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Birds & Birding

A personal electronic journal
by Victor W. Fazio III
since November 1996

Birds & Birding :
Back Issues

Current Observations

After 20 years of gull photography, you'd think I pretty much have covered the bases. But with digital imaging of the past 3 winters, I continue to shoot away with abandon. Digging through the 2000 or so shots from Nov-Jan, I continue to see things I had not noticed in the field. Consider for example this bird below. It is just a little different from the expected (and what I had identified in the field). Carefully compare the outer primary pattern and mantle shade with the wing shots provided (all images from the same day, same location, same position/angle, same equipment). Also note the fine head streaking. Selecting the image below will bring up an enlarged detail of the entire bird. Once you've picked through the possibilities in your field guides, go to these pages for a run down on what I think this bird represents ... if correct, it is only the 2nd one identified in Ohio. - cheers VWFIII.

At left: What do you make of this gull? Note the single mirror on P10. Below: Spreadwing - upper detail of an adult winter graellsii Lesser Black-backed Gull Below: Spreadwing - upper detail of an adult/4th w Great Black-backed Gull At Lower Left: Upperwing detail of a 4th winter Herring Gull

Back in January, Craig Rieker supplied me with some outstanding Glaucous Gull images from E. 72nd in Cleveland. Here is the full set.	Compare with this intriguing bird ... the adult with the open wings Photgraphed by John Pogacnik Remember selecting these images will lead to more detail. Can you find this bird below?
Just how many hybrid gulls are here?

I am still taking observations of collared geese for the Ohio Collared Waterfowl Sightings Log. Submissions this weekend have included these birds at left at Lake White in Waverly OH photographed by Craig Galloway, and two orange collars from NW of Kent in Portage co. Of the latter, Greg and Alli Cudworth write ... while trying to sink the birding "hook" into my 9 yr. old daughter we have observed two orange collared geese hanging around Kent. We did log them in with the USGS Patuxtent banding site and received back the certificate for one of them. The bands were "R1F9" and "T2E3". The basic area would be NW of Kent Ohio on Johnson Road. This was back on 2/12/05 and 2/24/05, and have seen then several times since. UPDATE: In my January 2005 RECENT NOTES, I posted an odd goose from the Cleveland lakefront wherein I speculated on whether it may represent Branta canadensis parvipes (Lesser Canada Goose) rather than B. hutchinsii (Cackling Goose) which on smallish size alone one may be quick to assume. I subsequently solicited the opinion of J. Harry Krueger, expert on small Canada Goose forms and author of the online ID article Cackling Goose - Canada Goose Subspecies ID Guide The "White-cheeked Goose Challenge with Pictures. This is what Harry had to say... I do believe that this is a B. c. parvipes. It is well within the range of variation. Although many individuals have a bill with a more inclined culmen making it more or less continuous with a very rounded forehead, the bill and the shape of the forehead-crown is indicative of this subspecies. By no means do I take from this support for a definitive identification. I only suggest that this type of variation, seen in smallish, intermediate forms warrants a close examination before assigning species rank. To the best of my knowledge, the Lesser Canada Goose has never been identified in Ohio though I have seen such forms as this before, most notably a flock of 5 at Castalia in January 1997.

Seems like just about anything can turn up at E. 72nd St. in Cleveland these days .... but I suspect you will have a long wait before one of these shows up:-) From 1978 through 1995, I managed 9 bird photography trips to Australia (disguised as visits to see the relatives:-). This blast from the past dates from July 1995 in pelagic waters off Sydney. One of these days I'll get around to a separate website for this particular image collection. I recently digitized a little more than 300 of the better ones, and as you can see I have had fun this weekend going through some of them. 9 March 2005 Images of Harris's Hawk and Orange-crowned Warbler have been added to the Plumage Studies section of Aves.Net. Readers will want to avail themselves of a very informative resource on the continuing matter of separating Cackling geese from Canada geese with this article presenting data from Ontario by Ken Abraham.

At Left: A female Rose-throated Becard at the Allan Williams residence, Pharr, TX 17 Feb 05. This bird was still reported present over the weekend. More images of this individual. Below: This Streak-backed Oriole was especially difficult to track down at Brazos Bend State Park, TX 20 Feb. Once located, it moved about frequently making identifiable photography a real challenge. Apparently, on other occasions the bird simply fed more or less stationary for 20 minutes at a time in low foliage. In these photographs, the streaked back is not discernible but one can see the heavy bill structure (only found on larger orioles such as Altamira), the rich orange color of the face, and below, the gray-green upperparts. I did obtain a silhouetted series wherein the tail appears to be in assymetrical molt.

Two rare thrushes for your consideration:

Below, a Varied Thrush present for several months at a Carroll County, OH feeder was still being seen over the weekend. Recent speculation as to the sex of the bird has some observers questioning how many birds may be present. This image by Paul Gardner shows a female. Should anyone have photographed a male, they should be sure to submit that information to the Ohio Bird records Committee.

At right, this White-throated Robin was among several birds reported from the Lower Rio Grande Valley, TX this past winter. Indeed, this individual was still present over the weekend at Frontera Audubon Sanctuary, Weslaco, TX.

Thought I'd start off the February Texas photo file with a series of this Least Grebe from Santa Ana N.W.R. Unfortunately, the bird was against the reflection of the midday sun so these are little more than silhouettes. Although, I do have a set of outstretched wing shots illustrating the extensive white flight feathers. Below, a Crimson-collared Grosbeak is among the photo-documentations of review species from TX.

Here is an extended 25 image Photo Salon of Red-breasted Mergansers involving birds in residence at E 72nd in Cleveland. It runs through courtship, fishing, and profiles of males and females. The latter includes notes on plumage variations.

For my first Ohio birding in a month, I ventured just 15 minutes down to E. 72nd in Cleveland. There I found the place pretty much as I left it, with a few gulls and ducks present. Highlights included a 1st winter Iceland Gull, a 3rd w Glaucous Gull, and an adult Lesser Black-backed Gull. Another interesting adult gull exhibited a mix of Thayer's and Iceland Gull characters although may simply be an example of a pale Thayer's Gull. Take a look and decide for yourself.

The bulk of February was taken up with non-field activities (e.g. Fall NAB report) but I did manage a 2 week road trip to TX via Oklahoma. The principal target species in Texas (White-throated Robin, Crimson-collared Grosbeak, Elegant Trogon Blue Bunting, Dusky-capped Flycatcher, Rose-throated Becard, Gray-crowned Yellowhroat, Golden-crowned Warbler, Roadside Hawk, and Streak-backed Oriole) were observed 14-20th. I have completed processing 1400 images, and expect to get these online through March. Here is a sample image of a Harris's Hawk shot at Santa Ana N.W.R., TX. Several persons travelling to Texas in March requested information and so I have placed my initial response online for general access.

In Oklahoma, my first winter birding provided for fleshing out my state list by 21 species including Rough-legged Hawk, Red-throated Loon, and Long-tailed Duck. Sequoyia N.W.R. (just off I40 in e. Oklahoma) was spectacular in the rain the 12th providing for close photo studies of Ross's and Snow Geese. Again, sometime in the coming month, I should have a sample online.

I have added a page under Herring Gull Plumage Studies documentating adult winter birds in transition to or having completed molt to summer in January. Literature references (e.g. Olsen & Larsson, Gulls of North America, Europe, and Asia, cites late February as the onset of this molt in the American Herring Gull).