Hawks Visit Our Yard

A Three-Hawk Week

Merlin

The week of November 18 was a three-hawk week for us.  We live along the river and our trees and open area often draw raptors during migration.  So what we saw that week was not particularly unusual but never-the-less, interesting and enjoyable.  

The week started with a Sharp-shinned Hawk flying rapidly through our yard checking out the bird feeders.  That scattered the doves and woodpeckers which spend most of their time around our trellis/feeder area and rock garden.  It wasn't long before the hawk returned to perch in a high ash tree overlooking the active bird area.  Needless to say, the area was very quiet. Before long the hawk  moved on to better things.

Sharp-shinned Hawk

On the 21st another fast hawk flew across the yard and landed on another ash tree slightly down river.  From that vantage point it surveyed the area.  After a 15-minute visit, it went on its way.  I wondered if it was moving down river on its migration and decided our place might provide a quick meal.  See the photo at the top of the post for a view of the Merlin.

November 21 brought our third hawk of the week.  It was late in the day and getting dark when a buteo flew across the back yard and landed in a tall oak.  I grabbed binoculars and there was not enough light to tell what it was.  The hawk moved 3 more times and at that point I had the scope set up and caught a quick glimpse as it moved yet again.  The scope captured enough light so I could see the identifying dark band across the breast.  See the photo below.  That hawk (or another Red-tailed Hawk) returned again on November 27.  

Red-tailed Hawk

Fall migration is a wonderful time to be a bird-watcher in New Brunswick.  We just never know what we are going to see.  Sightings might be really rare birds which are not normally here or they might be our regular species.  This year has been a phenomenal year for unusual species, species from very distant places.  The hurricane Dorian brought many rare species to the Maritime provinces.  

Our regular migrants are also very enjoyable to see.  I am so happy we still have sufficient good habitat for these birds to feed and occupy.  Our wildlife is a wonderful heritage and it is our responsibility to protect it by preserving their habitat, their feeding areas and stop-over areas on migration.  Some of these hawks will spend the winter here but most of them will move south.  We will miss them and look forward to their return in the spring.

Glaucous Gull, a sure harbinger of winter

A mammoth glaucous gull yelps its commanding presence to the masses. It's headed into a fray of hundreds of ring-billed gulls and some herring gulls following our boat. Only the great black-backed gull is larger, at least among gulls that appear in Ohio. This glaucous gull will immediately establish primacy among its lesser brethren by sheer force of size and personality.

Last Saturday I boarded the Holiday near downtown Cleveland along with several dozen other birders. It was the first "pelagic" Lake Erie trip of the season sponsored by the Black Swamp Bird Observatory. I believe the December trip is full, but there may be spaces on the January 1 voyage.

We motored slowly down the Cuyahoga River from our launch point at Collision Bend, stopping once to await the passage of the 615-foot lake freighter American Courage. The river seems impossibly narrow to accommodate these giant ships, but it does although lesser craft may have to duck out of the way until they squeak past.

The same glaucous gull from a different angle, showing its pure frosty-white wing tips. This individual is a first-cycle bird. It will go through four cycles of distinct plumage before reaching adulthood at four to five years of age.

Before long we hit Lake Erie. Chum-master Tim Jasinski created a steady effluvia of bird-friendly chum (no popcorn or bread here!) off the stern, and before long we had a blizzard of ring-billed gulls in tow. As the weather has been relatively mild thus far, the ring-billeds were far and away the dominant gull, although a number of herring gulls peppered the flock. Bonaparte's gulls were almost non-existent, and every lake birder loves to encounter swirling masses of that species. Such swarms can attract rarer species such as black-headed or little gulls, or perhaps even a jaeger.

We did see a few great black-backed gulls - another species that will greatly increase in numbers as winter sets in - but this glaucous gull was the highlight. They breed in the high Arctic, and Lake Erie is a Floridian vacation for these feathered toughs. Most of them winter in colder waters, although some make it all the way to the Gulf Coast.

A few other avian highlights were peregrine falcon, which rocketed by offering a few fairly close passes. A rough-legged hawk passed high overhead; my first of the season. And the day's best rarity was a purple sandpiper, which obliging foraged on mossy rocks of a nearby breakwall.

All in all, an interesting four-hour float.

Lucerne in October - Part 2

Now we are going to glimpse parts of the old town of Lucerne.

The water which separates two parts of the old town

is called the River Reusse which joins the lake.

Here is a close up of Chapel Bridge with colourful flowers arranged along the whole length.

The well-known tower attached to the bridge.

The building with the arcades underneath is the Town Hall

with the clock tower behind.

This is the view that I had from my hotel room.

It's a very old pharmacy with lovely stonework and an exciting turret.

The small fountain which can also be seen from my room.

Looking towards the other end of the River Reusse at the opposite end to the lake.

After crossing one of the bridges,

there are beautiful decorated house facades to be seen.

This is one of my favourites.

It's part of the Waage Hotel which is steeped in history

which dates back to 1199.

The famous facade murals are among the most photographed in Lucerne.

I love the coloured tiled roof as well.

Here is a close-up.

I've shown this particular red and white building several times,

but taken from different points of view.

It was particularly lovely on this sunny day with deep blue reflections in the water.

This is the Jesuit Church which can be seen on several different photos

on my visit to Lucerne last December 2018.

Part 1

and 

Part 2

This is the interior of the church in the Baroque style.

More architecture with turrets and an old lamp

Another interesting detail.

Maybe you can just read the words below the middle window:

"Festina Lente"

which means: 'Hasten slowly'!

The sky was so pretty here

The saying goes: "Mares' tails and mackerel scales."

In the days of large sailing ships, these kind of clouds in the sky meant

a storm would be approaching soon and the sails should be lowered to protect

from accompanying high winds.

A close up view of the reflected flowers.

On our last evening, I left the dinner table right after the first course

to catch the setting sun.

We can just see details of the fortified wall leading up to the tower.

Next time, I'm going to walk up there!

An old lamp against that sunset sky.

It was a lovely stay in a beautiful town on the lake.

American Coot

American Coot at Fredericton 

American Coot

On Friday, November 15,  2019, an American Coot (Fulica americana) was seen and photographed at Fredericton's Carleton Park.  It was gone by noon hour.  This was an unusual place and time for a coot, so, what was it doing here?  The St. John River is a migratory pathway for birds moving south from the northern part of the province and possibly from Quebec.  This coot, which usually prefers coastal ponds and inlets, is an unusual visitor to fresh water in New Brunswick.  This individual was clearly on its way south and put down at Carleton Park to spend the night with other waterfowl, to feed in the early morning and then wing southward for the rest of the day.

American Coot [Internet Photo]

The American Coot is a chicken-sized and shaped bird which prefers aquatic habitats and swims or wades most of the time.  It feeds on plants, aquatic invertebrates, amphibians, snails, worms and occasionally takes birds' eggs.  It forages by diving, tipping its head down from the surface or by walking along the shoreline.  It has a peculiar voice, making a variety of croaks, clucks, grunts and other loud strange noises.  It is definitely not a songster!

The American Coot is about 40 cm/ 15.5 in long with the males slightly larger than the females.  It is a member of the Rallidae family which it shares with rails and gallinules.  Generalizing, the coot looks like a black chicken with a white bill.  Males and females look alike.  It is an overall dark gray colour with a black head.  In flight they show a white trailing edge to their secondary wing feathers.  The undertail coverts are black with white patches on the outer edges.  The white bill sometimes shows a brownish-red partial ring.  This can also be on the white frontal shield above the bill.  The eye is red and the legs and feet are greenish coloured.  The toes have characteristic lobes between them much like webs (see photo below).  As shown above, the chicks are black with curly orange and yellow fluff on their heads.  

American Coot [Internet Photo]

In summer the American Coot breeds from British Columbia across southern Canada to the Great Lakes southward to the US and Mexico.  It winters through most of the central and southern US and Mexico.  It is a permanent resident over much of the southern US, Mexico and the Caribbean Islands.   In winter it is often seen in huge rafts swimming or resting in tight formation.  I have seen these rafts in North Carolina.  The coot is a rare summer visitor to New Brunswick.  There have been a few breeding records mostly along the St. John River and in the marshes along the NB-NS border.  The coot builds its nest out of leaves and stems over water attached to reeds.  Two to 12 eggs of variable colours are incubated for 21-25 days by both adults.  

The only other species one might mistake an American Coot for is the Common Gallinule but it has a bright red bill with a yellow tip and a white line along its side.  The Purple Gallinule is similar in size and shape but is so brightly coloured purple and green one would not mistake it.  

The American Coot is a unique bird.  Its voice is so strange it was used as one of the jungle calls in the Tarzan movies.  It is nicknamed 'marsh hen' or 'mud hen' because it walks (and swims) like a chicken with the characteristic head-bob.  A group of coots is sometimes called a 'commotion of coots'.  I doubt if we will ever see that in NB but we can often find one or two of this species in NB each summer.

Red-shouldered hawk in LOW light

Corning Lake in the Holden Arboretum, on a chilly, foggy morning.

I visited the amazing Holden Arboretum yesterday for a meeting, and of course threw some photography gear in the car. The 3,600+ acres of the arboretum, which is a bit to the east of Cleveland, is a goldmine of interesting subjects. Following the meeting, we headed out to snap a few photos, mostly intending to shoot landscapes. The day was perfect for that, with persistent fog misting the grounds.

Days such as this, especially as wind was nearly non-existent, are great for shooting moody landscapes. Shutter speed is inconsequential as long as one is using a tripod. The image above was made at f/16, with a 1/2 second exposure at ISO 100. Good luck hand-holding that and achieving a sharp image.

As always, click the photo to enlarge

An adult red-shouldered hawk attentively watches a garden below. There must have been a vole or some other rodent at work in the duff of the old plants. The hawk's head was on a swivel as he watched the potential prey.

I saw the raptor a little ways off, and being a big fan of this most beautiful of eastern Buteo hawks, naturally wanted to make some photos. Red-shouldered hawks tend towards the tame, especially ones that live in places with lots of people as this one does. And sure enough, the bird was not put off by my approach and largely ignored me as it fixated on the vole or shrew or whatever it was.

Fortunately I had Canon's remarkable little 100-400mm II lens already mounted on my camera, which was on the tripod. I like trying to create tight landscapes with telephotos and that was my game until the hawk surfaced.

The challenge was light. Completely overcast white skies and fog do not offer ideal bird photography conditions. If I were to shoot the bird at any sort of "typical" setting, the ISO would have been sky high. I am not a fan of enormous ISO ranges, especially if cropping of any sort will be necessary. We're talking grainy images, even with noise reduction applied in post-processing.

As it became clear that the hawk was unconcerned with me, I only had to hope it would remain in place long enough to practice some alternate photo tactics. With the gear firmly locked in place on the tripod, and at a comfortable working range from the animal, I dialed in f/11 to create sharpness throughout the subject, and set the two-second shutter delay option. Because of the awful lighting, it was necessary to go to +2.3 exposure compensation. Once focus was set - on the bird's upper breast* - I flipped the camera into Live View mode. This eliminates any internal movement from the mirror, as it's now locked up and doesn't activate. All of this gave me a shutter speed of 1/50 - too slow to handhold and expect much in the way of crisp images, even with the 100-400's stellar image stabilization. The ISO was 800 - near the upper limits of what I prefer, but okay and it was ISO that was largely driving the shutter speed that I selected.

Once all was set, it was just a matter of activating the shutter button, and hoping the bird didn't move between then and the taking of the image. It did fidget a few times, but for the vast majority of the shots it didn't. And I got something. Shooting against blah white skies won't give the pop that superb lighting conditions will, but sometimes that's all one has to work with. And not many animals will cooperate or remain immobile long enough to employ these photographic tactics, but when they do, this is a way to keep the ISO to a sane level and thus create less grainy images. I've used it on roosting owls and nesting birds in dim light, for instance. Thus, I can remain well out of their disturbance zone, and get images that can be cropped in without noise manifestation caused by high ISO.

*A minor gripe about the 100-400mm II lens is its seeming inability to focus on tiny areas with great precision. The reason that I had to focus on the hawk's upper breast is that the camera/lens combo could not auto focus on the eye. I could have tried to manually focus there, but prefer the bulletproof accuracy of auto focus, and in single-shot mode, the auditory beep that proclaims focus has been achieved. With a relatively small f/11 aperture, it wasn't a big deal, though. And I am probably spoiled by having some of Canon's larger prime telephotos. Those lens are incredible in their ability to focus in with laser-like precision on the smallest of targets, including the eye of this raptor in bad light. But the little 100-400 costs WAY less than those big primes, and one can't expect everything at that price point. And in general, the 1 to 4 is a sensational lens. I'm nitpicking here :-)

Lucerne in October. Part 1

This is our boat named 'URI'

Last time we came to Lucerne in December 2018,

we said we would return with warmer weather and that our priority 

would be to take a steam-boat cruise on the lake.

As soon as we arrived, we bought tickets for the earliest boat ride on the same day.

We just had time to drop our cases off at the hotel.

We're just leaving the town of Lucerne to do the long three and a half hour tour

of the big lake with lunch included.

This is Mount Pilatus

the iconic mountain which is 2.128 metres high.

I think it would be lovely to take the cogwheel train and then a cablecar and gondola

and to be able to see the whole lake from the top.

Before going any further, I should explain a little history.

On the map, we can see the whole of the lake which is quite a complex shape

with many bends and four arms.

On my notepad, I wrote down the names of all the different stops.

One of the stops was Rütli.

"For all Swiss people, Rütli is synonymous with the founding history of Switzerland.

Nourished by the impressive drama of "William Tell" by author Friedrich Schiller,

it is for many people the historic place where in 1291, 

the oath of the Swiss Confederation was sworn.

On August 1st, 1291, now celebrated as the Swiss National Holiday,

the three original cantons: Uri, Schwyz and Unterwalden united and founded

with a loyalty oath the Confederation at the forest site."

Text taken from here:

https://www.myswitzerland.com/en-ch/destinations/ruetli-ruetli-meadow/

The canton of Lucerne (or Luzern) was added to the other three mentioned above.

The lake is called the Vierwaldstättersee

which means The Lake of Four Cantons.

The views are beautiful all along the way.

It's very mountainous with green pastures below.

The weather was perfect

All the views are different and always interesting

Sparkles on the water

A Baroque style church perched above the lake

There are several small safety boats around the steam boat.

You can see the name Uri on this one.

A sailing boat crosses our path

This is the cobbled pedestrian square which is in front of our hotel.

People were still sitting on outside terraces, thanks to the warm October temperatures.

After dinner, we walked around the pedestrian area of the town

where our hotel was situated.

I like the welcoming entrance to this historic hotel.

This is where we stayed: 'Hotel zum Wilden Mann'.

We stayed here last December when it was beautifully decorated for Christmas. 

I took so many photographs during this trip,

that I'll be posting Part 2 next week.

Nature: Rare sightings still bring a thrill for veteran birder

A vermilion flycatcher spotted in Wayne County/Jim McCormac

Columbus Dispatch

November 17, 2019

NATURE

Jim McCormac

The allure of birds drew me in as a tot. By the age of 6, I was glued to the windows of our Worthington home, watching feeder birds. It didn’t take long for this nascent interest to blossom into a passion.

By the fifth grade, other kids were quizzing me about bird identifications. They would bring bird photos in magazines, cover the name and see if I knew what it was.

When the state granted me a driver’s license at age 16, my birding world expanded tremendously. Wanderlust is a common trait of hardcore birders. Every weekend was spent exploring interesting habitats, many of them far afield.

In one especially prolific teenage year, I made it to Lake Erie at least 50 times. Our Great Lake is Ohio’s most productive birding locale, by a long shot.

Many birding excursions were rarity chases. Unusual birds draws birders like moths to a flame. The rarer the bird, the more visitors. Praise be if it’s a “life” bird (never before seen) or “state” bird (new sighting for one’s state).

After 40 years of auto-assisted birding, and amassing 381 species for my Ohio list (about 430 species have been recorded in Ohio), the thrill of the chase has worn a bit thin.

I have come to view the acquisition of big lists as somewhat akin to avian postage-stamp collecting. I would rather spend valuable field time in interesting haunts, studying and photographing whatever crosses my path, common, rare or in between.

The obsession with the atypical never entirely wanes, though, and I took up the hunt again on Nov. 3. A vermilion flycatcher was discovered near Wooster on Oct. 25 by local birders Levi Schlabach and Elias Raber. This species is a denizen of the southwestern U.S. and a very rare sighting in eastern North America. There have been about seven Ohio records.

It didn’t take long to spot the flycatcher as it hawked insects from snags in a marsh. Even on this cool day, the bird had no problem finding bugs.

A first-year female, the bird probably had its discoverers temporarily flummoxed. While males are adorned with their namesake vermilion color and are unmistakable, females are somber in hue and not nearly so distinctive.

Word of the flycatcher quickly spread, and hundreds of birders from Ohio and adjacent states have paid homage to the western stray. For many it was a life bird, and a state bird for far more. The last sighting was Nov. 5, and hopefully the bird is now in much warmer climes.

As luck would have it, another rarity lurked 25 minutes from the flycatcher. A gorgeous male rufous hummingbird turned up at the Holmes County residence of Martha and Wayne Weaver. Martha first saw the bird at their hummingbird feeders on Oct. 23, and it remains as of this writing (Nov. 10).

The Weavers graciously allowed birders to visit, and by the time I stopped by more than 110 names were scrawled in their guestbook. This wasn’t the Weavers’ first rufous hummingbird rodeo. Amazingly, their feeders lured another in 2011.

Like the flycatcher, the rufous hummingbird is a westerner, breeding from Alaska south to Idaho and Oregon. This species is quite cold-hardy, and eastern vagrants typically appear in late fall. Some linger into winter. One or a few appear in Ohio most years.

It was great to revisit these normally distant feathered friends again, and almost in my backyard.

Naturalist Jim McCormac writes a column for The Dispatch on the first, third and fifth Sundays of the month. He also writes about nature at www.jimmccormac.blogspot.com.

A rufous hummingbird seen in Holmes County/Jim McCormac

A plethora of pipits

A perfect storm of snow, followed by some rain and sleet, followed by a major temperature plunge, left much of Ohio enshrouded in an icy wonderland. Yesterday brought our first really cold weather, and I was out before dawn to experience it.

The virgately branched inflorescence of a tall goldenrod, Solidago altissima, shimmers with crystallized ice. It was 1 F when I made this shot. A vast field of iced over Indian grass forms the backdrop. Conditions such as these can make for good birding, as 1) birds are often more approachable in bitter cold, and 2) species that typically forage in fields such as this are forced to roadsides to find spilled grain, weed seeds and other fare.

Make no mistake, #2 is not a good deal for birds, as the incidences of road strikes by vehicles can skyrocket. Fortunately, the back roads of northern Marion County and southern Wyandot County, where I was yesterday, see relatively little traffic. Despite seeing scads of birds foraging along roadsides, I saw not a single roadkill.

Most interesting, to me at least, was the number of American pipits. I think I put a conservative estimate of 75 individuals in my eBird report for the day. The overall tally may have been 100+. Small flocks were scattered far and wide, sometimes comprised only of pipits, but often mixed horned lark-pipits flocks. The most interesting group contained a few dozen larks, a smattering of pipits, and two snow buntings. The bird in the photo was part of a group of four, and they were cooperative. Unfortunately for the photographer, it was only about 4 F and I was lying on the cold tarmac to try to get on their level. Tough shooting.

American pipits breed in the northernmost reaches of North America, in the tundra, and in high alpine meadows in the western part of the continent. The nearest nesters to north-central Ohio, where I made yesterday's observations, are about 1,000 miles to the north. Many pipits pass through Ohio in both spring and fall migration, but they are largely overlooked. The birds are prone to foraging way out in big agricultural fields and are easily missed. They are powerful flyers and diurnal migrants, but if one is not familiar with their flight calls as they pass high overhead, they'll pass by undetected.

The peak fall passage extends from mid-October through November. This recent early wintry weather forced pipits out of the vast agricultural hinterlands and to the roads where people could see them. Much of Ohio was awash in pipit reports, shedding light on just how many birds move through the state.

Also notable was a flock of five Savannah sparrows forced to the roadsides. This is another extremely common fall migrant. However, we're past peak fall passage, which mostly occurs from late September through late October. I suspect these birds are going to attempt to winter locally. They occurred in an area of 1,000+ acres of conservation reserve program lands dense in Indian grass, Sorghastrum nutans.  These thick grass stands create their own ecology by spawning scores of seed, insects and their eggs/larvae, and offer protection from sometimes brutal winter elements. I've found Savannah sparrows here before in January.

ASIDE: This beautiful little sparrow is NOT named for the plant community of scattered large trees, which is properly spelled savanna. Rather, the common name stems from Savannah, Georgia, where Alexander Wilson bagged the first specimen. As a "species" the Savannah sparrow is widespread and complex. Nearly 30 subspecies have been described and many of these variations are quite different in appearance.

This northern mockingbird was one of five or six that had staked claim to a long fencerow of scrubby hawthorns and plums. The trees were rich in fruit, and those berries will play a big role in getting these mockers through the winter. Like gang toughs, the mockingbirds zealously defend their turfs against all comers, especially other frugivores.

Green Heron

Green Heron - Rare and Local

Green Heron

The Green Heron normally spends its summers in the US from the Canadian border southward and from the mid-west to the eastern seaboard.  There is also a population on the west coast from Puget Sound to California.  Some winter in Florida, coastal Georgia, South Carolina, California, southern Texas and Louisiana.  Most Green Herons winter in Mexico, Venezuela, Panama and the West Indies.  But every year we have a handful who spend their summers in New Brunswick.  I have seen them on Grand Manan and along the St. John River at various times.

The Green Heron is our smallest heron, 46 cm/18 in long.  It is even smaller than the Cattle Egret.  It is very dark overall in colour, stocky, thick necked and it has short yellow legs.  In flight its wings are broad and rounded.  It has a crest but it is not often seen.  Its colours are subtle but beautiful if you happen to see it in good light.  The crown is black, the sides of the head and neck are rufous.  It has a white-streaked chin, throat and breast.  The eyes are yellow and it has a dark yellow bill.  The back, rump and tail are dark green.  The belly is gray.  Both genders look alike.

Green Heron

When you are lucky enough to see a Green Heron, it is usually alone.  A solitary bird is the norm.  It is always in wet habitats, either fresh or salty.  It prefers woody areas and likes to perch on branches which hang over the water.  It feeds on small fish and aquatic invertebrates.  The only other wader you might mistake it for is the Least Bittern but it has a white scapular line and bright buffy wing coverts.

Green Heron [Internet Photo]

The Green Heron population is subdivided into 4 subspecies.  Two of these occur in North America; one along the west coast and one along the east coast.

It is my experience that when you encounter a Green Heron, it sees you first and what you first see is a startled bird taking off close to you in thick vegetation, emitting a hair-raising squawk.  Apparently its song is a sharp, croaking 'qua qua'.  This species nests in trees near water 1 to 10 metres off the ground.  The nest is made of sticks and leaves.  The 2 to 7 pale green eggs are incubated for 19 to 21 days.  The chicks fledge in about 16 days.  There are records of it breeding in New Brunswick.

The Green Heron is one of the few herons that have learned to use tools to obtain food.  They place a small bright object (leaf, bread, piece of a feather, small piece of fish) on the surface and wait quietly for a fish to investigate it.  They then grab the fish and get an easy meal!  I have watched Green Herons do this in South Carolina.  An interesting species!

Green Herons tend to wander after the breeding season.  Occasionally some end up as far away as England and France.  Maybe that is how they got here in the first place.