Blackpoll Warbler

While at DGCA I had several opportunities to photograph a Blackpoll Warbler. I made the most that I could out of those opportunities, but the results were not exceptional. Like most warblers, they were quite happy to flit about faster than I could keep up, picking insects off of leaves and branches.

I secretly suspect that they mocked me as they hopped about, moving just as they heard my camera beep-beep when it acquired focus. The joke is on them, however, because the focus was usually acquired on a nearby leaf or branch, not the bird. Ha! Who is laughing now, bouncy Blackpoll?

Mr. Speedy

Two weekends ago (the one before Memorial Day weekend) I made a morning bird watching visit to Dutch Gap Conservation Area (DGCA). Specifically, I walked what I call the "River Trail" (this is called the "Henricus Park Trail" if you follow the previous link to the Virginia Birding and Wildlife Trail website, but that website's description is out of date because the boardwalk they mention no longer exists). This is an out and back walk that totals 2.5 miles. A few weeks back Google announced the capability to create your own Google maps, which I promptly used to depict the trails within DGCA. Take a look here. The "River Trail" is the red one.

While on my little jaunt, I came across Mr. Speedy. He is a turtle of some variety who was making his way across, or perhaps along, the trail. Here is a fairly good description of our encounter:

1. Locate turtle.
2. Photograph turtle.
3. Get distracted by nearby bird activity.
4. Remember turtle.
5. Worry that I might step on turtle.
   
6. Return to step #1.

Eventually some part of that chain failed because I did not step on the turtle, and at some point I either failed to remember he was there or failed to relocate him. Here is a picture for posterity. Good times.

Virginia Creeper

The day before Tammy and I left to come home from her parents, we visited the Virginia Creeper Trail for a small day hike. The Virginia Creeper Trail is the result of a "rails to trails" effort where a no longer used railway line was converted into a hiking/biking/horseback riding trail. Including a very small spur out and back on the Appalachian Trail, we ended up hiking just over 6 miles. That is not really very much of the Virginia Creeper Trail, since it is 34 miles long. We essentially covered just under 3 miles of the trail (three miles going out and then the same three miles coming back) just east of Damascus, Virginia.

While walking, we saw lots of people who were riding/coasting towards Damascus on a bike. There are several outfits in Damascus (and other towns on the trail as well, I suspect) that will rent you a bike and then drive you to the high point on the trail so that you can ride back to town, more or less all downhill. That actually sounds like a pretty cool ride.

Here are a few pictures from the walk along the Virginia Creeper Trail.

Increasing the odds of survival

The road where Tammy's mother lives has a small creek running more or less parallel to it. This creates a series of back yards that are bordered by this creek. The creek was very nice and relaxing to listen to. And the Mallards liked it too. In fact, the Mallards loved the creek, and all of the nice lawns right next to the creek. I only counted about six adults while they wandered from yard to yard, across the road, back into the creek or wherever, so it was not a gigantic population of ducks. They were, however, attempting to change that.

Apparently it is not uncommon in the neighborhood to find a nest with eggs, but most get destroyed because they are in people's yards. At least one, however, was successful. The picture below was a photo I took facing upstream, looking between the railing and floorboards of a little bridge, at a single female Mallard and thirteen chicks! That is a whole lot of Mallard potential there, and another shining example of the Mallard master plan for controlling the world.

Northern Rough-winged Swallow

Another interesting location within Tazewell County is where Maiden Spring Creek flows out of a cave. We did not go into the cave because we were already trespassing on private property, and...well, going into random caves is not something I try to do.

While we were there admiring how the creek flows out of the side of a mountain we noticed that there were swallows flying in and out of the cave. There are such a thing as Cave Swallows, but they tend to live in Mexico, the Caribbean and Texas. I am fairly sure we were seeing Northern Rough-winged Swallows.

A couple years back I used to frequently bird watch DGCA in the spring with a friend named Jose. Jose was from Spain, a good birdwatcher, and had a hard time pronouncing "Prothonotary". If you think I have strayed off topic, then you may be just a little correct...but only just a little. Jose was the person who pointed out to me that the swallows flying around in DGCA were not always just Tree Swallows with the occasional Barn Swallow. One day he pointed up and said "Northern Rough-winged" and all I could say was "huh?". I started paying more attention that day.

I owe Jose an email.

Fort Witten

Tammy and I were wandering around Tazewell County looking for a good place to bird watch, but we had not done any research beforehand. We ended up settling for Fort Witten, also known as Historic Crab Orchard Museum and Pioneer Park, as our destination.

It turns out that this spot is located on the Virginia Birding and Wildlife Trail. The website maintained by the Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries does not make it at all easy to figure this out, but I will save that rant for another day.

So, here we were at this nice little park. It has been set up with several restored and reconstructed buildings that provide a nice glimpse into how people lived in the 1800's. It is a very nice place with gravel walkways and manicured grass and fences and a nice little brook running through the middle. There were a few birds to be seen there, but mostly what I would consider "back yard birds". I did manage to find a pair of Black-billed Cuckoo along the edge of the place in some trees. That was the first time I had ever seen that species (finally!), so the bird watching was instantly declared a success. Despite the cuckoos, I did wonder about the criteria that was used to officially put places on the Virginia Birding and Wildlife Trail. I will ponder that thought some more, and maybe a blog post will be born.

Now for the pictures. In the eaves of one of the historical buildings I found an American Robin firmly attached to a nest. No...I did not try to shake her loose, but she did not flinch or fly away as I stood directly under her with my camera. The second picture is of that nice little brook I mentioned above.

Tree Swallow

Usually Tree Swallows are flying around eating bugs on the wing, but you can also catch them perched on something pretty easily. The angle of this photograph caught the bright sun on the Tree Swallow's shiny blue head and back. This is another example of a picture taken from a stopped car (this time through an open sun roof) while in Thompson Valley of Tazewell County Virginia.

Eastern Meadowlark

While visiting Tammy's family a couple weeks back, Tammy and I did some bird watching one morning. We were not quite sure where to go, so we wandered a bit. This Eastern Meadowlark was first heard and then spotted singing on a power line that stretched across a field. There was no traffic, so we stopped and I got some pictures.

Transition Day

Yesterday's post with pictures of Scarlet Tanager was my last post from the recent visit to South River Falls Trail. That trip was three weekends ago, so I am a bit behind. Two weekends ago (Mother's Day weekend) I was in Tazewell County Virginia with Tammy, visiting her parents. This past weekend I stayed local and visited DGCA.

Tomorrow I will begin posting a few pictures that I took while in Tazewell County. Even though I was there with Tammy, we did do a small bit of bird watching, and also managed a short hike on the Virginia Creeper Trail. I have a couple of pictures from those activities. And then I will switch to the pictures I got a DGCA.

I have noticed that if I keep up the rate of trips and photography, combined with one post a day on this blog, I will always have something to post and generally always be playing catch up. Hopefully the posts here will not be related to activities that are more than a month old.

Scarlet Tanager

One of my favorite birds to see during Spring migration is Scarlet Tanager. That vivid red and black combination on the males is just beautiful, and it jumps out at you when you see it against the background of green foliage, or a blue sky. These pictures are from my recent hike on South River Falls Trail. While I was lucky enough to see two male Scarlet Tanagers in the same tree at the same time, I still had to choose which one to photograph since they were not posing side by side.

American Redstart

When I hiked the South River Falls Trail, one of the more common birds that I saw was American Redstart. When I say "common", I mean it. They were everywhere. By the end of the hike I was mumbling to myself "yet another Redstart" after taking the time to follow some movement in the trees with my binoculars so that I could identify its source. And like most Warblers, these birds are not what you could call passive. They are always on the move looking for the next tasty bug to catch and eat. In fact, one of the tricks used by American Redstart is to fan its orange and black tail in an attempt to flush insects out for the snagging.

Somehow I managed to get a reasonable photo of a male American Redstart. I have made many attempts at getting a photo of an American Redstart, but they usually move much faster than I can point and focus my camera. Either I got lucky, or this one took pity on me.

Black-and-white Warbler

The color pattern and tree climbing behavior of a Black-and-white Warbler make me think of a White-breasted Nuthatch in a Zebra suit. That is, however, where any similarity (if you can even call it that) ends.

I took these photos of a Black-and-White Warbler while hiking the South River Falls Trail (pdf) in Shenandoah. The first shows an attempt at grabbing a meal. The second is a very brief moment of rest for the bird. Usually they are very active and nearly always moving.

Red-eyed Vireo

One of the things I notice most when Spring arrives in Virginia are the Red-eyed Vireos. They winter in South America, and arrive back in Virginia in early Spring. Most of the time you do not see them because they are in the canopy of trees picking bugs off of leaves. In the Spring and Summer, however, they sing pretty incessantly during the day, so it is very easy to detect their presence, even if you do not actually see them.

Here are a couple of photos I managed to get of Red-eyed Vireos while hiking South River Falls Trail.

Bear Sighting

It is fairly well known that Virginia has a nice population of American Black Bears, and that population tends to favor the habitat found in the western part of the state, including Shenandoah National Park. On the other hand, I have visited the western part of the state many times, including Shenandoah and the Appalachian Trail, and have only seen a bear one time. That one time was a fleeting glance of a very distant bear while hiking up White Oak Canyon Trail.

That is until my recent trip to South River Falls Trail.

I was taking my time hiking back up from the falls. My pace was what I call "bird watching speed" instead of "hiking speed". The total distance of the hike was somewhere around 3.5 miles, and I took 5 and a half hours to hike it. As I hiked, I would periodically stop when I heard or saw something that warranted some investigation. Other times I would just stop to listen and wait on the off chance that something would be moving through the trees and pass me. I was expecting that "something" to be avian. When I noticed movement down slope from me that was dark, furry and not small, I realized my interest in just birds was a tad too focused.

I was so excited about seeing a bear that my pictures suffered. The only photos where you can tell there is a bear are when the bear's head is behind a tree. The bear was probably only about 20 yards away, down slope from the trail. I had no indication that the bear ever took notice of me (which in hind sight is a good thing). My theory is that it had a den down there because it moved behind a pile of brush and fallen trees and it never came back into view over the next 15 minutes (when I decided to move along).

So, here is my lame bear picture. Hopefully you can tell there is a bear in the photo, even if it is headless. At the rate I am seeing bears in Shenandoah, I should see another one in about two years. I will be better prepared to get a good photo when that happens!

White-throated Sparrow

While hiking the South River Falls Trail, some movement in a brush pile caught my attention. I was taking pictures of a bird before I knew what it was. In this case, it was a White-throated Sparrow, which is common and kind of a let down when placed on the scale of potential birds to be seen. Those yellow lores are cool, though.

Canada Warbler

As you walk down the South River Falls Trail, the trail will eventually come down to the stream that leads to the waterfall. It is at this point, and for the next mile or so, that you can reliably find Canada Warblers staking out territory in the spring. They flit about in the newly leafed-out trees, over top the stream itself, singing away. If you know their song, you will have a much better chance of finding them in the foliage.

American Robin

The American Robin can sometimes be placed into the category of birds called "trash birds" - birds that are so common and regular that they clutter the search for the rare or uncommon species. Whether or not an American Robin is considered a "trash bird" obviously depends heavily on where you are located. If you saw one in, for example, South America, it would definitely not be a "trash bird". At South River Falls Picnic Area, however, it is probably often considered a "trash bird".

After I arrived at the picnic area last Sunday I scanned the area for any bird activity. It was cold for May, so not many birds were active. There were a few Robins flitting about on the grass, so I got my camera fingers warmed up for the day by taking some pictures.

Eastern Towhee

The start of the South River Falls trail is at the back edge of the South River Falls picnic area, just a few miles north of where U.S. Route 33 crosses the Skyline Drive at Swift Run Gap. There is a small grassy area just to the left of the trail head, which is where I found this female Eastern Towhee rummaging around in the leaves for food. The female looks different than the male. Her head, back and upper breast are a chocolate brown color, but the male is black in those areas. It is also worth noting that the eye color of Eastern Towhees in Florida and southern Georgia are straw colored, and variable as far north as North Carolina. Across most of the range, however, the eye color is red, just like in this picture.

Eastern Phoebe

Okay, switching gears now. Here is the first picture from my trip to South River Falls this past Sunday. Rich's post yesterday with that beautiful Red-headed Woodpecker has me refocused on quality instead of quantity. While I am not sure that I will regularly (or ever) achieve the quality that Rich's photography exhibits, I will still try to avoid posting below average pictures of things.

On that note, here is a photo of an Eastern Phoebe, a fairly common variety of flycatcher.

American Bittern

My previous post suggested that I had two or three most posts from the last field trip of the 2007 ABA Conference in Lafayette. I decided tonight that it would be only one more post. This one.

As the title of this post announces, here are a couple pictures of an American Bittern. The first is with minimal zoom and no cropping to give you an idea of how this species hides in tall grass. The vertical stripes, brown coloration and bill-pointed-to-the-sky stance help it blend in quite nicely. It can look just like one of the reeds or part of the grass it is standing within.

The second picture is of a different bird than the first (another picture taken through a tinted van window). This bird was just standing in a marshy ditch next to the road. Oddly, the bird only knows one way to blend into its surroundings, even if those surroundings are not a good fit for its natural camouflage. I can just imagine this bird standing there, perfectly still, staring at our stopped van thinking "I am invisible! I am invisible! The big white van stopped for some other reason because I am invisible!".

South River Falls

When I got back from Louisiana, I speculated that I might visit Shenandoah National Park this weekend. One of my favorite places to bird watch during spring migration is South River Falls Trail. It is easy to get to, always a good hike, and, during spring migration, there are lots of birds to see. Today was no exception.

I arrived at the trail head around 8am this morning. It was a tad cold for early May, and I had to start with gloves and a wool hat to cover my ears. The gloves came off within 30 minutes because it was too weird taking pictures with them on. The hat came off in another 90 minutes after things warmed up a bit more. At first, I was afraid it was going to be a waste of bird watching time because there were very few birds at the trail head. But as I walked down the trail towards the fall, three things happened: it got warmer, the trees got leafier and the birds started making their presence known.

Today turned out to be an 11 warbler day, including a lifer for me: Cerulean Warbler. I realized today that I had been confusing the Cerulean's song with the song of Northern Parula. What I thought of as the "short cut" Parula song was really the Cerulean. It was great when I connected the song with the bird, because I realized what I had been missing on my previous trips to this trail.

Other highlights included seeing 2 Scarlet Tanagers, 2 Blackburnian Warblers, 1 American Redstart and 1 Red-eyed Vireo all stopping in the same two trees in front of me within about 5 minutes of each other. I just stood there and tried to take pictures as they flew in, hopped about and then flew on to their next stop.

And, to top it off, I also saw a Black Bear. I was standing on the trail watching the trees for birds (a pessimist would say that I was resting on my way back up from the falls :-) when I looked down the slope and saw something move. It was black, furry and not small. I actually got a couple of pictures of it, but its head is behind a tree so all you see is a big black furry body. It either lay down to sleep, or has much better stealth than I thought, because I never saw it again despite looking for another 10 minutes.

So, where are the pictures? They are coming. I took a ton of pictures so there are bound to be a few good ones in there. I think I have a couple more to share from my last Louisiana field trip, and then I will start working my way through the photos from today. If you are a glutton for punishment, you can look at all of the thumbnails from today here. As I write this, all of the thumbnails are uploaded, but there are still 255 full-sized images to upload (they should be done by uploading by tomorrow). None of the junk or repetition has been hidden, and nothing has been cropped.

[Edit: removed link to thumbnails at Phanfare]

King Rail

Here is another bird spotted from within the confines of a passenger van. A King Rail is a great bird to see because they are usually hidden in the tall grass of a marsh. To say that we were fortunate to find this bird in a ditch on the side of a gravel road in the middle of Louisiana would be an understatement. Everyone on the van was excited to see this bird. These two photos were the best that I could do through the tinted windows of the van and over the shoulder of another passenger.

Common Nighthawk

Common Nighthawks belong to a family of birds that is called Goatsuckers. This family includes other birds such as Whip-Poor-Will and Chuck-Will's-Widow, both of which got their names from the phonetic sound of their songs. The term Goatsucker comes from a myth that these birds actually sucked milked from goats at night. In reality, the birds were eating insects that buzzed around goats, and other livestock, at night.

Last Sunday, one of the field trip guides spotted a Common Nighthawk resting on a branch. We stopped, looked, photographed, and generally "oohed" and "ahhed". When we resumed our trek, there was another one resting on a fence post a few yards down the road that gave us even better looks.

Scramble the Mudflats

One of the stops we made on my last field trip in Louisiana was at Lacassine NWR. The habitat there was mostly marsh and mudflats, attracting lots of ducks, wading birds and shore birds.

An interesting behavior exhibited by the shore birds occurred whenever a bird of prey would fly over the mudflats. The flocks of sandpipers would take off and fly around in a big "blob". In this particular example the bird of prey was a Peregrine Falcon (not in the picture). He appeared a couple of times, and each time the shore birds took off and flew around in their "blob", eventually landing again when the collective decided that the danger had passed. The guide for our field trip called this phenomenon "scrambling the mudflats" because after everything landed, you had to go through and re-identify/re-locate all the birds since they were all in different places than before.

Loggerhead Shrikes

Well, I did not really post any of my remaining Louisiana pictures over the course of this past week. But I am finally getting to that today.

This picture was taken while we were taking a rest-stop at a local gas station. These are Loggerhead Shrikes. I stood on a small plastic stool so that I could take this picture over the top of a chain link fence. I was standing on my tip-toes, on the stool, hand-holding the camera. I am happy that the picture was not even more fuzzy than it is, and that I did not fall while taking the picture.

The bird on the left is a juvenile begging for food. The bird on the right might also be a juvenile (even though he is not begging). There were, I think, five fledged birds scattered about the place, all waiting their turn to be fed by one of the adults.