Tiny Chipping Sparrow

Chipping Sparrow

The Chipping Sparrow no doubt got it's name from it's most frequent vocalization.  A repetitive, soft chip, chip, chip.   Although they do also produce a beautiful song with a distinct trill, that can be heard everywhere quite clearly in early spring.

I see this little sparrow everywhere lately.  In fact I have a Pair nesting in the tree outside my front door.  There is the female in the photo below, perched on my roof with nesting material.  Since I've recently set up another bird feeder in this tree, it is quite possible that is why the pair has decided to nest there.

Female Chipping Sparrow

They seem to have no preference as to how and where they forage for food.  You will see them at the bird feeder as often as you will see them on the ground feeding on the seed that has fallen out.  They can be seen flitting amongst the low branches of a tree, or in a bush in pursuit of insects.  You will also notice them running along the fence in your yard.

Chipping sparrow male

Pair of Chipping Sparrows

 In the photo, directly below you can clearly see just how tiny this bird is, when you compare it to the flowers planted just below it's nesting tree.  You might also notice that it  has a relatively small bill for a sparrow.  In summer, the Chipping Sparrow is easily recognized by a rusty cap, a wide, white stripe above the eye, a black line through the eye, a gray cheek patch, and a plain, whitish gray belly and chest.

Foraging on the ground

The Chipping Sparrow male will defend it's mate and nest energetically from others of it's kind, but will tolerate the presence of other species of birds.  As long as they pose no threat to their nest and young that is.  It is the female that builds the nest with no help from the male.  She is rather picky about her choice of nest location, but not apparently it's construction, as the nest of a Chipping Sparrow is quite flimsy, even see through.

Once their brood has fledged, this sparrow moves away to molt and assume it's winter color.  It will develop a dull buff brown appearance, with a black eye stripe, streaked breast and redish, brown cap.  At this time, you will see this sparrow in constant company of a dozen or so of his own species.

For more information on this tiny bird just follow this link:
http://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Chipping_Sparrow/lifehistory


Enjoy,
Susan

Boat - tailed Grackle

Peeking over the top

The Boat-tailed Grackle is a bird I came across on the docks, behind our hotel in Miami while on holiday.  The male of the species is quite large, just a bit smaller than a crow, and slimmer.  He is black with purple iridescence and green gloss on a long keeled tail. 

The female is somewhat smaller in size, and colored in various shades of brown and tan.  Her tail is somewhat shorter than the male's. The female featured here was quite bold, while the males tended to fly off if you got too close.  The males also seemed to cluster together in groups.

Boat-tailed Grackle male

The Boat Tailed Grackle is an exclusive resident of the Gulf of Mexico and the Atlantic coast.   This species is omnivorous.  It's diet consists of insects, minnows, frogs, eggs, berries, seed and grain.  It typically forages on the ground, in shallow water or in low shrubs.  Like some other bird species, such as Ravens and Crows, the Boat Tailed Grackle has embraced human communities and so can also be seen foraging in garbage bins, dumpsters and parking lots. 

The female of the species chooses her mate.  The pairing is temporary and it is the female that builds the nest, incubates the eggs and raises the young, all without the aid of the male.  However, it appears that the males do compete to protect the females and the nesting colony.

Female touches down

Female Boat-tailed Grackle

The males also compete for the notice of females with elaborate courtship displays, but once a female has chosen her mate, the rest of the males drop out of the competition.  I must say that I quite enjoyed watching these birds as they flew from the roof of one boat to the next, or one tree to another with their loud calls.  Their behavior was quite entertaining, the female's especially so. 

For more information on this species of bird just follow these links:
http://www.birdzilla.com/birds/Boat-tailed-Grackle/bent_life_history.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boat-tailed_Grackle

Enjoy,
Susan

Winged nomads move on, their cousins move in

Bohemian Waxwings frolicking during a winter storm

Beginning this past January I was presented with many opportunities to take some wonderful photos of the Bohemian waxwing, because these birds graced our neighborhood with their presence for several months.  Bohemian waxwings are nomadic in their behavior in that they follow the food source and have no specific home environment.  Guess my neighborhood has a huge food source which allowed them to stay for so long.  Bohemian Waxwings typically fly north in spring however, as they prefer the cooler environments of northern Europe, Asia and North America.  When these birds left in early spring, their cousins the Cedar waxwing moved in to take their place not long after.

While Cedar waxwings confine their nomadic wanderings to North and south America, like the Bohemian waxwing, their diet consists mostly of fruit and berries during non breeding seasons.   They too are known for falling drunkenly from a perch due to their greedy consumption of fruit.   During breeding season however, they consume mostly insects, although fruit is still a part of their diet.  Cedar waxwings love the sound of running water, so if you wish to attract these beautiful birds to your yard, all you need to do is add fruit bearing plants and a water fountain or bird bath.

Cedar Waxwing

Both species of waxwing have small patches of bright red feathers on their wings, which look like drops of  red wax.  Hence the name Waxwing.  They both  have yellow tipped tail feathers, as well as a black mask covering their eyes and a crest on their head.   However, otherwise the coloring of each species is quite different. 

Cedar Waxwing back view

The Cedar Waxwing has a yellow belly and white under tail coverts.  This bird is mainly cinnamon brown in color on the chest, throat, all of the head and crest.  The color then blends to soft gray on the back.  The Bohemian has a white belly and reddish orange under tail coverts, while his chest is mostly gray blending into cinnamon brown at the throat, face and crest, but the back of the head and the remainder of his body is soft gray in color.

Bohemian Waxwing

Cedar waxwing

The Bohemian waxwing has more red spots on the wing than the Cedar waxwing, and also has yellow and white wingtips.   Both of these colors are lacking on the Cedar waxwing's wing tips.  The Cedar waxwing however does have a small patch of white running along his back on both sides where the wings meet.  The male and female of both species have the same coloring, unlike other bird species where only the male sports the bright plumage.

Flock of Bohemian Waxwings

Pair of Cedar Waxwing

The Cedar waxwing is not easily seen during the breeding season, although you will hear their distinct, high pitched whistles.  In the fall, like their cousins the Bohemian waxwings, they fly in large flocks to seek out and follow the food supply.  Both species share their food, and will pass it along if it is in a place on a branch that is hard to reach.   Mated pairs will pass food or objects, such as flower petals back and forth. As you can see, these species are highly social in behavior and watching their behavior is a distinct joy.

Enjoy,
Susan

Taking a break

I'm taking a break from posting this week, while I take care of some personal stuff.  Back to regular posting next week.

Susan

House Finch taking over the neighborhood

Male and female

Although I had never seen a House Finch until I moved, now I see this bird all the time.  Last year there were just a few, mostly down the street a couple of blocks.  This year however, they seem to have taken over the whole neighborhood.   There are even some nesting in my neighbor's yard.


The abundance of fruit trees and bushes no doubt contributes to their presence and apparent well being.  Or perhaps the presence of the Ravens, who have established their territory here, has indirectly been beneficial to this finch species.   Whereas before there were one or two species of small hawks that hunted the neighborhood almost daily,  since the Raven's have built their nest site and their young have fledged, these hawks are noticeably absent.

Pair

In flight

The House Finch, as you can see is a beautiful bird who takes advantage of the presence of humans and human development.   They are a non-migratory, very social species.  You will see them in groups in the tree tops or singly on the ground, or at the bird feeder.  Their diet includes seeds, berries and fruit.  The fruit and berries are what gives the males their bright color which can vary from yellow and orange, to red.  Although red is the predominant color.

Male perched

The House Finch was brought to Western North America from Mexico in the 1940's and have adapted themselves very well.  But although it is a beautiful bird species, it's introduction  has had the unfortunate effect of displacing  the larger Purple Finch, who is native to the area.  Sadly the Purple Finch's numbers have declined because of this.

The House Finch may be recognized by it's bright cherry red head and breast, streaky brown back and wings, as well as a red rump.  They also have brown streaks on their breast.  Their wings are short and their tail only slightly notched, unlike other finch species.  In winter they fly in small flocks much like waxwings.  Their habitat includes urban areas, city parks, back yards, farms, and forest edges. 

Enjoy,
Susan

Tiger swallowtail butterfly

I don't see this beauty often.  In fact in recent years I have seen it once only, but this year, for some reason, I'm seeing Tiger Swallowtails where ever I go.  I must say that I'm extremely pleased by that fact, because it seems to me I recall someone telling me years ago that these butterflies were endangered, although I will have to find out if that is actually true.

Tiger swallowtail hovering

Tiger Swallowtail lift-off

Butterflies are somewhat more difficult to photograph than birds, I find anyway, because their flight pattern is extremely erratic.  After several attempts, spaced out of the period of a week, I was lucky enough to come across this one taking water from the ground, near a puddle.  It settled on the ground long enough for me to get these photos, and then settled again on a bush nearby for a couple of seconds.

Brief display of wings

In any case, I was so excited to get photos of this beauty that I couldn't resist sharing them.

Tiger Swallowtail at rest

Although I won't pretend to know which exact species of Tiger Swallowtail this is, as there are several, I'm guessing it is the Canadian species.  I have yet to do any kind of research on this butterfly beyond the basics.  So I definitely need to learn how to tell once species of Tiger Swallowtail from another.  If you have any knowledge in this regard please feel free to share in the comment section below this post.

Enjoy,
Susan

Juvenile Ravens

Juvenile Ravens on the roof tops

As expected, since the Ravens were nesting in February, their young have fledged way ahead of most other bird species.  There are five of them.  For a couple of weeks now they have made their presence known in the neighborhood with their loud calls.   They seem to be practicing their flying and landing skills, as I see them diving, swooping and climbing in the sky all over the neighborhood.   One of them is even a bit clumsy, which is actually quite endearing.

Juvenile Raven

Ravens are very intelligent and as I learned from both my research and through observation, their young engage in active play.  This takes the form of chase games with each other, as well as other birds, and has the added bonus of turning them into excellent fliers.   When I was watching them, it was almost as if they were encouraging each other to try landings and take offs from trees and other high places, such as a church tower, and hoping from one roof top to the next in my complex.

Preening

In Flight

The parents, who are very caring and protective, check up on them regularly.  In the picture directly below you can see some of them in a family huddle with one of the parents.  I have observed this behavior several times now.

Joyous greeting of parent

The parents also seem always to be close by.  When the juveniles are giving off distress calls, the parents swoop in almost immediately.  The first time that I saw the juveniles, they were being mobbed by crows.  The crows however didn't stick around for long once the parents arrived on scene, as Raven parents are very aggressive in their defense of the juveniles.   They will engage any threat to their young with aggression, as I have even observed the Ravens chasing and harassing an Eagle, until it was well away from their nest site.

Juvenile Raven taking off

Juvenile Ravens will stay with or near their parents for six months after they fledge.  They also stay in a group,  while the parents are elsewhere.  As far as I know this is the only bird species to do so.  Although the juvenile Ravens are anything but quiet when they play, I quite enjoy watching their antics.


Enjoy,
Susan