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Archive for Birding
November 27, 2006 at 3:31 pm · Filed under Birding
Sadly, my birding activities have been much less frequent since last semester. Over the summer, I tried to go birding at a local nature preserve several times, but soon discovered that the heat of the Texas summer discouraged the birds from showing themselves very often. On several occasions, I got up early and trekked deep into the preserve only to catch some glimpses of a few unidentifiable birds and a lot of bats. I did get to see plenty of Mockingbirds, Cardinals, Chimney Swifts, and Blue Jays around the house, but not much more than that.
I was hoping to start back up again this semester, but my busy schedule prevented the first few times I intended to go, and then I just sort of forgot about it.
Over Thanksgiving break, I had the opportunity to pull out my Sibley for the first time in quite a while. I saw several kinds of birds at the bird feeder out on the deck and wanted to verify what they were. The first one I knew easily enough as a Red-bellied Woodpecker. The second Courtney helped me identify as a White-breasted Nuthatch. And the last was either a Black-capped Chickadee or a Carolina Chickadee. I’m not really sure how to tell them apart. In any case, it was enjoyable to take some time to watch and learn about birds again.
I doubt I’ll get much more birding done over these last three weeks of the semester, but perhaps I’ll be able to do some over Christmas break, and hopefully my lighter load next semester will permit more regular birding excursions after that.
August 15, 2006 at 11:56 am · Filed under Birding
Day 9
My day started a little before 5 a.m. this morning. The wakeup call wasn’t until 6:30, but a small group of us decided to spend our last morning in Israel watching the sun rise over the Sea of Galilee. On the way down to the waterfront, I could hear the many birds in the trees. I didn’t recognize their calls and couldn’t see any of them, but they sounded like they were eagerly anticipating the sunrise too. Several groups of Chimney Swifts flew overhead.
We arrived at the waterfront with plenty of time to spare before the sun came all the way up. The air was comfortably cool and there was a very slight breeze. While we waited for the sun, I enjoyed the opportunity to watch the birds. Gulls of some variety circled over the water giving an occasional call. Some of them lazily fought over a preferred perch on one of the boats. Behind me were several kinds of Pigeons (or maybe Doves), that became more plentiful as the morning wore on.
After a while, another visitor arrived that was even more interested in the Pigeons than I was. One of the many stray cats in the area carefully crouched in a pothole hoping for an easy breakfast. But, the Pigeons didn’t want to cooperate, and, after a few failed pounces, the cat soon became frustrated and left.
I heard my ‘Saturn Missile’ Warbler again, and this time I was able to get a look at it. I was relieved to see that I had not misidentified the call; it was definitely not a Pine Warbler. What its true identity is, I still don’t know. It had dark feathers and a long bill, but it was quite a distance away, and without binoculars, I couldn’t tell much more detail.
Some of the Chimney Swifts I’d seen earlier flitted out above the water, never venturing more than a few yards out. The split-tailed bird I’d seen at Tabgha joined them.
Something I didn’t recognize at all, with a very long bill and dark feathers sat in the water not too far from where I was standing. Occasionally, it would dive and reappear a few seconds later, usually with a successful catch.
Soon, the sun peeked over the clouds that were sitting on the horizon. The narrow, elongated reflection in the water created the image of a slowing growing column of fire, gradually stretching toward where we were on the western shore. But, before the pillar of fire could reach its full height, the sun was once again obscured by clouds. However, they couldn’t hold it back too long and soon the sun burst forth in all of its splendor. The fire column was almost too bright to look at directly, the sky turned a brilliant blue, and, coming out from the uniform grayness of just a few minutes ago, white puffs of clouds became visible.
Morning had arrived.
We walked back to the hotel and arrived just as everyone else was waking up. The expense of being a little more tired than we would have been was definitely worth the experience. As an extra treat, breakfast provided a brief glimpse of a hummingbird just outside the window of the hotel restaurant.
At the gift shop on the Jordan River site, I spotted a birding pamphlet I hadn’t seen at any of the other shops before. It was really quite nice, with good illustrations and descriptions, and it only covered the most common birds, which made it easier for me to find what I was looking for. However, this gift shop had a particularly high markup and the pamphlet would have cost me almost as much as the book I’d seen at another site. I was still able to spend a couple minutes flipping through it. The illustration of the House Sparrow was better than the picture I’d seen before, and I can now say without a doubt that is what I’ve been seeing. But, the most exciting discovery was the true identity of my ‘Chimney Swifts.’ It turns out that they’re actually Common Swifts, but I was happy to know that I wasn’t too far off.
That makes at least four birds that I can say I identified for sure: Common Swift, House Sparrow, Fan-tailed Raven, and Tristram’s Grackle.
Israel is a beautiful country.
August 14, 2006 at 11:05 pm · Filed under Birding
Day 7
The first site of the day was Capernaum. The area we went to had beautiful gardens, and the temperature was just about perfect. While sitting in the shade and feeling the cool breeze, it was much easier to enjoy my surroundings than pay attention to the site presentations I would be tested over later.
I’m pretty certain that I heard some Pine Warblers in this area. If Pine Warblers aren’t in Israel, then they must have been a close relative because the call was exactly like the one I’ve grown familiar with on the LETU campus. I never did see any of them, even though I was trying my best to spot one the whole time we were there. There were many other kinds of birds in the garden too, but there was so much going on that I never got a good description down for any of the ones I wasn’t already familiar with.
During our boat ride on the Sea of Galilee I saw several different kinds of birds out on the water. Unfortunately, I don’t really know much at all about waterfowl, so I didn’t even know what features to look for to identify them. The most common one was while except for a black face. I think it looked somewhat like a gull, but I’m not absolutely certain what a gull should look like.
The gift shop at the Jesus Boat Exhibit had another copy of the birding guide to Israel that I’d seen a few days earlier. It was even more expensive here, so I didn’t think about buying it, but I did leaf through another similar guide that was beside it. This one wasn’t much better, and once again I didn’t have much time. However, I was at least able to confirm that House Sparrows do exist in Israel. The picture they had wasn’t that great, so I’m still not certain on my identification, but at least now I know it isn’t completely crazy.
On the bus ride to Hazor, I saw what I think were some Cattle Egrets. I remembered from the book at the gift shop that there are Egrets here. I don’t know if Cattle Egrets are one of the varieties that are native to the area, but these egrets were definitely sitting on some cows. So, even if they aren’t ‘Cattle Egrets’ per se, I think I can get away with calling them that.
Day 8
The peak of Gamla had an amazing view. According to Mishi, the area is home to a number of Eagles. There’s even a station not far from where we went that is used specifically for viewing them. I did see three birds circling the area while we were climbing around on the rocks, but without binoculars and a better idea of what I was looking for, there was no way to tell for certain if they were Eagles, Vultures, or something else entirely. They were probably Eagles, though.
The plants of the region were also very beautiful. I’d like to take a whole day and just hike around the area armed with books on the birds and plant life of the area. In particular, there was a waterfall in the distance that we didn’t have time to go see that I’d like to visit.
I really really want to go back to Gamla.
While Mishi was giving an explanation about Tabgha, I got to watch a bird build its nest in the rafters of the atrium. As usual, I’m not sure what kind it was, but I’ve seen quite a few around. It has a blue head with a red neck, black feathers, a white belly, and a split tail.
August 10, 2006 at 6:40 pm · Filed under Birding
Day 5
At Tel-Beersheva, I kept seeing what I think is some kind of sparrow. I’ve seen them quite a bit these last few days, but while we were near the well outside the city gates, there was a tree full of them, so I got a better look. They’re fairly small, have a while belly with a black spot on the neck, a black spot on the eye, a short beak, and brown feathers with white and black tips. The only call they were doing at that time was just a single note, sporadically repeated. Could they be House Sparrows? Or maybe something related’
I also got a closer look at the Pigeons I saw earlier. The have shiny green feathers around their necks with darker feathers on the rest of their body. Their wings are swept back, and white underneath, with a black outline.
Day 6
Today was a great day for birding! Most of our site seeing happened outdoors, so there were plenty of opportunities to watch the skies.
During my research for the site presentation on En-gedi, I found that one kind of bird native to this region is the Tristram’s Grackle. I didn’t really think I’d be able to see one while I was here, but I went ahead and looked up a few pictures and descriptions anyway before I left, just in case. Sure enough, while we were at Masada, I saw one! I got a really good look too; it was sitting on a wall at about eye level and let me get very close, maybe just two feet away. These birds aren’t particularly rare to the area, but I still felt a great sense of personal accomplishment. For the first time, I had successfully researched, located and identified a bird completely on my own. Just a few minutes later, Mishi confirmed my identification by mentioning ‘Tristram’s Bird’ in one of his explanations. We saw more at En-gedi as well.
The information pamphlets we picked up at En-gedi contained a very useful guide to the birds of the area. Using it, I was able to once again confirm my Tristram’s Grackle find and also identify a few Fan-tailed Ravens. There was a picture of a Blackstart that I think I’ve seen hopping around with the bird I cautiously identified earlier as a House Sparrow. But, I wasn’t able to get a good enough look to know for sure on the Blackstart, and I still have no idea if a House Sparrow is even a reasonable guess on the other one.
August 6, 2006 at 10:15 pm · Filed under Birding
Day 1
I saw several kinds of birds on the drive to Jerusalem, but had no idea what they were. There were two main kinds. One was black with swept back wings and the other was black with wing tips like fingers and flapped constantly as it flew.
Day 2
I asked Mishi about one kind of bird I kept seeing, the one from the first day that flapped constantly. Turns out they’re ravens. There are a few more kinds that I’ve seen quite a bit and would like to figure out. I think one might be a Chimney Swift (the one from the first day that had swept back wings), but I’m not even sure that makes sense in this area of the world.
Day 3
At the end of Hezekiah’s tunnel, I heard some warblers of some sort. Their rhythm was about the same as a Pine Warbler, but the tone was different. They sounded like rapid-fire Saturn Missile fireworks, actually. I also started seeing some Pigeons of some sort.
Day 4
After the tour of The Garden Tomb, I saw a book in the gift shop that I would have really liked to have. A Photographic Guide to the Birds of Israel. It seemed perfect! Unfortunately, it was 61 shekels (about $13) and I didn’t really want to spend that much money on a book that would only be useful for the next few days. I did have a chance to flip through it, though. For being a photographic guide, it didn’t have as many pictures of the birds as I would have liked, and I didn’t have enough time to positively identify anything I’d seen before it was time to go. I did notice that it had a section on Swifts, so maybe my Chimney Swift guess isn’t so far off.
June 6, 2006 at 10:24 pm · Filed under Birding
I outlined this post shortly after we returned from the trip, but lack of time followed by lack of Internet delayed its completion and posting until now.
On Saturday, April 22nd, Courtney, Michaela, and I headed out to Paradise Lost (formerly known as Iron Bridge Road) for the last birding trip of the school year. I parked my car outside the yellow gate as before and we started down the road. I had noticed that a pickup was parked at the entrance, but I had not noticed the Eastman employee inside. He politely, but firmly informed us that we could not enter unless we had Eastman cards. I told him that although we were cardless, we were big fans of Eastman; it didn’t help. So, until we can acquire some of these mysterious Eastman cards, we will be stuck outside the gate. I know of at least one professor at LETU that used to be pretty high up in Eastman and may still have contacts there. I’ll probably talk to him next semester about getting some cards for LOL.
Determined to still get some birding out of the trip, we decided to walk down the railroad tracks that paralleled the road leading to the gate. Unfortunately, a heavy fog obscured our view of the few birds that were around and made colors almost indistinguishable. The birds were less than thrilled about the fog, and there was not much activity in either sound or flight.
Suddenly, the sun cleared up fog in an instant and we could see a beautiful morning and a few birds too. There were plenty of Cardinals, but I was eager to see the many warblers Bolt had told us to look for. I did hear a few warblers; some sounded like the familiar pine warblers from the LETU campus, but some sounded different. However, despite my best efforts, I never managed to see any of them.
Courtney pointed out several Blue-gray Gnatcatchers that I caught brief glimpses of. We also saw a mystery bird that neither of us could identify, a hummingbird (not sure if it was Black-chinned or Ruby-throated), and a Tufted Titmouse. But the real highlight of the day was seeing two Summer Tanagers, a male and a female. Such a brilliant red!
All too soon, the heat from the sun that had moments earlier cleared the fog for us caused the birds to reconsider their activity away from the cool shade of the trees, and the area became quiet once again. Reluctant to head back to school, we continued our walk for some time.
Then we went home.
April 17, 2006 at 10:14 am · Filed under Birding
I finally gave in.
I bought it.
April 15, 2006 at 4:03 pm · Filed under Birding
Sleeping in followed by birding, what better way to start a Saturday?
Just before crossing the street in front of the assembly building, an enormous bird flew out of one of the trees. It took me completely by surprise and was gone before I had a chance to dig my binoculars out of my backpack. I did manage to see a red tail, so I’m guessing it must have been a Red-tailed Hawk.
I followed the usual route behind Phys Plant but without much luck. Just as I was getting discouraged, I saw a flash of brown behind the pond that I didn’t recognize. I tried to follow it, but it was too fast for me too keep track of. However, while trying to find out where it had gone, I happened to see a Mourning Dove that I wouldn’t have otherwise. It was high in the branches of a pine tree, and it very cooperatively sat still for me. I’d seen Mourning Doves before but only briefly, so it was nice to get good look.
I moved on to behind the soccer practice field where I got the best view I’ve ever had of a Blue Jay. It was having its lunch, and I watched it for several minutes. It would sit on the top of one of the soccer goals, locate an insect on the ground, casually fly down and pick it up, then return to its perch and enjoy its catch.
The Blue Jay eventually moved on, and then I saw what I think the brown flash earlier must have been. A brown bird with a white belly and white ring around its neck crouched in the middle of the grass soccer field. Every so often it would give a call, fly up for a while, and then land. I’d never seen one of these before, so I once again took some mental notes, hoping to get the colors in the right order this time. A quick search on Whatbird once I got to the library allowed me to identify it as a Killdeer. Not exactly rare, but I was still pretty pleased at being able to figure that out on my own.
The Brown Thrasher nest I’d watched being built a few weeks ago was close, so I decided to check in on it. I found the nest, but neither its occupants nor their eggs were present. Does that mean the eggs have already been laid, hatched, and the young birds left, or would they wait this long after building the nest to lay the eggs?
I decided to swing by the front of campus, hoping to perhaps get another look at the Loggerhead Shrike I’d seen on Wednesday. Amazingly, there was one sitting in the very first pine tree I came to! It refused to give me a good profile view, but I’m quite certain that it was the same kind of bird I saw last time, and it definitely matches the pictures I saw of Loggerhead Shrikes while trying to identify it earlier. That also means that I was dyslexically colorblind. Loggerhead Shrikes have a grey head and white belly. :-)
The final sighting of the morning was a group of what looked like European Starlings. But their wings were very brown instead of the black I’ve been used to seeing. Everything else about them still looked like Starlings though. Were they Starlings or something else?
April 13, 2006 at 10:37 pm · Filed under Birding
Yesterday, I needed to go to the Post Office to mail a monstrous stack of letters. I decided to walk instead of drive, hoping to see something interesting on the way. There were plenty of Mockingbirds, a few Robins, and several groups of Common Grackles. But the real treats were on the way back.
While waiting to cross an intersection, I got a good look at a Scissor-tailed Flycatcher that was sitting on a power line. I’d already seen two earlier this morning on my way to class, but now I had time to stare. I’m still just as amazed by these crazy looking birds as the first time I saw one on my first morning birding excursion with Courtney. At first glance, their tail looks comically long, but they manage to be extremely graceful in flight.
Entirely satisfied with my results, I headed toward the library to finish up some research. But there was still one last surprise. A patch of white and black caught my eye in a pine tree near the front of campus. I saw a strikingly colored bird that I didn’t recognize at all. I made some quick mental notes before it flew away and hoped that I’d be able to identify it later. A number of searches on Whatbird didn’t turn up anything that made sense, so I gave my description to Courtney to see what she could come up with. Assuming my memory is dyslexically color-blind (was it a white head and grey belly or grey head and white belly?), we were able to identify it as a Loggerhead Shrike. From the description on eNature, these little guys are surprisingly brutal; they impale their prey on thorns or barbed wire! I’m looking forward to seeing more now that I know what to look for.
March 26, 2006 at 4:34 pm · Filed under Birding
The helicopter was stuck on the ground, so I went looking for things that weren’t. A brown streak caught my eye as I walked behind the baseball field, and I saw a glimpse of something carrying a twig. I followed it into the bamboo forest and was greeted with a nest and a Brown Thrasher admiring its handiwork. Another Brown Thrasher sat nearby. I watched for several minutes as they chirped and moved around, then I went back to the path. A red-headed Woodpecker flew overhead and landed on one of the tall pine trees. It laughed, presumably at our inability to fly.
We’ll show it, some day…
Over Thanksgiving break, I had the opportunity to pull out my Sibley for the first time in quite a while. I saw several kinds of birds at the bird feeder out on the deck and wanted to verify what they were. The first one I knew easily enough as a Red-bellied Woodpecker. The second Courtney helped me identify as a White-breasted Nuthatch. And the last was either a Black-capped Chickadee or a Carolina Chickadee. I’m not really sure how to tell them apart. In any case, it was enjoyable to take some time to watch and learn about birds again.
Hi there. My name is Curtis Hawthorne, but most of my friends call me Fjord.