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In the mid-1970s, a local breeder was burglarized and a few of his birds escaped, after which the breeder released his remaining stock of about 50 birds 1. The northwestern spread of this non-native species made it to my yard a few years ago. I am always alarmed when I see rapid expansion of a non-native species of any kind.
The least common species of hummingbird I see here is the Calliope Hummingbird ( Stellula calliope ). She is the latest of our local breeders, not nesting usually until mid-May. The female is the earliest breeder of all these species, arriving on breeding grounds shortly after the males in November.
Although both species are widespread in North America as breeders in shrubby edge habitats, that is not the case in the southern half of the sunshine state (the more northerly race of Prairie Warbler is an uncommon breeder in the panhandle). Everyone, I would like you to meet the ‘Florida’ Prairie Warbler ( S.
It is one of three species of ani ( Groove-billed and Greater Anis are the other two) and together form a unique branch in the cuckoo family. Smooth-billed Anis were relative newcomers as breeders to Florida, having only begun nesting since the 1930s. However, the true reason (or reasons) for their rapid decline remain a mystery.
Most of the birds I spotted this weekend are the same species I’ll be hanging out with all winter. Most of the breeders seemed to have departed already on their journeys south but he did enjoy a Barred Owl serenade in the wee hours of the morning two days in a row so the Barred Owl wins as his Best Bird of the Weekend.
Howell’s A Guide to the Birds of Mexico and Northern Central America , which is absolutely my birder’s Bible for the region, says that Snowy Plovers are fair to uncommon summer breeders in the Lake Cuitzeo area, which they certainly are (breeders, though not uncommon). Even I cannot predict what you might see!
Tucked away at the extreme eastern end of the Mediterranean, Cyprus is regarded politically as part of Europe, but when it comes to birds it’s very much Middle Eastern in flavour, with a number of species that are hard or even impossible to find in Europe, plus a trio of endemics. The song is highly distinctive.
The Buller’s Mollymawk is an endemic breeder to New Zealand, although it ranges widely away from the islands to feed, and regularly goes to South America’s Humboldt Current to feed. As albies go they seem to be doing better than most species, and are only listed as Near Threatened by the IUCN. I hope you enjoy the photos.
Both the male and female of the species have a bright red crown. Most Acorn Woodpeckers are cooperative breeders and live in family groups of up to a dozen or more individuals. Within a group, 1–7 male co-breeders compete for matings with 1–3 joint-nesting females who lay their eggs in the same nest cavity.
This is not to say that you won’t find great birds where you are, but only that they will likely be the resident breeders or wintering species you’ve already grown accustomed to. As we ascend to the height of the season, we become more likely to encounter extreme weather coupled with extremely mundane birding.
You can see the list of the more than 270 bird species observed throughout the year at the marsh, along with their frequency and time of year seen here. Among the several species we did see on the jetty however, is the Black Turnston e ( Arenaria melanocephala ). Click on photos for full sized images.
His personal fieldwork, supplemented with research into records dating back to 1794, are melded here to create not merely an exhaustive list of recorded species with notes on their status, dates, and population trends, but a portrait of a patch.
Traveling really rejuvenates the passion when local breeders become banal. It is the first record of this invasive species for New York City and it served as a nice contrast to the hordes of pigeons in the neighborhood. Most people don’t expect birding wisdom from Buffet, but he is, after all, the Chief Parrothead! How about you?
We all have invasive species on our minds this week, which should serve as an inspiration to those of us interested in expanding our personal range. Being a resident in an ecosystem certainly has its advantages, as does being a breeder (sometimes), but, every once in a while, you should visit someplace where you’re considered an exotic!
But we’re not confined to a wasteland of resident breeders just yet, are we? His Best Bird of the Weekend was an Acadian Flycatcher in Forest Park on Sunday both because it’s a good bird for his home borough and because it was the final of the five Empidonax species that occur in Queens that he saw this year.
The male and female of the species look very similar but they are easy to tell apart. Probably one of the most interesting things about these little birds is that they are cooperative breeders. It is camouflaged with local plant material, usually of the tree species the nest is built within.
The species ranges widely across the Pacific, as its scientific name suggests, from the Revillagigedo Islands off Mexico to the Japanese Bonin Islands to New South Wales in Australia. In the air you can see the wedged tail that gives the species its name. I’ll do a post on this special little shearwater later on.
In fact, they are one of the few avian species that can survive on classic American lawns, perhaps explaining why their range is so large. Still, this leaves them more vulnerable to pesticides compared to many other species. Robins are prolific breeders, capable of producing not one, not two, but three broods in one summer season.
Interestingly, according to BirdLife International , which lists the Glaucous Gull as a Species of Least Concern because of its large range and population, the populations found in the western Palearctic tend to remain near nesting grounds year-round so it is essentially only the North American breeders that wander during the winter months.
… leaving the remainder of the birds on the Cyprus Species List (over 380 species) are either migrants or accidentals. the first three found only in the Troodos and Paphos forests). That’s quite a lot! As it happens though, Blackcaps may provide a modern example of how this can occur.
Dawn Fine Mar 15th, 2011 at 3:50 pm NO Comment YourBirdOasis.com Mar 15th, 2011 at 10:07 pm Yeah, polygynandry is really weird…what other species have this breeding system? In the case of Acorn Woodpeckers, they are cooperative breeders (as with many other polygynandrous species), which seems to predispose species to polygynandry.
Western New York might not boast a phenomenal diversity of resident breeders, but we have lots of fun species summering here. Share your plans in the comments below. Corey and I both plan to stay local and low key. I hope to run into some! Whatever your plans this weekend, make time to enjoy SkyWatch Friday.
So, the basic idea is to show 15 species of Australian birds in each post and give you the usual trivia about them. This species has also eliminated the need for childcare – the chicks emerge from this pile on their own and never even get to see their parents. Similarly, the Grey Shrikethrush is neither a shrike nor a thrush.
One of the less well remembered awful things that happened in the Second World War (a six year period of history filled with an uncountable number of awful things) is that war’s direct role in the extinction of two species of rail. The loss of these two species was, in fact, no aberration, except in how late the extinctions were.
Sure, Miami and the Florida Keys do not boast any endemics ( ‘Cape Sable’ Seaside Sparrow is close) at the species level. Many visitors who come through Orlando or Tampa see maybe eight or ten species on a winter trip. However, few realize how unique and how good the birding can be here.
Even the most barren habitat shelters enough stealthy, confusing, downright frustrating species to scare off newbies. Every season presents its specialty species in the full flower of their availability, diversity, and beauty. Too many steps in a process can seem daunting, so always keep it as simple as possible.
It is even more odd to be birding Central Park in June, when migration has essentially wrapped up and all that is left are breeders and stragglers. But that is what I did yesterday morning because Nate was in town, I had some time available, and we are birders!
Apparently, the species name rutila means “red, golden red, reddish yellow”, which sounds a bit like a contradiction in itself. It is well known that chicks of this morph immediately start having an identity crisis when combining the knowledge of their species name with the information gathered from a look in the mirror.
The only unstreaked pipit around here and a characteristic breeder of sand dunes is the Tawny Pipit and this one shows well, holding to the grass edge. They are quite a rare breeding species in Serbia, declining as we speak, but one pair breeds nearby. Two European Rollers await us on the wires, while one Eurasian Hoopoe flies by.
Not bad given that the 5 families in the inner circle of the laughingthrush family have a combined number of about 68 species. The Hainan version is sometimes considered a separate species, in which case it is classified as Near Threatened. 36, if my counting is right and there has been no very recent split or lump.
The grasslands have been popping off with breeders for well over a month, but the snow is just now giving way to lush alpine meadows and rocky tundras. This is my time of year to explore thin air and look for unique Colorado breeders. Most REAL montane species like this finch are declining in overall population.
Even the Latin species name soror (“sister”) indicates the similarity to another pitta species (blue-naped). The eBird description of the Small Niltava starts with the surprisingly dull statement that “size distinguishes this species from other niltavas” Who would have thought.
The next hour plus netted me a host of other species, including my two other targets, Virginia Rail and Common Gallinule. As always, the woods around the marsh were busy with breeders setting up shop. Who likes a declining species of shorebird that eschews the shore and has as its most impressive vocalization a wolf-whistle?
Westland Petrels are endemic breeders to New Zealand, and an attractive large black seabird. It is one of several species of Procellaria petrels found in New Zealand, and several more that are found in the southern hemisphere. Westland Petrel ( Procellaria westlandica ). Westland Petrel with Cape Petrel behind.
Their habitats vary widely in both rural and urban landscapes; open habitats are preferred and the species generally shuns only extensively forested areas and wetlands 1. To show how adaptive this species is, the following photograph was sent to me by one of my readers and I use it with her permission.
It was for many years the last place you’d find Stitchbirds anywhere in the world, and to this day it still has the largest population of this species and arguably the only stable and secure one. Cook’s Petrel ( Pterodroma cookii ) is another range-restricted breeder that nests on Little Barrier Island.
Given that according to the HBW, the species prefers dense primary and secondary montane forests, the note that the bird also forages among kitchen waste (in the same HBW entry) seems somewhat incongruous. Fish & Wildlife Service has a web page for this species – but it contains absolutely no information.
Just as your conationals up north are rejoicing over the return of hundreds of migratory species, you sadly say goodbye to the same. I have still seen each of these species out in the forest between two days and three weeks after they abandoned my yard. So go ahead and take your summer breeders back. That is a garden first!
One has a large yard in the jungle along the same flyway, and can see as many as 100 species during migration, including a fantastic collection of eastern Wood Warblers. A good morning in my yard will probably only yield some 20 species, including those seen from my house and in neighbors’ yards.
That more-or-less covers a vast range – both metaphorically and literally, as the yellower birds are eastern breeders and the more whitish ones hail from the west. The other half glow more-or-less yellow. Their habitat and incessant tail-bobbing makes them easy to pick out even before I spot the rusty cap and yellow under-tail coverts.
The antwren had been elevated to species level and Hilton is just a sucker for anything Paulista, and besides, who needs a reason to go birding? He did know all the little roads in the area and as he wasn’t a trapper but a breeder we asked him to show us the way. It is possible to clutch victory from the jaws of defeat.
They are the first of our migrant breeders to go, and they are gone by the beginning of August. The species is quite common within settlements indeed, and the inner cities are a favoured haunt. The theatre of the evening sky that soothes the mind and brings to rest the hot summer days is over. That is early.
I am planning to have this post be the first in a (very) small series on Europe’s “large white-headed gulls” It will of course only be a small series since there aren’t that many large white-headed gull species in Europe and particularly because I don’t want to cause too harsh a drop in the blog’s visitor numbers.
In all that swirling of swallows, I am not certain was there a third species, so I keep watching. Supposedly, in Spring this area is teeming with migrating passerines, but in September, I recorded a mere dozen species, including very numerous Red-backed Shrikes (9 in this area alone). eBird hotspots of Prespa lakes. Practicalities.
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