and seeds to insects and even small reptiles.

Photo by Bryan Stevens Brown Thrasher visits a suet feeder. The thrasher diet consists of everything from berries and seeds to insects and even small reptiles.

Closer to Southwest Virginia and Northeast Tennessee, birds like yellow warbler, Louisiana waterthrush and a few others are known to depart as early as July and August. Ruby-throated hummingbirds are another good example of slow migrants. Those that pushed to the northern limit of their range are probably already heading back. But they are very nomadic. Maybe they could even be described as “restless,” and it is this time of year when I start to get the highest numbers of these little birds.

••••••

I look forward to hearing from readers. Those who wish to ask a question, share an observation or make a comment may reach me at ahoodedwarbler@aol.com. Follow me on Facebook to see more bird and nature photos at https://www.facebook.com/ahoodedwarbler

Photo by Bryan Stevens
A pair of Brown Thrashers forage for food on the ground below a feeder.

	TD on Chasing Zunzun: Bahamas cruise…
	TD on Chasing Zunzun: Bahamas cruise…
	TD on Christmas gift ideas that are…
	natureandphotography on 56th annual Fall Bird Count fi…
	TD on Local couple comes to aid of i…

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this: